Pennsylvania Prohibited Places for Concealed Carry

The bottom line

Pennsylvania has a relatively short list of statutorily prohibited places. Schools (18 Pa.C.S. 912), court facilities (18 Pa.C.S. 913), and the public streets and public property of Philadelphia (18 Pa.C.S. 6108) are the headline state-law restrictions, plus detention facilities and a handful of state agency lands. Federal off-limits places (federal buildings, post offices, VA facilities, military installations, secured airport areas, federal courthouses) apply on top of state law regardless of whether you hold a Pennsylvania License to Carry Firearms (LTCF). Private property owners can post "no firearms" signs, but their enforcement runs through the criminal trespass statute (18 Pa.C.S. 3503(b)), not as a separate firearm offense.

For an LTCF holder running daily errands outside Philadelphia, the practical map is short: stay out of K-12 buildings and grounds, stay out of court facilities, respect federal posting, and honor private property "no firearms" requests. Everything else (bars, restaurants that serve alcohol, polling places, hospitals, parks, churches, shopping centers) is generally on the table for a licensed carrier under state law. Pennsylvania has not enacted a New York style "sensitive places" statute, and section 6120 preempts most local regulation.

Pennsylvania is a licensed-carry state, not a permitless-carry state. An LTCF under 18 Pa.C.S. 6109 is required to carry a firearm concealed on the person or in any vehicle anywhere in the Commonwealth, and 18 Pa.C.S. 6106 makes carrying without that license a crime. The prohibited-places framework below is built on top of that licensing rule.

Where you cannot carry

If a place is not on this list, Pennsylvania concealed carry is generally lawful inside it for a licensee who is otherwise able to possess a firearm.

K-12 schools: 18 Pa.C.S. 912

Section 912 is the single biggest location restriction for everyday carry in Pennsylvania. It applies to elementary and secondary schools, public and private, and it reaches both buildings and grounds.

Under 18 Pa.C.S. 912(b), a person commits a misdemeanor of the first degree if he possesses a "weapon" in the buildings of, on the grounds of, or in any conveyance providing transportation to or from any elementary or secondary publicly funded educational institution, any elementary or secondary private school licensed by the Department of Education, or any elementary or secondary parochial school. Under section 912(a), "weapon" expressly includes a firearm, shotgun, and rifle.

The statute has a single defense in 18 Pa.C.S. 912(c). It is a defense that the weapon "is possessed and used in conjunction with a lawful supervised school activity or course or is possessed for other lawful purpose." That is the entire defense. There is no separate "written authorization from the school" prong, and there is no LTCF carve-out written into section 912. The "other lawful purpose" language is an affirmative defense that has been the subject of Pennsylvania appellate litigation; it is fact-specific and raised after charging, not a green light to walk a firearm into a school.

Practical implications for licensees:

• A parent picking up a child is in the same posture as any other adult under section 912 inside the building or on the grounds. There is no parental drop-off carve-out written into the statute.
• A firearm secured in a private vehicle while the carrier walks in to pick up a student is the practical line. No Pennsylvania appellate decision has cleanly resolved whether parking a vehicle containing a firearm in a school lot is itself a section 912 violation. Treat the school lot as a gray zone and avoid carrying onto it whenever feasible.
• Section 912 reaches "any conveyance providing transportation to or from" a covered school. School district buses, charter buses on a school field trip, and other dedicated school transport are covered.

School security personnel

Pennsylvania has a separate statutory framework (Act 67 of 2019) for school police officers, school resource officers, and school security guards. These provisions carve out specific employment categories from the section 912 prohibition. Armed school security personnel generally must hold an LTCF, be certified under the Lethal Weapons Training Act (Act 235 of 1974), and complete state-approved training. None of this creates a general path for ordinary licensees to carry on school grounds.

The federal Gun-Free School Zones Act

Federal law adds another layer. 18 U.S.C. 922(q) makes it a federal offense to knowingly possess a firearm in a "school zone," which federal law defines as within 1,000 feet of the grounds of a public, private, or parochial school. Section 922(q)(2)(B)(ii) exempts a person who "is licensed to do so by the State in which the school zone is located" where the state verifies the person's eligibility before issuing the license. Pennsylvania LTCF holders fall within that exemption inside Pennsylvania. For an unlicensed open carrier walking past a school inside the 1,000-foot zone, section 922(q) is a federal offense that an LTCF would have prevented.

