Unlawfully Carrying a Weapon in Texas: Offenses and Penalties

In Texas, unlawfully carrying a weapon means carrying a handgun in a way the Penal Code forbids, whether because of who you are, where you are, or how the gun is on your person. Permitless carry under the 2021 Firearm Carry Act did not repeal those rules.¹ Chapter 46 still draws the lines, and crossing one can mean anything from a Class A misdemeanor to a second-degree felony with a mandatory five-year prison sentence.

When Carrying a Handgun Becomes Unlawful

Permitless carry is limited to adults 21 and older who are not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm under state or federal law.² Anyone younger than 21 who carries a handgun off their own property or outside their own vehicle commits an offense under Section 46.02, even with a clean record.

Recent criminal history also disqualifies you. A conviction in the last five years for assault causing bodily injury, deadly conduct, a terroristic threat, or displaying a firearm in a manner calculated to alarm bars you from carrying in public, even though those offenses may have been misdemeanors.²

Section 46.04 adds a longer list of people who cannot possess a firearm at all. A felony conviction bars possession for the first five years after release from confinement or community supervision, whichever comes later; after that, a convicted felon may possess a firearm only at the place where they live.³ A Class A misdemeanor conviction for assault against a family or household member triggers a five-year ban starting from the later of jail release or the end of community supervision. Anyone subject to a protective order under the Family Code or Code of Criminal Procedure cannot possess a firearm while the order is in effect, with a narrow carve-out for full-time peace officers. Members of criminal street gangs commit a separate Class A misdemeanor by carrying a handgun in a motor vehicle or watercraft under Section 46.04(a-1).

Federal law stacks on top of all of this. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), categories including felons, people adjudicated as mentally defective, users of controlled substances, certain non-citizens, people under qualifying protective orders, and anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence are prohibited from possessing firearms nationwide.⁴ The federal domestic violence ban is a lifetime one, which goes well beyond the Texas five-year window. Marijuana use is also disqualifying federally, including use authorized under a state medical program, because marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance. You can be legal under Texas law and in violation of federal law at the same time.

Where You Cannot Carry

Section 46.03 criminalizes carrying a firearm in certain places no matter your age, your license status, or your eligibility for permitless carry.⁵ Most of these are third-degree felonies:

K-12 school premises, school buses, and grounds where a school-sponsored activity is happening. Public universities allow licensed concealed carry on campus but generally do not allow unlicensed permitless carry.
Government courts and offices used by the court.
Businesses that derive 51 percent or more of their gross receipts from on-premises alcohol sales, which must post notice under the Alcoholic Beverage Code.⁶
Secured areas of airports.
Licensed racetracks.
Within 1,000 feet of a designated execution site in the 12 hours before and after a scheduled execution, if you received notice.
Correctional facilities.
Amusement parks.

Carrying in a hospital, nursing facility, mental hospital, or civil commitment facility without written authorization from the administration is a Class A misdemeanor rather than a felony, but a Class A still carries up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.⁵

Federal buildings sit outside the Texas framework entirely. Post offices, Social Security offices, VA hospitals, federal courthouses, and any building owned or leased by the federal government for official duties are governed by 18 U.S.C. § 930, which carries up to a year in federal prison, or five years if you intended to use the weapon in a crime.⁷ A Texas LTC does not exempt you.

The Federal School Zone Trap

Federal law makes it a crime to possess a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school zone. One of the main exceptions is holding a license issued by the state where the zone is located.⁸ A permitless carrier does not have that license and does not get the exception. Driving past a school with a handgun in the car can therefore be a federal offense even when the carry is legal under Texas law. Getting a Texas LTC closes that gap.

How You Must Carry

Texas regulates the manner of carry, and getting it wrong is its own offense.

A visible handgun in public or in a vehicle must be in a holster. Texas law does not require a particular retention level, but any carrier 21 or older who openly carries a handgun or has one visible in a motor vehicle or watercraft without a holster commits an offense under Section 46.02(a-5).² A concealed handgun in a vehicle does not need to be holstered.

You cannot carry while intoxicated. Texas defines intoxication as lacking normal use of mental or physical faculties due to alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, or a combination, or as a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more.⁹ The prohibition applies when you are away from your own property and not in or heading directly to your own vehicle.²

Displaying a firearm in public in a manner calculated to alarm is a separate offense under the disorderly conduct statute. Brandishing, waving a gun, or using it to intimidate qualifies; you do not have to fire or point the weapon.¹⁰

Private Property Signs and Verbal Notice

Property owners and businesses can ban firearms through posted notice or by telling you directly. Three trespass statutes do the work.¹¹ Section 30.05 is the general trespass provision and can be used to ban all firearms, including long guns. Section 30.06 bans concealed carry by license holders on posted property. Section 30.07 bans open carry by license holders on posted property. Sections 30.06 and 30.07 have specific statutory rules for sign language and display. Verbal or written notice given directly to the carrier also counts. Ignoring a valid sign or a direct warning is criminal trespass.

Penalties by Offense Level

The penalty depends on which rule you broke.

Class A Misdemeanor

The default penalty for violating Section 46.02 is a Class A misdemeanor: up to a year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000.²¹² This covers carrying under 21, carrying while intoxicated, open or visible-in-vehicle carry without a holster, and gang members carrying in a vehicle. Violations of Section 46.04(b) or (c), including the family violence and protective order prohibitions, are also Class A misdemeanors.³

Third-Degree Felony

Carrying in most Section 46.03 locations is a third-degree felony: two to ten years in prison and a possible fine of up to $10,000.⁵¹³ Schools, courts, 51% establishments, secured airport areas, racetracks, and execution facilities fall in this tier. Possessing a firearm after a felony conviction during the initial five-year restricted period is also a third-degree felony.³

Second-Degree Felony

The harshest carry penalty applies when a person already prohibited under Section 46.04(a) because of a prior felony carries a handgun in public. That is a second-degree felony with a minimum of five years in prison, a maximum of twenty, and a fine of up to $10,000.²¹⁴ The five-year floor is mandatory; a judge cannot sentence below it.

What a Conviction Costs Beyond the Sentence

A felony conviction permanently restricts your firearm rights under the Section 46.04 structure. A Class A misdemeanor tied to family violence triggers the five-year state prohibition and potentially a lifetime federal ban. Defense costs typically run from a few thousand dollars for a straightforward misdemeanor to $20,000 or more for a contested felony.

Who Is Exempt

Section 46.15 exempts a defined list of people from Sections 46.02 and 46.03. Active peace officers may carry anywhere in the state, on or off duty.¹⁵ Other exempt groups include parole officers acting in official duties, honorably retired law enforcement officers with qualifying credentials, certain prosecutors and judicial officers who hold an LTC, and military members carrying in the course of official duties. Everyone else is bound by the rules above in full.

1
Texas Legislature Online. HB 1927 – Firearm Carry Act of 2021
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
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Identify Prohibited Persons
5
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.03 – Places Weapons Prohibited
6
State of Texas. Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 104.06
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 930 – Possession of Firearms and Dangerous Weapons in Federal Facilities
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
9
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 49.01 – Definitions
10
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 42.01 – Disorderly Conduct
11
Texas State Law Library. Businesses and Private Property – Gun Laws
12
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.21 – Class A Misdemeanor
13
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.34 – Third Degree Felony Punishment
14
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.33 – Second Degree Felony Punishment
15
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.15 – Nonapplicability