Alabama Constitutional Carry Laws
Legal information provided is for reference and not legal advice. Consult an attorney for specific legal concerns.
Legal information provided is for reference and not legal advice. Consult an attorney for specific legal concerns.
Even in states with a strong sense of an individual’s constitutional right to bear arms, some regulation is needed to keep the public safe from gun violence.
Alabama gun laws are less strict than many other states, but Alabama still regulates some aspects of firearm ownership and possession. In past years it adopted laws to help reduce access to firearms by those convicted of domestic violence and those suffering from mental illness.
State legislators must balance federal and state prohibitions and regulations with the rights of gun owners. In Alabama, public safety concerns often give way to individual rights to own and possess guns for self-defense, hunting, recreation, and other lawful purposes.
Most discussion of gun control in America today begins with a review of federal and state constitutional provisions that protect the right to bear arms. Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the Second Amendment to grant individuals the right to carry arms in public.
The Court’s rulings state that to uphold a state or local restriction on firearms, the local law must be based on traditional firearms regulations from U.S. history. This has led to court battles in both state and federal courts.
Existing federal law related to firearms places requirements on the legal manufacture, sale, possession, and use of firearms. It bans firearm possession by certain persons such as convicted felons. If someone purchases a firearm from a federally licensed dealer, the dealer must conduct a criminal background check prior to delivering the weapon.
Most background checks involve the federal National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
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In 2022, over the opposition of the Alabama Sheriffs Association, Governor Kay Ivey signed a new law allowing for permitless carry of concealed handguns in the state. Such laws are also known as constitutional carry. They provide that anyone who could legally possess a gun can now carry one concealed on their person without first going through the permit and background check process.
The effect of these laws is unknown. Does being in a permitless carry state empower law-abiding citizens to pack heat or provide less scrutiny to the carrying of arms by prohibited persons?
Alabama law does not contain many hallmarks of modern gun control regulation. There is no assault weapons ban or law against possessing a high-capacity magazine of ammunition. The state imposes no waiting period on buying a gun. It does not provide for universal background checks on all gun purchases.
There is no red flag law designed to assist law enforcement with keeping guns away from those who represent a threat to themselves or others.
Upon adopting its new permitless carry law, Alabama passed regulations to help law enforcement officers when they stop someone who may have a concealed firearm. When police engage a motorist or individual in an investigatory stop, anyone carrying firearms must notify the police upon an inquiry.
They also cannot touch their gun with their hands or fingers from the time of the officer’s approach until the end of the encounter unless instructed to do so by the officer. Violations can result in a Class A misdemeanor charge.
Alabama maintains a process for granting a concealed carry permit for those gun owners who seek reciprocity to carry firearms in other states. Anyone seeking a pistol license applies through their county sheriff’s office. The sheriff’s office can issue a qualified or unlimited license.
You must be an Alabama resident and at least 19 years old to obtain a pistol license. Individuals in U.S. military service (or honorably discharged) or the Alabama National Guard can apply at 18 years old.
Alabama is a “shall issue” state, which means that if you meet the licensing requirements and are not among those prohibited from carrying a gun, the state must issue the license. Other requirements for eligibility of license holders are outlined in the chart below.
Even with broad rights to carry a firearm in public, firearm laws provide restrictions on locations where a person can possess a gun. Gun owners need to avoid carrying a gun in the following locations:
- Police, sheriff, or highway patrol stations
- Courthouses and District Attorney offices
- The primary office of an elected official
- Meetings of city councils and county commissions
- The Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery
- Jails, prisons, and other correctional facilities
- Facilities for treatment for those with psychiatric, mental, or emotional disorders
- Schools (prohibits carry with intent to do harm, with exceptions)
- School-related athletic events
- At a demonstration in a public place (except law enforcement)
- Workplaces where firearms are banned by employers (but not employees’ motor vehicles)
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The following table describes Alabama’s main gun control laws, with helpful links to each of the relevant codes and plain language explanations for frequently asked questions.
- Firearms that have had their manufacturing number altered or removed
- Short-barreled shotguns and short-barreled rifles (unless in compliance with federal law)
- Brass or steel Teflon-coated handgun ammunition
There is no waiting period for the purchase of a firearm in Alabama.
The following persons may not possess or own a firearm:
- Anyone who has been convicted of committing, or attempting to commit, a crime of violence, a misdemeanor offense of domestic violence, or one of the felonious violent offenses specifically listed in the criminal statute
- Those under a domestic abuse protection order
- Individuals found to be of unsound mind based on incompetency, mental illness, marked subnormal intelligence, lack of mental capacity, or being a danger to oneself or others
- Defendants in criminal cases found to be insane, not guilty by reason of mental illness, or mentally unfit to stand trial
- Those who have been involuntarily committed for a final commitment of inpatient care to the Department of Mental Health or a Veterans Administration
- Drug addicts
- “Habitual drunkards”
- Minors under 18 years of age
- Noncitizens that are illegally and unlawfully in the U.S.
- Those banned under federal law
Alabama does not require a license to purchase or own a gun.
No. Alabama does not require a license to carry a concealed firearm in public. Anyone who is not under a state or federal prohibition from possession can carry a concealed firearm in the state. There may be location restrictions. Alabama maintains a concealed carry license for reciprocity with other states.
Yes. Open carry is allowed. Handguns must be secured, such as in a holster. The state of Alabama bans the carrying of a rifle or a shotgun walking cane. Again, there may be location restrictions.
To be eligible for a pistol license, you must:
- Be a resident of Alabama
- Be at least 19 years old (Members of the military and National Guard may apply at age 18)
- Pass a criminal background check
- Have not been found by a court in a criminal case to be guilty but mentally ill; not guilty by reason of insanity; or not guilty due to mental disease or defect
- Have not been declared incompetent to stand trial in a criminal case
- Have not asserted a defense of not guilty by reason of insanity or mental disease or defect
- Have not been found not guilty by reason of lack of mental responsibility under the Uniform Code of Military Justice
- Have not required involuntary inpatient treatment or involuntary commitment in a psychiatric hospital or similar treatment facility
- Have not required involuntary outpatient treatment in a psychiatric hospital or similar treatment facility based on a finding of imminent danger to self or others
- Have not been the subject of a prosecution or commitment or incompetency proceeding that could lead to prohibition on firearm possession under state or federal law
- Have not falsified any portion of the permit application
- Have not otherwise caused justifiable concern for public safety
State law does not ban possession of machine guns. Federal law prohibits the possession of most machine guns made after May 19, 1986, outside of the military and law enforcement.
