Delaware is not a permitless carry state. Carrying a concealed deadly weapon without a license is a crime under 11 Del. C. § 1442(a), and a felony in...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
Delaware is not a permitless carry state. Carrying a concealed deadly weapon without a license is a crime under 11 Del. C. § 1442(a), and a felony in every case under § 1442(b).
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. Section 1442(b) grades it: a class G felony, unless the deadly weapon is a firearm or a projectile weapon, in which case it is a class D felony. There is no infraction-level version, no first-offense grace, and no residency carve-out inside § 1442.
The reach of that offense comes from 11 Del. C. § 222. A deadly weapon under § 222(6)a. includes a firearm, a bomb, a knife of any sort other than an ordinary pocketknife carried in a closed position, a switchblade knife, metal knuckles, a razor, an ice pick, a projectile weapon, and a dangerous instrument used or attempted to be used to cause death or serious physical injury. An ordinary pocketknife is one with a blade not more than 3.75 inches, per § 222(6)b. A firearm under § 222(13)a. covers a weapon designed or readily convertible to discharge a shot or projectile by force of an explosive, whether operable or inoperable, loaded or unloaded. Your § 1442 exposure is not limited to handguns. Carrying a concealed dangerous instrument is handled separately as a class A misdemeanor under § 1443(d).
Section 1442(c) is a narrow lapsed-license defense. It requires an otherwise valid § 1441 license that has expired, a renewal application filed within the allotted time frame prior to expiration, and an offense alleged to have occurred while that renewal was pending before the court. It does nothing for someone who never held a license.
Section 1442(d) makes it a defense that the defendant complied with § 1456(b) of this title. Section 1456(b) covers a firearm knowingly left unattended in a vehicle, and compliance means the firearm is in a locked box or container, in a locked firearms rack on the motor vehicle, or locked in the trunk. Read those together: the defense turns on locked storage, not on whether the gun was visible. See Vehicle Carry and Transport.
The license under 11 Del. C. § 1441 is what takes carrying outside § 1442. Superior Court issues it through the county Prothonotary, on a $65 fee under § 1441(a)(4) and a training course under § 1441(a)(3). It runs 3 years initially and renews for 5 years at a time under § 1441(a)(5)a., and § 1441(m) voids it by operation of law if the licensee becomes prohibited under § 1448. Section 1441A implements the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (18 U.S.C. § 926B) as a separate route for qualified officers.
That route is not shall-issue. Section 1441(a) is permissive: a person of full age and good moral character "may be licensed" when the listed conditions "have been strictly complied with." Section 1441(d) then provides that "The Court may or may not, in its discretion, approve any application, and in order to satisfy the Judges thereof fully in regard to the propriety of approving the same, may receive remonstrances and hear evidence and arguments for and against the same, and establish general rules for that purpose." Beyond the fee and the course, § 1441(a)(2) requires a certificate of 5 respectable citizens of the county in which the applicant resides, clearly stating that the applicant is of full age, sobriety and good moral character and that "the carrying of a concealed deadly weapon by the applicant is necessary for the protection of the applicant or the applicant's property, or both." The alternative to carrying without a license is a discretionary court decision, not a formality. Details are in Permit Basics and Application Process.
Two provisions in the same section let a nonresident carry concealed without a Delaware license. Under § 1441(j), Delaware "shall give full faith and credit" to licenses issued to citizens of other states that also honor Delaware licenses and that afford "a reasonably similar degree of protection," and the Attorney General "shall publish on January 15 of each year a list of all States which have qualified for reciprocity under this subsection," valid for one year. Under § 1441(k), the Attorney General has discretion to issue, on a limited basis, a temporary license to a nonresident with a short-term need to carry in conjunction with that individual's employment for the protection of person or property. That license "shall automatically expire 30 days from the date of issuance and shall not be subject to renewal, and must be carried at all times while within the State," and "No individual shall be issued more than 3 temporary licenses." See Reciprocity and Permit Basics.
Concealment is an element of § 1442, so carrying openly is not within that section's terms. Under 7 DE Admin. Code 9201, adopted after a December 2017 ruling by the Delaware Supreme Court, visitors may legally possess firearms as allowed by Delaware law in state parks, including trails, unguarded beaches, parking lots, and vehicles, unless prohibited because of a past conviction for a violent crime, an active Protection from Abuse Order, or a mental health commitment. Those regulations still bar firearms in signed facilities such as park offices, visitor centers, bathhouses, playgrounds, and guarded beaches. Holders of valid Delaware concealed-carry permits may carry within parks, including those designated areas, provided only that the permit be produced upon request, and the regulations would also allow active-duty law enforcement officers and qualified retired law enforcement officers to carry anywhere within the parks.
Carrying without a license still runs into statutes that bar possession outright, concealed or not:
Persons prohibited under 11 Del. C. § 1448 may not possess at all, openly or otherwise. Section 1448(c) grades that offense three ways: a class F felony; a class D felony where the deadly weapon is a firearm or ammunition for a firearm and the violation is one of paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(8) of that section; and a class C felony where the person is eligible for sentencing pursuant to § 1448(e).
