Prohibited Places - New York

Overview

New York is a licensed-carry state. A license to carry a handgun issued under Penal Law 400.00 is required to possess or carry a handgun, and even a valid license does not let you carry everywhere. After the U.S. Supreme Court struck down New York's "proper cause" requirement in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (June 23, 2022), the Legislature passed the Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA), effective September 1, 2022. The CCIA created two new categories of off-limits places:

• Sensitive locations under Penal Law 265.01-e, where carrying a firearm, rifle, or shotgun is a crime for almost everyone, including licensed carriers.
• Restricted locations under Penal Law 265.01-d, which makes private property a default no-carry zone unless the owner or lessee posts a sign or gives express consent.

Both statutes carry their own offense (criminal possession, a class E felony) and apply on top of the federal prohibited places that exist nationwide. Both have been the subject of ongoing litigation in Antonyuk v. Hochul / Antonyuk v. James, described in the litigation note below. The statutory text remains on the books, so treat these locations as off-limits and verify the current enforcement posture before relying on any exception.

New York City maintains its own separate, stricter handgun licensing and carry rules under the NYC Administrative Code (10-131) and Title 38 of the Rules of the City of New York. A carry license valid elsewhere in the state is not automatically valid in New York City. Treat the City as a distinct jurisdiction.

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Sensitive Locations (Penal Law 265.01-e)

Under Penal Law 265.01-e, a person is guilty of criminal possession of a firearm, rifle, or shotgun in a sensitive location when the person possesses such a weapon in or upon a sensitive location and knows or reasonably should know that the location is a sensitive location. The offense is a class E felony. The prohibition applies to all firearms, rifles, and shotguns, and a concealed carry license does not exempt the holder.

The statute lists the following sensitive locations (Penal Law 265.01-e(2)):

Government and courts

• Any place owned or under the control of federal, state, or local government for the purpose of government administration, including courts.

Health and behavioral health

• Any location providing health, behavioral health, or chemical dependence care or services.
• Programs licensed, regulated, certified, operated, or funded by the Office of Mental Health, the Office of Addiction Services and Supports, or the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.
• Residential settings licensed, certified, regulated, funded, or operated by the Department of Health.

Places of worship

• Any place of worship, except for persons responsible for security at the place of worship.
• Note: this provision has been limited by the courts. See the litigation note below.

Parks, libraries, and recreation

• Libraries, public playgrounds, public parks, and zoos.
• For purposes of this section, "public park" does not include (i) privately held land within a public park not dedicated to public use, or (ii) the forest preserve as defined in Environmental Conservation Law 9-0101(6).

Children, youth, and families

• Locations of programs licensed, regulated, certified, funded, or approved by the Office of Children and Family Services that serve children, youth, or young adults; legally exempt childcare providers; and childcare programs permitted under the New York City health code.
• Nursery schools, preschools, and summer camps. Certain lawful activities at summer camps are preserved under Penal Law 265.20 subdivisions 7-c, 7-d, and 7-e.
• Programs licensed, regulated, certified, operated, or funded by the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance.

Shelters and vulnerable-population housing

• Homeless shelters, runaway homeless youth shelters, family shelters, shelters for adults, domestic violence shelters, emergency shelters, and residential programs for victims of domestic violence.

Educational institutions

• Any building or grounds, owned or leased, of educational institutions, colleges and universities, licensed private career schools, school districts, public schools, private schools licensed under article 101 of the Education Law, charter schools, non-public schools, BOCES, special act schools, preschool special education programs, schools for students with disabilities, and state-operated or state-supported schools.

Public transportation

• Any place, conveyance, or vehicle used for public transportation or public transit, including subway cars, train cars, buses, ferries, railroad, omnibus, and marine or aviation transportation, and any facility used in connection with passenger transportation, including airports, train stations, subway and rail stations, and bus terminals.

Establishments serving alcohol or cannabis

• Any establishment holding an active license for on-premises consumption under article four, four-A, five, or six of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law where alcohol is consumed, and any establishment licensed under article four of the Cannabis Law for on-premises consumption.

