Texas Carry Laws: Permitless Carry, Property Signs, and LTC

Texas carry laws let most adults 21 or older carry a handgun openly or concealed without a license, permit, or training course, a change that took effect September 1, 2021 when House Bill 1927 became law.¹ Permitless carry does not mean unregulated carry. State law still decides who qualifies, how a handgun must be carried in public, where firearms are forbidden entirely, and when force can lawfully be used.

Who Can Carry Without a License

Under Penal Code Section 46.02, you can carry a handgun in Texas without a license if you are at least 21 and not otherwise disqualified from possessing a firearm under state or federal law.² Active-duty military members between 18 and 20 may qualify under limited circumstances tied to their service. Everyone else waits until 21.

Several groups are barred from carrying entirely:

Convicted felons cannot possess a firearm within five years of release from confinement or community supervision, and after that period only at their own home.³
Anyone convicted of a Class A misdemeanor assault against a family member cannot possess a firearm for five years after release.³
People subject to an active protective order cannot possess a firearm while the order is in effect.
Criminal street gang members are disqualified from carrying on their person or in a vehicle.⁴
Certain misdemeanor convictions within the past five years — including assault causing bodily injury, deadly conduct, and terroristic threat — also disqualify you.²

Federal law adds its own restrictions. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), anyone convicted of a felony in any jurisdiction, any unlawful drug user, anyone adjudicated as mentally defective, or anyone subject to a qualifying domestic violence restraining order is prohibited from possessing firearms nationwide.⁴ Federal prohibitions override Texas rules. If a federal disqualifier applies, state permitless carry does not save you.

Open Carry Versus Concealed Carry

Texas allows both open and concealed carry, but open carry has one hard rule: the handgun must be in a holster. Any type of holster works. The old belt-or-shoulder-holster requirement went away with HB 1927.² The holster rule applies whether you carry under an LTC or under permitless carry. A partially or fully visible handgun that is not holstered breaks the law.

Concealed carry has no holster requirement. The gun must simply be hidden from ordinary observation. Most people still use a holster for safety, but the statute does not require it.

Displaying a firearm in public in a way calculated to alarm others is a separate offense under Section 42.01, regardless of how you are carrying it.⁴

Where You Cannot Carry

Permitless carry does not work everywhere. Penal Code Section 46.03 lists locations where carrying is illegal even for license holders. The ones most likely to affect everyday life:

K-12 school premises, school buses, and school-sponsored events.⁵
Polling places on election day and during early voting.
Government courts and offices used by the court.
Bars and “51% establishments” — businesses that earn 51% or more of their revenue from on-premises alcohol sales, marked with a red 51% sign.
Secured areas of airports, past the TSA checkpoint.
Licensed hospitals and nursing facilities.
High school, college, and professional sporting events.
Amusement parks.
Prisons, jails, and civil commitment centers.
Rooms where a government body is meeting.

Carrying in most of these locations is a third-degree felony punishable by two to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Sporting events, civil commitment facilities, hospitals, and amusement parks carry a lesser Class A misdemeanor penalty.⁵

Federal Property Follows Federal Rules

Texas carry laws cannot override federal restrictions. Under 18 U.S.C. § 930, possessing a firearm in a federal facility is punishable by up to a year in prison, and up to five years if the weapon is intended for use in a crime.⁶ Post offices trip up a lot of carriers because federal regulation bans firearms on all USPS property, parking lots included. Federal courthouses, VA facilities, military installations, and Social Security offices are similarly off-limits.

Private Property and Signs

Businesses and property owners can ban firearms from their premises, and Texas uses three different signs depending on who they want to exclude.

The 30.05 Sign for Unlicensed Carriers

To prohibit permitless carriers, the owner posts a sign under Penal Code Section 30.05. The sign must include language substantially similar to “Pursuant to Section 30.05, Penal Code (criminal trespass), a person may not enter this property with a firearm,” in both English and Spanish, in block letters at least one inch tall, displayed prominently at each entrance.⁷ Walking past a proper 30.05 sign with a firearm is a Class C misdemeanor with a maximum fine of $200. It becomes a Class A misdemeanor — up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine — if someone tells you personally to leave and you refuse.

The 30.06 and 30.07 Signs for License Holders

A 30.06 sign bans concealed carry by LTC holders. A 30.07 sign bans open carry by LTC holders.⁸ Each must contain specific statutory language in English and Spanish, in contrasting colors, in block letters at least one inch tall.⁹ Carrying past either sign is a Class C misdemeanor with a fine up to $200, escalating to a Class A misdemeanor if you are asked to leave and refuse.

A business that wants to ban all firearms needs all three signs. Missing any one leaves a gap. Verbal notice from someone with apparent authority also counts.

Guns in Your Vehicle

You can keep a handgun in your own vehicle whether it is holstered, in the console, or in a bag, as long as you meet the same eligibility rules for permitless carry.⁴ The holster requirement kicks in only when you step out of the car and the handgun becomes visible.

