New York does not authorize the open carry of handguns. A license issued under Penal Law 400.00 is required to possess or carry a handgun at all, and...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
New York does not authorize the open carry of handguns. A license issued under Penal Law 400.00 is required to possess or carry a handgun at all, and the carry license that exists in New York is a license to carry a pistol or revolver concealed. There is no statutory license category that permits carrying a handgun openly (unconcealed) in public. Layered on top of that, the 2022 Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA) added a long list of "sensitive locations" where carrying any firearm is a crime, so even a licensed carrier faces heavy location limits. The CCIA also created a private-property default rule, and that rule is now under a federal injunction as applied to private property open to the public, where the State Police say they are not enforcing it (see Restricted Locations below).
This section explains what the statutes actually say, distinguishes handguns from long guns, and flags the post-Bruen litigation (Antonyuk v. James, Christian v. James, Frey v. City of New York, and Wolford v. Lopez) that has shaped which provisions are currently enforced.
Penal Law 400.00 governs pistol and revolver licenses. The license types relevant here are set out in Penal Law 400.00(2):
There is no "open carry" license in the statute. The Second Circuit said so in Frey v. City of New York, No. 23-365-cv (2d Cir. Sept. 19, 2025): "New York grants licenses only for concealed public carry of a pistol or revolver," so "New York criminalizes, and thereby effectively bans, the open carrying of firearms in public." A licensee who carries openly is exposed on the license itself, because "a license holder that carries openly in public would violate the terms of that license and may thereby be subject to prosecution under Section 400.00(15)," which makes any violation of Penal Law 400.00 a class A misdemeanor. For a person with no license, open carry is not a separate offense. It is the same possession crime described under Penalties below, since Penal Law 265.01(1), 265.01-b(1) and 265.03(3) turn on possession rather than on how the handgun is worn. Frey affirmed the denial of a preliminary injunction against the open carry ban on the record before the court, which noted that its ruling "does not determine the ultimate constitutionality of the challenged [] provisions".
After New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022) struck down the old "proper cause" standard, the CCIA replaced it with enhanced eligibility requirements for a carry license under Penal Law 400.00(2)(f):
A carry license is generally valid throughout the state, but Penal Law 400.00(6) provides that it is not valid within New York City unless a special permit is issued by the NYPD police commissioner. New York City runs its own separate, stricter handgun licensing process (New York City Administrative Code 10-131 and Title 38 of the Rules of the City of New York). Treat New York City as a separate jurisdiction for licensing.
Bruen struck New York's "proper cause" requirement for a carry license. It did not create a right to open carry in New York, and it did not strike the requirement that a person be licensed to possess or carry a handgun. New York responded with the CCIA, which kept licensing in place, removed "proper cause," and added the eligibility, training, sensitive-location, and restricted-location provisions described in this guide.
The Penal Law 400.00 licensing scheme is built around pistols and revolvers. An ordinary rifle or shotgun is not a "firearm" under Penal Law 265.00(3), which reaches pistols and revolvers, shotguns with a barrel under eighteen inches, rifles with a barrel under sixteen inches, weapons made from a shotgun or rifle with an overall length under twenty-six inches, assault weapons, and certain frames or receivers. One state license does reach a long gun. Penal Law 400.00(2) provides that a license "shall be issued to purchase or take possession of" a semiautomatic rifle other than an assault weapon or disguised gun, for transfers on or after the 2022 effective date of the chapter that added it.
The location statutes are written more broadly than the licensing statute. The sensitive-location crime in Penal Law 265.01-e reaches "a firearm, rifle or shotgun," so carrying a long gun in a covered sensitive location is a class E felony no matter how the long gun is licensed. The restricted-location crime in Penal Law 265.01-d uses the same three words, and it is enjoined only as to private property open to the public (see Restricted Locations below). Private property that is not held open to the public, and property where the owner has prohibited firearms, stay off-limits. New York City is separate again. The NYPD states that "possession of a handgun or rifle/shotgun in New York City requires a license (for handguns) or a permit (for rifles/shotguns) issued by the NYPD License Division."
