New York is a licensed-carry state, not a permitless or constitutional-carry state. A license to carry a handgun is required under N.Y. Penal Law 400.00,...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
New York is a licensed-carry state, not a permitless or constitutional-carry state. A license to carry a handgun is required under N.Y. Penal Law 400.00, and New York does not recognize any other state's carry permit. This section explains how out-of-state permits are treated in New York, the narrow statutory exemptions that let nonresidents possess firearms in limited circumstances, and the federal protections (LEOSA and FOPA) that travelers sometimes rely on.
New York State does not recognize or honor a concealed carry permit issued by any other state. The licensing framework in N.Y. Penal Law 400.00 requires anyone carrying a concealed handgun in New York to hold a New York pistol license issued by a New York licensing officer (typically a county court judge or sheriff, and in New York City the NYPD License Division). There is no reciprocity statute, and New York maintains no reciprocity agreements.
A visitor who holds a valid carry permit from a home state may not legally carry a concealed handgun in New York on the strength of that permit. Possessing or carrying a handgun without a New York license is a crime, discussed below.
Possession of a handgun without the required license is charged under several Penal Law sections:
The exemptions to these possession crimes are listed in Penal Law 265.20. A New York license issued under Penal Law 400.00 is itself the principal exemption (265.20(a)(3)). Out-of-state permits are not on the exemption list.
Penal Law 265.20 sets out exemptions to the criminal possession statutes, including Penal Law 265.01, 265.01-a, 265.01-b, 265.02, 265.03, 265.05, 265.10, 265.15, 265.36, 265.37, and 270.05, among others. A handful of these exemptions reach nonresidents in narrow circumstances.
Out-of-state law enforcement (Penal Law 265.20(a)(11)): a police officer or sworn peace officer of another state may possess a firearm or large capacity ammunition feeding device while conducting official business within New York.
College or university pistol teams (Penal Law 265.20(a)(12)): a member or coach of an accredited college or university target pistol team may transport a pistol or revolver into or through New York to participate in a collegiate, Olympic, or target pistol shooting competition under the auspices of, or approved by, the National Rifle Association, provided the firearm is unloaded and carried in a locked carrying case with ammunition in a separate locked container.
Higher-education gun safety courses (Penal Law 265.20(a)(12-a)): a registered student of a higher education institution chartered by New York may possess and use a pistol or revolver at an indoor or outdoor shooting range while participating in a gun safety and proficiency course offered by that institution, under the immediate supervision of a qualified instructor described in Penal Law 265.20(a)(7).
NRA or IHMSA competitive matches (Penal Law 265.20(a)(13)): a nonresident may possess pistols and revolvers while attending or traveling to or from an organized competitive pistol match or league competition under the auspices of, or approved by, the National Rifle Association, or an organized match sanctioned by the International Handgun Metallic Silhouette Association, in which the person is a competitor, within forty-eight hours of the event. Requirements:
NRA conventions or exhibitions (Penal Law 265.20(a)(13-a)): the same forty-eight-hour exemption applies to a nonresident registered participant attending or traveling to or from an organized NRA convention or exhibition for the display of or education about firearms, with the same conditions as 265.20(a)(13). This exemption does not apply in cities not wholly contained within a single county, which excludes New York City.
Property of a decedent (Penal Law 265.20(a)(1)(f)): an executor, administrator, or other lawful possessor of the property of a decedent may continue to possess a firearm for a period not over fifteen days. If not lawfully disposed of within that period, the possessor must deliver it to an appropriate law enforcement official (or the Superintendent of State Police), who holds it and delivers it on written request to a named person who is licensed or otherwise lawfully permitted to possess it. If no request is received within one year, the official disposes of it under Penal Law 400.05.
Penal Law 265.20(a)(16) provides that the terms rifle, shotgun, pistol, revolver, and firearm as used in paragraphs 3, 4, 5, 7, 7-a, 7-b, 9, 9-a, 10, 12, 13, and 13-a do not include a disguised gun or an assault weapon. The nonresident exemptions therefore do not extend to assault weapons as defined under New York law.
