Washington State Gun Laws: Purchases, Carry, and Restrictions

Washington state gun laws protect the right to bear arms under Article I, Section 24 of the state constitution, but they layer substantial purchasing, carrying, and storage requirements on top of that right. If you own, carry, or plan to buy a firearm in Washington, you need to clear a background check and a 10-business-day waiting period on every sale, show recent safety training before a dealer can hand you the gun, be at least 21 to buy a handgun or semiautomatic rifle, and hold a Concealed Pistol License to carry concealed or to carry a loaded handgun in your vehicle. New sales of assault weapons and magazines over 10 rounds are banned, and firearms are off-limits in a long list of locations set by statute. The rules below walk through each piece.

Who Cannot Legally Possess a Firearm

Washington divides firearm possession offenses into two tiers under RCW 9.41.040. The first-degree offense applies to anyone convicted of or found not guilty by reason of insanity for a “serious offense.” That category includes all class A felonies, most class B felonies involving violence or weapons, and specific crimes such as murder, robbery, first- or second-degree assault, and any felony with a deadly weapon enhancement.¹

Second-degree unlawful possession reaches further. It covers anyone convicted of any other felony, plus a growing list of misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor offenses committed against a family or household member or intimate partner. Those offenses include fourth-degree assault, coercion, stalking, reckless endangerment, harassment, and violations of protection or no-contact orders. Since July 2023, additional misdemeanors trigger the ban without a domestic relationship, including cyberstalking, second-degree animal cruelty, and certain repeat impaired-driving offenses.¹

Convictions aren’t the only route to a prohibition. You also cannot possess firearms during any period you are subject to a protection order, no-contact order, or restraining order that restricts your contact with another person or excludes you from a residence. People under extreme risk protection orders and those who have voluntarily waived their firearm rights are likewise barred.¹ Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) adds its own prohibitors, including convicted felons, unlawful drug users, and anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. You have to clear both the state and federal lists to lawfully possess a firearm in Washington.

Age Rules for Buying and Possessing

You must be at least 21 to purchase a handgun or a semiautomatic rifle in Washington. A person under 21 also cannot possess either type of firearm unless they fit a specific exception: participating in a supervised firearms training program, keeping the firearm at their home or place of business, hunting or fishing under a valid license, being supervised by a parent or guardian, traveling with the firearm unloaded in a locked case, using a lawfully operated shooting range, or serving on active military duty.²

If you are 18 to 20, you can generally possess a non-semiautomatic rifle or shotgun without needing one of those exceptions. The 21-and-older requirement applies to all retail purchases of handguns and semiautomatic rifles, with no dealer workaround.

How to Buy a Firearm in Washington

Mandatory Safety Training

Before any dealer can deliver a firearm to you, you must show proof that you completed a recognized firearms safety training program within the past five years.³ The training must cover basic safety rules, firearms and children (including secure storage), suicide prevention, safe handling, state and federal firearms laws, the lawful use of deadly force in self-defense, and techniques for avoiding and managing violent confrontations. The program has to be sponsored by a law enforcement agency, a college or university, a nationally recognized firearms training organization, or a certified training school.

Background Checks on Every Sale

Every firearm sale or transfer in Washington requires a background check, whether the transaction goes through a licensed dealer, happens at a gun show, takes place online, or is between two private individuals. This universal requirement has been in place since Initiative 594 passed in 2014.⁴

For a private sale, both people must go to a licensed dealer, who processes the transaction as if selling from its own inventory. The dealer runs the check, completes the federal and state paperwork, and may charge a fee reflecting the administrative work.⁴

The 10-Business-Day Waiting Period

A dealer cannot deliver any firearm until two conditions are both met: the Washington State Patrol’s Firearms Background Check Program confirms you are eligible, and 10 business days have passed since the dealer requested the check. A quick approval does not shorten the 10-day window.⁵ The State Patrol charges a background check fee capped at $18 by statute.

