You can move a firearm from place to place in Kentucky without a license. A loaded or unloaded firearm kept in a factory-installed glove compartment,...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
You can move a firearm from place to place in Kentucky without a license. A loaded or unloaded firearm kept in a factory-installed glove compartment, center console, or seat pocket is not deemed concealed under KRS 527.020(8). A property owner or employer generally cannot stop a person legally entitled to possess a firearm from keeping one in a vehicle on the property.
The vehicle protection runs to any person legally entitled to possess a firearm, and it covers a firearm, a part of a firearm, ammunition, or an ammunition component kept in a vehicle on the property, under KRS 237.106(1). The federal interstate rule covers a person not otherwise prohibited from possessing firearms. A property owner, lessee, or occupant, including an employer, may still prevent a person who is prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a firearm or ammunition on the property, under KRS 237.106(2).
Younger adults are a separate case. The Department of Kentucky State Police is required to issue provisional licenses, effective July 15, 2026, under KRS 237.118(2). The Department of Kentucky State Police is not yet accepting applications from people ages 18 to 20, and its concealed carry page says the online portal is expected to be updated this fall.
Kentucky treats a factory-installed glove compartment, center console, seat pocket, or other enclosed vehicle container as not concealed storage, locked or unlocked, so a firearm or ammunition may sit there loaded or unloaded under KRS 527.020(8). Employer parking lots, taking the firearm back out of the vehicle, and an employee's civil remedy are covered in the Vehicle Carry section.
Cities and counties cannot write their own transport rules. Kentucky bars local governments from occupying any part of the field of regulation of the manufacture, sale, purchase, taxation, transfer, ownership, possession, carrying, storage, or transportation of firearms and ammunition, and declares a conflicting local ordinance null and void, under KRS 65.870(1).
For a trip that runs between two states, 18 U.S.C. 926A lets a person not otherwise prohibited transport a firearm between any two places where they may lawfully possess and carry it, so long as the firearm is unloaded and neither it nor its ammunition is readily accessible from the passenger compartment, or, in a vehicle without a separate trunk compartment, is locked in a container other than the glove box or console. In a vehicle with no separate trunk, that container must be a locked container other than the glove compartment or console. Kentucky's glove box rule and the federal container rule are different rules for different trips.
A person may possess unloaded hunting weapons while crossing the grounds of a public or private educational institution to reach public or private hunting land, unless the institution's grounds are posted prohibiting entry, under KRS 527.070(3)(h). An adult who is not a pupil of a secondary school may keep a firearm inside a vehicle they operate on school property, provided it is not removed from the vehicle except for a permitted purpose and is not brandished, under KRS 527.070(3)(a).
| Situation | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Firearm in a factory-installed compartment | Loaded or unloaded, it is not deemed concealed, locked or not, under KRS 527.020(8) | |
| Vehicle parked on someone else's property | Owner or employer generally cannot bar a firearm, a firearm part, ammunition, or an ammunition component in the vehicle, under KRS 237.106(1) | |
| Driver prohibited from possessing firearms | Owner, lessee, or occupant may prevent possession on the property, under KRS 237.106(2) | |
| Adult non-pupil on school property | Firearm stays inside the vehicle, not removed except for a permitted purpose and not brandished, under KRS 527.070(3)(a) | |
| Crossing school grounds to hunting land | Unloaded hunting weapons allowed unless the grounds are posted against entry, under KRS 527.070(3)(h) | |
| Driving through to another state | Unloaded and not readily accessible from the passenger compartment, or locked in a container other than the glove box or console, under 18 U.S.C. 926A | |
| Local ordinance on transportation | Preempted and null and void, under KRS 65.870(1) |
A license to carry concealed deadly weapon (CCDW license) adds two things permitless carry does not give:
Yes. A loaded or unloaded firearm in a factory-installed glove compartment, center console, seat pocket, or similar enclosed container is not deemed concealed under KRS 527.020(8).
Keep the firearm unloaded and neither it nor its ammunition readily accessible from the passenger compartment, or, if the vehicle has no separate trunk compartment, locked in a container other than the glove box or console, as 18 U.S.C. 926A requires.
Yes, while crossing the grounds of a public or private educational institution to reach public or private hunting land, unless the institution's grounds are posted prohibiting entry, under KRS 527.070(3)(h).
An adult who is not a pupil of a secondary school may keep a firearm contained within a vehicle they operate on school property, if it is not removed from the vehicle except for a permitted purpose and is not brandished, under KRS 527.070(3)(a).
No. An owner, lessee, or occupant of real property, including an employer, may prevent a person prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a firearm or ammunition on the property, under KRS 237.106(2).
No. Kentucky bars local governments from occupying any part of the field of regulation covering carrying, storage, or transportation of firearms and ammunition, and a conflicting local ordinance is null and void, under KRS 65.870(1).
This page covers one part of our Kentucky concealed carry guide.
Read the complete Kentucky guideBrowse local instructors offering state-approved training in your area. Book online, complete your training, and get one step closer to your concealed carry permit.