◆ PUERTO RICO · CARRY LAW
Puerto Rico.
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
Yes, shall-issue
- A permit is required to buy a firearm, not just to carry one.
◆ CARRYING HERE
What Puerto Rico requires
The state's permit is the Firearms License, issued by the Firearms Licensing Office.
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 the penalty is not a fine. Carrying, transporting or operating a firearm without a license is a felony carrying a FIXED ten-year term, with no suspended sentence and no diversion.
P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 25 § 461 (Weapons Act of 2020, § 6.05)Read at Puerto Rico’s Office of Management and Budget ↗Checked 9 days ago
Can I carry openly here without a permit?
No
No, and open carry is barred even WITH a license. The law requires a licensee to carry concealed and not brandish; an officer may fine you $100 for carrying openly, and a second brandishing revokes the license.
P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 25 § 462a (Weapons Act of 2020, § 2.02(e)(1))Read at Puerto Rico’s Office of Management and Budget ↗Checked 9 days ago
Can I keep a loaded handgun in my car without a permit?
No
No. § 6.05 names transporting alongside carrying, so moving a firearm by car without a license is the same ten-year felony.
P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 25 § 461 (Weapons Act of 2020, § 6.05)Read at Puerto Rico’s Office of Management and Budget ↗Checked 9 days ago
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 the 2020 Act. The Firearms Licensing Office “shall issue firearms licenses to any applicant who meets the following requirements”, and one license covers owning, buying, transporting and carrying.
P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 25 § 462a (Weapons Act of 2020, § 2.02(a), (e))Read at Puerto Rico’s Office of Management and Budget ↗Checked 9 days ago
Can I get this state's permit if I live somewhere else?
Yes
Apparently yes. The license criteria require United States citizenship or lawful residence, and say nothing about living in Puerto Rico.
P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 25 § 462a (Weapons Act of 2020, § 2.02(a)(8))Read at Puerto Rico’s Office of Management and Budget ↗Checked 9 days ago
How we checked there is no such law
Read the full list of license requirements in § 2.02(a) on 2026-09-06 and searched the whole Act for “resident of Puerto Rico”, “bona fide resident” and “domicile”. The only hit for domicile is in a dealer's application form. The subsection is framed as an exhaustive list the Office “shall” issue against, so residence not appearing in it is meaningful, but it is still an absence.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, or 18 if you are sworn in as a member of the Police Bureau, a Municipal Police force, or a Correctional Officer.
P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 25 § 462a (Weapons Act of 2020, § 2.02(a)(1))Read at Puerto Rico’s Office of Management and Budget ↗Checked 9 days ago
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 the Weapons Act of 2020Read at Puerto Rico’s Office of Management and Budget ↗Checked 9 days ago
How we checked there is no such law
Searched the Government's consolidated English text of the whole Act. 58 pages. On 2026-09-06 for a duty to inform or notify an officer. Nothing of the kind appears; the license must be carried, but the Act does not oblige you to announce it.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. The same license. § 2.02(e) makes a valid firearms license the precondition for acquiring, purchasing, owning, possessing, carrying and operating, and ammunition must match a caliber you are licensed for.
P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 25 § 462a (Weapons Act of 2020, § 2.02(e))Read at Puerto Rico’s Office of Management and Budget ↗Checked 9 days ago
Is there a limit on magazine capacity here?
No limit
No general capacity cap.
No capacity provision in the Weapons Act of 2020Read at Puerto Rico’s Office of Management and Budget ↗Checked 9 days ago
How we checked there is no such law
Searched the whole Act on 2026-09-06 for a round limit. The word “magazine” appears only in definitions and in the § 2.16 assault-weapon features test. Where a fixed shotgun magazine holding more than five cartridges is one FEATURE among several, not a limit in itself.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
The Weapons Act contains no preemption clause. It regulates firearms for the whole Commonwealth directly.
No preemption provision in the Weapons Act of 2020Read at Puerto Rico’s Office of Management and Budget ↗Checked 9 days ago
How we checked there is no such law
Searched the Act on 2026-09-06 for “municipal ordinance”, “no municipality” and “ordinance”, no hits.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 in the Weapons Act.
No extreme-risk order in the Weapons Act of 2020Read at Puerto Rico’s Office of Management and Budget ↗Checked 9 days ago
How we checked there is no such law
Searched the consolidated Act on 2026-09-06 for “extreme risk”, “risk protection” and “red flag”, no hits. § 2.02(a)(7) does bar a license to someone under a harassment or stalking order, which is a licensing bar rather than a seizure order.◆ RECIPROCITY
Permits Puerto Rico honors
If you are visiting Puerto Rico, 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 Puerto Rico permits are honored
If you live in Puerto Rico, 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, and severely: possessing, selling, lending or delivering any device to silence a firearm is a felony with a FIXED twelve-year term.
P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 25 §§ 462o, 466i (Weapons Act of 2020, §§ 2.16(c), 6.10)Read at Puerto Rico’s Office of Management and Budget ↗Checked 9 days ago
Can I possess a short-barreled rifle here?
Legal
No barrel-length rule for rifles, so with a license this turns on federal law, not Puerto Rico law. But check § 2.16 first: the assault-weapon rules catch far more than barrel length does.
No barrel-length provision for rifles in the Weapons Act of 2020Read at Puerto Rico’s Office of Management and Budget ↗Checked 9 days ago
How we checked there is no such law
Searched the Act on 2026-09-06 for “short-barrel”, “sawed-off” and “barrel of less”. The only barrel-length rule is for shotguns, in § 6.09, which reaches a sawed-off shotgun of less than eighteen inches. The § 1.02 definition of “rifle” sets no minimum length.Can I possess a short-barreled shotgun here?
Prohibited
Prohibited. A sawed-off shotgun under eighteen inches carries a FIXED twenty-four-year term, up to thirty-six with aggravation.
P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 25 § 466h (Weapons Act of 2020, § 6.09)Read at Puerto Rico’s Office of Management and Budget ↗Checked 9 days ago
Can I possess a machine gun here?
Federally, civilian possession is limited to pre-1986 registered transferables.
Prohibited
Prohibited. A machine gun or any firearm capable of automatic fire is a FIXED twenty-four-year term, and so is any part that converts a firearm to automatic fire.
P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 25 §§ 466h, 462o (Weapons Act of 2020, §§ 6.09, 2.16)Read at Puerto Rico’s Office of Management and Budget ↗Checked 9 days ago
Can I possess an AOW here?
Legal
Not on the prohibited list, but Puerto Rico licenses every firearm and bans semi-automatic long guns, carbines and rifles outright without authorization. The AOW is the least of it.
P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 25 § 466h (Ley 168-2019, art. 6.09)Read at Puerto Rico’s Office of Management and Budget ↗Checked 9 days ago
How we checked there is no such law
Searched the full Act on 2026-09-07 for “cualquier otra arma”, “disimulad”, “disfrazad”, “bastón”, “pluma”, “lapicero” and “no reconocible”. The only bastón is a “bastón de estoque”. A sword cane. In the edged-weapons list, not a cane gun.◆ 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 Firearms Licensing Office ↗
- ATF’s index
- Puerto Rico firearm statutes ↗ (PDF)