Washington State Gun Laws: Purchase, Carry, and Storage

Washington state gun laws set some of the tightest firearm rules in the country. To own a gun here, you have to be legally eligible, pass a background check on every purchase (including private sales), complete a recognized safety course, wait up to 10 business days, and be at least 21 for any pistol or semiautomatic rifle. Once you own the gun, the state limits what you can buy going forward, where you can carry, and how you must store it at home.

Who Cannot Legally Own a Firearm

Washington bars several categories of people from possessing any firearm at all. A conviction for a serious offense — all class A felonies and many class B felonies such as robbery, assault, and burglary — triggers first-degree unlawful possession if you’re later caught with a gun. A broader set of felony convictions and certain domestic violence misdemeanors, including fourth-degree assault, coercion, stalking, and reckless endangerment against a family or household member, fall under second-degree unlawful possession.¹

People who have been involuntarily committed for mental health treatment, those subject to a domestic violence protection order, and anyone under a harassment no-contact order are also prohibited. The penalties are steep. First-degree unlawful possession is a class B felony carrying up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. Second-degree is a class C felony with up to 5 years and a $10,000 fine.¹

Firearm rights aren’t always lost forever. A pardon or annulment removes the prohibition, and people convicted of less serious disqualifying offenses can petition the court to restore their rights under RCW 9.41.041 after a conviction-free waiting period. That period must be the consecutive years immediately before filing, so any newer conviction resets the clock. Certain violent crimes — murder, manslaughter, robbery, rape, kidnapping, arson — cannot be restored through the petition process.¹

Buying a Gun in Washington

Background Checks on Every Sale

Washington requires a background check on every firearm sale or transfer, including private transactions between two unlicensed individuals. If neither party is a licensed dealer, the sale has to be routed through a dealer who runs the check and processes the federal paperwork as if selling from their own inventory. The dealer can charge for the service. Transfers between immediate family — spouses, domestic partners, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews — are exempt.²

The Washington State Patrol runs a centralized background check program that cross-references state and federal databases.³ The statute caps the fee at $18 per purchaser.⁴

Age, Training, and Waiting Period

You must be at least 21 to buy a pistol from a dealer under federal law, and at least 21 to buy any semiautomatic assault rifle under Washington law.⁵ The state’s definition of “semiautomatic assault rifle” is broad: it covers any rifle that uses the energy of a fired cartridge to cycle the action and requires a separate trigger pull for each shot.⁶ A basic Ruger 10/22 falls under that label just as much as a tactical rifle does. Manually operated firearms — bolt-action, pump, lever, slide-action — are excluded, along with antiques and permanently inoperable firearms.

Before a dealer can process the sale, you must show proof of completing a recognized firearm safety training course within the previous five years. Then you wait. A dealer cannot release the firearm until the requirements in RCW 9.41.092 are satisfied, which in practice means up to 10 business days.⁷ If the background check hasn’t cleared by then, the dealer holds the firearm.

Every dealer sale also requires ATF Form 4473, the federal transaction record. It asks whether you’re the actual buyer, whether you have felony convictions, whether you’re a fugitive, whether you’re an unlawful user of controlled substances (including marijuana, which remains federally illegal regardless of state law), and whether you’ve been involuntarily committed or are under a domestic violence protection order. Answering dishonestly is a federal crime.⁸

Firearms and Magazines You Cannot Buy

House Bill 1240, signed in 2023, bans the sale, manufacture, and distribution of assault weapons in Washington. The law lists dozens of specific firearms by name — AR-15, AK-47, AK-74, and many others in all their variants — and also captures any semiautomatic, centerfire rifle that accepts a detachable magazine and has one or more listed features, such as a pistol grip independent of the stock, a thumbhole stock, a folding or telescoping stock, a forward grip, a flash suppressor, a muzzle brake, a threaded barrel, or a grenade launcher.⁹

If you already owned one of these firearms before the ban took effect, you can keep it, but you cannot sell, transfer, or distribute it to anyone else in Washington. Inheritance across state lines is limited, and selling one at a gun show is flatly illegal.⁹

Magazines follow a similar pattern. Under RCW 9.41.370, no one may sell, manufacture, distribute, or import a magazine that holds more than 10 rounds. Narrow exceptions cover .22 caliber tube-fed magazines, tubular magazines in lever-action rifles, and magazines permanently modified to hold no more than 10 rounds. Existing owners can keep larger magazines for personal use, but selling or transferring one inside Washington is a gross misdemeanor with up to 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.¹⁰

Carrying: Open Carry, Concealed Pistol Licenses, and Reciprocity

Washington allows open carry for anyone who can legally possess a firearm, with no permit required. Concealed carry is different. Washington is a “shall-issue” state, so local law enforcement must grant a concealed pistol license (CPL) to any applicant who qualifies: at least 21, a U.S. citizen, free of felony convictions, and not subject to any outstanding protection order or warrant. The issuing authority has 30 days to process the application.¹¹

The base application fee for a new five-year license is $36, plus additional FBI fingerprint charges. Renewals are $32 plus the FBI surcharge, and late renewals carry a $42 base fee. No other state or local agency can add charges beyond what the statute specifies.¹¹

Reciprocity is narrow. Under RCW 9.41.073, another state’s permit is recognized in Washington only if that state also honors Washington’s CPL, does not issue permits to anyone under 21, and requires a fingerprint-based background check covering criminal and mental health history. As of mid-2025, only about 10 states meet these criteria, including Idaho (enhanced permit only), Kansas (standard license only), Louisiana, North Carolina, and Ohio, among a handful with specific permit-type restrictions.¹² Permitless-carry status from another state does not transfer into Washington. You need an actual permit from a recognized state.

