If you’re visiting Wyoming, you can openly carry a firearm without any permit at 18, and you can carry concealed at 21 either under the state’s permitless carry law or with a concealed permit from one of 36 recognized states. Wyoming’s gun laws for out-of-state residents are among the most permissive in the country, but a 2025 law reshuffled which places are off-limits, and the answer for a nonresident depends on whether you’re carrying under a permit or without one.
Open Carry Without a Permit
Wyoming requires no permit, license, or registration to openly carry a handgun or long gun, and visitors are treated the same as residents. You must be at least 18 and not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm.
Federal disqualifications still apply. You cannot carry if you have a felony conviction, are subject to a domestic violence restraining order, have a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction, or are an unlawful user of a controlled substance. Wyoming law separately bars firearm possession by anyone with a violent felony conviction (up to three years in prison and a $5,000 fine) or a nonviolent felony conviction (up to six months in jail and a $750 fine).1Justia. Wyoming Code 6-8-102 – Use or Possession of Firearm by Person Convicted of Certain Felony and Misdemeanor Offenses; Penalties; Exception
State law does not require a holster, but keeping a handgun visibly secured avoids arguments over whether you’re carrying openly or concealed. The distinction matters because concealed carry has its own rules.
Concealed Carry as a Nonresident
You have two legal paths to carry concealed in Wyoming as a visitor: your home-state permit, if Wyoming recognizes it, or no permit at all under permitless carry. Both paths have age and location strings attached.
Permitless Carry
Since July 1, 2021, any U.S. resident who can legally possess a firearm may carry concealed in Wyoming without a permit.2Wyoming Department of Criminal Investigation. Concealed Firearms Permits – Frequently Asked Questions You must be at least 21 and not federally or state-prohibited from possessing firearms. No training, registration, or notice to Wyoming authorities is required.
Permitless carriers face more location restrictions than permit holders. The 2025 changes described below open several previously restricted places to permit holders, but those new exceptions do not apply if you’re carrying without a permit.
Reciprocal Permits
Wyoming recognizes concealed carry permits from 36 states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.3Wyoming DCI. Concealed Firearm Permits Two conditions control recognition: your permit must be valid statewide in the issuing state, and that state must also honor Wyoming permits.
Bring the physical permit and a government-issued ID from your home state. Wyoming’s reciprocity extends only to residents of the issuing state, so a Florida permit held by someone who actually lives in New York would not qualify. If your state is not on the list, you fall back to permitless carry and its location restrictions. Reciprocity can change through legislation, so confirm your state’s status with Wyoming DCI before the trip.
Age Drops to 18 for Permit Holders in 2026
Wyoming passed HB0096 in 2026, lowering the minimum age for a concealed carry permit from 21 to 18, effective July 1, 2026.4Wyoming Legislature. HB0096 Bill Summary Permitless carry still requires you to be 21. Practically, an 18-to-20-year-old visitor can carry concealed in Wyoming only with a valid permit from a reciprocity state.
If an Officer Asks
You do not have to volunteer that you’re carrying during a traffic stop. If an officer asks, answer, and if you’re carrying under a reciprocal permit, produce it along with your ID. Failing to produce a required permit can lead to charges separate from any firearms offense.
Where You Cannot Carry
Even in a permissive state, certain places remain off-limits. A 2025 law (HB0172) narrowed the restricted list for permit holders, so older travel guides may be out of date.5Wyoming Legislature. HB0172 – Repeal Gun Free Zones and Preemption Amendments
Off-Limits to Everyone
Firearms are prohibited in these locations regardless of permit status:
- Law enforcement facilities, unless the chief administrator gives written consent.
- Jails, prisons, and detention centers.
- Courtrooms — only the presiding judge decides who may carry there.
- The portion of an establishment primarily devoted to serving and consuming alcohol. A restaurant’s dining area is not restricted, but the bar itself is, whether or not you’re drinking.
These prohibitions appear in the concealed carry statute and were not touched by HB0172.6Justia. Wyoming Code 6-8-104 – Wearing or Carrying Concealed Weapons; Penalties; Exceptions; Permits
Opened to Permit Holders by HB0172
Effective July 1, 2025, Wyoming permit holders may carry concealed in several places that were previously gun-free zones. Permitless carriers do not receive these expanded privileges. Permit holders can now carry in:5Wyoming Legislature. HB0172 – Repeal Gun Free Zones and Preemption Amendments
- Meetings of any governmental entity, including legislative sessions and committee hearings.
