Carrying a Firearm in a Vehicle in New York

New York is a licensed-carry state. There is no constitutional or permitless carry. To possess or carry a handgun anywhere in the state, including inside a vehicle, you must hold a valid pistol or revolver license issued under Penal Law 400.00. Carrying in a vehicle adds two extra layers on top of the basic license rule: the network of sensitive and restricted locations created by the Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA), and a separate criminal rule for how a firearm must be stored when it is left in a vehicle.

This page describes what the statutes say and flags where post-Bruen litigation (the Antonyuk cases) has changed how parts of the CCIA are enforced.

License Required to Carry in a Vehicle

A valid license under Penal Law 400.00 is required to possess or carry a pistol or revolver, and that includes carrying one on your person while driving. New York issues different classes of pistol licenses under Penal Law 400.00(2), including a license to "have and carry concealed" and a license limited to "possess on premises." A premises-only license does not authorize carrying a handgun in a vehicle or anywhere outside the licensed home or place of business. Only a carry license permits carry on your person in a vehicle.

Carrying a handgun without the required license is a crime:

• Criminal possession of a firearm, Penal Law 265.01-b, is a class E felony for possessing an unloaded firearm (handgun) without a license.
• Criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, Penal Law 265.01, is a class A misdemeanor.
• Criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, Penal Law 265.03(3), is a class C felony for possessing any loaded firearm outside the person's home or place of business.

Penal Law 265.20 lists the statutory exemptions to these possession offenses.

The CCIA Licensing Standard

The CCIA took effect September 1, 2022 in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (June 23, 2022). It removed the old "proper cause" standard and added enhanced eligibility requirements under Penal Law 400.00:

• Good moral character. Penal Law 400.00(1)(b) defines this as "having the essential character, temperament and judgement necessary to be entrusted with a weapon and to use it only in a manner that does not endanger oneself or others."
• A minimum of 18 hours of training under Penal Law 400.00(19): at least 16 hours of in-person live classroom curriculum plus at least 2 hours of live-fire range training, with an 80 percent passing score on a written test.
• An in-person interview with the licensing officer, four character references, and disclosure of household and family members, all under Penal Law 400.00(1)(o).

The same statute, Penal Law 400.00(1)(o)(iv), also calls for the applicant to list social media accounts from the past three years. That social-media-disclosure requirement was challenged and struck down as unconstitutional; it is not currently being enforced. See the litigation note below.

Automobile Presumption of Possession

Penal Law 265.15(3) creates a presumption that matters whenever a firearm is in a car with more than one person in it. The presence of a firearm in an automobile (other than a stolen vehicle or a public omnibus) is presumptive evidence that all occupants possess it. The statute lists exceptions, including:

• The firearm is found on the person of one of the occupants.
• The vehicle is being operated for hire by a duly licensed driver in the lawful pursuit of the trade (the presumption then does not apply to the driver).
• The firearm is a pistol or revolver and one of the occupants, not present under duress, holds a valid license to carry it concealed.

A licensed carrier traveling alone is covered by the license itself. The presumption is most significant for unlicensed handguns and for passengers, so anyone carrying in a vehicle with others should understand it.

Storing a Firearm in an Unattended Vehicle

New York imposes a specific criminal rule for firearms left in a vehicle. Under Penal Law 265.45(2), no person may store or leave a rifle, shotgun, or firearm out of their immediate possession or control inside a vehicle without first:

• Removing the ammunition from the firearm, and
• Securely locking the firearm in an appropriate safe storage depository, and
• Keeping that depository out of sight from outside the vehicle.

Penal Law 265.45(3) defines a "safe storage depository" as a safe or other secure locked container that cannot be opened without its key, code, or combination, and that is fire, impact, and tamper resistant. The same subdivision states that a glove compartment or glove box does not qualify as an appropriate safe storage depository.

The offense is Failure to safely store rifles, shotguns, and firearms in the first degree, Penal Law 265.45, a class A misdemeanor. The statute exempts police officers, qualified law enforcement officers carrying under 18 U.S.C. 926B, and military personnel acting in the course of official duty. The license-application warning required by Penal Law 400.00(18) restates this rule: a firearm stored in a vehicle outside the owner's immediate possession or control must be in an appropriate safe storage depository and out of sight from outside the vehicle.

(The pipeline-generated version of this page cited Penal Law 265.50 as a "second degree" storage offense. That is incorrect. Penal Law 265.50 is criminal manufacture, sale, or transport of an undetectable firearm, a class D felony, and is unrelated to vehicle storage.)

