Maine Gun Laws
Gun Laws Overview
RIFLES & SHOTGUNS | HANDGUNS | |
---|---|---|
Permit to Purchase | No | No |
Registration of Firearms | No | No |
Licensing of Owners | No | No |
Permit to Carry | No | No* |
*No permit is necessary to carry openly while in this state, or to carry a concealed handgun if the person is at least 21 years old, or between 18 and 21 and on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States or the National Guard or is an honorably discharged veteran, and is not otherwise prohibited from carrying a firearm. 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: MAINE honors RESIDENT permits from states it recognizes. Alaska, Arizona, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and North Dakota permit holders must be at least 21 years of age to carry in this state; Virginia permit holders must be 21 or older and possess government-issued identification; see https://www.maine.gov/dps/msp/licenses-permits/concealed-carry-maine/reciprocity Florida, Michigan and New Hampshire recognize Maine RESIDENT permits only. |
STATE STATUS | |
---|---|
Castle Doctrine | Enacted |
No-Net Loss | Enacted |
Right to Carry Confidentiality | Provisions Enacted |
Right to Carry in Restaurants | Partial Ban |
Right To Carry Laws | No Permit Required |
Right To Carry Reciprocity and Recognition | Conditional Recognition |
Right to Keep & Bear Arms State Constitutional Provisions | With Provisions |
Laws on Purchase, Possession and Carrying of Firearms
Antiques and Replicas
The provisions of law on possession, purchase, and carrying apply to antiques and replicas. |
Possession
No permit is required to possess a rifle, shotgun, or handgun. MORE |
Purchase
No state permit is required to purchase a rifle, shotgun, or handgun. MORE |
Carrying
It is not unlawful to carry a firearm openly. In 2015, Maine enacted a permitless carry law. MORE |
Machine Guns, Magazines, Ammunition, etc.
“Machine gun” is defined as “a weapon of any description, by whatever name known, loaded or unloaded, which is capable of discharging a number of projectiles in rapid succession by one manual or mechanical action on the trigger or firing mechanism.” MORE |
Miscellaneous Provisions
State law prohibits a government agency of the state or a political subdivision from keeping or causing to be kept any registry of privately-owned firearms and the owners of those firearms. 25 M.R.S.A. § 2014. MORE |
Preemption
The State intends to occupy and preempt the entire field of legislation concerning the regulation of firearms, components, ammunition and supplies MORE |
Restoration of Rights
Maine has enacted a restoration of rights procedure for persons under a mental health-based firearm disability, but it appears applications are no longer being accepted by the Commissioner of Public Safety. Gun rights lost due to a criminal conviction may be restored by pardon, through application to the Office of the Governor, or in some cases, on the expiry of stated time periods. MORE |
Range Protection
A municipal noise control or other ordinance cannot require or be applied so as to require a sport shooting range to limit or eliminate shooting activities that have occurred on a regular basis at the range prior to the enactment date of the ordinance, as long as the range conforms to generally accepted gun safety and shooting range operation practices or is constructed in a manner not reasonably expected to allow a projectile to cross the boundary of the range MORE |
SOURCES: Maine Code Title 12, Sections 11102, 11208, 11209, 11212, 11214, 13201; Title 15, Sections 455; 455-A; Title 17-A, Sections 1051, 1052, 1057; 2001-2006 2011; 2012 |
Monday, November 1, 1999
With her husband and older sons on a camping trip, Kathy York and her 7- and 8-year-old sons ...
Sunday, June 1, 1997
Defense Secretary William Cohen's brother, Robert, opened the door to his Bangor, Maine, home and found himself facing ...
Sunday, October 1, 1995
A Bangor, Maine, criminal was held for police by armed homeowners Scott Simcock and Frank Page after the ...
Monday, May 1, 1995
When a muddy man in camouflage clothes wandered up his driveway and asked for a ride, Waterboro, Maine, ...
Saturday, August 1, 1992
Mark Rigas was working in his Waldoboro, Maine, pizza shop one evening when a man walked in, waved ...
Sunday, March 1, 1992
His store burglarized twice in a week, Denis Picard of Lewiston, Maine, was on hand for the third ...
Sunday, September 1, 1991
When Wallace Loffreda opened the front door of his Portland, Maine, apartment, a youth lunged at him with ...
Sunday, February 1, 1981
NRA Life member Richard Willard awoke to the sounds of someone rummaging about his Woolwich, Maine, home. Armed ...
Sunday, February 1, 1981
Entering his law office in Bangor, Maine, attorney Peter A. Anderson, an NRA Life member, found a burglar ...