Court facilities: 18 Pa.C.S. 913

Section 913 is broader than people expect. It is not limited to court rooms, and its grading is commonly misstated.

Under 18 Pa.C.S. 913(a)(1), a person commits an offense if he knowingly possesses a firearm or other dangerous weapon in a court facility, or knowingly causes one to be present there. "Court facility" is defined in section 913(f) as the court room of a court of record, a community court, a magisterial district judge, the Philadelphia Municipal Court, the Pittsburgh Magistrates Court, or the Traffic Court of Philadelphia; judge's chambers; witness rooms; jury deliberation rooms; attorney conference rooms; prisoner holding cells; the offices of court clerks, the district attorney, the sheriff, and probation and parole officers; and any adjoining corridors.

The grading is set out in 18 Pa.C.S. 913(b), and it is not a felony:

• A base offense under section 913(a)(1) is a misdemeanor of the third degree (section 913(b)(1)).
• An offense under section 913(a)(2), possessing the weapon with the intent that it be used in the commission of a crime, is a misdemeanor of the first degree (section 913(b)(2)).
• A base offense under section 913(a)(1) is reduced to a summary offense if the person was carrying the firearm under section 6106(b) or section 6109 (that is, a license holder or a statutorily exempt person) and failed to check the firearm under section 913(e) before entering the court facility (section 913(b)(3)).

That last rule matters for licensees. A Pennsylvania LTCF holder who walks into a court facility without realizing it and who simply failed to use the firearm-check locker faces a summary offense, not a misdemeanor and not a felony. That is far less serious than the felony exposure that older guidance wrongly attached to this statute. It is still an offense to avoid, but it is not a lifetime firearms disqualifier.

Section 913(d) requires notice of subsections (a) and (e) to be posted conspicuously at each public entrance to each court house or other building containing a court facility. No person may be convicted under section 913(a)(1) if that notice was not posted, unless the person had actual notice of the prohibition. Section 913(e) requires each county to make lockers or similar facilities available at no charge for the temporary checking of firearms by persons carrying under section 6106(b) or 6109. Most Pennsylvania court houses provide gun lockers at the security checkpoint. If you are carrying when you arrive at a court house, do not enter the secured area: return to your vehicle and secure the firearm there, or use the court house's check facility before clearing security.

Section 913(c) lists narrow exceptions to the prohibition. They cover the lawful performance of official duties by law enforcement officers and other officials authorized to investigate or prosecute violations of law; the lawful performance of official duties by a court official; the carrying of rifles and shotguns by instructors and participants in a Pennsylvania Game Commission course under 34 Pa.C.S. 2704; associations of veteran soldiers and members of the organized armed forces engaged in ceremonial duties with county approval; and an attorney carrying an unloaded firearm in a secure wrapper as a courtroom exhibit with written authorization from the court. There is no general LTCF carve-out. The licensee's protection is the firearm-check locker and the summary-offense grading, not an exemption.

Magisterial district judge offices

The reach to magisterial district judges' offices is the most overlooked piece of section 913. MDJ offices are scattered through every county, often in strip malls, municipal buildings, or stand-alone storefronts. They look nothing like a court house. They are still "court facilities" under section 913(f). Treat any MDJ office as a court house for carry purposes.

Philadelphia: 18 Pa.C.S. 6108 and the Sumpter unsettlement

Section 6108 is the only statewide statute that singles out a specific city. It says: "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: (1) such person is licensed to carry a firearm; or (2) such person is exempt from licensing under section 6106(b) of this title."

Pennsylvania has one city of the first class. That is Philadelphia. Section 6108 has no effect anywhere else. Inside Philadelphia it is the operative rule for both open and concealed carry on public streets and public property. An LTCF satisfies the licensing requirement. A section 6106(b) statutory exception (law enforcement, military on duty, transport of an unloaded firearm in a secure wrapper, and the other enumerated categories) also satisfies it.