- Any public building not otherwise on the prohibited list.
- Public airport areas not restricted by federal law or regulation.
- Public K–12 school facilities, for Wyoming-issued permit holders. School boards may set rules for employees and volunteers who carry.
- Public college and university campuses and non-alcohol athletic events on public property, for Wyoming-issued permit holders.
The school and campus provisions apply specifically to Wyoming-issued permits. A nonresident carrying under a recognized out-of-state permit is clearly covered by the government-meetings and public-buildings changes, but the school and college exceptions may not extend to you. Treat public schools and campuses as restricted unless you’ve confirmed otherwise with Wyoming DCI or a Wyoming attorney.
Federal Property
Federal law controls on federal property. Post offices and all postal property are strictly off-limits to firearms, open or concealed.7eCFR. 39 CFR 232.1 – Conduct on Postal Property National parks in Wyoming, including Yellowstone and Grand Teton, follow state firearms law on park land, so you can carry there as you would anywhere else in the state. Federal buildings inside those parks — visitor centers, ranger stations, administrative offices — prohibit firearms under 18 U.S.C. § 930.8National Park Service. Firearms in National Parks
Private Property
Business owners can prohibit firearms on their premises. Wyoming does not require a specific sign format, but if a business posts a no-firearms notice or an employee asks you to leave, continuing to carry can lead to trespassing charges. Wyoming’s statewide preemption law bars cities and counties from creating their own firearms rules, so private-property postings are the main source of location restrictions beyond state and federal law.9Justia. Wyoming Code 6-8-401 – Firearm, Weapon and Ammunition Preemption
Firearms in Your Vehicle
Wyoming places no special restrictions on how firearms are stored in a vehicle. You can keep a loaded handgun in the cabin, glove box, or center console without a permit, whether you’re a resident or a visitor.
If Wyoming is one leg of a longer interstate trip, the federal Firearm Owners Protection Act adds a layer of protection. Under 18 U.S.C. § 926A, anyone not prohibited from possessing a firearm may transport it between two places where possession is legal, even through states with stricter laws. During that journey the firearm must be unloaded and not readily accessible, generally meaning locked in a trunk or a separate compartment out of the driver’s reach.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms FOPA protects continuous travel; extended stops in restrictive states can void that protection.
Inside Wyoming, this distinction is academic because the state allows loaded carry in vehicles. When you cross into a neighboring state, store the firearm to FOPA’s standards rather than relying on Wyoming’s permissive rules to carry you across a border.
Self-Defense If You Have to Use It
Wyoming is a stand-your-ground state. If you are attacked anywhere you are lawfully present, you have no duty to retreat before using reasonable defensive force, including deadly force when necessary to prevent imminent death or serious bodily injury to yourself or someone else.11Justia. Wyoming Code 6-2-602 – Use of Force in Self Defense; No Duty to Retreat You cannot be the initial aggressor, and you cannot be engaged in illegal activity at the time.
A castle doctrine presumption also applies. If someone unlawfully and forcibly enters your home, or is trying to remove another person from it against their will, the law presumes you had a reasonable fear of imminent death or serious bodily injury.11Justia. Wyoming Code 6-2-602 – Use of Force in Self Defense; No Duty to Retreat The reasonableness standard still governs: the force used must be what a reasonable person in similar circumstances would judge necessary, and no more. These rules do not distinguish between residents and visitors.
Penalties for Getting It Wrong
Carrying concealed without legal authorization — meaning you don’t qualify under permitless carry and don’t hold a recognized permit — is a misdemeanor on a first offense, punishable by up to six months in jail, a fine up to $750, or both. A second or subsequent offense becomes a felony carrying up to two years in prison and a $2,000 fine.6Justia. Wyoming Code 6-8-104 – Wearing or Carrying Concealed Weapons; Penalties; Exceptions; Permits
Carrying into a statutorily prohibited location — a courtroom, law enforcement facility, detention center, or bar area — falls under the same penalty structure. The location violation is treated as unauthorized concealed carry.
Possession after a felony conviction is handled separately. A violent felony conviction makes any firearm possession a felony punishable by up to three years and $5,000. A nonviolent felony conviction makes possession a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months and $750.1Justia. Wyoming Code 6-8-102 – Use or Possession of Firearm by Person Convicted of Certain Felony and Misdemeanor Offenses; Penalties; Exception A federal violation on federal property, such as bringing a firearm into a post office, carries its own penalties independent of any state charge.