One rule catches people off guard. Penal Code 46.02 prohibits carrying a handgun while intoxicated, with narrow exceptions like your own property.² Driving with a handgun after drinking is a fast way to turn a traffic stop into an arrest.

When You Can Use the Gun

Carrying is one question. Using deadly force is a different one, and the consequences of getting it wrong dwarf any carry violation. Texas gives armed citizens broad self-defense protections, but not unlimited ones.

Non-Deadly Force

Under Penal Code Section 9.31, you can use force when you reasonably believe it is immediately necessary to protect yourself against another person’s unlawful force.¹⁰ A jury decides whether a typical person in your position would have believed the same thing. Force is not justified against verbal provocation alone, and you generally cannot use force to resist arrest by a peace officer, even an unlawful arrest.

Deadly Force

Deadly force is narrower. Section 9.32 allows it only when you reasonably believe it is immediately necessary to protect yourself against another person’s use or attempted use of deadly force, or to prevent murder, aggravated kidnapping, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated robbery.¹¹

Texas creates a presumption that your belief was reasonable — meaning the prosecution has to disprove it — if the other person was unlawfully forcing their way into your home, vehicle, or workplace, or trying to forcibly remove you from one of those places.¹¹ This is the Texas Castle Doctrine.

No Duty to Retreat

You do not have to retreat before using force or deadly force. If you have a right to be where you are, did not provoke the encounter, and are not engaged in criminal activity beyond a minor traffic violation, you can stand your ground. A jury is prohibited from considering whether you failed to retreat when deciding whether your use of force was reasonable.¹¹ The right to stand your ground is not the same as an obligation to.

Penalties for Carrying Unlawfully

The penalty for violating Section 46.02 depends on why you were disqualified. Carrying while under 21 or while intoxicated is a Class A misdemeanor, up to a year in county jail and a $4,000 fine. Carrying with a recent qualifying misdemeanor conviction is a Class C misdemeanor with a maximum $500 fine.²

The stakes climb sharply for prohibited people. A person barred under Section 46.04(a) from possessing a firearm because of a felony conviction who carries commits a second-degree felony with a minimum of five years in prison. A person prohibited because of a domestic violence misdemeanor or an active protective order who carries commits a third-degree felony, two to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.²

Why an LTC Still Makes Sense

Permitless carry made the License to Carry optional, not obsolete. The license carries several advantages worth weighing.

Reciprocity in Other States

Texas has reciprocity agreements with dozens of states, meaning your LTC allows you to carry legally when traveling. The Department of Public Safety keeps a current list.¹² Permitless carry is recognized only in states with their own permitless carry laws, and the details vary by state.

Federal Gun-Free School Zones

The federal Gun-Free School Zones Act makes it a crime to possess a firearm within 1,000 feet of any K-12 school. That radius covers a large amount of ground in cities and suburbs. The Act exempts anyone “licensed to do so by the State in which the school zone is located” if the state ran a background check before issuing the license.¹³ A Texas LTC qualifies because DPS runs a background check. Permitless carriers do not get this exemption.

Campus Carry

Section 411.2031 of the Government Code allows LTC holders to carry concealed handguns on the campuses of public colleges and universities and prohibits public institutions from adopting rules that generally ban licensed concealed carry.¹⁴ Universities can designate specific sensitive areas and regulate dorm storage, but they cannot impose a blanket ban. Private universities can opt out. Permitless carriers have no right to carry on campus.

Faster Firearm Purchases

A valid Texas LTC can substitute for the federal NICS background check when buying from a licensed dealer if the license was issued within the past five years by the state where the purchase happens and the state required a background check.¹⁵ Dealers are not required to accept it, but many do.

Talking to Police

Texas has no universal duty to inform for permitless carriers. If you are pulled over while carrying without a license, no statute specifically requires you to volunteer that fact. LTC holders have a stricter rule: under Government Code Section 411.205, an LTC holder who is carrying must present both regular ID and the handgun license when an officer asks for identification.¹⁶ Either way, keeping hands visible and calmly disclosing that you are armed tends to make the encounter go better.

1
Texas Legislature Online. History for 87(R) HB 1927
2
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.02 – Unlawful Carrying Weapons
3
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.04 – Unlawful Possession of Firearm
4
Texas State Law Library. Carry of Firearms
5
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.03 – Places Weapons Prohibited
6
United States Postal Service. Possession of Firearms and Other Dangerous Weapons on Postal Service Property
7
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 30.05 – Criminal Trespass
8
Texas State Law Library. Businesses and Private Property – Gun Laws
9
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 30.06 – Trespass by License Holder With a Concealed Handgun
10
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 9.31 – Self-Defense
11
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 9.32 – Deadly Force in Defense of Person
12
Texas Department of Public Safety. State Reciprocity Information
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
14
Texas Legislature Online. 84(R) SB 11 – Enrolled Version
15
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Brady Permit Chart
16
Texas State Law Library. License to Carry – Gun Laws