Penal Law 265.01-e makes it a crime to possess a firearm, rifle, or shotgun in a "sensitive location" when the person knows or reasonably should know the place is a sensitive location. Treat the whole list as in force. The Second Circuit vacated the preliminary injunctions against the sensitive-location provisions challenged in Antonyuk, the Supreme Court denied certiorari on April 7, 2025 (No. 24-795), and New York publishes all twenty paragraphs on gunsafety.ny.gov with no non-enforcement notice attached. The statute lists the sensitive locations in 265.01-e(2), paragraphs (a) through (t):
Criminal possession of a firearm, rifle or shotgun in a sensitive location is a class E felony under Penal Law 265.01-e.
Places of worship are in force, with one narrow exception written into the statute itself. Penal Law 265.01-e(2)(c) covers "any place of worship, except for those persons responsible for security at such place of worship." The only court relief that survives is party-specific. In the December 8, 2023 consolidated opinion the Second Circuit upheld the injunction against the place-of-worship provision as applied to "Pastor Spencer, the Tabernacle Family Church, its members, or their agents and licensees," and in the companion Hardaway case it vacated the injunction against the same provision. Nobody outside that Spencer relief should treat the place-of-worship ban as enjoined. New York lists places of worship among the sensitive locations on gunsafety.ny.gov with no non-enforcement notice attached. A place of worship is also private property, so its operator may prohibit firearms through clear and conspicuous signage or trespass law on top of the criminal statute.
Penal Law 265.01-e(3) lists exemptions, including: qualified active and retired law enforcement officers carrying under 18 U.S.C. 926B or 926C (federal LEOSA); New York police officers and designated peace officers (Criminal Procedure Law 1.20 and 2.10); registered armed security guards under article 7-A of the General Business Law while working; active-duty military personnel; persons lawfully hunting under a Department of Environmental Conservation permit and persons in marksmanship training or competition; and persons engaged in historical reenactments or theatrical productions.
Penal Law 265.01-d makes it a crime to possess a firearm, rifle, or shotgun on private property when the person knows or reasonably should know that the owner or lessee has not allowed it by clear and conspicuous signage or otherwise given express consent. On its face, the statute sets a default of "no carry on private property unless the owner says yes," and a violation is a class E felony. The exemptions in 265.01-d(2) parallel those in the sensitive-location statute, including LEOSA officers, peace officers, registered armed security guards on duty, active-duty military, and lawful hunters.
That statutory default is still on the books and enjoined in part. On October 10, 2024 the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York ordered that the defendants and those acting with them "are permanently enjoined, effectively immediately, from enforcing N.Y. Pen. L. 265.01-d with respect to private property open to the public." Christian v. James, No. 22-cv-00695 (W.D.N.Y.), ECF 98. The Second Circuit affirmed that permanent injunction on May 18, 2026. Christian v. James, 176 F.4th 189 (2d Cir. 2026). The New York State Police say the same thing in operational terms on gunsafety.ny.gov: "Due to a court ruling NYSP is not currently enforcing this provision with respect to possession of a firearm, rifle, or shotgun upon private property that is held open to the public." The statute has not been repealed and has not been invalidated as a whole. As to private property that is not held open to the public, 265.01-d still applies on its own terms.
What changed for private property open to the public is the default. Instead of possession being criminal unless the owner affirmatively permits it, permission is presumed unless the owner withdraws it, so a licensee may carry into a store, diner, pharmacy, or gas station unless the owner has prohibited it by conspicuous signage or actual notice. Property owners keep the right to exclude firearms, and honoring a posted prohibition or a direct request to leave remains mandatory under ordinary property and trespass law. The sensitive-location statute is a separate layer that this injunction does not touch.
Several CCIA provisions were challenged in federal court in Antonyuk v. Hochul, which reached the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (later captioned Antonyuk v. James after a remand from the Supreme Court in light of United States v. Rahimi). A district court initially enjoined many provisions in late 2022, but the Second Circuit stayed that injunction, so the CCIA took effect and remained largely in force during the appeal.
In its decision of October 24, 2024 (Antonyuk v. James, 120 F.4th 941), the Second Circuit affirmed the district court's injunction in part, vacated it in part, and remanded. It vacated the preliminary injunctions against the challenged sensitive-location provisions, and the Supreme Court denied certiorari on April 7, 2025 (No. 24-795). The provisions left standing include the good-moral-character standard, the requirement to disclose household and family members on the application, the in-person interview, four character references, the 18-hour training requirement, the catch-all, and the sensitive-location list. What the court preserved was narrow:
Three matters are still open, and in each one the statute stays in force while the court works. In Christian, the stay on the public transit claim was lifted by text order on August 17, 2026, and that claim is unresolved, so Penal Law 265.01-e(2)(n) applies. The Christian plaintiffs obtained an extension to September 16, 2026 to petition for certiorari on the public parks ban. In Antonyuk, summary judgment briefing on the remaining provisions runs to a September 18, 2026 reply deadline. Outside the rulings described above, treat the underlying statutes as in effect, and confirm the current enforcement status on gunsafety.ny.gov before relying on any of it.
