Minnesota concealed carry laws and reciprocity

A permit holder must have the permit card and photo ID while carrying and display them on lawful demand by a peace officer. On an officer's request, the holder must disclose whether they are currently carrying a firearm.

Carrying or possessing a pistol in a motor vehicle requires a permit to carry. Without one, a pistol may be transported only unloaded in a closed and fastened case, gun box, or securely tied package.

Carrying or possessing a pistol in a public place, or in a motor vehicle, snowmobile, or boat, without a permit to carry is a gross misdemeanor. Limited exceptions include one's own premises and unloaded, cased transport.

A sheriff must issue a permit to a qualified, trained applicant unless there is a substantial likelihood the applicant is a danger to self or the public. The statute still says 21, but DPS states that since Worth v. Jacobson (cert. denied April 21, 2025) sheriffs issue permits to qualified applicants 18 to 20.

Nonresidents may apply to any Minnesota county sheriff, but applications must be submitted in person.

A permit is required to carry a handgun in public, and DPS states the law does not require the pistol to be concealed. Rifles and shotguns in public places are separately restricted unless the person has a permit to carry.

A private establishment may ban firearms by posting a sign of statutory size and wording ('[operator] BANS GUNS IN THESE PREMISES') at every entrance, or by telling the person. A person who stays after being ordered to leave commits a petty misdemeanor. Parking areas cannot be restricted.

No statute bars permit holders from establishments that serve alcohol, though a private establishment may ban guns by posting or notice. Carrying a pistol in public while under the influence or with an alcohol concentration over 0.04 is prohibited.

Minnesota DNR state park rules make it unlawful to possess a firearm in a state park unless it is unloaded and fully cased or unloaded in the closed trunk of a vehicle, but a person legally permitted under Minn. Stat. 624.714 to carry a handgun may carry that handgun in state parks.

Places of worship have no separate statutory ban. As private establishments, they may prohibit firearms by posting the statutory sign or by personal notice.

Public colleges and universities may restrict firearms carried by their students (academic sanctions) and employers may restrict employees. Private institutions may post as private establishments. The school-property felony in 609.66 covers K-12 schools and child care centers, not colleges.

Permit holders may not carry on K-12 school property or at licensed child care centers while children are present. Keeping the pistol in a vehicle is an exception. Courthouse complexes and Capitol-area state buildings are off-limits unless the permit holder has notified the sheriff or Commissioner of Public Safety, and private establishments may ban guns by posting or notice. DPS also lists Minn. Stat. 243.55 and 641.165 and 18 U.S.C. 930 among the carry prohibitions.

Minnesota has no stand-your-ground statute; the Minnesota Supreme Court holds that, outside the home, a person must retreat if reasonably possible before acting in self-defense (State v. Devens, 852 N.W.2d 255 (Minn. 2014); State v. Blevins, A22-0432 (Minn. July 31, 2024), applying the duty to retreat even to threatening use of a dangerous weapon). There is no duty to retreat from one's own home (State v. Glowacki, 630 N.W.2d 392 (Minn. 2001), as discussed in Devens).

Minnesota's firearms statutes (Chapter 624) contain no magazine-capacity limit.

Minnesota does not ban assault weapons. State law defines 'semiautomatic military-style assault weapons' for its transfer and permit rules, but the firearms chapter contains no possession ban.

Selling or possessing a suppressor is a felony only if it is not lawfully possessed under federal law.

Minnesota's weapons statute 609.67 prohibits machine guns and short-barreled shotguns but does not cover short-barreled rifles, and no other provision of chapters 609 or 624 bans them. A rifle with a barrel under 16 inches is treated as a 'pistol' under 624.712, so pistol rules (permit to carry, transfer permits) apply; federal NFA rules apply separately.

Owning, possessing, or operating a short-barreled shotgun (barrel under 18 inches or overall length under 26 inches) is a crime. Exceptions cover law enforcement, licensed dealers and manufacturers, and items the BCA determines are collector's items.