Transport | Delaware Concealed Carry

Transporting a Firearm in a Vehicle in Delaware

Two sections of Title 11 set the rules for a firearm in a vehicle in Delaware. Under 11 Del. C. § 1442, carrying a concealed deadly weapon upon or about your person without a license issued under 11 Del. C. § 1441 is a class D felony when the weapon is a firearm or a projectile weapon, and a class G felony for any other deadly weapon. Under 11 Del. C. § 1456(b), knowingly leaving a firearm unattended in a vehicle is an offense unless the firearm is in a locked box or container, in a locked firearms rack on the motor vehicle, or locked in the trunk.

Those two sections connect. Section 1442(d) makes it a defense to the concealed carry charge that the defendant complied with § 1456(b), which means the firearm is in a locked box or container, a locked vehicle firearms rack, or the locked trunk.

What "concealed deadly weapon" reaches in a vehicle

Section 1442(a) turns on two things: the weapon is concealed, and it is carried upon or about the person. It does not turn on whether the firearm is loaded. "Firearm" under 11 Del. C. § 222(13) means a weapon from which a shot, projectile, or other object is designed or may readily be converted to be discharged by force of an explosive, "whether operable or inoperable, loaded or unloaded," and it also covers a bare firearm frame or receiver. "Deadly weapon" under § 222(6) includes a firearm, a projectile weapon, a bomb, a switchblade, metal knuckles, a razor, and any knife other than an ordinary pocketknife carried closed, which § 222(6)b. defines as a blade not more than 3.75 inches.

Two consequences follow for drivers:

• An empty handgun tucked under a seat is still a concealed firearm for § 1442 purposes. Unloading it changes nothing about the elements.
• The statute makes no long gun exception. A rifle or shotgun is a firearm under § 222(13) and a deadly weapon under § 222(6)a.1., so concealing one about your person in a car is the same offense as concealing a pistol. Section 1442(a) reaches a deadly weapon carried "upon or about the person," and the cited provisions do not define that phrase.

Delaware's companion offense, 11 Del. C. § 1443, covers carrying a concealed dangerous instrument and is a class A misdemeanor, with disabling chemical spray excluded by § 1443(c).

Step by step: moving a firearm without a CCDW license

1. Unload the firearm before it goes in the vehicle if you can do so safely. This is not what § 1442 turns on, but it is what 18 U.S.C. § 926A requires on an interstate leg.
2. Place the firearm in a locked box or container, a locked firearms rack mounted on the vehicle, or the locked trunk. These are the three storage forms § 1456(b) accepts.
3. Do not treat the glove compartment as a container. Section 1456(a)(2)a. defines "locked container" as a fully enclosed secure container locked by a padlock, keylock, combination lock, or similar device, and it expressly excludes a motor vehicle glove compartment unless that compartment can be manually locked so the firearm is inaccessible to anyone but the owner or an authorized person.

The three storage forms named in step 2 are the whole of what § 1456(b) accepts. Locking the passenger cabin of the car is not among them, so it does not by itself answer subsection (b).

If you hold a Delaware CCDW license

A license issued by the Superior Court under § 1441 answers § 1442. You may carry the firearm concealed on your person in the vehicle. Section 1441(a) is available to a person of full age, which under 1 Del. C. § 701 is 18, and of good moral character, and the initial license runs 3 years with 5 year renewals under § 1441(a)(5)a.

The license has limits that matter on the road:

• It is not a defense to unsafe storage in a vehicle. Section 1456(g) says so in terms: a valid § 1441 license is not a defense to subsection (b), so a licensee who leaves a firearm unattended in a vehicle is exposed to the same charge as anyone else.
• An expired license is a partial defense, not a shield. Section 1442(c) gives a defense where the license expired, renewal was applied for within the allotted window before expiration, and the alleged offense happened while that renewal was pending before the court.
• A void license is no license. Under § 1441(m), a license is void and automatically repealed by operation of law if the licensee becomes prohibited under § 1448.
• A temporary nonresident license must be on you. The Attorney General's short term license under § 1441(k) expires 30 days after issuance, is not renewable, is capped at 3 per individual, and must be carried at all times while within the State.

Grading for unsafe storage in a vehicle: § 1456(d)(1) makes it a class B misdemeanor, rising to a class A misdemeanor under § 1456(d)(2) if an unauthorized person obtains the firearm and commits or attempts a crime with it, inflicts serious physical injury or death with it, or transfers or attempts to transfer it to another unauthorized person. Section 1456(a)(2)d. defines "unauthorized person" as a child or a person prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a firearm.

