North Carolina concealed-carry restrictions combine the federal prohibited-persons floor (18 USC 922(g)) with state CHP disqualifying conditions...
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 USC 922(g)) with state CHP disqualifying conditions (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 concealed handgun permit, and you generally cannot lawfully possess a firearm at all.
This section covers PEOPLE-based prohibitions: who is disqualified from owning or carrying. Location-based bars (schools, government property, alcohol-serving establishments, posted property) are covered in PROHIBITED_PLACES. NFA-style 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.
Read this section against the four legal layers that combine to create your eligibility picture:
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:
A separate provision, 18 U.S.C. § 922(n), prohibits a person under indictment for a felony from receiving a firearm. (n) does not prohibit possession of a pre-existing firearm; the receipt and shipment prohibitions are what (n) reaches. North Carolina § 14-415.12(b)(2) parallels this with a CHP disqualifier for indictment or a probable-cause finding on a felony.
Federal § 922(g) penalties reach 15 years imprisonment under § 924(a)(8). The Armed Career Criminal Act at § 924(e) imposes a 15-year mandatory minimum on a person with three qualifying "violent felony" or "serious drug offense" priors.
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 full text from the 2025 N.C. Gen. Stat.:
"(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. 14-32.5, 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 next eleven subsections 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. Same result for any other state or federal prohibition (for example, a federal conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence at § 922(g)(9), or an active federal § 922(g)(8) protective-order bar). The sheriff's NICS 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 verbatim federal floor at § 922(g)(3) is narrower in one respect (it does not enumerate "alcohol" by name) but the state language sweeps in chronic alcoholism as a separate ground.
The drug-user bar is read alongside (and 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 UNDER_INFLUENCE rule at § 14-415.11(c2) 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. The bar 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 state 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," which is a wider administrative band that includes general (under honorable conditions) discharges in some readings, and 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 (e.g., received a bad-conduct discharge or an OTH discharge but not a dishonorable discharge) may still be barred from a North Carolina CHP under (b)(7). The state language captures the lower-grade discharges that the federal floor does not reach. 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 three-year lookback. Misdemeanor crimes of violence under Article 8 of Chapter 14 (the assault chapter), plus a specific list of enumerated weapons-related and public-disorder misdemeanors, within three years prior to the application. The list includes (with the topic-archive text controlling): 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 § 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) - permanent (no lookback) bar for a defined list. A misdemeanor of violence under G.S. 14-32.5, 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. The list captures domestic-violence assaults (14-32.5), specific aggravated simple-assault grades (14-33(c)(1)-(3)), assault on a female (14-33(d)), assault on persons employed at a state institution (14-318.2), stalking (14-277.3A), assault in the course of a 50B violation (50B-4.1), and an enumerated trespass statute. Critically: no three-year lookback. A conviction under any (b)(8a) statute is a permanent CHP disqualifier.
(b)(8b) - 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) - assault-on-public-safety-personnel bar. A guilty plea or PJC 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. This subdivision captures the misdemeanors not enumerated in (8a) that involve aggression toward first responders and corrections personnel.
The boundary line: (b)(8) bars are time-limited (3-year lookback); (b)(8a), (b)(8b), and (b)(8c) bars are categorical and permanent.
A "prayer for judgment continued" or PJC is a North Carolina-specific disposition that leaves a defendant in a holding pattern between a guilty plea and a judgment of conviction. The 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. Reading (b)(9) together with (b)(8), (b)(8a), and (b)(8c), every PJC on a violent misdemeanor or 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 (felony per (b)(3); qualifying misdemeanor per (b)(8)-(b)(8c)) is barred. This is a temporary disqualifier - it ends when the underlying matter resolves - but it forces a wait until that resolution.
A DWI conviction under G.S. 20-138.1 (impaired driving), 20-138.2 (impaired driving in a commercial vehicle), or 20-138.3 (driving by 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. Note that 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 suspension. The procedure runs entirely separately from the federal § 922(g)(8) bar (which applies in parallel for qualifying orders), and the state penalty for violation is a Class H felony.
The trigger conditions are in § 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 requires surrender of all firearms in the defendant's "care, custody, possession, ownership, or control," which is broader than physical possession and reaches firearms held by another for the defendant's benefit.