Entertainment, gaming, and sporting venues

• Any place used for performance, art, entertainment, gaming, or sporting events, such as theaters, stadiums, racetracks, museums, amusement parks, performance venues, concerts, exhibits, conference centers, banquet halls, and gaming facilities and video lottery terminal facilities licensed by the gaming commission.

Civic and public-gathering locations

• Any location being used as a polling place.
• Any public sidewalk or other public area restricted from general public access for a limited time or special event that has been issued a permit, or is subject to specific heightened law enforcement protection, or has otherwise had access restricted by a governmental entity, provided the location is identified by clear and conspicuous signage.
• Any gathering of individuals to collectively express their constitutional rights to protest or assemble.

Designated geographic zone

• The area commonly known as Times Square, as determined and identified by the City of New York, provided the area is clearly and conspicuously identified with signage.

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Restricted Locations - Private Property (Penal Law 265.01-d)

Penal Law 265.01-d makes private property a default no-carry zone. A person is guilty of criminal possession of a weapon in a restricted location when the person possesses a firearm, rifle, or shotgun and enters or remains on private property knowing, or reasonably should knowing, that the owner or lessee has not permitted such possession. Permission is given in one of two ways:

1. The owner or lessee posts clear and conspicuous signage indicating that carrying firearms, rifles, or shotguns on the property is permitted; or
2. The owner or lessee otherwise gives express consent.

In plain terms, the default is no carry on someone else's private property. Absent a posted sign or express permission, carrying there is a class E felony. This is the opposite of the "no guns" sign rule in many other states, where carry is allowed until a sign tells you otherwise.

The enforceability of this default as applied to private property held open to the public has been litigated. See the litigation note below.

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Litigation Status (Antonyuk)

The CCIA's sensitive-location and restricted-location provisions were challenged in Antonyuk v. Hochul, which reached the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (later captioned Antonyuk v. James after the case returned from the Supreme Court following United States v. Rahimi). The Second Circuit's October 24, 2024 decision largely upheld the CCIA, including most of the sensitive-location designations in Penal Law 265.01-e and the restricted-location private-property default in Penal Law 265.01-d.

Two points carriers should track:

• Places of worship: courts found the blanket place-of-worship restriction problematic as applied to those who own, operate, or are responsible for a house of worship and wish to carry or to authorize carry there. This part of the law has been narrowed or enjoined at various stages. Do not treat the place-of-worship provision as flatly enforceable against a person carrying with the permission of the congregation that controls the building.
• Private property held open to the public: the application of the restricted-location default to property generally open to the public was enjoined in the district court at points in the litigation, while the Second Circuit upheld the provision more broadly. Enforcement guidance has shifted during the case.

Because the statutory text remains in force and the litigation has moved between the district court, the Second Circuit, and the Supreme Court, the safest course is to follow the statute as written and confirm the current enforcement posture before relying on either of these two carve-outs. The CCIA's separate requirement that applicants disclose social media accounts was also enjoined and is not being enforced.

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Exemptions from the Sensitive Location Law (Penal Law 265.01-e(3))

Penal Law 265.01-e(3) states that the sensitive-location offense does not apply to:

• Qualified law enforcement officers authorized to carry concealed firearms under 18 U.S.C. 926B, and qualified retired law enforcement officers authorized to carry under 18 U.S.C. 926C (LEOSA).
• Police officers as defined in Criminal Procedure Law 1.20(34), including those who were employed as police officers but are now retired.
• Peace officers designated by Criminal Procedure Law 2.10.
• Security guards defined by and registered under article 7-A of the General Business Law who have been granted a special armed registration card, while at the location of their employment and during their work hours.
• Active-duty military personnel.
• Persons licensed under paragraph (c), (d), or (e) of Penal Law 400.00(2) while in the course of their official duties.
• Government employees, with the express written consent of their supervising government entity, for natural resource protection and management.
• Persons lawfully engaged in taking wildlife under a hunting permit or license, and persons lawfully engaged in hunter education training, marksmanship practice or competition, or training in the safe handling and use of firearms.
• Persons operating a state- or municipality-licensed, certified, authorized, or funded program out of their residence (a sensitive location), so long as possession complies with the rules governing the program and firearm use or storage.
• Persons employed in the revenue control and security departments of the MTA, the New York City Transit Authority, or an affiliate or subsidiary, who are authorized to carry as part of their employment, while acting within the scope of their duties.
• Persons lawfully engaged in historical reenactments, educational programming involving historical weapons of warfare, or motion picture or theatrical productions.
• Persons responsible for the storage or display of antique firearms, rifles, or shotguns at museums and historic sites, while acting within the scope of their official duties.
• Persons participating in military ceremonies, funerals, and honor guards.
• Persons lawfully learning, practicing, training for, or competing in the sport of biathlon, including travel into or within the state for that purpose.

