New Jersey's preemption rule sits inside the Code of Criminal Justice. N.J.S.A. 2C:1-5(d) provides that, notwithstanding any other provision of law,...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
New Jersey's preemption rule sits inside the Code of Criminal Justice. N.J.S.A. 2C:1-5(d) provides that, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the local governmental units of this State "may neither enact nor enforce any ordinance or other local law or regulation conflicting with, or preempted by, any provision of this code or with any policy of this State expressed by this code, whether that policy be expressed by inclusion of a provision in the code or by exclusion of that subject from the code." Two features of that sentence set how far it reaches. It bars enforcement as well as enactment, so an ordinance already on the books stops operating to the extent it conflicts. And it reaches subjects the code leaves out, because a local rule can be preempted by the code's exclusion of a subject and not only by a provision that contradicts it. N.J.S.A. 2C:1-5(a) adds a second limit on the criminal side: common law crimes are abolished and "no conduct constitutes an offense unless the offense is defined by this code or another statute of this State." New Jersey's firearms offenses, licensing rules, and prohibited-place rules all sit in Title 2C, so those subjects are inside the field 2C:1-5 governs.
New Jersey is a licensed-carry state, not a permitless or constitutional-carry state. A Permit to Carry a Handgun (PTC) is issued under N.J.S.A. 2C:58-4. Under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5(b)(1), any person who knowingly has in his possession any handgun, including any antique handgun, without first having obtained a permit to carry it is guilty of a crime of the second degree. The conduct the statute punishes is possession without the permit, not carrying as such.
Several core areas are fixed by Title 2C rather than by local rule:
Licensing and permitting. Firearms Purchaser Identification Cards and permits to purchase a handgun are issued under N.J.S.A. 2C:58-3. The Permit to Carry a Handgun is issued under N.J.S.A. 2C:58-4. Under 2C:58-4(c), each application goes in the first instance to the chief police officer of the municipality where the applicant resides, or to the Superintendent of State Police if the applicant is an employee of an armored car company, if there is no chief police officer in that municipality, if the applicant does not reside in this State, or if the applicant is a mayor or other elected member of the municipal governing body. The same subsection sets the application fee at $200, and where the application is made to a municipal chief, $150 of the fee is retained by the municipality and the remaining $50 is forwarded to the Superintendent. Both the route and the fee are statutory, so there is no room for a municipality to substitute its own carry-permit criteria or its own fee.
Prohibited weapons and ammunition. The categories in N.J.S.A. 2C:39-3 are state criminal categories, each carrying its own grading. Knowing possession of a destructive device is a third degree crime under 2C:39-3(a), a sawed-off shotgun a third degree crime under 2C:39-3(b), a firearm silencer a fourth degree crime under 2C:39-3(c), a defaced firearm a fourth degree crime under 2C:39-3(d), and a hollow nose or dum-dum bullet a fourth degree crime under 2C:39-3(f), each subject to the exemptions in 2C:39-3(g). A "large capacity ammunition magazine" is defined by N.J.S.A. 2C:39-1(y) as a container capable of holding more than 10 rounds fed continuously and directly into a semi-automatic firearm, and knowing possession of one is a fourth degree crime under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-3(j) absent registration. Knowing possession of a machine gun without a license under N.J.S.A. 2C:58-5 is a second degree crime under 2C:39-5(a), and knowing possession of an assault firearm is a second degree crime under 2C:39-5(f). Because 2C:1-5(a) leaves the definition of offenses to statute, these categories are not open to local redefinition.
Prohibited places under Chapter 131. N.J.S.A. 2C:58-4.6(a) sets the statewide list of locations where a permit holder may not carry. Knowingly carrying a firearm in a listed place is a crime of the third degree, and knowingly possessing a destructive device in a listed place is a crime of the second degree, subject to the exemptions in N.J.S.A. 2C:39-6 and to the treatment the statute gives a brief, incidental entry as a de minimis infraction within the contemplation of N.J.S.A. 2C:2-11. The list includes government administration buildings and police stations, courthouses, correctional facilities, polling places, schools and colleges and school buses, child care and nursery facilities, government-owned or controlled parks, beaches, recreation facilities and areas, and playgrounds, youth sports events, libraries and museums, bars and restaurants serving alcohol, cannabis retailers, entertainment and sports venues, casinos, energy facilities, airports and public transportation hubs, health care facilities, and more. As set out in the litigation note below, most of these categories are enforceable today and a specific, identified set is not, so a permit holder should confirm the status of a category before relying on it.
