◆ NEW JERSEY · CARRY LAW
New Jersey.
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
No
Open, no permit
No
In a vehicle, no permit
No
Getting a permit
Yes, shall-issue
- Magazine capacity is capped here.
- A permit is required to buy a firearm, not just to carry one.
- This state has an extreme-risk protective order law.
◆ CARRYING HERE
What New Jersey requires
The state's permit is the Permit to Carry a Handgun, issued by your local police chief, or the State Police superintendent.
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. Carrying a handgun without a New Jersey permit is a crime of the SECOND DEGREE. The same grade as aggravated assault. No out-of-state permit helps you.
Can I carry openly here without a permit?
No
No. New Jersey’s permit governs carrying a handgun at all. Openly or hidden makes no difference to whether you need one.
Can I keep a loaded handgun in my car without a permit?
No
No, and this is the one that gets visitors arrested. Without a New Jersey permit the gun must be UNLOADED and in a closed, fastened case or locked in the trunk, and you must be on one of the specific journeys the statute lists. Home, a move, a dealer, a gunsmith, a range, or hunting. Detours only as strictly necessary.
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 since 2022, when the “justifiable need” test was struck. It is still the most demanding application in the country. References, training with live fire, fees, and a long list of places the permit does not reach.
Can I get this state's permit if I live somewhere else?
Yes
Yes. A non-resident applies to the Superintendent of the State Police rather than to a local police chief. A different door, not a closed one.
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.
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 statute requires you to announce it. Answer honestly if you are asked, and carry the permit.
No duty-to-inform provision in N.J. Stat. § 2C:58-4Read at FindLaw ↗, not the statuteChecked 11 days ago
How we checked there is no such law
Read § 2C:58-4, the permit section where such a duty would sit, on 2026-09-05. The only disclosure language in it concerns brief incidental exposure of a holstered handgun, not telling an officer. No notification provision appears.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, for everything. A permit to purchase for each handgun, and a firearms purchaser identification card for a rifle or shotgun. Both come from the police before you can buy at all.
Is there a limit on magazine capacity here?
Only in some cases
10 rounds. A magazine that can hold more is a crime to possess, with narrow registered exceptions, and the limit follows the magazine, not the gun.
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
Weak. New Jersey has no general preemption statute, and § 40:48-1(18) expressly lets a municipality regulate the sale and use of firearms. Towns have passed their own sensitive-place ordinances. Check the town.
Does this state have a red-flag law?
An extreme risk protection order lets a court order firearms surrendered temporarily.
Yes, this state has one
Yes. Since 2019 a family or household member, or law enforcement, may petition a court to order firearms surrendered.
N.J. Stat. §§ 2C:58-20 et seq.; Extreme Risk Protective Order Act of 2018Read at FindLaw ↗, not the statuteChecked 11 days ago
◆ RECIPROCITY
Permits New Jersey honors
If you are visiting New Jersey, 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 New Jersey permits are honored
If you live in New Jersey, this is where your permit travels.
Pick a state for the full answer with its citation, or find it in the grid below.
Honored32
Honored, with a condition1
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.
Prohibited
Prohibited. Federal registration does NOT make it lawful here. The exceptions run to police, the military and certain deer-management permits, and a private owner is not on the list.
Can I possess a short-barreled rifle here?
Prohibited
Prohibited. New Jersey folds short rifles into its “sawed-off shotgun” definition, and federal registration is no defense.
Can I possess a short-barreled shotgun here?
Prohibited
Prohibited. A third-degree crime, and federal registration is no defense.
Can I possess a machine gun here?
Federally, civilian possession is limited to pre-1986 registered transferables.
Prohibited
Prohibited in any practical sense. New Jersey law contemplates a state machine gun license, but it is discretionary and effectively never issued to private owners.
Can I possess an AOW here?
Legal
Not banned as a category. But New Jersey’s definitions are wide enough that an AOW is a FIREARM, and a one-handed one is a HANDGUN, so the permit rules follow it everywhere.
No any-other-weapon provision in N.J. Stat. § 2C:39-3; see § 2C:39-1(f), (k)Read at FindLaw ↗, not the statuteChecked 11 days ago
How we checked there is no such law
Read § 2C:39-3 in full on 2026-09-07 (destructive devices, sawed-off shotguns, silencers, defaced firearms, the knife-and-club list, dum-dum and armor-piercing ammunition) and § 2C:39-1’s definitions, searching both for “any other weapon”, “cane gun”, “pen gun”, “wallet gun” and “disguised”. No hit in either.◆ 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
- your local police chief, or the State Police superintendent ↗
- ATF’s index
- New Jersey firearm statutes ↗ (PDF)