Texas Constitutional Carry Law: Who Qualifies and Where It’s Banned

The Texas constitutional carry law, enacted as House Bill 1927 and in effect since September 1, 2021, lets most adults aged 21 and older carry a handgun in public, openly or concealed, without applying for a license. It did not repeal the rules around who can carry, how a visible handgun must be worn, or where firearms remain off-limits. Getting those pieces wrong can turn a lawful carrier into a defendant.

Who Can Carry Without a License

Texas Penal Code Section 46.02 sets the baseline. You can carry a handgun without a license if you are at least 21 and not otherwise barred from possessing a firearm under state or federal law.¹

A felony conviction is the strictest bar. Under Section 46.04, possessing any firearm after a felony conviction is itself a third-degree felony.² That prohibition loosens five years after release from confinement or supervision, but only to the extent of allowing possession on your own property. Carrying elsewhere stays illegal.

Certain misdemeanor convictions within the past five years also disqualify you from carrying. The statute specifically lists:

Assault causing bodily injury under Section 22.01(a)(1)
Deadly conduct under Section 22.05
Terroristic threat under Section 22.07
Disorderly conduct involving a firearm under Section 42.01(a)(7) and (8), which covers discharging or displaying a firearm in public

Carrying while disqualified by one of these is a Class A misdemeanor, up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000.¹ Anyone subject to certain protective orders or prohibited from firearm possession under federal law is likewise barred. Members of a criminal street gang, as defined in Section 71.01, face a separate restriction against carrying a handgun in a vehicle or watercraft.

People under 21 who aren’t otherwise disqualified can still have a handgun on their own property or inside a vehicle they own or control. They just can’t carry on their person in public.

The Holster Rule When the Gun Is Visible

If your handgun is visible to other people in public, it has to be in a holster. Section 46.02(a-5) makes it an offense to intentionally display a handgun in plain view in a public place unless it is carried in a holster.¹ The law no longer limits the holster to a belt or shoulder type; any holster that securely holds the firearm meets the requirement.

Concealed carry has no holster mandate. A handgun in a waistband, bag, or pocket is fine so long as no one can see it. The moment it becomes visible, the holster rule applies.

Places Where Carry Is Still Off-Limits

Constitutional carry does not override location-based prohibitions. Texas Penal Code Section 46.03 lists places where possessing a firearm is illegal regardless of license, and violations are generally third-degree felonies carrying two to ten years in prison and fines up to $10,000.³⁴ The prohibited locations include:

Any public or private K-12 school premises, school-sponsored activity grounds, or school buses. Licensed carriers may carry concealed on postsecondary campuses, but permitless carriers cannot.
Polling places, whether on Election Day or during early voting
Government courts and offices used by the court, unless written authorization is given
Racetrack premises
High school, collegiate, or professional sporting events, unless the firearm is part of the event
Secured airport areas past TSA security checkpoints. A firearm can go in checked luggage if it is unloaded, in a locked hard-sided case, and declared at the airline counter.⁵
Bars and 51-percent establishments, meaning businesses that earn at least 51 percent of their revenue from on-premises alcohol sales. These must post a red “51%” notice at their entrance.
Correctional and civil commitment facilities
Hospitals and nursing homes, unless you have written authorization from the facility’s administration
Within 1,000 feet of a designated execution location on the day a sentence is to be carried out, if notice was provided

One detail that trips people up: “premises” under Section 46.03 means the building or a portion of the building. It does not include the parking lot, driveway, sidewalk, or parking garage.³ A handgun locked in your car in a hospital lot is a different situation from one carried into the hospital building. Specific facilities may still post signs covering their parking areas under separate trespass provisions, so read what’s on the door.

Private Property Signs

Property owners can ban firearms, and the sign that matters for a permitless carrier is a Section 30.05 criminal trespass sign. Ignore a posted firearms-prohibition sign and enter the property, and you face a Class C misdemeanor. Section 30.05(d-1) raises the stakes: committing criminal trespass while carrying a firearm bumps the offense to a Class A misdemeanor and can escalate to a state jail felony for repeat offenses at certain locations.⁶ If you are then asked to leave and refuse, the trespass charge compounds the problem.

