◆ ARKANSAS · CARRY LAW
Arkansas.
Information, not legal advice. Confirm with the state before you carry.
Kept in this browser only. Never sent to us.
◆ THE SHORT ANSWEREvery tile below is one of the answers further down this page, with its citation.
Concealed, no permit
Yes
Open, no permit
Yes
In a vehicle, no permit
Yes
Getting a permit
Yes, shall-issue
Nothing in Arkansas that most visitors get caught by, but read the answers below before you rely on that.
◆ CARRYING HERE
What Arkansas requires
The state's permit is the Concealed Handgun Carry License, issued by the Division of Arkansas State Police.
Carrying without a permit3
Can I carry concealed here without a permit?
Permitless or "constitutional" carry. "Limited" means some adults qualify and others do not. Read the qualifier.
Yes
Yes. Arkansas took a route no other state took: it left the offense on the books and added a state of mind to it. Carrying is only a crime if you carry “with a purpose to attempt to unlawfully employ” the weapon against a person.
Can I carry openly here without a permit?
Yes
Yes, on exactly the same terms. The offense says nothing about whether the handgun is visible. Only about what you mean to do with it.
Can I keep a loaded handgun in my car without a permit?
Yes
Yes, and the statute helps you: in your own vehicle you are PRESUMED to be carrying with a lawful purpose.
Permits and age3
If I want this state's permit, will they issue one?
Shall-issue means the state must issue to any qualified applicant. May-issue leaves it to an official's discretion.
Yes, shall-issue
Shall-issue, from the State Police, with a training course and fingerprints. Worth having for reciprocity elsewhere even though Arkansas asks nothing of you at home.
Can I get this state's permit if I live somewhere else?
No
None. The license requires residence in Arkansas. Visitors do not need one, since Arkansas asks no license of anybody.
How old do I have to be to carry here?
The floor for the least restrictive lawful route. Where permitless and permit ages differ, the qualifier says so.
18
18. The carrying offense has no age element at all; the floor comes from a separate section that bars anyone under 18 from possessing a handgun.
If an officer stops you1
Do I have to tell an officer I am armed?
"Required" means you must volunteer it on contact. "On request" means only when asked.
Not required
No duty to volunteer that you are armed.
No notification duty in Ark. Code §§ 5-73-101 to 5-73-211 or subch. 3Read at the Arkansas Legislature ↗Checked 10 days ago
How we checked there is no such law
Searched the Legislative Council’s full compilation of §§ 5-73-101 to 5-73-211 and its summary table covering every concealed-carry statute in subchapter 3 for “notify”, “inform” and “disclose” on 2026-09-06. The only hits are a licensee’s duty to notify the State Police of a lost license and a health-records confidentiality rule. Neither is a duty owed to an officer.Buying and owning2
Do I need a state-issued card just to own or buy a firearm here?
Illinois' FOID is the main example. Distinct from a carry permit.
Not required
No permit to buy, and no state waiting period.
No purchase-permit provision in Ark. Code ch. 5-73Read at the Arkansas Legislature ↗Checked 10 days ago
How we checked there is no such law
Read the compilation of §§ 5-73-101 to 5-73-211 on 2026-09-06. Arkansas licenses CARRYING in subchapter 3 and creates no permit to acquire anywhere in the chapter.Is there a limit on magazine capacity here?
No limit
No limit.
No magazine-capacity provision in Ark. Code ch. 5-73Read at the Arkansas Legislature ↗Checked 10 days ago
How we checked there is no such law
Read the compilation of §§ 5-73-101 to 5-73-211 on 2026-09-06. The chapter regulates possession, places and machine guns; nothing in it speaks to magazine capacity.How the state governs guns2
Can a city here write its own gun rules on top of the state's?
Full preemption means state law is the only law. Partial means some cities may go further. Check locally.
No, state law is the only law
Yes, and it was widened in 2025. Counties and cities may not regulate firearms, ammunition, components, or now knives either.
Ark. Code §§ 14-16-504(b)(1)(A), 14-54-1411(b)(1)(A)Read at the Arkansas Legislature ↗Checked 10 days ago
Does this state have a red-flag law?
An extreme risk protection order lets a court order firearms surrendered temporarily.
No, none in this state
None. A bill to create one was withdrawn by its own author in 2025.
No extreme-risk order in Arkansas law; HB1033 (2025) withdrawnRead at the Arkansas Legislature ↗Checked 10 days ago
How we checked there is no such law
Checked the status of HB1033 of the 2025 Regular Session, “to create the Arkansas Red Flag Law”, on 2026-09-06: withdrawn by author on 15 April 2025 and recommended for interim study. A bill introduced to CREATE such an order is the cleanest available evidence that none existed, and its withdrawal is evidence none was created.◆ RECIPROCITY
Permits Arkansas honors
If you are visiting Arkansas, this is whether your permit counts here.
Pick a state for the full answer with its citation, or find it in the grid below.
Honored54
◆ RECIPROCITY, THE OTHER WAY
Where Arkansas permits are honored
If you live in Arkansas, this is where your permit travels.
Pick a state for the full answer with its citation, or find it in the grid below.
Honored30
Honored, with a condition3
Not honored21
◆ NFA ITEMS
Suppressors and NFA legality
Federal registration is required everywhere these are legal. A state can prohibit them regardless, and several do.
Can I possess a suppressor here?
Federal NFA registration is required everywhere it is legal. State law can prohibit it regardless.
Legal
Legal under state law; the federal transfer rules are all that apply.
No silencer provision in Ark. Code ch. 5-73Read at the Arkansas Legislature ↗Checked 10 days ago
How we checked there is no such law
Searched the compilation of §§ 5-73-101 to 5-73-211 for “silencer”, “muffler” and “suppressor” on 2026-09-06, no hits. The machine gun is the only National Firearms Act item Arkansas legislates about at all.Can I possess a short-barreled rifle here?
Legal
Legal under state law; federal rules apply.
No short-barreled rifle provision in Ark. Code ch. 5-73Read at the Arkansas Legislature ↗Checked 10 days ago
How we checked there is no such law
Searched the same compilation for “sawed-off” and “short-barrel” on 2026-09-06, no hits.Can I possess a short-barreled shotgun here?
Legal
Legal under state law; federal rules apply.
No short-barreled shotgun provision in Ark. Code ch. 5-73Read at the Arkansas Legislature ↗Checked 10 days ago
How we checked there is no such law
Same search as the short-barreled rifle row, on 2026-09-06. Arkansas draws no barrel-length line anywhere in the chapter.Can I possess a machine gun here?
Federally, civilian possession is limited to pre-1986 registered transferables.
Legal
Legal to possess, but read the presumption. A machine gun found somewhere that is not your home or business is PRESUMED to be held for an offensive purpose, which carries at least ten years.
Can I possess an AOW here?
Legal
Legal under state law; federal rules apply.
No “any other weapon” provision in Ark. Code ch. 5-73Read at the Arkansas Legislature ↗Checked 10 days ago
How we checked there is no such law
Read the whole of the compilation on 2026-09-06. Subchapter 2 reaches machine guns as defined in § 5-73-202(2) and nothing else; no provision answers to the federal “any other weapon” category.◆ SOURCES
Where this comes from
This is information, not legal advice. Gun law changes often and the penalty for getting it wrong is criminal. Confirm every answer with the state before you carry there.
- The authority
- the Division of Arkansas State Police ↗
- ATF’s index
- Arkansas firearm statutes ↗ (PDF)