Nonresidents should note that New York does not have stand-your-ground. Under Penal Law 35.15, a person may not use deadly physical force if the person can with complete personal safety avoid the necessity by retreating, except that there is no duty to retreat when the person is in his or her dwelling and is not the initial aggressor (the so-called castle exception). Penal Law 35.20 separately addresses defense of premises. A visitor accustomed to a stand-your-ground state should not assume New York law works the same way.
The Firearms Owners' Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. 926A, allows a person who is not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm to transport it from a place where the person may lawfully possess and carry it to another such place, provided that 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 without a separate compartment, the firearm or ammunition must be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console.
Cautions for travel through New York:
LEOSA is federal law, not a New York exemption. Under 18 U.S.C. 926B and 926C, a qualified active or qualified retired law enforcement officer who carries the required identification may carry a concealed firearm notwithstanding state or local law, subject to limits:
Officers relying on LEOSA in New York should carry valid agency photo identification plus proof of qualification, and many obtain a New York license for the broadest coverage.
Following New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022), which struck down New York's proper-cause requirement, New York enacted the Concealed Carry Improvement Act (L 2022, ch 371), effective September 1, 2022. The CCIA changed Penal Law 400.00 and added new location offenses.
Key features of the licensing standard in Penal Law 400.00, relevant to anyone considering a New York license:
The CCIA also requires a license to purchase or take possession of a semiautomatic rifle (Penal Law 400.00(2)). Purchasing or taking possession of a semiautomatic rifle without that license is criminal purchase of a semiautomatic rifle under Penal Law 265.65, a class A misdemeanor for a first offense and a class E felony for subsequent offenses.
The CCIA created two location offenses that apply even to a licensed carrier. A traveler who somehow carries lawfully in New York still has to account for both.
Sensitive locations (Penal Law 265.01-e): it is a crime to possess a firearm, rifle, or shotgun in a sensitive location when the person knows or reasonably should know the location is a sensitive location. The statutory list in 265.01-e(2) is long and includes government buildings and courts, health and behavioral-health facilities, places of worship, libraries, public playgrounds, public parks and zoos, schools and colleges, public transit and the facilities serving it, establishments licensed for on-premises alcohol consumption, theaters, stadiums, museums, amusement parks and other entertainment and gaming venues, polling places, protests and assemblies, and the area commonly known as Times Square. The offense is a class E felony. Subdivision 3 lists exemptions, including active and retired law enforcement under 18 U.S.C. 926B and 926C. The Second Circuit upheld these sensitive-location restrictions generally, so they remain operative and criminally enforceable. One item on the list is the exception: the place-of-worship ban (265.01-e(2)(c)) is enjoined and not enforced as a criminal ban, as explained in the litigation section below.
Restricted locations / private property default (Penal Law 265.01-d): by its terms, this section 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 permitted firearm possession either by clear and conspicuous signage allowing it or by otherwise giving express consent. As written, the statute treats private property held open to the public as no-carry by default unless the owner affirmatively opts in. The offense is a class E felony, and subdivision 2 lists exemptions. The enforceability of this default is contested: a federal district court (WDNY, Case 22-CV-695-JLS) held the no-carry default unconstitutional, and the appellate status remains unsettled. Because of that, do not treat the 265.01-d default as firmly operative. At the same time, do not assume free carry on private property either. A private owner or business may always bar firearms under ordinary property and trespass law, so the safe practice is to carry on private commercial property only where the owner has clearly permitted it. (Note: this private-property default is Penal Law 265.01-d, not 265.01-e. The sensitive-location list is 265.01-e.)
The CCIA's location restrictions and licensing provisions were challenged in Antonyuk v. James (formerly Antonyuk v. Hochul), and related cases. The Second Circuit, in Antonyuk v. James, 120 F.4th 941 (2d Cir. 2024), largely upheld the CCIA, including the good moral character licensing standard and most of the sensitive-location list. The Supreme Court denied certiorari in 2025, leaving the Second Circuit decision in place. A few applications were treated differently:
Because this area is actively litigated and the docket continues to move, anyone relying on a specific CCIA provision should confirm its current enforcement status before acting. The statutory text remains on the books; what changes is which applications a court has paused or struck.
This page covers one part of our New York concealed carry guide.
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