Drivers under 21

Under 11 Del. C. § 1448(a)(5), a person under 21 is a prohibited person for purchasing, owning, possessing, or controlling a deadly weapon or firearm ammunition. That reaches a handgun in a car. Possession of a firearm by a person prohibited under (a)(5) is a class D felony under § 1448(c), which grades the offense as a class D felony when the deadly weapon is a firearm or ammunition and the violation falls in paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(8).

The bar has carve outs that matter for an 18 to 20 year old moving a gun:

• Section 1448(a)(5)a. removes a shotgun as defined in § 1444(c) and shotgun ammunition, and a muzzle-loading rifle as defined in § 704(f) of Title 7. Neither of those two carries an age condition. The third item, deadly weapons including projectile weapons other than firearms, applies only "if the person is 18 years of age or older."
• Section 1448(a)(5)b. removes active members of the Armed Forces or National Guard, qualified law-enforcement officers under § 1441A, and holders of a § 1441 CCDW license who are 18 or older.
• Section 1448(a)(5)c.3. removes possession or control of a firearm or projectile weapon for the purpose of transporting it to the location of a lawful hunting, instruction, sporting, or recreational activity that the person is authorized to attend under § 1448(a)(5)c.1., which requires direct supervision by a person 21 or older.

Paragraph c.3. is written as transport to the location of the c.1. supervised activity, and reaches no further on its own terms.

Place-based rules that bite while you are driving

• Safe School Zone, 11 Del. C. § 1457A. The zone includes any building, structure, athletic field, sports stadium, or real property owned, operated, leased, or rented by a public or private school, and any motor vehicle owned, operated, leased, or rented by such a school. Violation is a class E felony under § 1457A(e). There are two vehicle outs: § 1457A(c)(4) exempts a holder of a valid § 1441 license, but only if the firearm or projectile weapon is in a motor vehicle, and § 1457A(d)(2) removes a firearm in a locked container or locked firearms rack in or on a motor vehicle for anyone.
• Federal school zones, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q). The federal Gun-Free School Zones Act applies on top of § 1457A and its vehicle exception is narrower. Section 922(q)(2)(A) makes it unlawful "for any individual knowingly to possess a firearm that has moved in or that otherwise affects interstate or foreign commerce at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone." Under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(26) a school zone is in or on the grounds of a public, parochial or private school, or "within a distance of 1,000 feet from the grounds" of one, so it reaches public roads. The vehicle exception at § 922(q)(2)(B)(iii) covers possession of a firearm "that is (I) not loaded; and (II) in a locked container, or a locked firearms rack that is on a motor vehicle." Delaware's § 1457A(d)(2) asks only for "a firearm in a locked container or locked firearms rack that is in or on a motor vehicle" and says nothing about load state. A loaded firearm in a locked container within 1,000 feet of school grounds can therefore satisfy § 1457A(d)(2) and still fall inside § 922(q)(2)(A). Section 922(q)(2)(B)(ii) is a separate exception for an individual "licensed to do so by the State in which the school zone is located," where that state's law requires law enforcement to verify the applicant's qualification before the license issues.
• College or university safe zone, 11 Del. C. § 1457C. Same shape, class A misdemeanor under § 1457C(e). Section 1457C(c)(5) exempts a § 1441 licensee only if the firearm is in a vehicle, and § 1457C(d)(1) removes a firearm in a locked container or locked firearms rack in or on a motor vehicle. Section 1457C(a)(1)b. carves state or locally owned roads, streets, pedestrian routes, and bike paths that run through or adjacent to campus and are open full time to public vehicular traffic out of the zone entirely.
• Safe Recreation Zone, 11 Del. C. § 1457. This one has no licensee carve out. Section 1457(h) exempts only a police officer and a constable employed by a recreation zone acting in that capacity. Under § 1457(c)(4) the zone is any building or structure owned, operated, leased, or rented by a county or municipality, by the State or any of its entities, or by a private organization, which is utilized as a recreation center, athletic field, or sports stadium. The offense works by elevation: it requires one of the underlying offenses listed in § 1457(b), including § 1442, § 1444, § 1448, and § 1466, or a juvenile possessing a firearm or projectile weapon there. Under § 1457(j)(3) a class E, F, or G underlying felony moves up one grade, and under § 1457(j)(4) a class D underlying felony stays class D. Section 1457(e) forecloses the argument that you did not know you were in the zone.
• Polling place, 11 Del. C. § 1457B. Knowing possession of a firearm or projectile weapon at a polling place on election day is a class A misdemeanor under § 1457B(f), and there is no CCDW exemption in § 1457B(c). Section 1457B(a)(3)b. excludes parking areas and adjoining structures that are not part of the polling place, so the vehicle in the lot is outside the offense. Under § 1457B(a)(1)b., "election day" includes 2 hours before the polls open until 2 hours after the polls close, which extends the day rather than bounding it.
• State parks. Delaware's park regulations permit lawful firearm possession in state parks, including parking lots and vehicles, and permit § 1441 licensees to carry within parks and designated areas provided the permit is produced on request.

