West Virginia Firearm Storage Requirements

West Virginia Firearm Storage Requirements

The Headline

West Virginia has no mandatory safe-storage statute for firearms in the home. The Legislature has not enacted any requirement that firearms be stored unloaded, locked, or out of reach of minors. Storage decisions are left to the individual owner. A handful of other legal rules still shape how an owner should store firearms:

• Minor possession is restricted by W. Va. Code 61-7-8. A person under 18 (unless married or emancipated) may not possess or carry a deadly weapon except in narrow situations, so an owner who leaves a firearm where a minor can take it may set up a violation by that minor.
• Federal access-prevention rules under 18 U.S.C. 922(x) make it unlawful to transfer a handgun or handgun-only ammunition to a juvenile under 18, with limited exceptions.
• Federal transfer-to-prohibited-person rules under 18 U.S.C. 922(d), and the state parallel in W. Va. Code 61-7-10, bar giving or lending a firearm to someone the owner knows or has reason to believe is prohibited.
• Common-law negligence can expose an owner to civil liability to a third party harmed by a firearm the owner failed to secure with reasonable care.

Statutory Authority

W. Va. Code Chapter 61, Article 7 ("Dangerous Weapons") does not include a mandatory safe-storage provision. The most closely related state statutes are:

• W. Va. Code 61-7-8 - Possession of deadly weapons by minors. A person under 18 who is not married or emancipated may not possess or carry, openly or concealed, any deadly weapon. Exceptions allow a minor to possess a firearm on premises owned by the minor or the minor's family, on another's premises with parental permission (and the owner's or lessee's permission), and while hunting in a lawful manner or traveling to and from a hunting site. A violation subjects the minor to juvenile jurisdiction of the circuit court under W. Va. Code 49-4-701 through 49-4-725. This statute regulates the minor's conduct. It does not, by its terms, impose civil or criminal liability on a parent for failing to secure a firearm.
• W. Va. Code 61-7-10 - Deadly weapons for sale or hire; sale to prohibited persons. It is unlawful to knowingly sell, rent, give, or lend a firearm or ammunition to a person prohibited by Article 7 or by 18 U.S.C. 922. A violation involving a firearm or ammunition is a felony.

Neither statute imposes a categorical storage duty on an adult firearm owner. There is no West Virginia "child access prevention" statute.

Storage in a Vehicle on Another's Property (Business Liability Protection Act)

W. Va. Code 61-7-14, titled "The Business Liability Protection Act," is the state statute most directly about storage. It sets two competing rules:

• Under subsection (b), an owner, lessee, or person in control of real property may generally prohibit carrying a firearm on property under their control.
• Under subsection (d), that authority does not reach a firearm stored in a private vehicle. An owner, lessee, employer, or other person in control of real property may not prohibit a customer, employee, or invitee from keeping a lawfully owned firearm when the firearm is lawfully possessed, out of view, and locked inside or locked to a motor vehicle in a parking lot, when that person is lawfully allowed to be in the area.

"Locked inside or locked to" is defined to include a locked vehicle, a firearm in a locked trunk, glove box, or other interior compartment, a firearm in a locked container securely fixed to the vehicle, or a firearm secured and locked to the vehicle itself. An employer also may not search the vehicle (only on-duty law enforcement may), may not condition employment on whether the worker holds a 61-7-4 or 61-7-4a license, and may not take adverse action against an employee for such storage except in cases of threats of unlawful action.

The statute provides civil immunity: a person in control of the property who complies with subsection (d) has no related duty of care and is not liable for money damages based on actions or inactions taken in compliance with it. The Attorney General may enforce subsection (d) with civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation, and an aggrieved customer, employee, or invitee may also sue. The "parking lot" protection does not apply to the private parking area of a business at the property owner's primary residence, and it does not override the school-premises restrictions in W. Va. Code 61-7-11a.

Common-Law Negligence Liability

Even without a mandatory safe-storage statute, a firearm owner who leaves a firearm accessible to a child or other unauthorized person may face civil liability in tort if the firearm is later used to cause injury:

• Negligence theory. The owner has a general duty to exercise reasonable care. A jury could find that failing to secure a firearm against access by a foreseeable user (for example, a child living in the home) was a breach of that duty and a proximate cause of the resulting injury.

This is ordinary common-law negligence, not a statutory storage duty. W. Va. Code 61-7-8 regulates the minor's possession rather than the adult owner's storage, so it does not, on its own, establish that an adult owner was negligent. W. Va. Code 61-7-17 preserves common-law and statutory defense-of-self-or-others principles, which can bear on liability questions.

Federal Access-Prevention Rules

18 U.S.C. 922(x) makes it unlawful to sell, deliver, or otherwise transfer a handgun, or ammunition suitable only for a handgun, to a person the transferor knows or has reasonable cause to believe is a juvenile (under 18), and makes it unlawful for a juvenile to knowingly possess such a handgun or ammunition. The statute covers handguns and handgun-only ammunition, not long guns. Exceptions in 922(x)(3) include:

• Temporary transfer or use for employment, ranching or farming, target practice, hunting, or a course of instruction in the safe and lawful use of a handgun, under the conditions the statute lists (including prior written parental consent in many cases).
• A juvenile member of the Armed Forces or National Guard in the line of duty.
• A transfer by inheritance of title (but not possession) of a handgun or ammunition.
• Possession by a juvenile taken in defense of the juvenile or others against an intruder into the residence where the juvenile lives or is an invited guest.

