Mississippi concealed carry laws and reciprocity

A licensee must carry the license with valid identification while carrying and display both when a law enforcement officer demands them. The statute addresses licensees only.

Under 97-37-1(2), anyone over 18 may carry a firearm concealed, in whole or in part, within any motor vehicle.

No license is required to carry a pistol or revolver in a sheath, belt or shoulder holster, or in a purse, bag, briefcase or fully enclosed case. The person must not be engaged in criminal activity other than a misdemeanor traffic offense, must be legally allowed to possess it, and must not be in a place listed in 45-9-101(13). No separate minimum age is stated in this provision.

The Department of Public Safety 'shall issue' a license to applicants who meet the statutory criteria. The criteria include age 21, or 18 to 20 for current or former military members.

Miss. Code 45-9-101(2)(a) requires an applicant to be a Mississippi resident for 12 months, but waives the residency requirement for an applicant who possesses a valid permit from another state, is active military personnel stationed in Mississippi, or is a retired law enforcement officer establishing residency in the state. The DPS application (IFP-APP-01) asks nonresidents to confirm one of these conditions.

The licensing requirements do not apply to carrying a pistol or revolver that is not concealed. A pistol carried in a wholly or partially visible sheath or holster is not 'concealed' under 97-37-1.

The person or entity controlling a place may disallow carrying a concealed pistol or revolver there. This requires a written notice, readable from at least 10 feet, stating that the 'carrying of a pistol or revolver is prohibited.'

A standard license, and permitless carry, do not extend to any part of an establishment licensed for on-premises drinking that is primarily devoted to serving alcohol, beer, or light wine. Holders with the enhanced endorsement may carry in these places under 97-37-7(2).

MDWFP's state park regulations (Section T) allow any person who is not engaged in criminal activity and not prohibited from possessing a pistol, or who holds a Mississippi or recognized out-of-state concealed carry permit, to carry a handgun concealed in any Mississippi State Park, subject to the places listed in Miss. Code 45-9-101(13). Open carry may be restricted in 'sensitive areas' designated by signage under 45-9-101, and firearms in vehicles or campers should be kept secured; hunting is prohibited in state parks except at designated areas.

A standard license does not authorize carry in a church or other place of worship, except for members of a church security program under the Mississippi Church Protection Act. Holders with the enhanced endorsement may carry there under 97-37-7(2).

A standard license does not authorize carry in junior college, community college, college, or university facilities or at school or college athletic events, except authorized firearms activities. Holders with the enhanced endorsement may carry in these locations under 97-37-7(2).

A standard license does not authorize carry in these places: places of nuisance; police, sheriff or highway patrol stations; jails and prisons; courthouses and courtrooms; polling places; and government meetings and the Legislature. Also excluded are school, college or professional athletic events; bars; elementary and secondary schools; colleges; airport passenger terminals; churches; and places where federal law bans firearms. Enhanced-endorsed licensees may carry in most of these, but not nuisance places, police stations, jails and prisons, or courtrooms during proceedings.

A person who is not the initial aggressor, is not engaged in unlawful activity, and is where they have a right to be has no duty to retreat before using justified deadly force. Failure to retreat may not be treated as evidence that the force was unreasonable.

Not yet verified from an official source.

Not yet verified from an official source.

Miss. Code 97-37-31, as amended by SB 2313 (2016), makes it a misdemeanor to make, manufacture, sell, or possess a device that muffles the report of a firearm unless the person is 'duly authorized under federal law', so state law permits suppressors that comply with federal NFA authorization. Separately, 97-37-1 treats a muffler or silencer carried concealed on the person as a concealed weapon, with exceptions for the home, business, vehicle, and weapon-related sports activity; HB 912 (2023) would repeal 97-37-31 and the silencer language, but its effective date is contingent on a federal court outcome or an Attorney General determination and the 2025 legislature still recites 97-37-1 with the silencer language.

Not yet verified from an official source.

Not yet verified from an official source.