Under 22 Del. C. § 111(a), municipal governments shall enact no law, ordinance, or regulation prohibiting, restricting, or licensing the ownership, transfer, possession, or transportation of firearms, firearm components, or ammunition, except that discharge may be regulated. Title 9 states the same bar for counties at 9 Del. C. § 330(c). Ordinances enacted after July 4, 1985 are repealed by § 111(a), ordinances existing before that date are preserved, and Wilmington keeps a narrow paintball carve-out.
Section 111(b) lets municipalities regulate possession in police stations and municipal buildings, subject to conspicuous entrance signage and an exit-without-penalty provision. The licensee protection inside that scheme, at § 111(b)(6), covers holders of a valid § 1441 or § 1441A license so long as the firearm remains concealed except for inadvertent display or for self-defense or defense of others. Section 330(d)(6) is the county analogue. That protection is written for licensed concealed carry, so it does nothing for someone carrying without a license.
The Delaware Constitution's arms provision is Article I, § 20. Both 10 Del. C. § 7703(d)(1) and § 7704(d)(3) and (d)(5) provide that nothing in those lethal violence protective order sections may be construed to impair the rights, under the Second Amendment or Article I, § 20 of the Delaware Constitution, of an individual not subject to the court's order. Those savings clauses protect non-parties to an order. They have not displaced the license requirement, and § 1442 remains in force as written.
Under 11 Del. C. § 1448(a)(5), any person under the age of 21 is a prohibited person for purchasing, owning, possessing, or controlling a deadly weapon or ammunition. Because (a)(5) sits inside the § 1448(a)(1) through (a)(8) band, possession of a firearm or ammunition by an under-21 person is a class D felony under § 1448(c). For a person 15 or older but under 18, § 1448(f)(1) adds a mandatory minimum of 6 months of Level V incarceration or institutional confinement for a first offense and 1 year for each subsequent offense, not subject to suspension.
The bar does not reach everything. Section 1448(a)(5)a. excludes shotguns as defined in § 1444(c) and their ammunition, muzzle-loading rifles as defined in § 704(f) of Title 7, and, for a person 18 or older, deadly weapons including projectile weapons other than firearms. Section 1448(a)(5)b. exempts persons 18 or older who are active members of the Armed Forces or National Guard, qualified law-enforcement officers under § 1441A, or holders of a § 1441 license. Section 1448(a)(5)c.1. covers lawful hunting, instruction, sporting, or recreational activity under the direct supervision of a person 21 years of age or older, and c.3. covers transport to the location of an activity authorized under c.1. Supervision is not universal: c.2. stands on its own and exempts a person under 21 who "possesses or controls a firearm for the purpose of engaging in lawful hunting and is in compliance with § 704(g) of Title 7." Section 1448(a)(5)d. preserves justified use of force under §§ 464, 465, 466, and 469.
Section 1441(a) opens the license to a person of full age, and 1 Del. C. § 701 fixes full legal age at 18 for all purposes unless otherwise provided, so an 18 to 20 year old who obtains a § 1441 license is exempted from the possession bar by § 1448(a)(5)b.3. Going the other direction is an offense: selling, giving, or otherwise transferring a firearm or ammunition to a person under 21, unless permitted by § 1448, is a class G felony under 11 Del. C. § 1445(a)(4) and (c).
Delaware's handgun qualified purchaser permit at 11 Del. C. § 1448D took effect on November 16, 2025, as recited in the District of Delaware's March 27, 2026 memorandum order in Neuberger v. Delaware Department of Safety and Homeland Security, C.A. No. 24-590 (MN). It gates acquisition, not carry. Under § 1448D(b) the State Bureau of Identification issues the permit to an applicant not disqualified under § 1448D(f), and the transfer-side provisions it enforces bar a dealer or an unlicensed seller from delivering a handgun to a buyer who lacks one. Disqualifiers under § 1448D(f) include being under 21, being prohibited under § 1448, posing a danger of causing physical injury to self or others if supported by probable cause, and not having completed the listed training course within the prior 5 years. Under § 1448D(h), SBI shall investigate the application and, unless grounds exist for the denial thereof, grant the permit within 30 days from the date of receipt. The permit is valid 2 years under § 1448D(j)(1).
The bridge runs one way. Under § 1448D(c)(2), a person holding a valid § 1441 concealed carry license is not required to apply for a handgun qualified purchaser permit before purchasing a handgun, and § 1448D(g)(4) exempts § 1441 licensees from the § 1448D training requirement. The Delaware State Police permit-to-purchase page states the same. No reciprocal provision makes a purchaser permit stand in for a § 1441 license, so a purchaser permit holder who carries concealed is still exposed under § 1442.
In the 24-590 order the court granted the defendants' motion to dismiss in part: the Second Amendment claim (Count I) and the Fourth Amendment claim (Count II) were dismissed without prejudice for lack of standing, the Count III vagueness challenge with prejudice, and plaintiffs were given 60 days to file a third amended complaint that would be their last. Counts I and II were resolved on standing, not on the merits. Section 1448D is in effect.
This page covers one part of our Delaware concealed carry guide.
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