New York imposes a duty to retreat before using deadly physical force outside the home. Penal Law 35.15(2)(a) bars deadly physical force if the actor knows he or she can retreat with complete personal safety, with an exception when the actor is in his or her own dwelling and is not the initial aggressor (the "castle" exception). New York has no stand-your-ground law. Penal Law 35.20 addresses the use of force in defense of premises. Carrying a handgun lawfully does not change these justification rules.
Because there is no lawful open carry, the relevant penalties are those for possessing or carrying a handgun without authority:
A simple violation of the licensing provisions of Penal Law 400.00 is a class A misdemeanor under Penal Law 400.00(15).
| Statute | Subject |
|---|---|
| Penal Law 400.00 | Handgun licensing; carry license in 400.00(2)(f); good moral character 400.00(1)(b); training 400.00(19); interview and references 400.00(1)(o); any violation is a class A misdemeanor under 400.00(15) |
| Penal Law 265.01-b | Criminal possession of a firearm (class E felony) |
| Penal Law 265.01 | Criminal possession of a weapon, fourth degree (class A misdemeanor) |
| Penal Law 265.03 | Criminal possession of a weapon, second degree (class C felony); loaded firearm outside home or business |
| Penal Law 265.02 | Criminal possession of a weapon, third degree (class D felony); assault weapon and large capacity feeding device |
| Penal Law 265.01-e | Firearms in sensitive locations (class E felony); all twenty categories in force, place-of-worship relief limited to the Spencer plaintiffs |
| Penal Law 265.01-d | Firearms in restricted locations (private property, class E felony); permanently enjoined as to private property open to the public by Christian v. James, still applies elsewhere |
| Penal Law 265.20 | Exemptions from article 265 |
| Penal Law 265.00 | Definitions, including firearm (3), assault weapon (22) and large capacity feeding device (23) |
| Penal Law 265.37 | Unlawful possession of an ammunition feeding device containing more than seven rounds; still in the Penal Law, seven-round load limit held unconstitutional on intermediate scrutiny in NYSRPA v. Cuomo, 804 F.3d 242 (2d Cir. 2015) |
| Penal Law 35.15 / 35.20 | Justification; duty to retreat outside the dwelling; defense of premises |
| 18 U.S.C. 926B / 926C | Federal LEOSA carry for qualified active and retired law enforcement |
New York has no open carry. A handgun may only be carried by a private citizen who holds a Penal Law 400.00(2)(f) concealed-carry license, that license is a license to carry concealed, and a licensee who carries openly risks prosecution under Penal Law 400.00(15) as a class A misdemeanor. Even a licensee is barred from the sensitive locations listed in Penal Law 265.01-e. Treat all twenty of those categories as in force, places of worship and public parks and public transit included. The only place-of-worship relief that survives is the party-specific injunction for Pastor Spencer and the Tabernacle Family Church, and the statute's own exception covers people responsible for security at the place of worship. The social media subparagraph in Penal Law 400.00(1)(o)(iv) has not been repealed and no court has held it unconstitutional. It came off the PPB-3 application form through a March 30, 2026 court-ordered settlement in Antonyuk, and the good-moral-character standard, in-person interview, character references, and training requirements all remain in effect. The private-property default in Penal Law 265.01-d is still on the books and permanently enjoined as to private property open to the public, affirmed by the Second Circuit on May 18, 2026, with the Supreme Court reaching the same conclusion about a Hawaii law in Wolford v. Lopez a month later. A licensee may carry on private property open to the public unless the owner prohibits it by conspicuous signage or actual notice, an owner may always bar firearms under property and trespass law, and property not held open to the public is still covered by the statute. Christian affirmed judgment for the State on the public parks ban, so parks stay off-limits. Long guns fall outside the handgun licensing scheme but squarely inside the location felonies. Remember that New York City is a separate, stricter licensing jurisdiction for handguns and for rifles and shotguns alike.
This page covers one part of our New York concealed carry guide.
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