Sensitive Locations That Affect Vehicle Travel

Even with a valid carry license, it is a crime under Penal Law 265.01-e to possess a firearm in a "sensitive location," and the offense is a class E felony. Several sensitive locations are directly relevant to driving:

• Any place, conveyance, or vehicle used for public transportation or transit, including subway cars, train cars, buses, ferries, and the facilities used in connection with that service such as airports, train stations, subway and rail stations, and bus terminals (Penal Law 265.01-e(2)(n)).
• Any place owned or controlled by federal, state, or local government for government administration, including courts (subsection (a)).
• Schools, colleges, universities, and the grounds of educational institutions (subsection (m)); nursery schools, preschools, and summer camps (subsection (f)).
• Libraries, public playgrounds, public parks, and zoos (subsection (d)). A "public park" does not include privately held land within a park that is not dedicated to public use, or the forest preserve as defined in Environmental Conservation Law 9-0101(6).
• Health and behavioral health facilities (subsection (b)); homeless and domestic violence shelters (subsection (k)).
• Establishments licensed for on-premises alcohol consumption and licensed on-premises cannabis consumption (subsection (o)).
• Theaters, stadiums, racetracks, museums, amusement parks, performance venues, conference centers, banquet halls, and gaming facilities (subsection (p)).
• Polling places (subsection (q)); permitted public events and gatherings expressing constitutional rights to protest or assemble (subsections (r) and (s)).
• The area commonly known as Times Square, as identified by the City of New York with conspicuous signage (subsection (t)).

The Second Circuit upheld the sensitive-location restrictions generally, so these places remain off limits to a license holder and the prohibition is criminally enforceable as a class E felony. The one current exception is places of worship, discussed in the litigation note below. A license does not let you carry into the enforceable sensitive locations, and that includes carrying as you enter or pass through them on foot after leaving your vehicle. Airports deserve special attention for travelers: the airport is a state sensitive location under Penal Law 265.01-e(2)(n), and separately it is a federal crime under 49 U.S.C. 46505 to carry a concealed or accessible weapon into an airport sterile area or onto an aircraft. (Aircraft and airport security violations are charged under 49 U.S.C. 46505, not 18 U.S.C. 924.)

Forest Preserve and the Adirondack and Catskill Parks

Land legally classified as forest preserve, as defined in Environmental Conservation Law 9-0101(6), is carved out of the "public park" sensitive-location definition. Specific sites inside the Adirondack or Catskill Parks that independently qualify as sensitive locations, such as a library or a government administrative building, remain off limits.

Exemptions From the Sensitive-Location Rule

Penal Law 265.01-e(3) exempts, among others: qualified active and retired law enforcement officers carrying under 18 U.S.C. 926B and 926C; New York police officers (Criminal Procedure Law 1.20(34)), including those who are retired; designated peace officers (Criminal Procedure Law 2.10); registered armed security guards while working; active-duty military personnel; persons licensed under Penal Law 400.00(2)(c), (d), or (e) while on official duty; persons lawfully hunting or in firearms-safety or marksmanship training; authorized MTA and New York City Transit Authority revenue and security employees; persons in historical reenactments or motion-picture productions; and persons training for or competing in biathlon.

Restricted (Private) Property

Penal Law 265.01-d, as written, makes it a class E felony to enter or remain on private property with a firearm when you know or should know that the owner or lessee has not permitted firearm possession. On its face the statute sets a default of no carry on property held open to the public: a license holder may carry only where the owner posts clear and conspicuous signage that firearms are allowed, or gives express consent. Private parking lots are covered by the statutory text.

That statutory default has been challenged and its status is unsettled. A federal district court (Western District of New York, Case 22-CV-695-JLS) held the default-no-carry rule unconstitutional, and its enforceability remains contested on appeal. For that reason, do not treat the Penal Law 265.01-d default as firmly operative.

What is not in doubt is the underlying property-law rule. A private owner may always bar firearms on their own property and can enforce that decision through trespass law, with or without the CCIA default. The safe practice is to carry on private commercial property only where the owner permits it, and to honor any posted no-firearms signage. Do not read the contested status of the statutory default as permission to carry freely on private property.

Post-Bruen Litigation Status (Antonyuk)

The CCIA has been heavily litigated. The key case is Antonyuk v. James (earlier captioned Antonyuk v. Hochul and Antonyuk v. Nigrelli). After the U.S. Supreme Court sent the case back for reconsideration in light of United States v. Rahimi, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a decision on October 24, 2024 (120 F.4th 941) that upheld the majority of the CCIA. The Supreme Court denied certiorari in 2025. Based on that decision and the New York Attorney General's account of it:

• Upheld and in effect: the good moral character requirement, disclosure of household and family members, the in-person interview, character references, and the 18-hour training requirement (16 hours classroom plus 2 hours live fire).
• Upheld and in effect: the criminal ban on carry in sensitive locations under Penal Law 265.01-e, with the single exception of places of worship.
• Places of worship: the place-of-worship sensitive-location ban (Penal Law 265.01-e(2)(c)) is enjoined and is not being criminally enforced, so a license holder generally may carry in a place of worship. This is the one sensitive-location category that is not currently enforced. A place of worship is still private property, so its operator may bar firearms through signage or property law, and persons responsible for security there are separately exempt.
• Struck down: the social media disclosure requirement, Penal Law 400.00(1)(o)(iv). The Second Circuit held it unconstitutional and it is not being enforced, even though it remains in the statute text.

