Delaware makes concealed carry a criminal offense unless the carrier holds a license. Under 11 Del. C. § 1442(a), "A person is guilty of carrying a...
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Delaware makes concealed carry a criminal offense unless the carrier holds a license. Under 11 Del. C. § 1442(a), "A person is guilty of carrying a concealed deadly weapon when the person carries concealed a deadly weapon upon or about the person without a license to do so as provided by § 1441 of this title."
That sentence sets the structure of Delaware law. The offense is defined by the absence of a § 1441 license, so the license is what removes the conduct from the reach of § 1442. The Attorney General's office states the same: a Delaware resident who wishes to carry a concealed deadly weapon must have a current CCDW license, applied for through the Superior Court. For how that license is obtained and renewed, see PERMIT_BASICS, APPLICATION_PROCESS, and TRAINING_REQUIREMENTS.
The reach of § 1442 depends on the § 222(6) definition of "deadly weapon," which applies throughout the Criminal Code. That definition is a list, and it is broader than firearms:
Section 222(6)b. supplies the boundary on the knife entry: "ordinary pocketknife" means a knife with a blade not more than 3.75 inches long. A knife with a longer blade, or carried open rather than closed, is not carved out.
Two feeder definitions matter for the grading. Under § 222(13), "firearm" means a weapon from which a shot or other object is designed or may readily be converted to be discharged by force of an explosive, operable or inoperable, loaded or unloaded, and also a firearm frame or receiver. Under § 222(28), "projectile weapon" means a bow, crossbow, or airbow, a weapon designed to project an arrow, crossbow bolt, or spear, or an airgun that discharges a pellet, slug, or bullet larger than .177 caliber.
Delaware's Criminal Code does not define "concealed." Section 222 carries no entry for it and § 1442 does not supply one, so concealment is left to be applied case by case.
The grading is set out in 11 Del. C. § 1442(b): "Carrying a concealed deadly weapon is a class G felony, unless the deadly weapon is a firearm or a projectile weapon, in which case it is a class D felony."
| Weapon carried concealed without a license | Grade under § 1442(b) |
|---|---|
| A firearm or projectile weapon under § 222 | Class D felony |
| Any other deadly weapon in § 222(6) | Class G felony |
Both tiers are felonies. Section 1442 has no misdemeanor tier and no repeat-offense tier; the only fact that moves the grade is the character of the weapon. Amended by 84 Del. Laws, c. 371, § 1 and 84 Del. Laws, c. 525, § 4.
Sentencing exposure comes from 11 Del. C. § 4205(b): up to 8 years to be served at Level V for a class D felony under § 4205(b)(4), and up to 2 years at Level V for a class G felony under § 4205(b)(7).
Section 1442 supplies two affirmative defenses in its own text.
The first is the lapsed-renewal defense in § 1442(c). It is a defense that the defendant has been issued an otherwise valid license to carry a concealed deadly weapon pursuant to the terms of § 1441, where all three of the following are true:
All three are conjunctive. A holder whose license expired without a timely renewal application filed before expiration does not come within the text.
The second of those conditions turns on a window § 1442 does not define. The Superior Court's Rules for Issuance and Renewal of Licenses to Carry Concealed Deadly Weapons supply it: renewal affidavits may be filed after January 1 but no later than June 1 of the year of license expiration. APPLICATION_PROCESS covers the renewal filing.
The second defense is in § 1442(d): it is a defense that the defendant complied with § 1456(b). That is the vehicle limb of the unsafe-storage offense, reaching a person who knowingly leaves a firearm unattended in a vehicle. It is satisfied when the firearm is stored in a locked box or container, a locked firearms rack that is on a motor vehicle, or locked in the trunk. Section 1456(d) grades that offense as a class B misdemeanor, or a class A misdemeanor if an unauthorized person obtains the firearm and commits or attempts a crime with it, uses it to inflict serious physical injury or death, or transfers or attempts to transfer it to an unauthorized person. See STORAGE and VEHICLE_CARRY for the storage rules themselves.
The traffic runs one way. Section 1456(g) provides that an otherwise valid § 1441 license is not a defense to § 1456(b). A license answers § 1442; it does not answer the vehicle storage offense.
Where a concealed article is not a deadly weapon, 11 Del. C. § 1443 may still apply: a person is guilty of carrying a concealed dangerous instrument when the person carries concealed a dangerous instrument upon or about the person. Section 1443(d) grades it a class A misdemeanor.
"Dangerous instrument" is defined at § 222(5) as any instrument, article, or substance which, under the circumstances in which it is used, attempted to be used, or threatened to be used, is readily capable of causing death or serious physical injury, plus any disabling chemical spray and any electronic control device.
Two provisions narrow § 1443. Section 1443(b) makes it a defense that the defendant was carrying the concealed dangerous instrument for a specific lawful purpose and had no intention of causing any physical injury or threatening the same. Section 1443(c) provides that disabling chemical spray, as defined in § 222, shall not be considered a dangerous instrument for purposes of that section. Section 222(8) defines that term to include mace, tear gas, and pepper spray, with the devices designed to carry, store, or disperse them.
