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GUN LAWS  

District of Columbia Profile

Gun Laws Overview

RIFLES & SHOTGUNS HANDGUNS
Permit to Purchase No No
Registration of Firearms Yes Yes
Licensing of Owners No No
Permit to Carry Not Available Yes

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.  Additionally, several aspects of the District's firearm laws are subject to ongoing litigation.  YOU MUST ABIDE WITH ALL LAWS: STATE, FEDERAL AND LOCAL.

 

 

STATE STATUS
Right To Carry Laws Shall Issue
Right To Carry Reciprocity and Recognition None
Right to Carry in Restaurants Complete Ban
Right to Carry Confidentiality No Provisions
Castle Doctrine No Law
Right to Keep & Bear Arms State Constitutional Provisions No Provisions
No-Net Loss No Legislation

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.

Concealed Carry Reciprocity
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Click on a State to see the Gun Law Profile

 

Laws on Purchase, Possession and Carrying of Firearms

Antiques and Replicas

Antique firearms, and replicas of antique firearms, are exempt from the registration requirement.

Carry

Carrying a handgun, rifle, or shotgun in the District is prohibited, except that a person holding a valid registration for a firearm may carry it in his home or place of business,  while it is being used for lawful recreational purposes, and while being being transported for a lawful purpose in accordance with  District or federal statute.  

The District's law regarding carrying a concealed handgun has recently changed.  Here is what the MPD currently says regarding applications for a Concealed Pistol License:

Pursuant to the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Wrenn v. District of Columbia and Grace v. District of Columbia, applicants for a license to carry a concealed handgun in the District of Columbia no longer need to provide a good reason for carrying a handgun. All other suitability and training requirements as described in the regulations and application must still be met. All forms and information sheets will be updated shortly. In the meantime, if there is a reference to providing a good reason, please disregard.

If your application for a carry license has been previously denied because of a failure to provide a good reason, you may reapply for a license to carry. You will not be charged a fee for this application.

Please contact the Firearms Registration Section at (202) 727-4275 with any questions.

Miscellaneous

Any person who commits a crime of violence “when armed with or having readily available any pistol or other firearm (or imitation thereof)” shall, in addition to the sentence received for the crime itself, also receive an additional sentence.

Nonresidents

A nonresident participating in any lawful recreational firearm-related activity in the District, or on his/her way to or from such activity in another jurisdiction, may possess a firearm if the firearm is unloaded and, if transported in a vehicle, is not readily accessible or directly accessible from the passenger compartment, or, if there is no compartment separate from the driver’s compartment, is in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console.  If not transported in a vehicle, the firearm must be unloaded, inside a locked contained, and separate from ammunition.  The person should be able to “exhibit proof” that he is on his way to or from such activity, and that his/her possession of the firearm is lawful in the jurisdiction in which he/she resides.

 

 

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Nonresidents may apply for a concealed carry pistol license, and must register any pistol they wish to carry within the District.

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Possession

All firearms must be registered with the MPD.  To obtain a registration certificate, the applicant must be 21 years old (or be over 18 and have a notarized permission and liability statement signed by his parent or guardian), take an online course, and pass a firearm safety test.

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An individual must not:

  • be convicted of a crime of violence,  a weapons offense, or a violation of the registration law;
  • be convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;
  • be a fugitive from justice;
  • be under indictment for a crime of violence or a weapons offense;
  • been convicted of a narcotics/dangerous drug, or an assault or threat to do bodily injury, or two or more DWIs, or an intrafamily, offense within the last five years;
  • be addicted to any controlled substance;
  • been acquitted of a crime by reason of insanity, or adjudicated a chronic alcoholic within the past five years, unless he/she presents a medical certification indicating that he/she has recovered from such insanity or alcoholic condition and is capable of safe and responsible possession of a firearm;
  • been committed to a mental hospital within the past five years, unless he/she presents a medical certification that the applicant has recovered from whatever malady prompted such commitment;
  • had a history of violent behavior within the past five years;
  • suffering from a physical defect which would tend to indicate that applicant would not be able to possess or use a firearm safely and responsibly;
  • been adjudicated negligent in a firearm mishap causing death or serious injury;
  • have failed to demonstrate knowledge of D.C. firearms law;
  • have been subject to a protection order in an intrafamily proceeding, unless he/she submits a certified court record establishing that the order has expired or has been rescinded for a period of 5 years or more;
  • be subject to a court order that: was issued after a hearing of which the person received actual notice, and at which the person had an opportunity to participate or remained in effect after the person failed to appear for a hearing of which the person received actual notice; and restrains the person from assaulting, harassing, stalking, or threatening any person named in the order; and requires the person to relinquish possession of any firearms.

