Alabama concealed carry laws and reciprocity

Anyone carrying a concealed pistol or firearm on the person or in an occupied vehicle who is asked by an officer whether they are armed must immediately say so. This applies with or without a permit.

Since January 1, 2023, no permit is required to carry a pistol in a vehicle (the vehicle permit requirement in 13A-11-73 was repealed). Pistols kept at listed restricted facilities must be out of sight and locked in the vehicle.

Act 2022-133 repealed the permit requirement for carrying a pistol concealed or in a vehicle, effective January 1, 2023. Minors (under Alabama's age of majority, 19) may not possess a pistol except in limited listed circumstances.

The county sheriff must approve an application within 30 days unless the applicant is prohibited or a listed disqualifying factor applies, including a clearly articulated justifiable concern for public safety; denials are appealable.

Permits are issued only to Alabama residents by the sheriff of their county of residence.

No permit is required, and merely carrying a holstered or secured pistol in public without brandishing is not disorderly conduct. Carrying a pistol on private property not one's own requires a permit or the owner's consent.

Code of Alabama 13A-11-52 lets a person carry a pistol on private property not his own with either a valid concealed weapon permit or the owner's consent, and 13A-11-61.2 lists the specific places (police stations, jails, courthouses, secured facilities and others) that are off limits without express permission; neither section gives force of law to a posted no-firearms sign. A person who enters or remains on premises after being forbidden commits criminal trespass in the third degree, a violation (13A-7-4).

Not yet verified from an official source.

State park rules allow lawfully authorized persons to possess handguns for personal protection; long guns are allowed only for lodgers, unloaded and secured in a vehicle or lodging. The Commissioner may designate locations where firearms are prohibited.

Not yet verified from an official source.

Not yet verified from an official source.

Without permission of the person in authority, firearms are barred (even for permit holders) inside police stations, jails and detention facilities, inpatient psychiatric facilities, courthouses and annexes, DA offices, buildings during county commission or city council meetings, and buildings secured by guards and screening; school and professional athletic event facilities are off-limits only to people without a permit. Carrying a pistol with intent to do bodily harm on K-12 school premises is a felony.

A person justified in using force who is not engaged in unlawful activity and is anywhere they have a right to be has no duty to retreat.

The Code of Alabama contains no magazine-capacity limit, and the Legislature preempts local regulation of firearms, ammunition, and firearm accessories.

The Code of Alabama contains no assault-weapon ban, and state law preempts local firearm regulation.

Alabama's firearms and weapons article (Code of Alabama Title 13A, Chapter 11, Article 3, sections 13A-11-50 through 13A-11-98) contains no provision prohibiting or regulating firearm silencers or suppressors; the only NFA-type restriction, 13A-11-63, covers short-barreled rifles and shotguns possessed in violation of federal law. The value rests on the absence of any state suppressor provision; federal NFA rules apply separately.

State law makes it a felony to possess a short-barreled rifle only in violation of federal law.

State law makes it a felony to possess a short-barreled shotgun only in violation of federal law.