A separate authority at § 50B-3(a)(11) allows the court to "Prohibit a party from purchasing a firearm for a time fixed in the order," which operates as a stand-alone purchase ban regardless of whether the (a) surrender factors are found.
The procedure is in § 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 § 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 (for example, a § 922(g)(9) Lautenberg bar arose during the proceeding, or a new pending charge would disqualify), the sheriff withholds the firearms even though the protective order has ended.
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. The federal § 922(g)(8) bar may still independently apply to qualifying orders even where the state exemption preserves official-duty carry.
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 four enumerated 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 four 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 buried 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 § 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 § 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 eventually expires without conversion to a permanent order and § 50B-3.1(e) retrieval becomes available, the (b) suspension also ends. If the underlying conduct giving rise to the protective order produces a § 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 § 14-415.12(b) is not necessarily disqualified forever. Three separate state-law rights-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 § 14-415.12(b)(1), which incorporates federal ineligibility as a state CHP disqualifier.
Article I, § 30 of the North Carolina Constitution provides:
"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."
Article I, § 30 has been read by the North Carolina Supreme Court alongside the federal Second Amendment. The § 14-415.12(b) disqualifier framework has not been held to violate Article I, § 30 in any controlling decision the topic archive supplies. The reasoning track is the same as for federal Second Amendment challenges to § 922(g): restrictions on the prohibited-persons categories are presumptively constitutional under the Bruen historical-tradition framework, although post-Bruen case law on individual subcategories of § 922(g) remains in development. None of that case law is in scope for this section; 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) |
| Is the NC dishonorable-discharge bar broader than federal? | Yes. NC reaches "conditions other than honorable" (broader administrative band) versus federal "dishonorable." | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-415.12(b)(7); 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(6) |
| Are non-violent felony antitrust convictions a CHP disqualifier? | No, by express statutory carve-out. | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-415.12(b)(3)(i) |
| Can a North Carolina felon get firearm rights restored? | Yes, by G.S. 14-415.4 (state) and/or federal § 925(c) or presidential pardon. 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." | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-415.12(b)(6) |
| What converts a (b)(6) mental-health bar back to eligibility? | Rights restoration under G.S. 14-409.42. | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-415.12(c) |
| What is the lookback period on the (b)(8) misdemeanor-violence bar? | Three years from conviction date. | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-415.12(b)(8) |
| What is the lookback period on the (b)(8a), (b)(8b), (b)(8c) bars? | None. They are categorical and permanent. | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-415.12(b)(8a)-(8c) |
| What is the lookback on DWI disqualification? | Three years from conviction date. | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-415.12(b)(11) |
| When does a North Carolina court order firearm surrender under 50B? | On entry of any emergency or ex parte protective order when the court finds use or threat of a deadly weapon, threats to injure or kill, threats of suicide, or serious injuries inflicted. | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50B-3.1(a) |
| What is the timeframe for surrender after service of a 50B order? | Immediate on service; if firearms cannot be surrendered at the time of service, within 24 hours at a sheriff-specified time and place. | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50B-3.1(d) |
| What is the penalty for violating a 50B firearm-surrender order? | Class H felony. | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 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. | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50B-3.1(e) |
| Can the court suspend a CHP as part of a 50B order? | Yes, for the duration of the order. | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-415.18(b) |
| Is § 14-415.18(a1) revocation mandatory or discretionary? | Mandatory ("shall revoke") on a disqualifying conviction or PJC. | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-415.18(a1) |
| Does an (a1) revocation stay pending appeal? | No. The permit remains revoked during district court review. | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 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. | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-415.18(a1) |
| Does a federal Lautenberg conviction (misdemeanor crime of DV) disqualify in North Carolina? | Yes. § 14-415.12(b)(8b) adopts the federal § 922(g)(9) bar as an independent state ground. | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-415.12(b)(8b); 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9) |
The operative rule for the North Carolina concealed-carry student: read both the federal § 922(g) floor and the state § 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 (b) suspension at § 14-415.18(b) as separate from the surrender procedure.
This page covers one part of our North Carolina concealed carry guide.
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