No more than one pistol per registrant may be registered during any 30-day period, except that a person first becoming a District resident may register more than one pistol if the pistols were lawfully owned in another jurisdiction for a period of 6 months prior to the date of the application.

A person applying for a registration certificate may be fingerprinted, must submit 2 full-face photographs taken within the prior 30 days, must appear in person, and may be required to bring with him the firearm for which a registration certificate is sought.

No firearm may be acquired unless an application is first filed with the MPD and a registration certificate issued.  Any person bringing a firearm into the District must “immediately” notify the Identification and Records Division. An application for registration must be filed within 48 hours after such notification.

A person who has registered a firearm must notify the MPD in writing: of the loss, theft, or destruction of the registration certificate or of the registered firearm immediately upon discovery of such loss, theft, or destruction; within 30 days of a change in the registrant's name or address as it appears on the registration certificate; of the sale, transfer, or other disposition of the firearm within 2 business days of such sale, transfer, or other disposition.

Registration certificates shall expire 3 years after the date of issuance unless renewed for subsequent 3-year periods.

A person may temporarily possesses a firearm registered to another person while in the home of the registrant, if the person is not otherwise prohibited from possessing firearms and the person reasonably believes that possession of the firearm is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself.

A sawed-off shotgun, machinegun, short-barreled rifle, a pistol that is not on the District Roster of Handguns Not Determined to be Unsafe, an “assault weapon” as defined by D.C. Code § 7-2501.01(3A), and .50 BMG rifle may not be possessed in D.C.  A “large capacity ammunition feeding device” (a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device that has a capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition, except an attached tubular device designed to accept, and capable of operating only with, .22 caliber rimfire ammunition) may not be possessed in D.C.

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Purchase

A person may buy a firearm only from, or sell only to, a licensed dealer in the District. Delivery cannot be made until the registration certificate for the firearm is approved by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Ammunition may be bought only for the caliber or gauge of a firearm registered to the buyer.

District of Columbia NEWS
Court Strikes Down Unconstitutional Ban on Concealed Carry

News  

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Court Strikes Down Unconstitutional Ban on Concealed Carry

D.C. Circuit Court Rules in Favor of Constitutional Right to Carry a Gun in Public for Self-Defense

News  

Thursday, March 16, 2017

House Passes Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act

The National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) applauds the House of Representatives today for passing The ...

Washington Post  

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Guns are an easy target, but the real crime of despair and neglect is harder to fix

The availability of such high-quality firearms indicates the presence of a robust gun trade in a city with ...

Reuters  

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Congress takes on Washington, D.C.

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida last month introduced legislation that would bar city lawmakers from passing gun ...

Washington Post  

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Tougher scrutiny in store for D.C.

The House committee that oversees the District plans to exercise its authority over the nation’s capital more aggressively ...

Washington Post  

Thursday, January 19, 2017

Congress moves to alter D.C. gun laws

On Tuesday, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), reintroduced a bill to repeal the District’s gun-control laws, which are among ...

Washington Post  

Thursday, December 29, 2016

In D.C., the federal government gives released criminals many chances to fail

Over two years, 23-year-old Steven Pugh violated almost every condition of his court-ordered probation for carrying a gun ...

Washington Post  

Thursday, December 22, 2016

He says he robbed 100 people in D.C. Could he have been stopped before he killed?

D.C. judges twice sentenced him — for simple assault and robbery — under the District’s Youth Rehabilitation Act, ...

Washington Post  

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

D.C. to lift stun-gun ban after constitutional challenge by gun rights advocates

The District government will not seek to enforce the city’s stun-gun ban against three residents who challenged the ...

Washington Post  

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Federal appeals court questions D.C.’s restrictions on concealed carry of firearms

Appeals court judges had tough questions on Tuesday for the District’s lawyers about strict limits the city places ...

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.