Delaware Gun Laws
Gun Laws Overview
RIFLES & SHOTGUNS | HANDGUNS | |
---|---|---|
Licensing of Owners | No | No |
Permit to Carry | No | Yes |
Permit to Purchase | No | No |
Registration of Firearms | No | No |
The list and map below are included as a tool to assist you in validating your information. We have made every effort to report the information correctly, however reciprocity and recognition agreements are subject to frequent change. The information is not intended as legal advice or a restatement of law and does not include: restrictions that may be placed on non-resident permits, individuals under the age of 21, qualifying permit classes, and/or any other factor which may limit reciprocity and/or recognition. For any particular situation, a licensed local attorney must be consulted for an accurate interpretation. YOU MUST ABIDE WITH ALL LAWS: STATE, FEDERAL AND LOCAL. |
STATE STATUS | |
---|---|
Castle Doctrine | No Law |
No-Net Loss | No Legislation |
Right to Carry Confidentiality | Provisions Enacted |
Right to Carry in Restaurants | Legal |
Right To Carry Laws | Rights Restricted-Very Limited Issue |
Right To Carry Reciprocity and Recognition | Conditional Recognition |
Right to Keep & Bear Arms State Constitutional Provisions | With Provisions |
The list and map below are included as a tool to assist you in validating your information. We have made every effort to report the information correctly, however reciprocity and recognition agreements are subject to frequent change. The information is not intended as legal advice or a restatement of law and does not include: restrictions that may be placed on non-resident permits, individuals under the age of 21, qualifying permit classes, and/or any other factor which may limit reciprocity and/or recognition. For any particular situation, a licensed local attorney must be consulted for an accurate interpretation. YOU MUST ABIDE WITH ALL LAWS: STATE, FEDERAL AND LOCAL. RECIPROCITY NOTES: Colorado, Florida, Maine, and Michigan recognize Delaware RESIDENT permits ONLY. DELAWARE recognizes Idaho and South Dakota ENHANCED permits only, and only North Dakota CLASS 1 permits. http://attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/criminal/concealed-carry-deadly-weapons-ccdw/ |
Laws on Purchase, Possession and Carrying of Firearms
Antiques and Replicas
The definition of a “firearm” under criminal law, 11 Del. C. § 222(f), includes any weapon, except a BB gun, “from which a shot, projectile or other object may be discharged by force of combustion, explosive, gas and/or mechanical means, whether operable or inoperable, loaded or unloaded.” Delaware defines an antique or replica generally as a firearm manufactured before 1898 or any replica of such firearm that does not fire “rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition” or uses such ammunition no longer manufactured in the U.S. and which is no longer readily available in the ordinary channels of commerce. MORE |
Carrying
It is unlawful for any person except a law enforcement officer (including a “qualified retired law enforcement officer” who meets the state law requirements) to carry any loaded or unloaded firearm concealed upon or about his person without a license to carry. Handguns may be carried in open view, or in an inaccessible area like the trunk of an automobile. Rifles and shotguns must be unloaded while being carried in or on any vehicle, farm machinery, motorboat while under power, or sailboat while under power. MORE |
Purchase
No permit is required to purchase a rifle, shotgun, or handgun. Purchasers of rifles and shotguns must be 18 years old. Handgun purchasers must be 21 years old. MORE |
Possession
There is no state licensing requirement for the possession of a rifle, shotgun, or handgun. MORE |
Firearm Storage
Delaware makes it a crime to intentionally or recklessly store or leave a loaded firearm within “easy access” of a child or a person prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a firearm, where the gun is not stored in a locked box or container or disabled with a tamper-resistant trigger lock, or otherwise stored in a location that a reasonable person would have believed to be secure from access by an unauthorized person, and the child or prohibited person does obtain the gun. MORE |
Machine Guns, Assault Weapons, Magazines, etc.
Delaware has no laws regulating “assault weapons,” “large capacity” magazines, or ammunition by type. MORE |
Miscellaneous Provisions
It is a felony to knowingly transport or possess any firearm manufactured after 1973 on which the serial number has been altered or obliterated. 11 Del. C. § 1459. MORE |
Preemption
State law prohibits municipal governments from enacting a law, ordinance or regulation to prohibit, restrict or license the ownership, transfer, possession or transportation of firearms or components of firearms or ammunition. MORE |
Restoration of Rights
Delaware has a restoration of rights procedure for persons under a mental health-based firearm disability. Gun rights lost due to a criminal conviction may be restored through a pardon; for convictions for crimes that are not felonies, some prohibitions expire after a stated time. MORE |
Range Protection
Nuisance suits cannot be brought against any shooting range or hunting operation that has been in operation for at least a year if such properties did not constitute a nuisance when operations commenced. MORE |
SOURCES: Del. Code, Ann. 7-709, 7-726, 7-730, 11-222,11-1441 et seq., 22-838, 24-901, et seq. |
Friday, January 17, 2014
Last August, there was an encouraging development in NRA’s lengthy battle to ensure the rights of those living ...
Thursday, January 16, 2014
On Wednesday, January 22, at 1:30 p.m., Senate Bill 23 will be heard in the Delaware Senate Judiciary ...
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Yesterday, the Delaware General Assembly convened its 2014 regular session. The NRA will continue this year to fight ...
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Attorney General Beau Biden is lobbying the state Senate to reconsider a controversial gun-control bill that was defeated ...
Thursday, December 19, 2013
The Delaware Supreme Court is weighing whether a Wilmington Housing Authority policy restricting the ability of public housing ...
Friday, August 2, 2013
The National Rifle Association has won a round in federal court in its fight with the Wilmington Housing ...
Monday, July 29, 2013
As applications to carry concealed deadly weapons in Delaware surge this year, the state Department of Justice is ...
Friday, June 28, 2013
Yesterday, the Delaware Senate voted 6 – 13 (2 not voting) in opposition to House Bill 88. However, ...
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Last week, Senate Bill 16 was signed into law by Governor Jack Markell (D). Sponsored by Senator Margaret ...
Friday, May 31, 2013
The General Assembly has been in recess, but will reconvene in Dover next Tuesday, June 4. Two anti-gun ...