Guns and Accessories You Can’t Buy Anymore

Assault Weapons

Since April 2023, Washington has prohibited the sale, manufacture, import, and distribution of assault weapons under HB 1240. The definition has two parts. First, it names dozens of specific firearms by model, including the AR-15, AK-47, and SKS in all forms, and various Heckler & Koch, FN, and Springfield Armory models. Second, it covers any semiautomatic centerfire rifle that accepts a detachable magazine and has one or more listed features: a pistol grip independent of the stock, thumbhole stock, folding or telescoping stock, forward grip, flash suppressor, threaded barrel, or grenade launcher. Any semiautomatic rifle under 30 inches in overall length also qualifies.⁶

If you already owned one of these firearms before the ban, you can keep it. The law targets prospective sales rather than existing ownership. Transferring an assault weapon to another Washington resident is restricted, with limited exemptions for inheritance and for sales by licensed dealers to law enforcement or military agencies.

Large-Capacity Magazines

Magazines holding more than 10 rounds cannot be sold, manufactured, imported, or distributed in Washington. The ban covers any feeding device that accepts or can be converted to accept more than 10 rounds, with exceptions for permanently altered magazines, .22 caliber tube magazines, and tubular magazines in lever-action firearms. Possession of previously owned large-capacity magazines remains legal.⁷

Untraceable Firearms

Washington bans the manufacture, assembly, sale, and (since March 2023) knowing possession of untraceable firearms, often called ghost guns. Under RCW 9.41.326, a first violation is a civil infraction with a $500 penalty. A second violation is a misdemeanor. A third or subsequent violation, or possessing three or more untraceable firearms at once, is a gross misdemeanor.⁸ Manufacturing an untraceable firearm with intent to sell is a class C felony under RCW 9.41.190.⁹

Machine Guns, Bump Stocks, and Short-Barreled Firearms

RCW 9.41.190 prohibits possessing, manufacturing, buying, selling, or transporting machine guns, bump-fire stocks, undetectable firearms, short-barreled shotguns, and short-barreled rifles. It also bans any part designed solely for use in those items or for converting a firearm into one. A violation is a class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.⁹¹⁰ Narrow exceptions exist for people federally licensed to produce or repair these items for military or law enforcement use. Federal registration under the National Firearms Act does not override Washington’s outright ban on these items.¹¹

Carrying: Open Carry, Vehicles, and the Concealed Pistol License

Open carry of a handgun or long gun is generally legal in Washington without a permit if you are legally eligible to possess a firearm. Vehicles are the practical catch: carrying a loaded handgun inside a vehicle requires a Concealed Pistol License. Without one, any handgun in your car must be unloaded and stored so that it is not readily accessible. Washington is not a permitless-carry state, so the CPL is still required for concealed handgun carry even for residents moving from states that have adopted constitutional carry.

Washington is shall-issue. The local police chief or county sheriff must issue a CPL to any applicant who meets the legal criteria, within 30 days of application. You must be at least 21, pass a fingerprint-based background check, have no disqualifying convictions or pending charges, and not be subject to a court order prohibiting firearm possession.¹²

A new five-year CPL costs $36, plus any FBI pass-through charges for the fingerprint check. Renewal costs $32 after expiration, or $20 if you file on or before your expiration date. No other government entity may add fees on top.¹² You must carry the CPL on your person whenever you are carrying a concealed handgun. Washington recognizes concealed carry permits from a limited set of other states; because that list changes, visitors should verify their home state’s current standing with the Washington Attorney General’s office before traveling.

Where You Can’t Bring a Firearm

RCW 9.41.300 and related statutes make a long list of locations off-limits to firearms, including for most CPL holders:

K-12 school buildings, school grounds, school-provided transportation, and areas used exclusively for school activities.¹³
Courtrooms, jury rooms, judges’ chambers, and corridors adjacent to court proceedings areas.
Restricted-access areas of jails and law enforcement facilities (common public areas excluded).
Restricted-access areas of inpatient mental health facilities licensed by the Department of Health, but not evaluation-and-treatment-only facilities.
Any portion of a bar or establishment classified by the state Liquor and Cannabis Board as off-limits to people under 21.
Restricted areas of commercial airports beyond the passenger screening checkpoint.
The premises of any library established under chapter 27.12 RCW.
Accredited or certified zoos and aquariums and those participating in species survival plans.
Transit stations and facilities as defined under state transit law.

