◆ NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS · CARRY LAW
Northern Mariana Islands.
Information, not legal advice. Confirm with the state before you carry.
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◆ THE SHORT ANSWEREvery tile below is one of the answers further down this page, with its citation.
Concealed, no permit
No
Open, no permit
No
In a vehicle, no permit
No
Getting a permit
No permit issued
- A permit is required to buy a firearm, not just to carry one.
◆ CARRYING HERE
What Northern Mariana Islands requires
The state's permit is the Firearm Owner's Identification Card, issued by the Department of Public Safety.
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.
No
No, and no permit exists that would change it. § 10205 gives a closed list of places you may carry at all: your own home or land, another person's dwelling as an invited guest, a range, while hunting or fishing under license, your place of business, or in lawful transport. Public carry is not on the list.
Can I carry openly here without a permit?
No
No. § 10205 says nothing about whether a firearm is visible. It limits WHERE you may carry, so open and concealed fail together.
Can I keep a loaded handgun in my car without a permit?
No
No. In a vehicle the firearm must be UNLOADED, and neither it nor the ammunition may be readily accessible from the passenger compartment. A locked container that is not the glove box or console if there is no separate trunk. Getting it wrong is a felony carrying up to ten years.
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.
No permit issued
There is no carry permit in the Commonwealth. The Firearm Owner's Identification Card is a card to OWN, not to carry, and holding one does not add a single place to the § 10205 list.
Can I get this state's permit if I live somewhere else?
No
None, and a visitor cannot simply bring a firearm. Arriving with one as baggage, you must declare it and surrender it to Customs, which releases it only to a licensed vendor and only against a Commonwealth ID card.
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.
21
21 for the ownership card, with exceptions for those serving in or honorably discharged from the Armed Forces and for law enforcement.
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, though the places you may lawfully be armed are so few that the question rarely arises.
No notification duty in 6 CMC div. 10Read at the CNMI Law Revision Commission ↗Checked 10 days ago
How we checked there is no such law
Read the whole of Division 10, the Special Act for Firearms Enforcement. 57 sections, about 157,000 characters. On 2026-09-06 and searched for “inform the officer”, “notify a law enforcement officer” and “shall disclose”. No hits. § 10702 does impose a notification duty, but it runs to the Department of Public Safety about a change in ownership, not to an officer on the street.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.
Required
Yes, and it reaches further than most. You may not acquire or possess a firearm OR ammunition without a current Firearm Owner's Identification Card, which runs three years.
Is there a limit on magazine capacity here?
No limit
No capacity cap as such, but read the assault-weapon ban first, because it does the same work by another route.
No capacity provision in 6 CMC div. 10; see § 10208(a)(5)Read at the CNMI Law Revision Commission ↗Checked 10 days ago
How we checked there is no such law
Searched all 57 sections of Division 10 for “rounds” and “capacity” on 2026-09-06, no round limit anywhere. The word “magazine” appears only inside the § 10101 definition of an assault weapon, where it is part of a features test rather than a number.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.
Sometimes, check the city
There is no preemption provision. The Commonwealth legislates firearms directly and its municipalities are not given a role either way.
No preemption provision in 6 CMC div. 10Read at the CNMI Law Revision Commission ↗Checked 10 days ago
How we checked there is no such law
Searched all 57 sections of Division 10 for “municipal”, “local government” and “ordinance” on 2026-09-06, no hits of any kind.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
No extreme-risk order.
No extreme-risk order in 6 CMC div. 10Read at the CNMI Law Revision Commission ↗Checked 10 days ago
How we checked there is no such law
Searched all of Division 10 for “risk protection”, “extreme risk” and “red flag” on 2026-09-06, no hits. § 10610 does allow the Department to revoke an ownership card for a mental condition posing a clear and present danger, which is the nearest thing the Commonwealth has and is not a court order.◆ RECIPROCITY
Permits Northern Mariana Islands honors
If you are visiting Northern Mariana Islands, this is whether your permit counts here.
Pick a state for the full answer with its citation, or find it in the grid below.
Not honored54
◆ RECIPROCITY, THE OTHER WAY
Where Northern Mariana Islands permits are honored
If you live in Northern Mariana Islands, 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 condition1
Not honored23
◆ 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.
Prohibited
Prohibited. “a silencer, sound suppressor or sound moderator”, named three ways to leave no argument.
Can I possess a short-barreled rifle here?
Prohibited
Prohibited. Short-barreled rifles are named in the ban.
Can I possess a short-barreled shotgun here?
Prohibited
Prohibited. Sawed-off shotguns head the list.
Can I possess a machine gun here?
Federally, civilian possession is limited to pre-1986 registered transferables.
Prohibited
Prohibited outright, with no registered exception.
Can I possess an AOW here?
Legal
Not on the prohibited list, but the CNMI restricts firearms harder than any state, and a rifle or shotgun outside a few calibers is banned outright.
6 CMC § 10208(a)Read at the CNMI Law Revision Commission ↗Checked 10 days ago
How we checked there is no such law
Read 6 CMC § 10208 in full on 2026-09-07 from the Law Revision Commission’s own PDF. Seven enumerated prohibitions, no AOW term among them.◆ 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 Department of Public Safety ↗
- ATF’s index
- Northern Mariana Islands firearm statutes ↗ (PDF)