Rhode Island concealed carry laws and reciprocity

Rhode Island's weapons chapter (R.I. Gen. Laws chapter 11-47) contains no requirement to inform a police officer that one is carrying a firearm.

A license is required to carry a pistol in any vehicle; without one, a pistol may be transported only unloaded with ammunition not readily accessible, on specified trips such as between a residence and place of business or to a dealer. Out-of-state license holders may only pass through without stopping.

Carrying a pistol or revolver on or about the person or in a vehicle, whether visible or concealed, requires a Rhode Island license or permit, except in one's home, place of business or own land or under listed exemptions.

R.I. Gen. Laws 11-47-11 directs a city or town licensing authority to issue a four-year concealed-carry license to an applicant 21 or older if it appears the applicant has good reason to fear injury to person or property or any other proper reason for carrying and is a suitable person; 11-47-18 lets the Attorney General issue a permit to carry concealed or openly upon a proper showing of need. Both routes condition issuance on the authority's judgment of the applicant's reason or need and suitability.

A U.S. resident 21 or older who holds another state's concealed-carry license may apply to a city or town licensing authority, and the Attorney General may issue a permit to any person 21 or older on a showing of need.

Carrying a pistol visibly requires a license; local licenses authorize concealed carry only, while the Attorney General's permit covers carry "whether concealed or not." Loaded rifles and shotguns are prohibited on public highways, roads, lanes and trails except for hunters and officials.

Chapter 11-47 of the General Laws contains no provision giving legal effect to posted no-firearms signs. A person who remains on another's land after being forbidden by the owner or the owner's agent may be prosecuted for willful trespass under R.I. Gen. Laws 11-44-26.

No section of chapter 11-47 prohibits carrying a licensed pistol in a restaurant or bar that serves alcohol. R.I. Gen. Laws 11-47-52 makes it unlawful to carry or transport any firearm when intoxicated or under the influence of intoxicating liquor or narcotic drugs.

RIDEM regulation 250-RICR-100-00-7, section 7.10, prohibits possession of a firearm on any public reservation, defined as any property under the care, control or custody of RIDEM including state parks and management areas, unless the possession is in accordance with Fish and Wildlife hunting regulations (Part 60-00-9) or by law enforcement officers under R.I. Gen. Laws 11-47-9 and 11-47-9.1. The regulation makes no exception for carry-license holders.

No section of chapter 11-47 restricts carrying a licensed firearm in a place of worship. A property owner may exclude armed visitors, and a person who remains after being forbidden may be charged with willful trespass under R.I. Gen. Laws 11-44-26.

The school-grounds firearm ban in R.I. Gen. Laws 11-47-60 covers only public and private elementary and secondary schools and states in subsection (c) that it does not apply to colleges, universities or junior colleges, so no statute prohibits licensed carry on a campus. State institutions bar weapons by policy; Rhode Island College's Weapons on Campus policy prohibits firearms on campus and at college-sponsored activities except for on-duty law enforcement, enforced through college discipline up to dismissal.

Firearms are prohibited on public and private K-12 school grounds, at school-sponsored activities and on school transportation, even for license holders, except an unloaded firearm in a locked container or rack in a vehicle; this rule does not cover colleges. Carrying any firearm while intoxicated is also unlawful.

In State v. Guerrero (R.I. 2019), the Rhode Island Supreme Court restated its well-established doctrine, citing State v. Garrett (R.I. 2014), that before a person who perceives himself threatened may resort to deadly force, he or she must attempt to retreat if consciously aware of an open, safe and available avenue of escape, and upheld a conviction where the defendant could have backed away during a confrontation outside a train station.

Manufacturing, selling, transferring, purchasing or possessing a feeding device that holds more than 10 rounds for a semi-automatic firearm is punishable by up to five years' imprisonment, with no exception for visitors; .22 rimfire tubular magazines are excluded.

Since July 1, 2026, manufacturing, selling, offering, transferring or purchasing a "prohibited firearm" (feature-defined semi-automatic rifles and certain high-capacity shotguns, pistols and belt-fed firearms) is punishable by up to ten years' imprisonment; the chapter does not prohibit possession.

Manufacturing, selling, purchasing or possessing a firearm muffler or silencer is punishable by at least one year and one day in prison, with an exception only for law enforcement tactical use.

Possessing a sawed-off rifle (overall length under 26 inches or barrel under 16 inches) is prohibited, with no exception for federally registered firearms.

Possessing a sawed-off shotgun (overall length under 26 inches or barrel under 18 inches) is prohibited, with no exception for federally registered firearms.