Private property and the consent default. N.J.S.A. 2C:58-4.6(a)(24) was written to make it a crime to carry on private property, including residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, institutional, and undeveloped property, unless the owner has provided express consent or has posted a sign indicating that carrying a concealed handgun with a valid permit is permissible. As set out in the litigation note below, that default is enjoined as to private property that is held open to the public. Under the posture that governs now, a permit holder may carry on private property that is open to the public unless the owner affirmatively prohibits firearms. The owner's ordinary property-law right to bar firearms from the premises remains intact.
Criminal penalties and mandatory minimums. Sentencing for firearms offenses is set by state law. Under the Graves Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6(c), a person convicted under subsection a., b., c., or f. of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5, among other listed offenses, who used or was in possession of a firearm in the course of the crime shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment that includes a minimum term fixed at one-half of the sentence imposed or 42 months, whichever is greater, or 18 months in the case of a fourth degree crime, during which the defendant is ineligible for parole. That reaches unlawful possession of a handgun under 2C:39-5(b). No local body sets or reduces these terms.
Chapter 131 itself assigns local government units two express roles inside the statewide framework:
Gun-free zone designations on public land. N.J.S.A. 2C:58-4.6(a)(10) reaches "a park, beach, recreation facility or area or playground owned or controlled by a State, county or local government unit, or any part of such a place, which is designated as a gun-free zone by the governing authority based on considerations of public safety." The designation is a local act, but it operates through the state statute rather than beside it. Treat every park, beach, recreation facility or area, and playground owned or controlled by a State, county, or local government unit as off-limits. Subsection (a)(10) is in force, because the Third Circuit's June 20, 2023 stay restored it. Whether a particular park or beach falls within it turns on the designation the governing authority has made, but State parks are separately made gun-free by N.J.A.C. 7:2-2.17(b), a rule N.J.S.A. 2C:58-4.6(a)(25) also reaches, and a governing unit may designate at any time without notifying you. A place that falls within subsection (a)(10) is a prohibited place, and knowingly carrying a firearm there is a crime of the third degree under N.J.S.A. 2C:58-4.6(a). Do not read the absence of a posted designation as permission to carry.
Permitted public gatherings. Under N.J.S.A. 2C:58-4.6(a)(6), carrying is prohibited within 100 feet of a place where a public gathering, demonstration, or event is held for which a government permit is required, during the conduct of that gathering, demonstration, or event. The permit decision is local; the 100-foot prohibition is statutory.
Beyond those two delegations, a permit holder planning around a specific municipal ordinance, such as a discharge, zoning, or range-operation rule, should read that ordinance and confirm its current status with the municipality. N.J.S.A. 2C:1-5(d) answers the conflict question only once the ordinance and the code provision are both in front of you.
The prohibited-places list in N.J.S.A. 2C:58-4.6 and the private-property default were enacted by P.L. 2022, c. 131, which Governor Murphy signed as A-4769 on December 22, 2022, after the United States Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022). The legislative findings at N.J.S.A. 2C:58-4.2 state that after Bruen "laws requiring showings of particularized need are no longer legally viable to determine whether a person may carry a handgun in public," and that the act "also designates places in which the carrying of a firearm or destructive device is prohibited."
Chapter 131 was challenged in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey in Koons v. Platkin, consolidated with Siegel v. Platkin, D.N.J. Nos. 1:22-cv-07464 and 1:22-cv-07463. Chief Judge Bumb entered a preliminary injunction on May 16, 2023. On June 20, 2023 the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit narrowed it, granting a stay pending appeal as to the preliminary injunction of subsections (a)(6), (a)(9), (a)(10), (a)(12), (a)(15), (a)(17), (a)(18), and (a)(21), with the requested stay "otherwise DENIED." A three-judge panel later decided the consolidated appeal in Koons v. Attorney General New Jersey, Nos. 23-1900 and 23-2043, on September 10, 2025, but on December 11, 2025 the full court granted rehearing en banc and ordered that "The opinion filed on September 10, 2025, amended on September 17, 2025, and the judgment entered on September 10, 2025 are hereby vacated." Nothing in that panel decision governs now. What governs is the May 16, 2023 order as narrowed by the June 20, 2023 stay. The rehearing en banc granted on December 11, 2025 is still pending and the cases are undecided.