The restricted-location default of Penal Law 265.01-d (no carry on private property without consent) has been one of the most contested parts of the litigation. A federal district court struck down the statutory default-no-carry rule and its appellate status remains unsettled, so the 265.01-d default should not be treated as firmly operative. Regardless of that statute, a private owner may always prohibit firearms under property and trespass law, so carry on private commercial property only where the owner permits.

Bottom line for a driver: do not treat any struck or enjoined provision as a green light to carry where the underlying statute otherwise prohibits it, and do not assume an upheld provision is void. The sensitive-location crime, other than places of worship, is in effect.

Transporting a Firearm Without a New York License

A person who does not hold a New York pistol license may move a handgun through the state only under the federal interstate transport protection in 18 U.S.C. 926A (the Firearm Owners' Protection Act). That statute permits transport from a place where the person may lawfully possess and carry the firearm to another such place if, during transport:

• The firearm is unloaded, and
• Neither the firearm nor any ammunition is readily accessible or directly accessible from the passenger compartment. In a vehicle with no separate trunk, the firearm and ammunition must be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console.

18 U.S.C. 926A is a defense for continuous interstate travel. Stopping in New York, and especially in New York City, longer than the trip reasonably requires can put the protection at risk, and New York City's separate licensing scheme is strict. This is not a license to carry or to leave the firearm accessible while in the state.

Long Guns and Hunting Transport

Rifles and shotguns generally do not require a license outside New York City. When transporting a long gun by motor vehicle in connection with hunting, Department of Environmental Conservation rules require the firearm to be unloaded, and many situations require it to be taken down, securely cased, or locked in the trunk. A person lawfully engaged in hunting is also among those exempted from the sensitive-location rule under Penal Law 265.01-e(3)(i) and from the restricted-location rule under Penal Law 265.01-d(2)(g) while hunting under a valid DEC license or permit.

Other New York Rules That Travel With the Firearm

How a firearm is transported does not exempt it from New York's other restrictions:

• The 10-round magazine limit applies. A "large capacity ammunition feeding device" is defined in Penal Law 265.00(23) as a magazine or similar device that can hold more than ten rounds. (An earlier seven-round load limit was struck down by the courts; the device-capacity limit of ten rounds stands.)
• SAFE Act assault-weapon restrictions apply to the firearm regardless of how it is moved.
• New York City runs its own separate and stricter handgun licensing regime, administered by the NYPD License Division under the New York City Administrative Code (10-131) and Title 38 of the Rules of the City of New York. A license valid elsewhere in the state does not by itself authorize carry in New York City.

Self-Defense While in a Vehicle

New York imposes a duty to retreat before using deadly physical force outside the home. Under Penal Law 35.15(2)(a), a person may not use deadly physical force if they know they can retreat with complete personal safety, with a stated exception when the person is in their own dwelling and is not the initial aggressor. New York has no stand-your-ground law. A vehicle is not a dwelling for purposes of the retreat exception. Penal Law 35.20 separately governs the use of force in defense of premises. Deadly force in self-defense is limited to the circumstances in Penal Law 35.15(2), such as a reasonable belief that another person is using or about to use deadly physical force, or is committing or attempting certain serious felonies.

Training Coverage of Vehicle Carry

The mandatory 18-hour course under Penal Law 400.00(19) must be taught by a duly authorized instructor as defined in Penal Law 265.00(19), with curriculum approved by the Division of Criminal Justice Services and the Superintendent of State Police. The required topics directly relevant to vehicle carry include safe storage requirements and secure storage best practices, state and federal gun laws, situational awareness, best practices when encountering law enforcement, the statutorily defined sensitive places in Penal Law 265.01-e and restricted places in Penal Law 265.01-d, conflict de-escalation, use of deadly force, and suicide prevention.

License Duration

A pistol license issued under Penal Law 400.00 expires not more than three years after the date of issuance in most of the state. In Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties, the expiration period is not more than five years. License holders must keep their licensing authority informed of address changes.

Key Statutes

This page is general information, not legal advice. New York law and its enforcement are actively changing through ongoing litigation. Confirm current requirements with the New York State Police, your county licensing officer, and, for New York City, the NYPD License Division before you carry.