Exemptions from the Restricted Location Law (Penal Law 265.01-d(2))

The exemption list for restricted locations is narrower. Penal Law 265.01-d(2) states that the restricted-location offense does not apply to:

• Police officers as defined in Criminal Procedure Law 1.20.
• Peace officers as defined in Criminal Procedure Law 2.10.
• Qualified law enforcement officers under 18 U.S.C. 926B and qualified retired law enforcement officers under 18 U.S.C. 926C (LEOSA).
• Security guards defined by and registered under article 7-A of the General Business Law who have been granted a special armed registration card, while at the location of their employment and during their work hours.
• Active-duty military personnel.
• Persons licensed under paragraph (c), (d), or (e) of Penal Law 400.00(2) while in the course of their official duties.
• Persons lawfully taking wildlife under a hunting permit or license, or as authorized under Environmental Conservation Law 11-0707 and 11-0709.
• Persons employed in the revenue control and security departments of the MTA, the New York City Transit Authority, or an affiliate or subsidiary, authorized to carry as part of their employment, while acting within the scope of their duties.

Note that ordinary licensed carriers, including holders of a Penal Law 400.00 carry license, are not on either exemption list. A license to carry does not override the sensitive-location or restricted-location prohibitions.

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Federal Prohibited Places

Federal law bars firearms in certain places regardless of a New York license:

• Federal facilities: 18 U.S.C. 930 makes it a crime to knowingly possess a firearm or other dangerous weapon in a federal facility (other than a federal court facility), punishable by a fine, up to one year of imprisonment, or both. The penalty rises to up to five years if the person intends the weapon to be used in a crime. Federal court facilities are separately covered.
• Aircraft and the secured area of an airport: 49 U.S.C. 46505 makes it a federal crime to carry a concealed dangerous weapon accessible to you when on or attempting to board an aircraft, or to place a loaded firearm aboard an aircraft, punishable by a fine, up to ten years of imprisonment, or both. This is the controlling federal statute for the airport sterile area and for boarding aircraft. Checked, unloaded, properly cased and declared firearms in checked baggage follow TSA and airline rules and are handled separately.
• Other federal property: national parks generally follow the law of the state in which they sit, but federal buildings within them and other federal installations remain off-limits under federal law.

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Practical Notes

• A premises license (home or business) does not authorize carrying a handgun in public. A carry license under Penal Law 400.00 is required to carry outside the licensed premises, and even then the sensitive-location and restricted-location rules apply.
• The sensitive-location and restricted-location offenses cover all firearms, rifles, and shotguns, not just handguns.
• Carrying or possessing a handgun without the required license is itself a crime under New York law. See, for example, Penal Law 265.01-b (criminal possession of a firearm), 265.01 (criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree), and 265.03 (criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree). Penal Law 265.20 lists the statutory exemptions.
• New York City has its own licensing and carry scheme under NYC Administrative Code 10-131 and Title 38 of the Rules of the City of New York. Confirm City rules before carrying anywhere in the five boroughs.
• Because the CCIA remains in active litigation, verify the current status of the place-of-worship and private-property-held-open-to-the-public provisions before relying on any narrowing of those rules.

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Key Statute References

Sources: New York Penal Law 265.01-e, 265.01-d, 265.20, 400.00 (FindLaw, current through Jan. 1, 2026); 18 U.S.C. 930, 926B, 926C and 49 U.S.C. 46505; Antonyuk v. James (2d Cir. Oct. 24, 2024). Verify current enforcement status given ongoing litigation.