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. |
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
A House committee is resuming consideration of bill expanding criminal background checks for gun purchases in Delaware to ...
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
House Bill 35, the latest of Governor Jack Markell’s gun control proposals will be heard TOMORROW by the House Judiciary ...
Friday, March 15, 2013
On March 7th, the latest of Governor Jack Markell’s gun control proposals was filed as House Bill 35. HB ...
Thursday, March 14, 2013
A bill that would expand criminal background checks for gun purchases in Delaware to cover sales between private ...
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
A state House committee is set to consider a bill expanding criminal background checks for gun purchases in ...
Monday, March 11, 2013
In January, Governor Jack Markell (D) unleashed a five-point plan to subject Delaware to sweeping gun control measures, ...
Friday, March 8, 2013
Governor Jack Markell (D) unleashed a five-point plan to subject Delaware to sweeping gun control measures in January, ...
Friday, March 8, 2013
Wilmington City Council on Thursday unveiled a package of gun control measures it hopes could address the city's ...
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Legislation calling for so called universal background checks was to be unveiled Wednesday by Gov. Jack Markell, Attorney ...
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Last month, as reported by NRA-ILA, Governor Jack Markell (D) unleashed a five-point plan to subject Delaware to sweeping gun ...