A section 6108 violation carries no separate grade in the statute itself, so it is governed by the catch-all penalty in 18 Pa.C.S. 6119, which makes an unspecified offense under this subchapter a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the underlying carry is concealed or in a vehicle without a license, it can also support a separate section 6106 charge (a felony of the third degree under section 6106(a)(1), or a misdemeanor of the first degree under section 6106(a)(2) for an otherwise eligible person with no other criminal violation).

On June 23, 2025, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania declared section 6108 unconstitutional as applied in Commonwealth v. Sumpter, 340 A.3d 977 (Pa. Super. 2025), a fact noted in the statute's own annotations. The decision is "as applied," not facial. It does not strike section 6108 from the statute books. The General Assembly has not amended or repealed it, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has not yet weighed in. Practical guidance: treat Philadelphia as requiring an LTCF for any handgun carry on public streets or public property in the city. Do not advise students to rely on Sumpter as a defense to a section 6108 charge. Confirm the current status with the Pennsylvania Attorney General and current case law before any change in posture. If you are an LTCF holder, your license is valid in Philadelphia exactly as it is anywhere else in the Commonwealth.

Detention and corrections

Carry is restricted at jails, prisons, correctional institutions, and mental hospitals. 18 Pa.C.S. 5122 (weapons or implements for escape) makes it a misdemeanor of the first degree to unlawfully introduce within a detention facility, correctional institution, or mental hospital, or to unlawfully provide an inmate with, any weapon, tool, implement, or other thing that may be used for escape, except as provided under 61 Pa.C.S. 5902(e.1). Under section 5122(b), "weapon" expressly includes a firearm. A separate provision in 61 Pa.C.S. 5902 (contraband prohibited), cross-referenced by section 5122, governs contraband on the grounds of state correctional institutions. Do not bring a firearm onto any state prison, county jail, juvenile detention facility, or state mental hospital property. The lobbies and visitor entrances are part of the restricted zone, not just the secure interior.

Federal off-limits places

State law cannot override federal property rules. The categories that matter for daily carry in Pennsylvania:

• Federal facilities under 18 U.S.C. 930. Federal buildings, IRS offices, Social Security offices, and federal agency offices where federal employees regularly perform official duties. Knowing possession in a federal facility under section 930(a) is punishable by a fine and up to 1 year. Possession with intent to use the weapon in a crime under section 930(b) is punishable by up to 5 years.
• Federal court houses under 18 U.S.C. 930(e). Knowing possession of a firearm or other dangerous weapon in a federal court facility is punishable by a fine and up to 2 years. The federal "court facility" definition tracks the state one: court room, judges' chambers, witness rooms, jury rooms, attorney conference rooms, prisoner holding cells, clerk and U.S. attorney and U.S. marshal offices, probation and parole offices, and adjoining corridors.
• U.S. Postal Service property. Buildings and parking lots are governed by USPS regulations. Federal courts have split on the postal-lot rule, and the safe assumption is that the lot is also off-limits. Locking your firearm in your vehicle at a post office is not a clear safe harbor.
• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs facilities. VA hospitals, clinics, regional offices, and national cemeteries are off-limits under VA regulations.
• Military installations. Posts, bases, and recruiting stations under federal regulations and DOD policy.
• Secured (sterile) areas of airports and aircraft under 49 U.S.C. 46505. It is a federal felony, punishable by up to 10 years, to have a concealed dangerous weapon accessible in flight on or while attempting to board an aircraft, or to place a loaded firearm aboard. The check-in lobby is not the sterile area; the TSA security checkpoint marks the boundary. Firearms may travel only as declared, unloaded, locked checked baggage under air carrier rules.
• National parks within Pennsylvania. Federal law since 2010 generally allows carry to the extent the law of the state where the park sits allows it, but federal facilities within the park (visitor centers, ranger stations) remain federal facilities under section 930.

When in doubt at a federal property, look for the posted notice required by section 930. Federal facility signs are usually posted at the entrance and reference 18 U.S.C. 930.

