Kentucky's firearm restrictions fall into two groups. Some bar particular people from possessing firearms at all, and a license to carry concealed...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
Kentucky's firearm restrictions fall into two groups. Some bar particular people from possessing firearms at all, and a license to carry concealed deadly weapon (CCDW license) does not lift that bar. Others apply to every carrier, licensed or not, and reach the gun itself, the ammunition, and the place. A protective order against a licensee suspends the license and requires its surrender.
The felon-in-possession statute names the class of person barred from possessing, manufacturing, or transporting a firearm.
That statute reaches young people convicted as adults as well. KRS 527.040(3) applies it to any youthful offender convicted of a felony, and the exceptions for handgun possession by a minor do not apply to it.
Applying for a license runs into a second set of bars. To qualify for a Kentucky license, an applicant must meet ten statutory criteria under KRS 237.110(4), covering firearms eligibility, residency, age, substance use, child support compliance, prior convictions, training, and legal knowledge. The first of those criteria is federal: Kentucky ties license eligibility to the federal prohibitions in 18 U.S.C. 922(g) and 18 U.S.C. 922(n), and under KRS 237.110(3) the background check asks whether the applicant may lawfully purchase, receive, or possess a firearm under those sections, any other federal law, and state law.
A protective order also changes a licensee's status. When a domestic violence order or emergency protective order issues against a licensee, KRS 237.110(13)(k) requires the license to be surrendered, and it is suspended until the order terminates. Kentucky statute does not order a person under a domestic violence order or emergency protective order to surrender firearms; it requires the concealed carry license to be surrendered to the court or to the officer serving the order and suspends it while the order is in effect, and federal law separately bars possession under a qualifying order.
A mental health commitment creates a federal disability with a statutory path out. A person subject to that federal disability from a Kentucky commitment, finding, or adjudication may petition the court in which it occurred for relief under KRS 237.108(2), and the court must grant relief if a preponderance of the evidence shows the person is unlikely to be dangerous and relief would not be contrary to the public interest. Under KRS 237.108(4), once the petition is granted, the underlying order is deemed not to have occurred for purposes of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(4).
These rules do not depend on holding a CCDW license. Two neighbouring subjects are covered elsewhere on this guide: where a firearm may not be carried at all is covered on the Prohibited Places page, and when force is justified is covered on the Use of Force page.
Under KRS 527.050(1) and KRS 527.050(2), knowingly possessing a firearm with a defaced serial number is a Class A misdemeanor, unless the possessor reports it to police or another appropriate government agency before arrest or authorization of a warrant.
KRS 527.080(1) makes it a separate felony offense to be armed with a firearm loaded with armor-piercing or flanged ammunition while committing any felony under the penal code. Under KRS 527.080(4), the provisions of that section shall not apply to any person who is justified in acting pursuant to the provisions of KRS Chapter 503.
A separate statute reaches the ammunition itself rather than the person carrying it. Under KRS 237.080, it is unlawful in Kentucky to knowingly manufacture, sell, deliver, transfer, or import armor-piercing ammunition.
KRS 244.125(1) bars possession of a loaded firearm while actually within the room of a licensed premises where alcoholic beverages are sold by the drink for consumption on the premises.
One rule runs the other direction and protects the carrier. During a declared disaster or emergency, or at any other time, no government may revoke, suspend, limit the use of, or otherwise impair the right to purchase, transfer, loan, own, possess, carry, or use a firearm, firearm part, ammunition, or other deadly weapon, under KRS 237.104(1).
The bar on loaded firearms in a drinking room has named exceptions. It does not apply to the premises' owner, manager, or employee, to law enforcement officers, to specially commissioned local peace officers, or to a qualifying bona fide restaurant, under KRS 244.125(2) and KRS 244.125(3).
The armor-piercing ammunition ban has named exceptions too. Under KRS 237.080(2), it does not apply to members of the Armed Forces of the United States or to law enforcement officers within the scope of their duties, and it does not prohibit licensed gun dealers from possessing armor-piercing ammunition for the purpose of receiving and transferring it to them.
The emergency-powers protection also has limits. It does not apply to a person in any of the following situations.
The defaced-firearm offense has its own exception built into the statute. A possessor who reports the defaced firearm to police or another appropriate government agency before arrest or before a warrant is authorized is not guilty under that section.
A CCDW license can be taken back, and the statute says on what terms. Under KRS 237.110(13)(a), the commissioner of the Department of Kentucky State Police must revoke the license of any person who becomes permanently ineligible to be issued a license or have a license renewed under the criteria set out in that section. Under KRS 237.110(13)(b), the commissioner must suspend the license of a person who becomes only temporarily ineligible, and the license stays suspended until that person is again eligible for the issuance or renewal of a license.
