Storage | Delaware Concealed Carry

Storage Requirements

The core criminal storage rule is 11 Del. C. § 1456, and it does two jobs. Subsection (a) punishes leaving a loaded gun where an unauthorized person can reach it and actually gets it. Subsection (b) punishes leaving any firearm unattended in a vehicle without locking it up, whether or not anyone touches it. The vehicle rule is the one that catches permit holders.

Do not read § 1456 as the whole subject. Under 24 Del. C. § 907(a)(7), the Firearm Responsibilities Notice must cover "the importance of safe storage of firearms as well as a summary of Delaware's child access prevention laws and laws relating to the safe storage of firearms, including §§ 603 and 1456 of Title 11." The Code names two Title 11 sections there, not one. Section 907 is effective upon fulfillment of the contingency in 85 Del. Laws, c. 371, § 3.

Neither subsection governs a gun you are holding. Section 1456(a)(2)c. defines "stores or leaves" to exclude a firearm or projectile weapon "carried by or under the control of the owner or other lawfully-authorized user."

Storage outside a vehicle

Section 1456(a)(1) makes a person guilty of unsafe storage when the person intentionally or recklessly stores or leaves a loaded firearm or projectile weapon in a place other than a vehicle, within the reach or easy access of an unauthorized person, the unauthorized person obtains it, and all four of the following are true:

• It was not stored in a locked box or container. Section 1456(a)(1)a. does not apply to a projectile weapon stored so as to render it not readily operable.
• It was not disabled with a tamper-resistant trigger lock properly engaged to render it inoperable by anyone other than the owner or other lawfully authorized user. Section 1456(a)(1)b. does not apply to a projectile weapon that cannot be fitted with a trigger lock.
• It was not stored in a location a reasonable person would have believed to be secure from access by an unauthorized person.
• The unauthorized person did not obtain it as the result of an unlawful entry by any person.

Because the statute requires all four, any single one defeats the charge. A locked container, an engaged trigger lock, a reasonably secure location, or a break-in each takes the case out of § 1456(a).

The line between the two subsections is the word "vehicle," which the Criminal Code defines broadly. Under 11 Del. C. § 222(41), "Vehicle" includes "any means in or by which someone travels or something is carried or conveyed or a means of conveyance or transport, whether or not propelled by its own power." Nothing in § 1456 narrows that, so conveyances well past a car fall on the § 1456(b) side of the line. Subsection (b) is not symmetrical about it: the offense reaches a vehicle, while the locked-rack safe harbor at § 1456(b)(2) covers only "a locked firearms rack that is on a motor vehicle."

Section 1456(a)(2)a. defines "locked container" as a secure container that is fully enclosed and locked by a padlock, keylock, combination lock, or similar device rendering the firearm inaccessible to anyone other than the owner or an authorized person, and it excludes a glove compartment unless the compartment can be manually locked to that standard. Under § 1456(a)(2)b., "not readily operable" means the projectile weapon is disassembled, broken down, or stored to prevent immediate use. Projectile weapons are defined at 11 Del. C. § 222(28) as bows, crossbows, airbows, weapons designed to discharge an arrow, bolt, or spear, and airguns that discharge a pellet, slug, or bullet larger than .177 caliber.

An "unauthorized person" under § 1456(a)(2)d. is "a child or person prohibited by state or federal law from owning or possessing a firearm or projectile weapon." That pulls in the persons prohibited listed in 11 Del. C. § 1448(a).

Handle the age entry carefully. Section 1448(a)(5) reaches "Any person under the age of 21," but four lettered paragraphs pull people back out of it. Paragraph (a)(5)a. lifts the bar for the purchase, owning, possession, or control of a shotgun as defined in 11 Del. C. § 1444(c) or shotgun ammunition, a muzzle-loading rifle as defined in § 704(f) of Title 7, and deadly weapons including projectile weapons other than firearms if the person is 18 or older. Paragraph (a)(5)b. says the paragraph "shall not apply to any of the following persons 18 years of age or older," then lists an active member of the Armed Forces of the United States or the National Guard, a qualified law-enforcement officer as defined in 11 Del. C. § 1441A, and a person "who has license to carry a concealed deadly weapon pursuant to § 1441 of this title." Paragraph (a)(5)c. lifts it for a person under 21 who possesses or controls a firearm or projectile weapon for lawful hunting, instruction, sporting, or recreational activity under the direct supervision of a person 21 or older, who possesses or controls a firearm for lawful hunting in compliance with § 704(g) of Title 7, or who is transporting one to such an activity. Paragraph (a)(5)d. covers a use of force justifiable under 11 Del. C. § 464, § 465, § 466, or § 469, and paragraph (a)(5)e. is repealed. So a 19-year-old Delaware licensee in the household is not an unauthorized person on age alone. Read the license exemption literally, though: paragraph (a)(5)b.3. names a license issued "pursuant to § 1441 of this title," which is a Delaware license, so an 18-to-20-year-old carrying on a recognized out-of-state permit does not fall inside that carve-out.