Assault weapons and magazines in transit

Section 1466(a)(1) makes it unlawful to transport an assault weapon into Delaware, and § 1466(d) grades a violation as a class D felony. A person who lawfully possessed or completed the purchase of one before June 30, 2022 may transport it under § 1466(c)(3)d. between a residence, place of business, other property the person owns or has express permission to be on, a shooting range, and a qualifying firearms exhibition or educational event, or to a licensed dealer for service or repair, but only in secure storage. Section 1465(12) defines that as a locked container or a properly engaged tamper-resistant lock or other safety device rendering the firearm inoperable by anyone but the owner or an authorized user.

Magazines are the opposite story for licensees. A large-capacity magazine under 11 Del. C. § 1468(2)a. is any ammunition feeding device that accepts, or can readily be converted to hold, more than 17 rounds. Section 1469(a) bans possession and transfer, graded by § 1469(b) as a $100 civil penalty for a first possession-only offense, a class B misdemeanor for a second, and a class E felony for everything else. Section 1469(c)(5) exempts an individual who holds a valid concealed carry permit issued by the Superior Court under § 1441.

Driving through Delaware from another state

Two paths exist. First, 11 Del. C. § 1441(j) directs the Attorney General to recognize permits from states that reciprocate and afford a reasonably similar degree of protection, and to publish the list each January 15 for a one year term. Check the Attorney General's CCDW page before the trip, because some states are recognized only for enhanced or class-specific permits.

Second, if your permit is not recognized, 18 U.S.C. § 926A protects the trip itself, and its preconditions are strict. You must be a person "not otherwise prohibited by this chapter from transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm," a precondition keyed to the federal chapter rather than to state law; you must be traveling from a place where you may lawfully possess and carry it to another place where you may lawfully possess and carry it; the firearm must be unloaded during the transportation; and neither the firearm nor any ammunition may be readily accessible or directly accessible from the passenger compartment. In a vehicle with no compartment separate from the driver's compartment, § 926A requires the firearm or ammunition to be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console. Section 926A protects transportation between lawful endpoints. It is not authority to stop and stay.

Local firearm ordinances, and what survives preemption

Municipal governments may enact no law, ordinance, or regulation prohibiting, restricting, or licensing the ownership, transfer, possession, or transportation of firearms, firearm components, or ammunition under 22 Del. C. § 111(a). County governments are barred in nearly the same words by 9 Del. C. § 330(c), which says they "shall enact no law or regulation" doing those things, where § 111(a) says "no law, ordinance or regulation."

Section 111(a) is not absolute, and its qualifiers sit in the same paragraph. It provides that "Nothing contained herein shall be construed to invalidate municipal ordinances existing before July 4, 1985, and any ordinance enacted after July 4, 1985, is hereby repealed." A municipal firearm ordinance predating July 4, 1985 therefore survives; one enacted after that date is repealed. Section 111(a) also lets "the City of Wilmington ... enact any law or ordinance governing the possession or concealment of a paintball gun within its corporate limits as it deems necessary to protect the public safety," notwithstanding the rest of the section. Section 330(c) has no counterpart to either qualifier.

Both statutes leave discharge regulable, and both allow narrow ordinances covering police stations and municipal or county buildings. Under 22 Del. C. § 111(b)(6), such an ordinance may not prevent carry by a person holding a valid § 1441 or § 1441A license so long as the firearm remains concealed except for inadvertent display or defense of self or others.

Carrying the license document

The one document-carry command in the licensing statute is § 1441(k), which says of the Attorney General's temporary nonresident license that it "must be carried at all times while within the State." Delaware's park regulations separately condition licensee carry within parks on the permit being produced upon request.