State agency lands and buildings

Several Pennsylvania state agencies have adopted regulations under the Pennsylvania Code that touch firearms on the property they manage. These are agency regulations, not Title 18 firearm offenses, and they change from time to time, so confirm the current rule with the managing agency before relying on it:

• State parks and state forests (Department of Conservation and Natural Resources). DCNR regulations restrict the use and discharge of firearms in state parks and forests, with carve-outs tied to lawful hunting and authorized target shooting. A valid LTCF generally allows a licensee to carry, but discharge and certain uses are the regulated activity. Confirm the current DCNR rule for the specific park or forest.
• Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission lands. PFBC regulations restrict firearms on commission property, with exceptions tied to holding a valid LTCF or engaging in lawful hunting and trapping.
• State office buildings and the Capitol complex. Several state agencies prohibit firearms inside the buildings they own or lease, and carry inside the State Capitol building is restricted by Capitol Police rules.

These agency rules are not enforced as Title 18 firearm offenses the way sections 912, 913, and 6108 are. A violation is typically handled through regulatory enforcement or, once the carrier is asked to leave and refuses, through defiant trespass under section 3503(b). Treat posted state buildings as off-limits in practice.

Posted private property: 18 Pa.C.S. 3503(b) defiant trespass

Pennsylvania has no statute that gives a "no firearms" sign on private property the force of a Title 18 firearm offense. There is no section 6106 exposure for crossing a "no guns" decal at the entrance to a restaurant, hospital, mall, or other private business. The carry itself is not a section 6106 problem; the trespass after a refusal to leave is.

The mechanism is 18 Pa.C.S. 3503(b). A person commits defiant trespass if, knowing that he is not licensed or privileged to do so, he enters or remains in any place as to which notice against trespass is given by (i) actual communication to the actor, (ii) posting in a manner prescribed by law or reasonably likely to come to the attention of intruders, (iii) fencing or other enclosure manifestly designed to exclude intruders, or one of the other enumerated forms of notice. Under section 3503(b)(2), defiant trespass is a misdemeanor of the third degree if the offender defies an order to leave personally communicated by the owner of the premises or another authorized person; otherwise it is a summary offense. (A separate, more serious tier applies to a person who defies an order to leave school grounds communicated by a school official.)

What this means in practice for licensees:

• A "no firearms" sign on a business does not, by itself, create a criminal carry offense. A licensee who walks past it is not committing section 6106 or any other firearm offense.
• The sign does put the licensee on notice that he is not privileged to be there with a firearm. If the property owner or an authorized person asks him to leave because of the firearm, refusing creates the section 3503(b) offense.
• Comply with the request. Leave when asked. A licensee who is asked to leave and complies has not committed a crime. A licensee who argues, refuses, or asserts a right to remain converts a noncriminal posture into a misdemeanor.
• Verbal communication alone is enough. The owner does not need a posted sign. The cleanest path is to disarm or leave at the first request.

The same framework applies to private residences. A homeowner can prohibit firearms in the home, and a guest who refuses to disarm or leave when asked commits defiant trespass.

Universities and colleges

Pennsylvania has no statewide statute that restricts carry on college and university campuses the way section 912 restricts K-12 schools. The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and individual institutions have generally adopted policies prohibiting firearms on campus, but those policies are enforced through trespass and student-conduct mechanisms, not through Title 18 firearm offenses.

Practical analysis for a licensee on a Pennsylvania campus:

• State preemption (section 6120) limits municipal regulation. A local borough or township cannot create its own campus carry rule.
• Public university policies are enforced as administrative rules. A licensed carrier who violates a State System university's firearm policy generally faces a trespass warning and removal, with potential section 3503(b) defiant-trespass exposure for refusing to leave.
• Private college policies are treated as private property rules under the same section 3503(b) framework.
• A satellite or partnership location operating as a K-12 school on campus is a section 912 school.
• Campus daycare and preschool programs are not section 912 schools, because section 912 reaches publicly funded, licensed private, and parochial elementary and secondary schools. They may still be governed by university policy and private property rules.