The word "child" is where the statute goes soft. Section 1456 does not define it, and the Criminal Code's general definitions at 11 Del. C. § 222 do not define it either. Neighboring weapons provisions use an express age instead. Under 11 Del. C. § 1445(a)(2) and (a)(3) the line is a child "under 16 years of age," barring transfer of a BB gun, BB shot, or projectile weapon to one unless you are that child's parent or guardian or first have the parent's or guardian's permission, and barring a parent from letting one possess a BB gun or projectile weapon except under the direct supervision of a person 21 years of age or older. Treat "child" in § 1456 as unresolved rather than betting on a favorable reading.

Leaving a firearm in an unattended vehicle

Section 1456(b) is a separate offense. A person is guilty of unsafe storage of a firearm in a vehicle when the person knowingly leaves a firearm unattended in a vehicle and the firearm is not stored in one of three places:

1. A locked box or container.
2. A locked firearms rack that is on a motor vehicle.
3. Locked in the trunk of the vehicle.

Three differences from subsection (a) matter. Subsection (b) does not require the firearm to be loaded, it does not require anyone to obtain the gun for the base offense, and it reaches only firearms, not projectile weapons. The sole mental state is knowingly leaving the firearm unattended.

Section 1456(g) is the trap for licensees: "It is not a defense to subsection (b) of this section that the defendant has been issued an otherwise valid license to carry a concealed deadly weapon pursuant to terms of § 1441 of this title." An unlocked center console does not qualify, and neither does locking the car: § 1456(b) credits only the three storages it lists, and a locked passenger compartment is not one of them. Section 1456(a)(2) says its definitions apply "for the purposes of this section," so the locked-container definition and its glove-compartment carve-out govern subsection (b) as well, though the wording is not aligned: § 1456(a)(2)a. defines the term "Locked container" while § 1456(b)(1) says "A locked box or container."

Grading and sentence

The two aggravator lists are not identical. Section 1456(c)(2)b. reads "Uses the firearm or projectile weapon to inflict serious physical injury or death upon any person, including the unauthorized person." Section 1456(d)(2)b. reads "Uses the firearm to inflict serious physical injury or death upon any person" and drops the including clause. Section 1456(c)(2)c. reads "Transfers or attempts to transfer the firearm or projectile weapon to another unauthorized person," while § 1456(d)(2)c. reads "Transfers or attempts to transfer the firearm to an unauthorized person," without the word "another." Subsection (d)(2) also carries an element (c)(2) does not state, that "an unauthorized person obtains the firearm."

Section 1456(e) gives the Superior Court jurisdiction over an offense under the section. It does not say "exclusive," unlike 11 Del. C. § 1445(d), which gives that court "exclusive jurisdiction over a violation of paragraphs (a)(3) and (a)(6) [repealed]" of § 1445. Section 1456(f) exempts a firearm manufactured in or before 1899, and a replica of one if the replica is not designed or redesigned for using rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition. Do not carry the more familiar 1898 date into it: 11 Del. C. § 1448(a)(10)a. defines "antique firearm" using a firearm "manufactured in or before 1898," a year earlier than § 1456(f). The section as it now reads carries amendments by 82 Del. Laws, c. 35; 84 Del. Laws, c. 371; and 84 Del. Laws, c. 525.

If the gun goes missing

Reporting is mandatory and independent of § 1456. Under 11 Del. C. § 1461(a), any owner of a firearm or projectile weapon must report the loss or theft within 7 days after discovering it, either to the law-enforcement agency with jurisdiction where it happened or to any state police troop. Section 1461(b) makes a first offense a violation carrying a civil penalty of not less than $75 nor more than $100, a second offense a violation carrying not less than $100 nor more than $250, and a third or subsequent offense a class G felony. The counts do not stack automatically: § 1461(b)(2) and (b)(3) reach a second or third offense only if it was "committed at any time after the sentencing or adjudication" of the prior one.

