Arizona 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.
Arizona gun control laws are among the least restrictive in the United States. In 2010, Arizona was one of the first states to enact a permitless or constitutional carry law. As a result, Arizona allows any person 21 years or older who is not a prohibited possessor to carry a firearm openly or concealed without the need for a concealed weapons permit.
Arizona, like other states, has struggled to prevent mass shootings and gun violence. In 2011, an armed man appeared at a public event at a Tucson area Safeway store parking lot. He shot Gabrielle Giffords, a member of Congress who represented Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, along with 18 others. Six of the victims, including a federal court judge, died from their injuries. Giffords recovered from a gunshot wound to her head after surgery and months of therapy. She later left Congress and founded the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Although lawmakers spoke out against the assassination attempt and loss of life, it did not lead to changes in Arizona gun laws.
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Both federal and state laws address the possession, carrying, and use of firearms. Federal law regulates the ownership and use of certain dangerous weapons, including machine guns and devices like bump stocks, which cause a semi-automatic rifle to fire like a fully automatic weapon. The federal government also licenses firearms dealers and bans the possession of firearms by certain persons like convicted felons and those using illegal drugs. Efforts by both the federal and state governments to regulate firearms must comply with the Second Amendment rights of gun owners to bear arms for lawful purposes such as self-defense.
In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. In Bruen, the Court held gun laws that burden the right to bear arms must be consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. Gun rights advocates have filed new challenges to many federal and state gun regulations, citing the new historical test from Bruen.
In Arizona, the state constitution also protects the right to bear arms. Firearm laws continue to reflect the state’s permissive approach to gun regulation. Arizona does not ban assault weapons. The state has no waiting period or licensing process for the purchase of a firearm. It does not require private gun sales or transfers to include a criminal background check.
States like Arizona that have permitless handgun carry laws operate on the honor system. They presume that citizens know when the law prohibits them from having a firearm and will comply. Such laws have replaced prior concealed carry permit laws that required a person to pass a criminal background check and complete a firearms safety training course before they received permission to carry a concealed firearm.
Even though Arizona is a permitless carry state, it maintains its concealed carry weapons (CCW) permit process for purposes of reciprocity with other states. For that reason, many individuals still seek the issuance of CCW permits. The Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) accepts applications for such permits. Arizona is a “shall issue” state, which means that the DPS must issue a permit to individuals who meet the objective criteria outlined in the statute. You can apply online or by mailing the application packet to the DPS in Phoenix.
Arizona law prohibits taking firearms into the following locations:
- Polling places on election day
- School grounds
- Commercial nuclear hydroelectric generating stations
- Military installations
- Correctional facilities
- Game preserves
- National parks
- Federal buildings
- Airports (secure locations)
- Where federal, state, or local laws prohibit weapons
- On private property or in businesses where the owner or establishment has posted signs prohibiting weapons or asked you to remove them
- At a public establishment or public event after a reasonable request by the operator to remove the weapon and place it in temporary storage
There are often exceptions for peace officers and others authorized by the owner or business. To know if you may qualify for an exception, check the website or call an official in advance for clarification.
The following firearms are illegal to own in Arizona:
- Automatic weapons (firearm capable of shooting one or more shots automatically without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger)
- Rifles with barrels less than 16 inches
- Shotguns with barrels less than 18 inches
- Any firearm made from a rifle or shotgun that has been modified to a length of less than 26 inches
- Devices made or adapted to muffle the report of a firearm
- Defaced deadly weapons
There is no waiting period to purchase a firearm in Arizona.
The following persons can’t own or possess a firearm:
- Anyone with a felony conviction or an adjudication of delinquency for a felony, unless their civil rights have been restored
- Anyone who, at the time of possession, is serving a term of probation, parole, or community supervision for a domestic violence conviction or a felony offense
- Anyone found to constitute a danger to themselves or others or to have a persistent or acute disability or grave disability pursuant to a court order and whose rights to possess a firearm have not been restored
- Anyone who has been found incompetent or “guilty except insane”
- Anyone who is imprisoned or in a correctional/detention facility
- Certain undocumented aliens or nonimmigrant aliens
- Minors (under 18 years old) — exceptions apply when accompanied by a parent, guardian, or grandparent or when engaged in certain activities such as hunting
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You don’t need a license to own or purchase a firearm in Arizona.
You don’t need a license to carry a concealed firearm in Arizona if you are 21 years of age or older and not otherwise prohibited from firearm possession.
Open carry is allowed in Arizona as long as you are 18 years of age or older and not otherwise prohibited from firearm possession.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety will issue you a permit if you:
- Are at least 21 years old
- Are at least 19 years of age with proof of military service
- Are a United States citizen or an Arizona resident
- Are lawfully present in the United States
- Do not have a felony charge or conviction
- Are not a prohibited possessor under state or federal law
- Do not suffer from mental illness
- Have not been adjudicated to be mentally incompetent or committed to a mental institution
- Demonstrate firearm competence
You must also submit two sets of fingerprints and pass a criminal background check. Arizona accepts a valid concealed firearm permit issued by other states if the permit holder is legally present in Arizona and is not otherwise prohibited from owning a firearm under Arizona law.