Penalties are set by 18 U.S.C. 924(a)(6). A juvenile who violates 922(x) generally faces a fine and up to one year, with probation in the qualifying first-possession situation. A person other than a juvenile who knowingly violates 922(x) faces up to one year, rising to up to ten years if the transferor knew or had reasonable cause to believe the juvenile would carry or use the handgun in a crime of violence.

Leaving an unsecured handgun where a juvenile can take it can, depending on the facts, expose an owner to 922(x) exposure as a transfer.

Practical Storage Standards

These are practical recommendations, not legal requirements in West Virginia:

• Locked container. A gun safe, lockbox, or locking gun cabinet. Biometric or combination locks allow quicker access; key locks suit slower-access storage.
• Trigger and cable locks. A trigger lock blocks the trigger; a cable lock runs through the action to keep it open. Many new firearms ship with one of these as an ATF-recommended baseline.
• Separate ammunition. Storing ammunition apart from the firearm adds a layer against ready-to-fire access in the home.
• Vehicle storage. A lockbox bolted to the vehicle frame deters theft of a firearm stored temporarily in a vehicle and satisfies the "locked to" standard in W. Va. Code 61-7-14.

Child Access Considerations

If children live in or visit the home, additional considerations apply:

• Age-appropriate education. Teach children the basic rule: never touch a firearm without an adult, and if you find one, leave it alone and tell an adult.
• Quick-access lockbox for defensive firearms. A bedside quick-access lockbox lets an adult reach a loaded firearm fast while keeping it away from children.
• Unloaded long-gun storage. Long guns kept for sport or hunting are best stored unloaded with ammunition kept separately.

Storage During Hospitalization or Incapacity

A firearm owner who expects a period of incapacity (surgery, hospitalization, illness) can consider:

• Temporary transfer to a trusted person who is lawful to possess, keeping in mind 18 U.S.C. 922(d) and W. Va. Code 61-7-10, which prohibit transferring a firearm to a prohibited person.
• Secured storage in the home if no one else will have access.
• FFL holding. A federal firearms dealer can sometimes hold a firearm, though returning it generally involves a transfer back with a NICS check.

Storage of an Inherited or NFA Firearm

A firearm acquired by inheritance is subject to the same storage considerations. The heir should:

1. Confirm lawful-possession status (no prohibiting condition under W. Va. Code 61-7-7 or 18 U.S.C. 922).
2. Secure the firearm in a lockbox or safe.
3. Verify any National Firearms Act status. Suppressors, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, and machine guns are registered under the NFA (26 U.S.C. 5841), and W. Va. Code 61-7-9 requires full compliance with federal law for fully automatic weapons. An NFA item passing to a lawful heir transfers on an ATF Form 5 (tax-exempt). Where federal law requires a chief law-enforcement officer certification to make or transfer a covered firearm, W. Va. Code 61-7-16 directs that officer to act on the request within 30 days and to certify unless the applicant is prohibited.

Storage at Second Residences

A vacation home, hunting cabin, or second residence used intermittently is more vulnerable to burglary and firearm theft. Practical steps:

• Use a secure safe rather than a casual lockbox.
• Bolt the safe to the floor or wall.
• Limit the number of firearms stored at the second residence.
• Ask a neighbor or local law enforcement to keep an eye on the property when it is unoccupied.

Storage and Use-of-Force Readiness

A firearm locked in a safe may not be readily accessible during a sudden home invasion. There is a genuine tension between secure storage, which keeps a firearm from unauthorized hands, and ready access, which enables lawful defense. Common approaches:

• Quick-access lockbox at the bedside that opens in seconds by biometric or simplex combination.
• Carry on the body when at home, which is both secure and immediately available.
• Layered storage with a small handgun in a quick-access lockbox and other firearms in a larger safe elsewhere in the home.

W. Va. Code 61-7-17 preserves the common-law right of defense of self and others, and the state's civil-immunity statute for justified use of force is W. Va. Code 55-7-22.

Federal Gun-Free School Zones and Storage

Under 18 U.S.C. 922(q), the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act restricts possession of a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school. The Act exempts a person licensed by the state in which the school is located where the state requires a background check before issuance. A West Virginia concealed handgun license issued under W. Va. Code 61-7-4 provides this exemption. A person carrying under West Virginia's permitless-carry rule, without that license, does not get the federal license exemption, so a handgun stored in a vehicle parked within a school zone can raise federal exposure even when the storage is otherwise lawful under state law.

Reporting Lost or Stolen Firearms

West Virginia does not impose a mandatory reporting requirement for lost or stolen firearms, but reporting is strongly recommended:

• Police report with the local agency to preserve evidence, assist recovery, and document the loss.
• ATF reporting for stolen FFL inventory or NFA items (mandatory for FFLs and special occupational taxpayers).
• Insurance claim under any rider or homeowner policy covering firearms.

A documented police report is important if a lost or stolen firearm is later used in a crime, because it establishes that the firearm had left the owner's possession before the criminal use.

Key Statutes

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Storage decisions can carry civil and criminal consequences. Consult a West Virginia attorney for advice on your situation.