Two other signs you will see posted on Texas businesses, a 30.06 sign and a 30.07 sign, apply only to License to Carry holders.⁷⁸ To exclude permitless carriers, the property needs a 30.05 firearms-prohibition sign. Some businesses post all three. When in doubt, any posted “no firearms” message means you should not enter with one.

In Your Car and at Work

Texas has allowed handguns in vehicles for years, and constitutional carry carried those protections forward. If you are 21 or older and legally permitted to possess a firearm, you can keep a loaded handgun in your vehicle, concealed in a glove compartment, console, bag, or under a seat.¹ If the handgun is in plain view inside the vehicle, it must be in a holster, same as when carrying on foot. A handgun sitting bare on the passenger seat violates the law. The same rules apply to watercraft you own or control.

Your employer cannot stop you from storing a firearm or ammunition in your locked, privately owned vehicle in the company parking lot. Texas Labor Code Section 52.061 protects license holders and anyone who lawfully possesses a firearm or ammunition.⁹ An employer can still prohibit firearms inside the building. The vehicle has to be yours, not a company car, and it has to be locked.

Dealing With Police

Permitless carriers have no license to display, so the requirement in Government Code 411.205 to produce both a driver’s license and a handgun license during an officer encounter applies only to LTC holders.¹⁰ Cooperating with officers during any lawful stop still matters. If an officer asks whether you are armed, a straight answer keeps the encounter professional.

An officer who reasonably believes it is necessary for safety can temporarily take your handgun during a lawful stop. The officer must return it before releasing you from the scene, provided you have not committed an offense and do not pose a threat.¹¹ Resisting during these interactions creates new criminal exposure on top of whatever prompted the stop.

Reasons People Still Get a License to Carry

Constitutional carry made the license optional, not pointless. The Texas Department of Public Safety lists several reasons license holders retain real advantages.¹² A few are worth knowing about even if you plan to carry without one.

A Texas LTC is recognized in dozens of other states through reciprocity agreements. Without it, your right to carry stops at the state line.
Carrying a concealed handgun inside public university buildings in Texas still requires a license. Permitless carry does not reach college or university premises.
Federal law makes it illegal to possess a firearm within 1,000 feet of any K-12 school, with an exception for people licensed by the state where the school zone is located. A permitless carrier does not qualify for that exception. In any Texas city, that is a lot of ground.¹³
An LTC can substitute for the federal NICS background check when buying a firearm, speeding up the transaction.
License holders have certain legal protections if they accidentally carry a firearm into a secured airport area.
The LTC itself works as a valid form of personal identification and qualifies as voter ID.

Crossing State Lines

Texas permitless carry has no legal weight once you cross a state line. Every state sets its own rules for who can carry and under what conditions, so check the destination state’s law before you arrive.

Federal law provides a limited safe harbor under 18 U.S.C. § 926A for transporting a firearm through a state where you would otherwise be prohibited from possessing it, but only if you could legally possess the firearm at both your origin and destination. During transport, the firearm must be unloaded and stored where it is not accessible from the passenger compartment. In a vehicle without a separate trunk, it has to be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console.¹⁴ The provision covers transport. Overnight stops or extended stays in a restrictive state may fall outside its protection.

1
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.02 – Unlawful Carrying Weapons
2
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.04 – Unlawful Possession of Firearm
3
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.03 – Places Weapons Prohibited
4
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.34 – Third Degree Felony Punishment
5
Transportation Security Administration. TSA Warns About Frequency of Guns Carried in San Antonio and South Texas Airport Security Checkpoints
6
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Chapter 30
7
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 30.06 – Trespass by License Holder With a Concealed Handgun
8
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 30.07 – Trespass by License Holder With an Openly Carried Handgun
9
State of Texas. Texas Labor Code 52.061 – Restriction on Prohibiting Employee Access to or Storage of Firearm or Ammunition
10
State of Texas. Texas Government Code 411.205 – Requirement to Display License
11
State of Texas. Texas Government Code 411.207 – Authority of Peace Officer to Disarm
12
Department of Public Safety. LTC Benefits
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms