North Carolina concealed-carry restrictions combine the federal prohibited-persons floor (18 U.S.C. 922(g)) with the state Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP)...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
North Carolina concealed-carry restrictions combine the federal prohibited-persons floor (18 U.S.C. 922(g)) with the state Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) disqualifying conditions at G.S. 14-415.12(b). Both layers apply, and the state layer is broader than the federal floor in several respects. If you are barred by either statute, you cannot lawfully receive or hold a North Carolina CHP, and you generally cannot lawfully possess a firearm at all.
This section covers PEOPLE-based prohibitions: who is disqualified from owning a firearm or holding a permit. Location-based bars (schools, government property, alcohol-serving establishments, posted property) are covered in PROHIBITED_PLACES. Weapons-category bars (machine guns, short-barreled rifles, suppressors, weapons of mass death and destruction) are covered in NFA_ITEMS. The carry-while-impaired rule is covered in UNDER_INFLUENCE.
One purchase-side change is worth stating up front because it is widely misunderstood. North Carolina repealed its pistol purchase permit in 2023 (S.L. 2023-8, Senate Bill 41). You no longer need a county-issued purchase permit to buy a handgun. A federal NICS background check at a licensed dealer still applies, and the CHP described in this guide is a separate document that is still required to carry a handgun concealed under G.S. 14-415.11. Do not confuse the repealed purchase permit with the CHP.
Read the people-based rules against four legal layers that combine to set your eligibility:
The federal Gun Control Act prohibits any person in nine categories from shipping, transporting, possessing, or receiving any firearm or ammunition in or affecting interstate commerce. The text is uniform nationwide and applies in North Carolina without modification.
"(g) It shall be unlawful for any person--
(1) who has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;
(2) who is a fugitive from justice;
(3) who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802));
(4) who has been adjudicated as a mental defective or who has been committed to a mental institution;
(5) who, being an alien--
(A) is illegally or unlawfully in the United States; or
(B) except as provided in subsection (y)(2), has been admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa (as that term is defined in section 101(a)(26) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(26)));
(6) who has been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions;
(7) who, having been a citizen of the United States, has renounced his citizenship;
(8) who is subject to a court order that--
(A) was issued after a hearing of which such person received actual notice, and at which such person had an opportunity to participate;
(B) restrains such person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner of such person or child of such intimate partner or person, or engaging in other conduct that would place an intimate partner in reasonable fear of bodily injury to the partner or child; and
(C) (i) includes a finding that such person represents a credible threat to the physical safety of such intimate partner or child; or
(ii) by its terms explicitly prohibits the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against such intimate partner or child that would reasonably be expected to cause bodily injury; or
(9) who has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence,
to ship or transport in interstate or foreign commerce, or possess in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition; or to receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce."
Five practical points about the federal floor:
Note what 922(g) does not include: it does not bar a person merely "under indictment." That is a separate provision. 18 U.S.C. 922(n) prohibits a person under indictment for a felony from shipping, transporting, or receiving a firearm. Section 922(n) does not prohibit possession of a pre-existing firearm; only receipt and shipment are reached. North Carolina G.S. 14-415.12(b)(2) parallels this with a CHP disqualifier for a pending felony indictment or a probable-cause finding on a felony.
Federal 922(g) penalties reach 15 years imprisonment under 18 U.S.C. 924(a)(8). A person who violates 922(g) and has three prior convictions for a "violent felony" or "serious drug offense" faces a 15-year mandatory minimum under the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. 924(e).
The sheriff "shall deny a permit to an applicant" who falls within any of the eleven enumerated conditions. The statute is mandatory: the sheriff has no discretion to issue if any subdivision applies. The text:
"(b) The sheriff shall deny a permit to an applicant who:
(1) Is ineligible to own, possess, or receive a firearm under the provisions of State or federal law.
(2) Is under indictment or against whom a finding of probable cause exists for a felony.
(3) Has been adjudicated guilty in any court of a felony, unless: (i) the felony is an offense that pertains to antitrust violations, unfair trade practices, or restraints of trade, or (ii) the person's firearms rights have been restored pursuant to G.S. 14-415.4.
(4) Is a fugitive from justice.
(5) Is an unlawful user of, or addicted to marijuana, alcohol, or any depressant, stimulant, or narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance as defined in 21 U.S.C. 802.
(6) Is currently, or has been previously adjudicated by a court or administratively determined by a governmental agency whose decisions are subject to judicial review to be, lacking mental capacity or mentally ill. Receipt of previous consultative services or outpatient treatment alone shall not disqualify an applicant under this subdivision.
(7) Is or has been discharged from the Armed Forces of the United States under conditions other than honorable.
(8) Except as provided in subdivision (8a), (8b), or (8c) of this section, is or has been adjudicated guilty of or received a prayer for judgment continued or suspended sentence for one or more crimes of violence constituting a misdemeanor, including but not limited to, a violation of a misdemeanor under Article 8 of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes except for a violation of G.S. 14-33(a), or a violation of a misdemeanor under G.S. 14-226.1, 14-258.1, 14-269.2, 14-269.3, 14-269.4, 14-269.6, 14-277, 14-277.1, 14-277.2, 14-283 except for a violation involving fireworks exempted under G.S. 14-414, 14-288.2, 14-288.4(a)(1), 14-288.6, 14-288.9, former 14-288.12, former 14-288.13, former 14-288.14, 14-415.21(b), or 14-415.26(d) within three years prior to the date on which the application is submitted.
(8a) Is or has been adjudicated guilty of or received a prayer for judgment continued or suspended sentence for one or more crimes of violence constituting a misdemeanor under G.S. 14-33(c)(1), 14-33(c)(2), 14-33(c)(3), 14-33(d), 14-277.3A, 14-318.2, 14-134.3, 50B-4.1, or former G.S. 14-277.3.
(8b) Is prohibited from possessing a firearm pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 922(g) as a result of a conviction of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
(8c) Has been adjudicated guilty of or received a prayer for judgment continued or suspended sentence for one or more crimes involving an assault or a threat to assault a law enforcement officer, probation or parole officer, person employed at a State or local detention facility, firefighter, emergency medical technician, medical responder, or emergency department personnel.
(9) Has had entry of a prayer for judgment continued for a criminal offense which would disqualify the person from obtaining a concealed handgun permit.
(10) Is free on bond or personal recognizance pending trial, appeal, or sentencing for a crime which would disqualify him from obtaining a concealed handgun permit.
(11) Has been convicted of an impaired driving offense under G.S. 20-138.1, 20-138.2, or 20-138.3 within three years prior to the date on which the application is submitted."
The subsections below walk each bar in turn.
The first subdivision is a catch-all that adopts every state or federal firearms-ineligibility ground. If 18 U.S.C. 922(g) bars you from possessing a firearm, (b)(1) bars the sheriff from issuing you a permit. The same result follows from any other state or federal prohibition (for example, a federal conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence under 922(g)(9), or an active 922(g)(8) protective-order bar). The sheriff's background check at the application stage typically catches these.
A pending felony indictment, or a finding of probable cause on a felony, is a permit-denial trigger. The disqualifier persists for the duration of the pending charge. If the charge is dismissed or you are acquitted, the bar ends; if you are convicted, you move to (b)(3) and the bar becomes effectively permanent.
The felony bar is the broadest single ground. The statute reaches a conviction in "any court," which includes state, federal, military, and foreign courts. Two narrow exceptions:
A person fleeing prosecution or escaping confinement is disqualified. The state ground at (b)(4) tracks the federal 922(g)(2) bar; the operational effect is the same.
The state ground reaches a current "unlawful user of, or addicted to" marijuana, alcohol, or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance defined in 21 U.S.C. 802. The state language is broader than the federal floor at 922(g)(3) in one respect: it enumerates "alcohol" by name, so chronic alcoholism is a separate state ground.
The drug-user bar is read alongside, and is not duplicative of, the carry-while-impaired rule covered in UNDER_INFLUENCE. The (b)(5) disqualifier is about applicant status ("is an unlawful user"); the carry-while-impaired rule at G.S. 14-415.11 is about your conduct while carrying. Both can apply.
The (b)(6) bar reaches a current or prior judicial or administrative adjudication of lacking mental capacity or being mentally ill. It is broader than the federal 922(g)(4) floor, which reaches only adjudications as a "mental defective" or commitments to a mental institution. The North Carolina version reaches administrative determinations by any agency whose decisions are subject to judicial review, which captures more agency actions than the federal floor.
Two important boundaries in the statute itself:
Outpatient treatment does not disqualify. The second sentence: "Receipt of previous consultative services or outpatient treatment alone shall not disqualify an applicant under this subdivision." You can have seen a therapist, taken prescribed psychiatric medication, or participated in outpatient counseling without triggering (b)(6). The bar requires a formal adjudication or administrative determination.
Rights restoration via G.S. 14-409.42. The companion subsection (c) provides:
"(c) An applicant shall not be ineligible to receive a concealed carry permit under subdivision (6) of subsection (b) of this section because of an adjudication of mental incapacity or illness or an involuntary commitment to mental health services if the individual's rights have been restored under G.S. 14-409.42."
A person who has completed the G.S. 14-409.42 rights-restoration procedure is not disqualified under (b)(6), even though the adjudication remains on record.
This is one of the points where the North Carolina rule is broader than the federal floor. Read the two side by side:
The federal bar reaches only a punitive dishonorable discharge, a relatively narrow category. The North Carolina bar reaches any discharge "under conditions other than honorable," a wider administrative band that more clearly captures the "other-than-honorable" (OTH) administrative discharge that the military issues for misconduct without a court-martial.
Practical takeaway: a service member who would clear the federal 922(g)(6) floor (for example, received a bad-conduct or OTH discharge but not a dishonorable discharge) may still be barred from a North Carolina CHP under (b)(7). Verify your DD-214 discharge characterization carefully before applying.
These four subdivisions are read as a group. They reach a person "adjudicated guilty of or received a prayer for judgment continued or suspended sentence for" specified misdemeanors. The structure has a default rule and three categorical sub-bars:
(b)(8): the default with a three-year lookback. Misdemeanor crimes of violence under Article 8 of Chapter 14 (the assault chapter), except a violation of G.S. 14-33(a), plus a specific list of enumerated weapons-related and public-disorder misdemeanors, when the conviction falls within three years prior to the application. The enumerated list is G.S. 14-226.1, 14-258.1, 14-269.2, 14-269.3, 14-269.4, 14-269.6, 14-277, 14-277.1, 14-277.2, 14-283 (excluding fireworks exempted under G.S. 14-414), 14-288.2, 14-288.4(a)(1), 14-288.6, 14-288.9, former 14-288.12, former 14-288.13, former 14-288.14, 14-415.21(b), and 14-415.26(d).
(b)(8a): a categorical bar with no lookback for a defined list. A misdemeanor of violence under G.S. 14-33(c)(1), 14-33(c)(2), 14-33(c)(3), 14-33(d), 14-277.3A, 14-318.2, 14-134.3, 50B-4.1, or former G.S. 14-277.3. This list includes aggravated simple-assault grades under 14-33(c) and (d), stalking under 14-277.3A, domestic criminal trespass under 14-134.3, and violation of a domestic violence protective order under 50B-4.1. Critically, there is no three-year lookback. A conviction or qualifying disposition under any (b)(8a) statute is a permanent CHP disqualifier.
(b)(8b): the federal Lautenberg bar. "Is prohibited from possessing a firearm pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 922(g) as a result of a conviction of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence." This subdivision converts the federal 922(g)(9) bar into an independent state CHP-denial ground. The federal definition of "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" at 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(33) controls.
(b)(8c): the assault-on-public-safety-personnel bar. A guilty adjudication, prayer for judgment continued, or suspended sentence for any crime involving an assault, or threat to assault, a law enforcement officer, probation or parole officer, person employed at a state or local detention facility, firefighter, emergency medical technician, medical responder, or emergency department personnel. No three-year lookback.
The boundary line: (b)(8) bars are time-limited (three-year lookback); (b)(8a), (b)(8b), and (b)(8c) bars are categorical and permanent.
A "prayer for judgment continued" (PJC) is a North Carolina-specific disposition that leaves a defendant between a guilty plea and a judgment of conviction. A PJC is not technically a conviction for many state-law purposes, but (b)(9) explicitly treats a PJC entry for any crime that would disqualify the applicant as itself a disqualifier. Read together with (b)(8), (b)(8a), and (b)(8c), a PJC on a qualifying offense is a CHP bar even though it is not a conviction.
A person currently released on bond or personal recognizance pending trial, appeal, or sentencing for any crime that would disqualify (a felony per (b)(3); a qualifying misdemeanor per (b)(8) through (b)(8c)) is barred. This is a temporary disqualifier that ends when the underlying matter resolves, but it forces a wait until that resolution.
A conviction under G.S. 20-138.1 (impaired driving), 20-138.2 (impaired driving in a commercial vehicle), or 20-138.3 (driving by a person less than 21 years old after consuming alcohol or drugs) within three years prior to the application disqualifies you. The bar is time-limited: after three years from the conviction date, (b)(11) no longer applies. The time runs from the conviction, not from the offense or the discharge of any associated sentence.
North Carolina's domestic violence statute, Chapter 50B, includes a firearm-surrender procedure that activates when a court issues an emergency or ex parte protective order under the Chapter. This is the mechanism that translates a 50B order into both a possession ban and a CHP surrender. It runs in parallel with the federal 922(g)(8) bar (for qualifying orders), and the state penalty for violation is a Class H felony.
The trigger conditions are in G.S. 50B-3.1(a):
"(a) Required Surrender of Firearms. - Upon issuance of an emergency or ex parte order pursuant to this Chapter, the court shall order the defendant to surrender to the sheriff all firearms, machine guns, ammunition, permits to purchase firearms, and permits to carry concealed firearms that are in the care, custody, possession, ownership, or control of the defendant if the court finds any of the following factors:
(1) The use or threatened use of a deadly weapon by the defendant or a pattern of prior conduct involving the use or threatened use of violence with a firearm against persons.
(2) Threats to seriously injure or kill the aggrieved party or minor child by the defendant.
(3) Threats to commit suicide by the defendant.
(4) Serious injuries inflicted upon the aggrieved party or minor child by the defendant."
The surrender order is mandatory ("shall order") when the court finds any of the four factors. The factors do not require a prior firearm offense; threats to commit suicide or threats to injure the aggrieved party are independently sufficient. The order reaches all firearms in the defendant's "care, custody, possession, ownership, or control," which is broader than physical possession.
The procedure is in G.S. 50B-3.1(d):
"(d) Surrender. - Upon service of the order, the defendant shall immediately surrender to the sheriff possession of all firearms, machine guns, ammunition, permits to purchase firearms, and permits to carry concealed firearms that are in the care, custody, possession, ownership, or control of the defendant. In the event that weapons cannot be surrendered at the time the order is served, the defendant shall surrender the firearms, ammunitions, and permits to the sheriff within 24 hours of service at a time and place specified by the sheriff. The sheriff shall store the firearms or contract with a licensed firearms dealer to provide storage."
Operational rules:
The criminal penalty is at G.S. 50B-3.1(j):
"(j) Violations. - In accordance with G.S. 14-269.8, it is unlawful for any person to possess, purchase, or receive or attempt to possess, purchase, or receive a firearm, as defined in G.S. 14-409.39(2), machine gun, ammunition, or permits to purchase or carry concealed firearms if ordered by the court for so long as that protective order or any successive protective order entered against that person pursuant to this Chapter is in effect. Any defendant violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class H felony."
Three things to read off this provision:
Subsection (e) governs retrieval after the protective order terminates without conversion to a final order:
"(e) Retrieval. - Unless the court finds that the defendant is precluded from owning or possessing a firearm pursuant to State or federal law or final disposition of any pending criminal charges committed against the person that is the subject of the current protective order, the defendant may retrieve any weapons surrendered to the sheriff without additional order of the court upon the occurrence of one of the following conditions:
(1) The court does not enter a protective order when the ex parte or emergency order expires.
(2) The protective order is denied by the court following a hearing.
Prior to release of any firearms to the defendant pursuant to this subsection, the sheriff shall verify through a criminal history check conducted through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) that the defendant is not prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 922 or any State law and the defendant does not have any pending criminal charges committed against the person that is the subject of the current protective order or pending charges that, if convicted, would prohibit the defendant from possessing a firearm."
Retrieval is not automatic on expiration of a protective order. The sheriff runs a NICS check; if the defendant is barred by any state or federal law independent of the now-expired protective order, the sheriff withholds the firearms even though the protective order has ended. A separate motion procedure under subsection (f) lets the defendant request return at the expiration of the order, and the court must deny return if the defendant remains precluded by state or federal law.
Subsection (k) preserves an exemption for law enforcement officers and members of the armed forces:
"(k) Official Use Exemption. - This section shall not prohibit law enforcement officers and members of any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States, not otherwise prohibited under federal law, from possessing or using firearms for official use only."
The exemption is for official use only. It does not permit personal possession of a firearm by a 50B defendant who happens to be a sworn officer, and the federal 922(g)(8) bar may still independently apply to qualifying orders.
Even after a CHP has issued, three separate mechanisms can revoke or suspend it.
The issuing sheriff, or the sheriff of the county where the permittee now resides, "may revoke a permit subsequent to a hearing" for the following reasons:
"(a) The sheriff of the county where the permit was issued or the sheriff of the county where the person resides may revoke a permit subsequent to a hearing for any of the following reasons:
(1) Fraud or intentional and material misrepresentation in the obtaining of a permit.
(2) Misuse of a permit, including lending or giving a permit or a duplicate permit to another person, materially altering a permit, or using a permit with the intent to unlawfully cause harm to a person or property. It shall not be considered misuse of a permit to provide a duplicate of the permit to a vender for record-keeping purposes.
(3) The doing of an act or existence of a condition which would have been grounds for the denial of the permit by the sheriff.
(4) The violation of any of the terms of this Article.
(5) Repealed by Session Laws 2013-369, s. 20, effective October 1, 2013."
Two of the grounds bear emphasis:
A separate mandatory revocation runs in parallel:
"(a1) The sheriff of the county where the permit was issued or the sheriff of the county where the person resides shall revoke a permit of any permittee who is adjudicated guilty of or receives a prayer for judgment continued for a crime which would have disqualified the permittee from initially receiving a permit. Upon determining that a permit should be revoked pursuant to this subsection, the sheriff shall provide written notice to the permittee, pursuant to the provisions of G.S. 1A-1, Rule 4(j), that the permit is revoked upon the service of the notice. The notice shall provide the permittee with information on the process to appeal the revocation.
Upon receipt of the written notice of revocation, the permittee shall surrender the permit to the sheriff. Any law enforcement officer serving the notice is authorized to take immediate possession of the permit from the permittee. If the notice is served by means other than by a law enforcement officer, the permittee shall surrender the permit to the sheriff no later than 48 hours after service of the notice.
A permittee may appeal the revocation of a permit pursuant to this subsection by petitioning a district court judge of the district in which the permittee resides. The determination by the court, on appeal, shall be limited to whether the permittee was adjudicated guilty of or received a prayer for judgment continued for a crime which would have disqualified the permittee from initially receiving a permit. Revocation of the permit is not stayed pending appeal."
Five operational rules under (a1):
A third mechanism is in subsection (b):
"(b) The court may suspend a permit as part of and for the duration of any orders permitted under Chapter 50B of the General Statutes."
This is the live hook from a 50B protective order to a CHP suspension, separate from the G.S. 50B-3.1 surrender procedure. The (b) authority allows the court entering a 50B order to suspend the CHP itself as a term of the protective order. The suspension is discretionary ("may suspend") and runs for the duration of the underlying protective order, including any successor order.
The 50B-3.1 surrender procedure and the G.S. 14-415.18(b) suspension authority operate together: the surrender procedure requires the defendant to physically hand the permit to the sheriff; the (b) suspension renders the permit legally ineffective for the life of the order. If the protective order expires without conversion to a permanent order and G.S. 50B-3.1(e) retrieval becomes available, the (b) suspension also ends. If the underlying conduct produces a G.S. 14-415.12(b) disqualifier (for example, a 50B-4.1 conviction captured by (b)(8a)), the (a1) mandatory revocation takes over.
A North Carolina CHP applicant who is disqualified under G.S. 14-415.12(b) is not necessarily disqualified forever. Two state-law restoration pathways are visible in the statute itself, and the federal floor at 922(g)(1) has its own (largely defunct) 925(c) pathway:
Practical sequencing: confirm both layers. A state restoration order without parallel federal relief leaves you barred under federal law and therefore still barred under G.S. 14-415.12(b)(1), which incorporates federal ineligibility as a state CHP disqualifier.
Article I, Section 30 of the North Carolina Constitution protects the right to keep and bear arms:
"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; and, as standing armies in time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they shall not be maintained, and the military shall be kept under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power. Nothing herein shall justify the practice of carrying concealed weapons, or prevent the General Assembly from enacting penal statutes against that practice."
The closing sentence is the constitutional reason North Carolina can require a permit for concealed carry: the state charter expressly reserves the General Assembly's power to regulate or penalize carrying concealed weapons. The G.S. 14-415.12(b) disqualifier framework operates within that reserved power. Restrictions on the prohibited-persons categories are generally treated as constitutional, though post-Bruen litigation over individual subcategories of 922(g) continues. The statutes as currently written control.
| Question | Answer | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Does federal 922(g) apply in North Carolina? | Yes. All nine categories. | 18 U.S.C. 922(g) |
| Does 922(g) bar a person merely "under indictment"? | No. That is 922(n), which bars receipt and shipment, not possession. NC parallels it for CHP denial. | 18 U.S.C. 922(n); G.S. 14-415.12(b)(2) |
| Is the NC other-than-honorable-discharge bar broader than federal? | Yes. NC reaches "conditions other than honorable" versus the federal "dishonorable conditions." | G.S. 14-415.12(b)(7); 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(6) |
| Are felony antitrust convictions a CHP disqualifier? | No, by express statutory carve-out. | G.S. 14-415.12(b)(3)(i) |
| Can a North Carolina felon get firearm rights restored? | Yes, by G.S. 14-415.4 (single nonviolent felony, 20 years after civil rights restored) and/or federal relief. Both layers must clear. | G.S. 14-415.4; 18 U.S.C. 925(c) |
| Does outpatient mental-health treatment disqualify? | No. (b)(6) excludes "previous consultative services or outpatient treatment alone." | G.S. 14-415.12(b)(6) |
| What converts a (b)(6) mental-health bar back to eligibility? | Rights restoration under G.S. 14-409.42. | G.S. 14-415.12(c) |
| What is the lookback on the (b)(8) misdemeanor-violence bar? | Three years from the application date. | G.S. 14-415.12(b)(8) |
| What is the lookback on the (b)(8a), (b)(8b), (b)(8c) bars? | None. They are categorical and permanent. | G.S. 14-415.12(b)(8a)-(8c) |
| What is the lookback on DWI disqualification? | Three years from the conviction date. | G.S. 14-415.12(b)(11) |
| When does a court order firearm surrender under 50B? | On entry of any emergency or ex parte order when the court finds use or threat of a deadly weapon, threats to injure or kill, threats of suicide, or serious injuries inflicted. | G.S. 50B-3.1(a) |
| What is the timeframe for surrender after service of a 50B order? | Immediate on service; if firearms cannot be surrendered then, within 24 hours at a sheriff-specified time and place. | G.S. 50B-3.1(d) |
| What is the penalty for violating a 50B firearm-surrender order? | Class H felony. | G.S. 50B-3.1(j); G.S. 14-269.8 |
| Is firearm retrieval automatic when a 50B order expires? | No. The sheriff runs a NICS check; retrieval is denied if any other state or federal bar exists. | G.S. 50B-3.1(e) |
| Can the court suspend a CHP as part of a 50B order? | Yes, for the duration of the order. | G.S. 14-415.18(b) |
| Is G.S. 14-415.18(a1) revocation mandatory or discretionary? | Mandatory ("shall revoke") on a disqualifying conviction or PJC. | G.S. 14-415.18(a1) |
| Does an (a1) revocation stay pending appeal? | No. The permit remains revoked during district court review. | G.S. 14-415.18(a1) |
| How quickly must a permittee surrender the permit after revocation notice? | Within 48 hours if not served by a law enforcement officer; immediately if served by an officer. | G.S. 14-415.18(a1) |
| Does a federal Lautenberg conviction disqualify in North Carolina? | Yes. (b)(8b) adopts the federal 922(g)(9) bar as an independent state ground. | G.S. 14-415.12(b)(8b); 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9) |
| Did North Carolina repeal the pistol purchase permit? | Yes, in 2023 (S.L. 2023-8). A NICS check at a dealer still applies. The CHP is separate and still required for concealed carry. | S.L. 2023-8 |
The operative rule for the North Carolina concealed-carry student: read both the federal 922(g) floor and the state G.S. 14-415.12(b) list, identify every applicable disqualifier across both, and confirm that any restoration order you rely on covers both layers. If you are subject to a Chapter 50B order, surrender on time, do not retrieve until the sheriff clears the NICS check, and treat the G.S. 14-415.18(b) suspension as separate from the surrender procedure.
This page covers one part of our North Carolina concealed carry guide.
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