Where Firearms Are Prohibited

Regardless of how you carry, Washington bars firearms in several locations. Under RCW 9.41.300, those include restricted areas of jails and juvenile detention facilities, courtrooms and judges’ chambers in use for judicial proceedings, public and private elementary and secondary schools, restricted areas of public mental health facilities, establishments the liquor and cannabis board has classified as off-limits to people under 21, and restricted areas of commercial airports.¹³

Childcare facilities are also off-limits under RCW 9.41.282, along with school-provided transportation. A first violation on school premises is a misdemeanor; second and subsequent offenses are gross misdemeanors. A conviction for carrying a firearm onto school grounds also triggers an automatic three-year revocation of any CPL you hold.¹⁴

How You Must Store Firearms at Home

Washington imposes criminal liability on gun owners who leave firearms accessible to children or to people prohibited from possessing them. Under RCW 9.41.360, if you live with a minor or a prohibited person and store a firearm where they could reasonably gain access, you face community endangerment charges if that person actually obtains the weapon.¹⁵

The penalties depend on what happens next. First-degree community endangerment is a class C felony, applying when the prohibited person uses the firearm to injure or kill someone, carries it into a school or public assembly, or uses it in a crime. It carries up to 5 years and a $10,000 fine. Second-degree is a gross misdemeanor, applying when the person simply obtains and possesses or displays the firearm, and carries up to 364 days and a $5,000 fine.¹⁵

Acceptable storage methods include a locked gun safe, a locked container, or a trigger or cable lock. If you share a home with anyone who cannot legally possess a firearm, unsecured storage is a gamble that can turn into a felony.

When You Can Use a Gun in Self-Defense

Washington does not have a statute explicitly labeled “stand your ground,” but it also does not impose a general duty to retreat before using force. Under RCW 9A.16.050, deadly force is justified in two situations: when you reasonably believe another person is about to commit a felony or cause you great personal injury and the danger is imminent, or when you are resisting an actual attempt to commit a felony against you or in your home. The right extends to defense of a spouse, parent, child, sibling, or anyone else in your presence.¹⁶

“Reasonable ground” and “imminent danger” do the heavy lifting. A verbal threat alone will not justify lethal force. The force must be proportional to the threat, and a jury will evaluate whether a reasonable person in your position would have responded the same way.

Extreme Risk Protection Orders

Washington’s extreme risk protection order (ERPO) law lets a court temporarily remove firearms from a person who poses a significant danger to themselves or others. If the court finds reasonable cause, it can issue a temporary order requiring the person to immediately surrender all firearms and any CPL to local law enforcement.¹⁷

A temporary order lasts until a full hearing. At the hearing, the court can issue a full ERPO for up to one year, and failing to appear can result in a default order. While the order is in effect, the person cannot purchase, possess, or receive any firearm. The ERPO is a civil proceeding separate from any criminal charge, but violating it carries criminal penalties.¹⁷

Traveling With a Firearm

Federal law offers limited protection for interstate travel. Under 18 U.S.C. § 926A, you can transport a firearm through any state, including Washington, as long as you can legally possess it at both your origin and destination. The firearm must be unloaded, and neither the gun nor the ammunition can be readily accessible from the passenger compartment. In a vehicle without a separate trunk, the firearm must be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or center console.¹⁸

For air travel, TSA requires firearms to be unloaded and packed in a locked, hard-sided container in checked baggage only. You must declare the firearm at the airline ticket counter during check-in. Ammunition can travel in the same locked case if securely packaged. Loaded or unlocked firearms in carry-on baggage are prohibited, and if TSA cannot resolve an alarm on your checked container and cannot reach you, the bag will not be placed on the aircraft.¹⁹

1
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.040 – Unlawful Possession Of Firearms – Penalties
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Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.113 – Background Check Requirement
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Washington State Patrol. Firearms Background Division
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Washington State Legislature. RCW 43.43.580 – Firearms Background Check Program
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Washington State Office of the Attorney General. Initiative 1639
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Washington State Legislature. Chapter 9.41 RCW – Firearms and Dangerous Weapons
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Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.090 – Dealer Deliveries Regulated – Hold On Delivery
8
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Firearms Transaction Record – ATF Form 4473
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Washington State Legislature. Washington State House Bill 1240 – Relating to Establishing Firearms-Related Safety Measures
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Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.370 – Large Capacity Magazines – Exceptions – Penalty
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Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.070 – Concealed Pistol License – Application – Fee – Renewal
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Washington State Office of the Attorney General. Concealed Pistol License Reciprocity
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Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.300 – Weapons Prohibited in Certain Places
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Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.280 – Possessing Dangerous Weapons on School Facilities
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Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.360 – Unsafe Storage of a Firearm
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Washington State Legislature. RCW 9A.16.050 – Homicide – By Other Person – When Justifiable
17
Washington State Legislature. RCW 7.105.330 – Temporary Extreme Risk Protection Orders
18
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms
19
Transportation Security Administration. Firearms and Ammunition