The person who takes the gun faces 11 Del. C. § 1451, theft of a firearm, a class F felony, and anyone who receives, retains, or disposes of it knowing or believing it was stolen faces § 1450, also a class F felony. Neither section singles out theft from a vehicle.

When someone in the household becomes prohibited

Delaware handles this through relinquishment orders rather than a household storage duty. A person subject to a lethal violence protective order issued under 10 Del. C. § 7704 is a person prohibited for as long as the order stands, 11 Del. C. § 1448(a)(11), and the subject of a relinquishment order under 11 Del. C. § 1448C is prohibited under § 1448(a)(2)d. Under 10 Del. C. § 7704(d), the Superior Court must require the respondent to relinquish firearms, projectile weapons, and ammunition to a receiving law-enforcement agency. It may instead allow relinquishment to a designee, but § 7704(d)(2) requires that the designee not reside with the respondent, not be prohibited under § 1448, and affirm to the court that the designee will keep the property out of the respondent's possession. The court may also bar the respondent from residing with anyone who owns, possesses, or controls firearms or ammunition, and may direct a search and seizure. Read the whole subsection, because paragraphs (3) and (5) state the same residing-with prohibition and paragraphs (4) and (6) state the same search authority. Section 1448C is the parallel track for individuals reported as dangerous to others or self under §§ 5402 and 5403 of Title 16, and its designee provision is close but not identical. Under 11 Del. C. § 1448C(d)(2)c., the designee "must not reside with the individual and must not be a person prohibited under § 1448 of this title," and "The Court must find that the designee of the individual will keep the firearm, projectile weapon, or ammunition ... out of the possession of the individual." Section 1448C carries no designee affirmation. That requirement appears only in 10 Del. C. § 7704(d)(2).

The practical answer is the same on both tracks. Moving the guns to a non-resident designee or to law enforcement complies. A shared safe inside the residence does not.

Assault weapons and secure storage

Under 11 Del. C. § 1465(12), "secure storage" means a firearm stored in a locked container or equipped with a tamper-resistant mechanical lock or other safety device properly engaged so as to render the firearm inoperable by a person other than the owner or other lawfully authorized user. A person who lawfully possessed an assault weapon before June 30, 2022 must place it in secure storage when transporting it among the places listed in § 1466(c)(3) or to a licensed dealer for service or repair, § 1466(c)(3)d., and § 1466(c)(4) imposes the same condition on transport to or from an accredited ballistics testing laboratory or a protective equipment testing facility. A violation of § 1466 is a class D felony under § 1466(d). Section 1466(c)(3)a., which allows possession at the person's residence, attaches no storage condition of its own.

Federal overlay

Federal law adds a dealer-side rule, not a possession-side storage duty. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(z)(1), a licensed dealer, importer, or manufacturer may not transfer a handgun to a non-licensee unless the transferee is provided with a secure gun storage or safety device, defined at 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(34) as a device that blocks operation until deactivated, a device built into the firearm, or a safe, gun case, or lock box unlocked by key or combination. Section 922(z)(3)(A) grants immunity from a qualified civil liability action to "a person who has lawful possession and control of a handgun, and who uses a secure gun storage or safety device with the handgun," but only where the handgun was accessed without permission and had been made inoperable by the device at that time, § 922(z)(3)(C)(i), and § 922(z)(3)(C)(ii) carves negligent entrustment and negligence per se claims out of the shield.

Local ordinances and training

Delaware's preemption statutes bar counties and municipalities from enacting laws prohibiting, restricting, or licensing "the ownership, transfer, possession or transportation of firearms or components of firearms or ammunition," with an exception for regulating discharge. See 22 Del. C. § 111(a) and 9 Del. C. § 330(c). Storage is not among the enumerated verbs in either statute, and neither one resolves whether that omission leaves room for a local storage ordinance, so check the rules where you live.

Storage is also a required training topic. The CCDW course under 11 Del. C. § 1441(a)(3) must include instruction regarding safe storage of firearms and child safety under subparagraph b. and instruction regarding safe storage of ammunition and child safety under subparagraph d. The Delaware State Police list the same two elements for the handgun qualified purchaser permit course. An instructor signing the certification is attesting that both were taught.