Two grounds run on their own. Under KRS 237.110(22)(i), a license holder who is convicted of, pleads guilty to, or enters an Alford plea to a felony offense has the license revoked by the Department of Kentucky State Police as a matter of law. Under KRS 237.110(22)(k), the Department must revoke the license of a person who received no firearms training as required by KRS 237.126 and administrative regulations, or who received insufficient training, whether the person admits it or it is proven at a hearing under KRS Chapter 13B.
Contesting either one starts with giving up the license. Under KRS 237.110(13)(d), a person who wants a hearing must surrender the license and petition the commissioner of the Department of Kentucky State Police to hold a hearing on the suspension or revocation. Under KRS 237.110(13)(e), that hearing is held in accordance with KRS Chapter 13B, and no hearing is scheduled or held while the license has not been surrendered. Under KRS 237.110(13)(h), if the license is not surrendered as ordered, the commissioner must order a peace officer to seize it and deliver it to the commissioner.
Under KRS 237.110(13)(f), a hearing officer who determines that the license was wrongly suspended or revoked must order the commissioner to return the license and abrogate the suspension or revocation, and under KRS 237.110(13)(g) any party may appeal a decision to the District Court in the licensee's county of residence, in the same manner as for the denial of a license.
Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon is a Class D felony, or a Class C felony if the firearm is a handgun, under KRS 527.040(2)(a). Under KRS 527.040(2)(b), a felon convicted of another offense committed while possessing a firearm is penalized one class more severely for the possession offense if it is a second or subsequent violation.
The armor-piercing ammunition ban carries penalties of its own. Under KRS 237.080(3), a violation of that ban is a Class D felony for a first offense and a Class C felony for each later offense. Under KRS 237.080(4), armor-piercing ammunition transferred, sold, or offered for sale in violation of that section is contraband and must be seized and forfeited to the state.
| Rule | What the statute provides |
|---|---|
| Firearm possession by a convicted felon | Under KRS 527.040(2), a Class D felony, or a Class C felony if the firearm is a handgun, with the penalty raised one class for a second or subsequent violation where the felon possessed the firearm while committing another crime |
| Defaced serial number | Under KRS 527.050(1) and KRS 527.050(2), a Class A misdemeanor unless reported to police or another appropriate government agency before arrest or warrant authorization |
| Restricted ammunition during a felony | Under KRS 527.080(1), a separate felony offense to be armed with a firearm loaded with armor-piercing or flanged ammunition while committing any felony under the penal code, which under KRS 527.080(4) shall not apply to any person who is justified in acting pursuant to the provisions of KRS Chapter 503 |
| Loaded firearm in a by-the-drink room | Under KRS 244.125(1), possession of a loaded firearm inside the room where alcoholic beverages are sold by the drink is prohibited |
| Protective order against a licensee | Under KRS 237.110(13)(k), the license is surrendered and suspended until the order terminates |
A CCDW license does not change who may possess a firearm, and it does not change the rules on defaced firearms, restricted ammunition, or drinking rooms. Two things the license does change are named by statute.
KRS 244.125(1) bars possession of a loaded firearm while actually within the room where alcoholic beverages are sold by the drink for on-premises consumption. That section does not apply to the owner, manager, or employee of the licensed premises, to law enforcement officers, to specially commissioned local peace officers, or to a qualifying bona fide restaurant.
The holder surrenders the license to the court or to the officer serving the order, and the license is suspended until the order terminates. Kentucky statute does not order a person under a domestic violence order or emergency protective order to surrender firearms; it requires the concealed carry license to be surrendered to the court or to the officer serving the order and suspends it while the order is in effect, and federal law separately bars possession under a qualifying order.
No government may revoke, suspend, limit the use of, or otherwise impair the right to purchase, transfer, loan, own, possess, carry, or use a firearm, firearm part, ammunition, or other deadly weapon during a declared disaster or emergency or at any other time. Under KRS 237.104(3), that protection does not apply to a person forbidden to possess a firearm pursuant to KRS 527.040 or federal law, or in possession of a stolen firearm.
Knowingly possessing a firearm with a defaced serial number is a Class A misdemeanor, unless the possessor reports it to police or another appropriate government agency before arrest or before a warrant is authorized.
KRS 527.040(3) applies the statute to any youthful offender convicted of a felony, and the exceptions for handgun possession by a minor do not apply to it.
The disability lasts until a court grants a petition for relief, at which point the underlying order is deemed not to have occurred for purposes of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(4). The petition goes to the court in which the commitment, finding, or adjudication occurred, and the court must grant it on a preponderance showing that the person is unlikely to be dangerous and that relief is not contrary to the public interest.
The base offense is a Class D felony, or a Class C felony if the firearm is a handgun. A felon convicted of another offense committed while possessing a firearm is penalized one class more severely for the possession offense if it is a second or subsequent violation.
This page covers one part of our Kentucky concealed carry guide.
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