North Carolina gun laws: buying, carrying and owning in 2026

North Carolina gun law changed more in 2023 than it had in a century, and a second change has been half-finished since 2025. This guide sets out what the law says as of September 2026, how it affects an order placed with an online store, and where the open questions are. It is general information, not legal advice.

The 2023 repeal of the pistol purchase permit

For almost a hundred years, buying a handgun in North Carolina meant first getting a pistol purchase permit from your county sheriff, or showing a concealed handgun permit instead. Senate Bill 41 of 2023 ended that. The General Assembly overrode the governor's veto on March 29, 2023, and Session Law 2023-8 repealed G.S. 14-402 and the rest of the old permit scheme the same day.

What that means in practice:

No state permit to buy. There is no purchase permit for handguns or long guns, and no state application to fill in before you order.
No waiting period. North Carolina has never had one, and the repeal did not create one. When the federal background check clears, the dealer can hand the gun over.
No state registry. The state keeps no list of who owns what. Dealers keep their own federal records, and sheriffs still keep records of permits they issue.
Private sales. A sale between two residents needs no state permit or check. It is still a crime to sell or give a firearm to someone you know cannot legally possess one.

Buying from a dealer

Every firearm ordered from our catalog ships to a licensed dealer, never to a doorstep. At the counter you show photo identification, complete ATF Form 4473 and the dealer runs a check through the federal NICS system. A valid North Carolina concealed handgun permit can be used in place of that check at most dealers, which usually makes the pickup quicker.

Federal law, not state law, sets the ages at a dealer: 18 for rifles and shotguns, 21 for handguns. Ammunition, optics, magazines, cleaning gear and most parts ship straight to your address with no permit and no dealer involved.

Open carry and concealed carry

Open carry of a handgun you may lawfully own has long been legal in North Carolina without any permit, subject to the same off-limits places that apply to everyone. Concealed carry is different: it still requires a concealed handgun permit, issued by the sheriff of the county where you live. The permit guide walks through the course, the fees and the 45-day decision window.

The permit is valid for five years and is honoured across the whole state. North Carolina also recognises valid concealed handgun permits and licences issued by other states under G.S. 14-415.24. Whether another state honours a North Carolina permit changes from year to year, so check the Department of Justice list before a road trip rather than relying on a map you saw online.

Where the 2025 permitless carry bill stands

Senate Bill 50 of 2025, titled Freedom to Carry NC, would allow concealed carry without a permit for adults 18 and older who may legally possess a handgun. The Senate passed it in March 2025 and the House in June 2025. The governor vetoed it on June 20, 2025. The Senate voted to override the veto on July 29, 2025, but the House override vote has been placed on and withdrawn from the calendar repeatedly ever since and has never been taken.

So the position in September 2026 is unchanged: a permit is still required to carry concealed in North Carolina. If the House does override, that will change quickly and with little notice, so check the General Assembly's bill page before you decide to leave the permit in a drawer.

Places that stay off-limits

These restrictions apply to permit holders as well as everyone else:

Schools and campuses. Firearms on educational property are a felony. A permit holder may keep a handgun locked in a closed compartment in a locked vehicle, unlocking the car only to get in or out.
Places of worship that are also schools. Since 2023, a permit holder may carry there outside school operating hours, and at any time inside the building during worship, funerals, weddings and similar services, unless the premises are posted or it is a college.
Courthouses, jails and law enforcement buildings, and buildings housing only state or federal offices.
Bars and places where alcohol is sold and consumed, and any event where an admission fee is charged, unless the owner allows it.
Posted private property. A conspicuous sign is enough to keep permit holders out.
Federal facilities under 18 U.S.C. 922 and the military posts in the state, which set their own rules.

What cities and counties can and cannot do

G.S. 14-409.40 preempts local gun regulation. Raleigh, Charlotte, Greensboro and every county are barred from regulating possession, ownership, storage, transfer, sale, purchase, licensing, taxation, manufacture, transportation or registration of firearms and ammunition. Local governments keep a short list of powers: ordinary commercial zoning, rules for their own employees, and the power to prohibit firearms in their own buildings, on the parking lots serving them and in public parks and recreation areas. Even there, a firearm stored in a locked vehicle is protected. If you carry, read the signs at the park gate rather than assuming.

Magazines, rifles and other hardware

North Carolina sets no limit on magazine capacity and has no state ban on semi-automatic rifles or on the features that some other states restrict, so standard-capacity magazines and modern sporting rifles ship into the state normally. Suppressors and other items controlled by the National Firearms Act are legal to own here when the federal paperwork is done, and North Carolina allows suppressors for hunting. If you are shipping to another state, that state's rules apply, not ours.

Hunting and transport

The Wildlife Resources Commission sets what you may hunt with and when, and those rules are separate from carry law. Sunday hunting with a firearm is allowed, but not between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., and not within 500 yards of a place of religious worship. Deer dates and legal firearms are covered in the deer season guide, and non-toxic shot and plug rules in the dove and waterfowl guide.

Ordering from us

Pick your firearm, choose a dealer near home at checkout, and we ship it there. City-by-city notes on dealers, zones and ranges are in the city directory, and the Triangle specifics are in the Raleigh buying guide.

General information, not legal advice. Current as of September 2026. Laws change; check the official source before you act.