Constitutional Carry in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is NOT a constitutional carry state. Carrying a firearm concealed on or about the person, or in any vehicle, without a License to Carry Firearms (LTCF) is a crime under 18 Pa.C.S. 6106. Anyone who wants to carry concealed in Pennsylvania needs an LTCF issued under 18 Pa.C.S. 6109. You apply through your county sheriff, or, if you live in Philadelphia, through the chief of police.

That is the bottom line. The rest of this section explains what "constitutional carry" means, why Pennsylvania has not adopted it, the open-carry exception that often gets confused with permitless concealed carry, and what students should be told when they ask whether they can skip the permit.

What "constitutional carry" means

In a constitutional (or permitless) carry state, an adult who is legally allowed to possess a firearm can also carry it concealed in public without first obtaining a permit. The license becomes optional, useful mainly for reciprocity when traveling to other states. More than two dozen states have adopted some form of permitless carry. Pennsylvania is not one of them.

Pennsylvania still uses a "shall-issue" license system. Under 18 Pa.C.S. 6109(b), an individual who is 21 years of age or older may apply to the county sheriff (or, in a city of the first class, the chief of police) for a license to carry a firearm concealed on or about the person or in a vehicle. After an investigation not to exceed 45 days, the license is issued unless good cause exists to deny it (18 Pa.C.S. 6109(e)). The license is valid throughout the Commonwealth for five years (18 Pa.C.S. 6109(f)), and the fee is $20 (a $19 base under 18 Pa.C.S. 6109(h)(1) plus a $1 validation fee under 6109(h)(3)). But the license is required, not optional, before you carry concealed.

The statute that controls: 18 Pa.C.S. 6106

The criminal statute is short and direct. Under 18 Pa.C.S. 6106(a)(1):

Except as provided in paragraph (2), any person who carries a firearm in any vehicle or any person who carries a firearm concealed on or about his person, except in his place of abode or fixed place of business, without a valid and lawfully issued license under this chapter commits a felony of the third degree.

Two practical things to note:

1. The vehicle rule is the same as the concealed-on-body rule. Carrying a firearm in any vehicle without an LTCF is the same offense under 6106 as concealing one on your body. There is no separate "car carve-out" for handguns. (For loaded long guns, a separate statute applies. See below.)
2. The "home or fixed place of business" exception is narrow. You may keep and carry a firearm in your home or your own fixed place of business without a license. Once you carry a concealed firearm into your vehicle, onto a public sidewalk, or anywhere outside those two places, 6106 applies.

If a person is otherwise eligible to possess a valid license and has not committed any other criminal violation, 18 Pa.C.S. 6106(a)(2) reduces the grade from a felony of the third degree to a misdemeanor of the first degree. That is still a serious criminal charge, and a conviction can still cost a person the ability to obtain a license later.

Note that "firearm" for purposes of 6106 is defined in 18 Pa.C.S. 6102 and is essentially limited to handguns and short-barreled weapons (a pistol or revolver, or a rifle or shotgun with a barrel under a defined length). Carrying a loaded standard-length rifle or shotgun in a vehicle is handled separately by 18 Pa.C.S. 6106.1, which makes it a summary offense (subject to listed exceptions). That is a lower grade than the 6106 offense, but it is still unlawful.

Why open carry is not "constitutional carry"

This is where students get confused. Outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania does not require a license to carry a firearm openly. Some people loosely call that "constitutional carry." It is not. Two separate rules apply:

• Open carry without a license: Permitted statewide for a person who may lawfully possess a firearm, except in Philadelphia and except where other law prohibits it (see the OPEN_CARRY section). This is a statutory gap, not a constitutional rule. The General Assembly simply did not make the open carry of a handgun a crime in most of the state.
• Concealed carry without a license: Prohibited everywhere in Pennsylvania under 18 Pa.C.S. 6106. Putting a coat over the holster, leaving a shirt untucked over it, or placing the firearm in a vehicle turns a lawful open carry into a 6106 offense.

Philadelphia, the only "city of the first class," is treated separately. 18 Pa.C.S. 6108 provides that no person shall carry a firearm, rifle, or shotgun at any time upon the public streets or upon any public property in a city of the first class unless that person is licensed to carry a firearm or is exempt from licensing under 18 Pa.C.S. 6106(b). In practice this means open carry that is lawful in the rest of the state has historically required an LTCF in Philadelphia.

On June 23, 2025, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania declared 6108 unconstitutional as applied in Commonwealth v. Sumpter, 340 A.3d 977 (Pa. Super. 2025). That decision narrows enforcement of the Philadelphia-only statute, but it does not change 6106. Carrying concealed in Philadelphia without an LTCF remains an offense under 6106. Sumpter is a Superior Court decision and may be revisited; the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has not resolved the question. Confirm the current enforcement posture with the Philadelphia District Attorney and the Pennsylvania Attorney General before relying on Sumpter in any specific scenario, and treat 6108 and 6106 as written for planning purposes.

The Pennsylvania Constitution does not currently authorize permitless concealed carry

Article I, Section 21 of the Pennsylvania Constitution provides that "the right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned." Permitless-carry advocates cite this language as broader than the federal Second Amendment.