Note the overlap. A dangerous instrument that is used, or attempted to be used, to cause death or serious physical injury is itself a deadly weapon under § 222(6)a.13., so the same concealed article can satisfy both definitions and be charged under § 1442. No text in either section makes the two offenses exclusive of each other, and § 1443's only carve-out is the disabling chemical spray rule in § 1443(c).
A concealed deadly weapon carried during a felony adds a separate charge. Under 11 Del. C. § 1447(a), possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a felony is a class B felony, and § 4205(b)(2) sets the class B range at not less than 2 years up to 25 years at Level V. When the weapon is a firearm or projectile weapon, the firearm-specific charge is § 1447A: the same class B felony, but § 1447A(b) imposes a minimum sentence of 3 years at Level V notwithstanding § 4205(b)(2), and § 1447A(c) raises that minimum to 5 years at Level V for a person at least twice previously convicted of a felony in Delaware or elsewhere. Both sections preserve the conviction even where the felony of conviction is a lesser included felony of the one originally charged, under § 1447(e) and § 1447A(g).
Section 1441(a) licenses a person "to carry a concealed deadly weapon for personal protection or the protection of the person's property." That authorization is not weapon-specific. Section 1441(a)(5)a. sets the initial license at 3 years, with renewal for further periods of 5 years. The same statute carries a second term rule that does not read the same way: under § 1441(e), the Court issues the license for a term to expire on June 1 next succeeding the date of approval. The Superior Court's renewal window runs to that same June 1 date in the year of expiration.
Several limits sit in the statutes rather than on the license itself:
The license also does work outside § 1442. Under § 1448(a)(5)b.3., the under-21 prohibition does not apply to a person 18 or older who holds a § 1441 license. Under § 1469(c)(5), a holder of a valid Superior Court § 1441 permit is exempt from the large-capacity magazine prohibition.
Section 1441(k) creates a separate nonresident route. The Attorney General has discretion to issue, on a limited basis, a temporary license to a non-resident whom the Attorney General determines has a short-term need to carry within the state in conjunction with that individual's employment for the protection of person or property. It automatically expires 30 days from issuance, is not subject to renewal, and must be carried at all times while in the state. Non-renewability is not a bar on getting another one: the statute adds that nothing in it prohibits a second or subsequent temporary license, subject to the cap of 3 per individual. Licenses issued by other states run through § 1441(j) instead; see RECIPROCITY.
Section 1441(g) states that the provisions of that section do not apply to the carrying of the usual weapon by the police or other peace officers. On its face the subsection disapplies § 1441 alone, and only as to the usual weapon of those officers.
Section 1441(h) is a licensing route rather than an exemption. Anyone retired as a police officer, as defined by 11 Del. C. § 1911, who served at least 20 years in a Delaware law-enforcement agency or remains eligible for a duty-connected disability pension, may be licensed on conditions turning on how soon after retirement the application is filed and on certifications of good standing.
Delaware wrote the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act into its own code. Section 1441A implements 18 U.S.C. § 926B for qualified law-enforcement officers, and § 1441B implements § 926C for qualified retired officers. Both track the federal text closely.
Each begins the same way: notwithstanding any other provision of state or local law, a qualified officer or qualified retired officer carrying the identification required by subsection (d) may carry a concealed firearm shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, subject to subsection (b).
Subsection (b) of each section states what the provision does not do. It shall not be construed to supersede or limit the laws of any state that permit private persons or entities to prohibit or restrict the possession of concealed firearms on their property, or that prohibit or restrict the possession of firearms on state or local government property, installations, buildings, bases, or parks. The federal baselines carry the identical two carve-outs, 18 U.S.C. § 926B(b) for active officers and § 926C(b) for retired officers, so those limits survive both the state and the federal provision.
Section 1441A(c) defines "qualified law-enforcement officer" as a government agency employee authorized by law to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, investigation, or prosecution of, or the incarceration of any person for, any violation of law, with statutory arrest or apprehension powers, who is authorized by the agency to carry a firearm, is not subject to disciplinary action that could suspend or remove police powers, meets agency firearm qualification standards, is not under the influence of alcohol or another intoxicating drug, and is not federally prohibited from receiving a firearm. Subsection (d) requires agency-issued photographic identification, and subsection (f) extends coverage to Amtrak Police, the Federal Reserve, and the federal executive branch.
Section 1441B(c) sets seven conditions for a qualified retired officer, including separation in good standing as a law-enforcement officer, prior arrest authority, an aggregate of 10 years or more of service or separation due to a service-connected disability, and firearms qualification within the most recent 12-month period at the officer's own expense. Subsection (d) sets out two identification routes: an agency photographic identification carrying the qualification notation, or one paired with a state or certified-instructor certification. Under § 1441B(e)(3), "a firearm of the same type" means a revolver or a semi-automatic pistol.
Both sections define "firearm" by reference to 18 U.S.C. § 921, include ammunition not expressly prohibited by federal law or subject to the National Firearms Act, and exclude machineguns, silencers, and destructive devices as federally defined.
No provision in § 1441 or § 1442 exempts unlicensed concealed carry in a person's own dwelling, place of business, or on property the person owns, and no definitional carve-out to that effect appears in § 222. This guide does not claim one exists. Anyone relying on a home or business rule should confirm it first with the Superior Court's weapons page or the Department of Justice CCDW inquiry line.
This page covers one part of our Delaware concealed carry guide.
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