Most of the prohibited-place categories are enforceable today, including parks, beaches, and recreation areas; entertainment, sports, and arena venues; health care facilities; libraries and museums; bars and restaurants serving alcohol; public gatherings that require a government permit; and the other civic, educational, and recreational categories on the list. A permit holder may not carry a handgun in those places, and a knowing violation is a crime of the third degree.
Three provisions of 2C:58-4.6 are enjoined and are not enforced against permit holders:
The same May 16, 2023 order also enjoined parts of Chapter 131 outside the places list, and those are still not enforced: the in-person interview requirement for a carry permit applicant's character endorsers in N.J.S.A. 2C:58-4(c), the liability insurance mandate in N.J.S.A. 2C:58-4(d)(4) and 2C:58-4.3, and N.J. Admin. Code 7:25-5.23(f)(5).
Provisions a carrier might assume were enjoined but were not: the preliminary injunction as to youth sports events under 2C:58-4.6(a)(11) was denied, so that restriction is in force and a knowing violation is a crime of the third degree. The injunction as to airports and transportation hubs under (a)(20) was also denied, except as the court modified that paragraph to permit checking a firearm as checked luggage before entry of an airport and dropping off or picking up passengers. And 2C:58-4.6(b)(2), the parked-vehicle storage rule, was never enjoined. It is a different paragraph from (b)(1) with a different fate, and it binds permit holders.
Because this remains a preliminary-injunction posture with rehearing en banc pending, the enforceable scope can still change. Check the New Jersey State Police enforceable list, the latest order in the Koons and Siegel litigation, and current guidance from the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General before relying on the status of any single provision.
Interstate transport (FOPA, 18 U.S.C. 926A). Federal law entitles a person who is not otherwise prohibited from transporting a firearm to transport it from a place where he may lawfully possess and carry it to another such place, provided the firearm is unloaded and neither it nor any ammunition is readily accessible from the passenger compartment. This protects passage through New Jersey. It does not authorize carrying while present in the State.
LEOSA (18 U.S.C. 926B and 926C). Qualified active law enforcement officers (926B) and qualified retired law enforcement officers (926C) may carry a concealed firearm notwithstanding most state and local restrictions, subject to the federal conditions in each section. This is a federal authorization, not a New Jersey permit exemption.
Aircraft and secured areas (49 U.S.C. 46505). Having a concealed dangerous weapon on or about oneself when on, or attempting to get on, an aircraft in air transportation, or placing a loaded firearm on that aircraft in property not accessible to passengers in flight, is punishable by a fine under title 18, imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both. A New Jersey permit does not authorize carry into a secured area or onto an aircraft. New Jersey separately lists airports and public transportation hubs as prohibited places under 2C:58-4.6(a)(20).
National Firearms Act items. Federal registration of an NFA item does not displace New Jersey's stricter prohibitions. Machine guns, silencers, and destructive devices remain state offenses under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-3 and 2C:39-5 at the gradings listed above.
New Jersey is not a stand-your-ground state. Under N.J.S.A. 2C:3-4, the use of protective force is not justifiable when the actor knows he can avoid the necessity of using such force with complete safety by retreating, with one key exception: "The actor is not obliged to retreat from his dwelling, unless he was the initial aggressor." A carry permit does not change this standard. It is a statewide rule that does not vary by municipality.
A permit holder moving across New Jersey should:
New Jersey concentrates firearms regulation in Title 2C. N.J.S.A. 2C:1-5(d) preempts local ordinances that conflict with the code or with a policy the code expresses, including a policy expressed by leaving a subject out, and 2C:1-5(a) leaves the definition of offenses to statute. Licensing, prohibited weapons and ammunition, criminal penalties, and the Chapter 131 prohibited-place rules are therefore set statewide. Chapter 131 gives local government units two express roles inside that framework: designating public parks, beaches, and recreation areas as gun-free zones under 2C:58-4.6(a)(10), and issuing the permits that trigger the 100-foot rule in (a)(6). As for the litigation, most prohibited-place categories are enforceable, including government parks and beaches under (a)(10) and youth sports events under (a)(11), while (a)(23), (a)(24) as to property held open to the public, and (b)(1) are enjoined. The parked-vehicle rule in (b)(2) was never enjoined and a violation is a crime of the fourth degree. Because this remains a preliminary-injunction posture with rehearing en banc pending, verify the status of any single provision before relying on it.
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