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...
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, plus a private-property default rule, so even a licensed carrier faces heavy location limits.
This section explains what the statutes actually say, distinguishes handguns from long guns, and flags the post-Bruen litigation (Antonyuk v. James / Antonyuk v. Hochul) 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. Because possession of a handgun without a license is itself a crime in New York (see Penalties below), carrying a handgun openly is not a lawful alternative to concealed carry. It is simply unlicensed or out-of-scope carry.
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.
New York does not require a general license to possess most rifles and shotguns. One major exception: a license is required to take possession of a semiautomatic rifle, added by Penal Law 400.00(2) effective in 2022 for transfers on or after that date.
There is no statute that broadly bans openly carrying a lawfully possessed long gun in all public places. Practically, though, openly carrying a rifle or shotgun in public is sharply limited by the sensitive-location crime in Penal Law 265.01-e and the restricted-location crime in Penal Law 265.01-d, both of which apply to "a firearm, rifle or shotgun." Carrying a long gun in or near the many covered locations is a felony regardless of how the firearm is licensed.
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. The Second Circuit upheld the sensitive-location ban generally, so it is operative and criminally enforceable as a class E felony, with one exception described below for places of worship. The statute lists the sensitive locations in 265.01-e(2), including:
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 the exception. The criminal ban on carrying in a place of worship (Penal Law 265.01-e(2)(c)) has been enjoined and is not being enforced. The Second Circuit affirmed the district court injunction as to places of worship, so a license holder generally may carry there as a matter of criminal law. This is not a green light, though. A place of worship is private property, and its operator may still prohibit firearms through clear and conspicuous signage or trespass law, and persons responsible for security at the place of worship are separately exempt under the statute. The other sensitive-location designations on the list above remain operative and enforceable.
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.
The enforceability of this default-no-carry rule is unsettled. A federal district court (United States District Court for the Western District of New York, Case 22-CV-695-JLS) held the 265.01-d default unconstitutional as applied to private property held open to the public, and the appellate status of that ruling remains unsettled. For that reason, do not treat the 265.01-d statutory default as firmly operative. At the same time, do not assume you may carry freely on private property: a private owner may always bar firearms under ordinary property and trespass law, regardless of how the constitutional question on the statutory default is resolved. The safe practice is to carry on private commercial property only where the owner clearly permits it.
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 upheld the majority of the CCIA, and the Supreme Court denied certiorari in 2025. The provisions the court upheld include the good-moral-character standard, the requirement to disclose household and family members on the application, the in-person interview, character references, the 16-hour training requirement, and the sensitive-location ban generally. The court carved out specific exceptions:
Because the precise scope of what is currently enforceable continues to be litigated, confirm the current status with the licensing officer or current state guidance before relying on any specific provision. Treat the underlying statutes as in effect except where a court has specifically limited them, as described above.
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) |
| 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); place-of-worship ban enjoined |
| Penal Law 265.01-d | Firearms in restricted locations (private property; class E felony); default-no-carry rule contested |
| Penal Law 265.20 | Exemptions from article 265 |
| Penal Law 265.00 | Definitions, including assault weapon (22) and large capacity feeding device (23) |
| 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, and even then carry is barred in the many sensitive locations listed in Penal Law 265.01-e. The Second Circuit upheld that sensitive-location ban generally, with one carve-out: the criminal ban on carrying in a place of worship is enjoined and not enforced, though a place of worship may still prohibit firearms as a private property owner. The social media disclosure requirement in Penal Law 400.00(1)(o)(iv) was struck down and is not enforced, while the good-moral-character standard, in-person interview, references, and training requirements remain in effect. The private-property default in Penal Law 265.01-d was held unconstitutional by a district court and its appellate status is unsettled, so it should not be treated as firmly operative, but a private owner may always bar firearms under property and trespass law. Long guns are not subject to a single open-carry ban statute, but the same sensitive-location and restricted-location felonies sharply limit where they can be carried. Confirm current enforcement before relying on any specific provision, and remember that New York City is a separate, stricter licensing jurisdiction.
This page covers one part of our New York concealed carry guide.
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