Washington’s preemption law, RCW 9.41.290, prohibits cities and counties from enacting their own firearms regulations beyond what state law specifically authorizes, so local governments cannot add to this list on their own.¹⁴¹⁵

Demonstrations

Openly carrying a firearm at a permitted demonstration is illegal, as is openly carrying within 250 feet of one after being warned by law enforcement. This covers firearms on your person and in your vehicle. Concealed carry with a valid CPL is explicitly exempt from the demonstration restriction.¹⁵

Safe Storage and Owner Liability

Washington’s safe storage law does not require every gun owner to lock up every firearm at all times. It creates criminal liability when you store or leave a firearm somewhere you know, or should know, that a prohibited person could gain unsupervised access, and that person then obtains it and causes harm.¹⁶

The charge depends on what the prohibited person then does with the firearm. First-degree unsafe storage, charged when the prohibited person causes personal injury or death, is a class C felony with a maximum of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Second-degree unsafe storage, charged when the prohibited person discharges the firearm, brandishes it in a threatening manner in public, or uses it in a crime, is a gross misdemeanor with a maximum of 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.¹⁶¹⁰

If you live with or regularly host someone who cannot legally possess a firearm, whether because of a conviction, a protection order, or age, a locked safe or a trigger lock is the simplest way to avoid criminal exposure. The law punishes foreseeable access, not the prohibited person’s actions alone.

Extreme Risk Protection Orders

Washington’s Extreme Risk Protection Order Act, chapter 7.94 RCW, lets family members, household members, and law enforcement officers petition a court to temporarily remove firearms from someone who poses a serious danger to themselves or others.¹⁷

On evidence of an urgent threat, the court can issue a temporary order immediately without notice to the person. A full hearing follows within 14 days, at which the court decides whether to issue a one-year order. If granted, the person must surrender all firearms and any concealed pistol license to law enforcement for the duration.¹⁷ The person subject to the order can request one hearing to terminate it before it expires, and petitioners can seek renewal if the risk continues past a year. Possessing firearms in violation of an active ERPO is itself a criminal offense that can lead to additional charges under RCW 9.41.040.¹

Restoring Firearm Rights

If you have lost your firearm rights because of a conviction, you can petition a superior court for restoration under RCW 9.41.041, but the eligibility rules are strict. For felony convictions and certain serious misdemeanors (domestic violence, stalking, harassment, and others), you must have spent five consecutive years in the community without any new conviction for a firearm-prohibiting offense. For other nonfelony crimes, the waiting period is three years.¹⁸

You must also have no pending criminal charges, have completed all sentencing conditions other than non-restitution fines, and have no prior felony convictions that would count toward an offender score under the state sentencing guidelines. The prosecuting attorney reviews the petition and can object. The process is not automatic, and a successful state restoration does not restore your rights under federal law if a separate federal prohibition still applies.

1
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.040 – Unlawful Possession of Firearms
2
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.240 – Persons Under Twenty-One, Restrictions on Handgun and Semiautomatic Assault Rifle Possession
3
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.090 – Dealer Deliveries
4
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.113 – Firearm Sales or Transfers
5
Washington State Legislature. HB 1143 House Bill Report
6
Washington State Legislature. House Bill 1240
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Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.370 – Large Capacity Magazines, Exceptions, Penalty
8
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.326 – Untraceable Firearms
9
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.190 – Unlawful Firearms
10
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9A.20.021 – Maximum Sentences for Crimes Committed July 1, 1984, and After
11
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. National Firearms Act
12
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.070 – Concealed Pistol License, Application, Fee, Renewal
13
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.280 – Possessing Dangerous Weapons on School Facilities
14
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.290 – State Preemption
15
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.300 – Weapons Prohibited in Certain Places
16
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.360 – Unsafe Storage of a Firearm
17
Washington State Legislature. Washington State Code 7.94 – Extreme Risk Protection Order Act
18
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.41.041 – Restoration of Firearm Rights