That provision has not been read by Pennsylvania courts to invalidate the LTCF requirement in 6106. No Pennsylvania appellate court has struck down 6106 on Article I, Section 21 grounds, and the statute remains in force. The current state of the law is straightforward: Article I, Section 21 protects the right to keep and bear arms, but the General Assembly has imposed a license requirement for concealed carry, and that requirement is being enforced as written.

This is a description of the absence of any decision striking 6106 down, not a guarantee that the statute is immune from challenge. A future challenge under Article I, Section 21, or under the federal Second Amendment following New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022), remains possible. For instructors, the operational point is simple: 6106 is the controlling rule, and a student who carries concealed without an LTCF will be charged under it.

The 6106(b) exceptions list

Saying "no constitutional carry" does not mean a person can never carry without an LTCF under any circumstance. 18 Pa.C.S. 6106(b) lists narrow exceptions to the licensing requirement. These exceptions do not create a permitless concealed-carry right, but instructors should know they exist so a student does not misread the statute. The list includes, among others:

• Constables, sheriffs, prison or jail wardens or their deputies, and law-enforcement officers (6106(b)(1)).
• Members of the armed forces, National Guard, or organized reserves when on duty (6106(b)(2)).
• Persons engaged in target shooting going to or from their place of assembly or practice, if the firearm is not loaded while going to or from (6106(b)(4)).
• Officers or employees of the United States authorized to carry a concealed firearm (6106(b)(5)).
• Agents, messengers, and employees of common carriers, banks, or business firms whose duties require them to protect money, valuables, or property (6106(b)(6)).
• Any person carrying a firearm that is unloaded and in a secure wrapper between specified destinations, such as from the place of purchase to home, to a place of repair, sale, or appraisal, or to a place of firearms instruction (6106(b)(8)).
• Persons licensed to hunt, take furbearers, or fish while actually doing so or going to or returning from those activities (6106(b)(9)), and persons training dogs during the regular training season (6106(b)(10)).
• A person carrying a firearm in a vehicle who holds a valid license for that firearm issued under the laws of the United States or any other state (6106(b)(11)).

Each exception has its own statutory text and conditions. None of them create a general right to carry concealed without a permit.

Out-of-state licenses and reciprocity

A nonresident who holds a valid license or permit to carry a firearm issued by another state may carry in Pennsylvania under 18 Pa.C.S. 6106(b)(15), provided two conditions are met: the other state extends a reciprocal privilege to Pennsylvania LTCF holders, and the Attorney General has determined that the firearm laws of that state are similar to Pennsylvania's. Separately, 18 Pa.C.S. 6109(k) authorizes the Attorney General to enter into formal reciprocity agreements with other states. Either way, the carry is happening under a license. This is not constitutional carry.

Pending legislation

Permitless-carry proposals have been introduced in the Pennsylvania General Assembly repeatedly, and none has become law. A constitutional carry measure cleared both chambers in a prior session and was vetoed by Governor Tom Wolf; an override did not succeed. Bills to eliminate the concealed-carry license requirement, and a proposed constitutional amendment on the subject, have continued to be introduced in later sessions.

Treat constitutional carry in Pennsylvania as a policy debate, not current law. Until a bill is enacted, 6106 controls. Check the Pennsylvania General Assembly bill tracker for current status before telling a student "the law just changed," and do not rely on a specific bill number or sponsor without confirming it directly.

What to tell students

If a student asks any version of "do I really need the permit?", the answer in Pennsylvania is yes:

• Concealed on the body, anywhere outside the home or fixed place of business: LTCF required. Felony of the third degree without one (18 Pa.C.S. 6106(a)(1)), reduced to a misdemeanor of the first degree if the person is otherwise eligible and has committed no other criminal violation (6106(a)(2)).
• In a vehicle (handgun): LTCF required, or a 6106(b) exception such as transporting the firearm unloaded and in a secure wrapper between specified destinations. Same grading as above.
• Loaded long gun in a vehicle: A separate summary offense under 18 Pa.C.S. 6106.1, subject to its own exceptions.
• Open carry of a handgun outside Philadelphia: No license required for a person who may lawfully possess a firearm. But the moment it becomes concealed, including in a vehicle, 6106 applies.
• Any carry on public streets or public property in Philadelphia: Historically required an LTCF under 18 Pa.C.S. 6108. The 2025 Sumpter decision opened an as-applied challenge, but until the Pennsylvania Supreme Court resolves it, the safe assumption is to follow 6108 and 6106 as written.
• Out-of-state license holders: May carry under 18 Pa.C.S. 6106(b)(15) if the recognition conditions are met. The underlying requirement is still a license requirement.

A student must also be eligible to possess a firearm in the first place. The categories of persons prohibited from possessing, using, or carrying firearms are set out in 18 Pa.C.S. 6105.

The bottom-line message for a Pennsylvania CCW student: get the permit. The application goes to your county sheriff, or to the Philadelphia chief of police if you live in the city, and a valid LTCF under 18 Pa.C.S. 6109 is the only lawful way to carry concealed in this state.