Wisconsin permits open carry of a handgun or long gun by a non-prohibited adult age 18 or older without any license, subject to the prohibited-place...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
Wisconsin permits open carry of a handgun or long gun by a non-prohibited adult age 18 or older without any license, subject to the prohibited-place catalog. Wisconsin's concealed-carry license requirement under Wis. Stat. § 175.60 does NOT extend to open carry. Wisconsin is one of about 30 states that recognizes a general right to open carry without a permit.
Wisconsin's open-carry framework is not the product of a single affirmative statute. Instead, it is the negative space created by Wis. Stat. § 941.23, which criminalizes only concealed carry of a dangerous weapon by a non-licensed person, and by the constitutional baseline in Wisconsin Constitution Art. I, § 25.
Because the criminal statute reaches only concealed carry, openly carrying a firearm visible to ordinary observation is not a Wis. Stat. § 941.23 violation. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has applied this framework in cases interpreting "concealed."
A person must be at least 18 years old to openly possess and carry a handgun in public. Wis. Stat. § 948.60 prohibits possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18, with narrow carve-outs for hunting and target practice supervised by an adult. The CCL framework requires age 21 because federal law at 18 U.S.C. § 922 sets that floor for handgun purchases from federally licensed dealers, but Wisconsin open carry of a handgun is lawful at 18.
Open carry of a firearm in Wisconsin is lawful in most public places, including:
The same prohibited-place catalog that constrains concealed carry by a CCL holder also constrains open carry:
A CCL holder may carry openly or concealed at the licensee's option. The CCL does not require concealment. Many CCL holders choose concealed carry for tactical and social reasons; others openly carry for the same reasons. Wisconsin law does not penalize either choice (subject to the prohibited-place rules above).
Open carry is lawful, but brandishing - displaying a firearm in a threatening manner - can constitute disorderly conduct under Wis. Stat. § 947.01 or assault under Wis. Stat. § 940.19 or 940.20. The fact that the firearm was lawfully carried openly does not immunize threatening or angry display.
In State v. Hamdan (2003), the Wisconsin Supreme Court addressed the interaction of carry rights and public-order statutes; openly carrying a holstered handgun on a public street is not, by itself, disorderly conduct. But the analysis is fact-specific, and CCL holders and open-carry advocates should avoid behavior (drawing, pointing, gesturing with the firearm) that could be charged as disorderly conduct or worse.
A non-CCL holder may transport a firearm in a motor vehicle in a manner that complies with Wis. Stat. § 167.31 (transport rules - the firearm generally must be unloaded if not in a CCL holder's vehicle). See Vehicle Carry.
A CCL holder may openly carry a loaded handgun in their vehicle (on the person or in the vehicle) consistent with Wis. Stat. § 175.60.
Open carry of a rifle or shotgun in public is lawful for non-prohibited adults. Wisconsin imposes no statutory restriction on visible long-gun carry, though the Wis. Stat. § 941.235 / § 948.605 prohibited-place catalog still applies, and transport rules under Wis. Stat. § 167.31 govern transport in motor vehicles.
Open carry in Wisconsin is constitutionally protected and statutorily lawful, but it carries practical risks:
Local Wisconsin governments may not enact firearm ordinances stricter than state law - Wis. Stat. § 66.0409 preempts local regulation. A city ordinance purporting to ban open carry in a public park is preempted unless it fits one of the narrow § 66.0409 carve-outs.
This page covers one part of our Wisconsin concealed carry guide.
Read the complete Wisconsin guideBrowse local instructors offering state-approved training in your area. Book online, complete your training, and get one step closer to your concealed carry permit.