Pennsylvania does not have a statutory analog to the New York post-Bruen "sensitive places" law and has not created a special "campus carry" rule. The default for licensees on a college campus is the same as anywhere else in Pennsylvania: state law allows the carry, and the institution's posture is enforced through property and administrative rules.

State preemption and what it does not reach

Pennsylvania's preemption statute, 18 Pa.C.S. 6120, sharply limits municipal authority to regulate firearms. Section 6120(a) provides that "no county, municipality or township may in any manner regulate the lawful ownership, possession, transfer or transportation of firearms, ammunition or ammunition components when carried or transported for purposes not prohibited by the laws of this Commonwealth."

Two consequences for prohibited places:

1. Local "no carry" ordinances are preempted. Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and other municipalities have repeatedly tried to enact local restrictions on carry, transport, or possession on public property. Pennsylvania appellate courts have struck them down on section 6120 grounds.
2. Section 6120 does not displace state-level or federal location restrictions. The school, court, Philadelphia, and federal rules survive preemption analysis because they are themselves state or federal law.

The 2014 amendments at section 6120(a.2) and (a.3), which would have created broad enforcement remedies and a private right of action for preemption violations, were declared unconstitutional in Leach v. Commonwealth, 141 A.3d 426 (Pa. 2016), as the statute's own annotations confirm. The substantive preemption rule in section 6120(a) survives. The 2014 enforcement mechanism does not.

Penalties, in plain language

• Section 912 (school): Misdemeanor of the first degree. The only statutory defense is the lawful-supervised-activity / other-lawful-purpose defense in section 912(c). The LTCF is not written in as a separate defense.
• Section 913 (court facility): Base possession is a misdemeanor of the third degree; possession with intent to use the weapon in a crime is a misdemeanor of the first degree; a license holder who failed to check the firearm commits only a summary offense. It is not a felony, and a base or summary violation is not a lifetime federal firearms disqualifier.
• Section 6108 (Philadelphia): Governed by the catch-all penalty in section 6119, a misdemeanor of the first degree, and can support a separate section 6106 charge if the carry is concealed or in a vehicle without a license. The LTCF is the defense.
• Section 5122 (weapons or implements for escape): Misdemeanor of the first degree.
• Section 3503(b) (defiant trespass): Misdemeanor of the third degree if the offender defies a personally communicated order to leave; otherwise a summary offense.
• 18 U.S.C. 930 (federal facility): Up to 1 year for simple possession; up to 5 years for possession with intent to use the weapon in a crime; up to 2 years for a federal court facility under section 930(e).
• 18 U.S.C. 922(q) (federal school zone): Federal offense; the LTCF exemption removes the exposure for a Pennsylvania licensee inside Pennsylvania.
• 49 U.S.C. 46505 (airport sterile area / aircraft): Up to 10 years for a concealed weapon accessible in flight or a loaded firearm placed aboard.
• State agency regulations (parks, forests, Fish and Boat, state buildings): Regulatory enforcement at first contact, with defiant-trespass exposure under section 3503(b) if the carrier refuses to leave when asked.

The licensee's edge

A Pennsylvania LTCF removes several categories of legal exposure that an unlicensed carrier faces:

1. Federal Gun-Free School Zones Act exemption. The 1,000-foot zone around every K-12 school in Pennsylvania does not apply to an LTCF holder under 18 U.S.C. 922(q)(2)(B)(ii).
2. Philadelphia carry under section 6108. The LTCF satisfies the licensing requirement inside Philadelphia regardless of the Sumpter litigation status.
3. Vehicle and concealed carry under section 6106. Carrying a firearm concealed on the person or in any vehicle without a license is an offense under section 6106; the LTCF is what makes that carry lawful statewide.
4. Court-facility grading. A license holder who inadvertently enters a court facility and failed to check the firearm faces only a summary offense under section 913(b)(3), not the misdemeanor that applies to an unlicensed carrier.
5. State park, state forest, and Fish and Boat Commission property. A valid LTCF satisfies the carry condition under agency rules that otherwise tie lawful possession to a qualifying activity such as hunting.

Pennsylvania does not have permitless concealed carry. The LTCF is the operative document, and the prohibited-places framework is built around it.