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, April 19, 2013
Delaware's Senate has given final legislative approval to a bill expanding criminal background checks on gun purchases in ...
Thursday, April 18, 2013
House Bill 35, legislation to criminalize private transfers of firearms, passed in the state Senate today by a ...
Friday, April 12, 2013
House Bill 35, legislation to criminalize private transfers of firearms, has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee ...
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
As early as next week, the Delaware Senate could vote on Senate Bill 16 and House Bill 35. ...
Friday, March 29, 2013
Yesterday, House Bill 35 passed in the House by a 24-17 vote. Sponsored by state Representative Valerie Longhurst ...
Friday, March 29, 2013
Criminal background checks on gun purchases in Delaware would include most transactions between private sellers and buyers under ...
Thursday, March 28, 2013
The Senate Judiciary committee released a bill Wednesday that would require Delaware gun owners to report lost or ...
Thursday, March 28, 2013
The state House is set to vote on a bill subjecting most gun sales between private sellers and ...
Friday, March 22, 2013
On Wednesday, two more pieces of Governor Jack Markell’s comprehensive gun control scheme were introduced in the General ...
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
We need your help to stop the assault on law-abiding gun owners in Dover! Your state Representative will soon be voting ...