Last Updated: Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Nebraska Gun Laws

STATE CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISION - Nebraska Constitution art. 1, sec. 1.

“All persons ... have certain ... rights, among these are ... the right to keep and bear arms for security or defense of self, family, home, and others, and for lawful common defense, hunting, recreational use, and all other lawful purposes, and such rights shall not be denied or infringed by the state or any subdivision thereof.”

Gun Laws Overview

	RIFLES & SHOTGUNS	HANDGUNS
Permit to Purchase	No	Yes
Registration of Firearms	No	No
Licensing of Owners	No	No
Permit to Carry	No	Yes
Nebraska is a constitutional carry state allowing permitless carry of firearms for individuals legally allowed to possess a firearm. Nebraska permits to carry are available for purposes of concealed carry in other states that offer permit reciprocity. 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
Right to Carry Confidentiality	Provisions Enacted
Right To Carry Laws	Shall Issue
Right To Carry Reciprocity and Recognition	Conditional Recognition

Concealed Carry Reciprocity

Laws on Purchase, Possession and Carrying of Firearms

Hardware Bans & Equipment Restrictions

Nebraska has no laws regulating semi-automatic firearms or so-called "assault weapons," "large capacity magazines," "ghost guns," bump stocks, or similar items. Machine guns are legal as long as possessed under applicable federal statutes.

Ammunition

Indiana does not generally regulate or restrict ammunition.

Licensing/Permitting & Possession/Acquisition of Firearms

Preemption

Cities and towns may not regulate lawful concealed carry in compliance with the Concealed Handgun Permit Act.

NEB. REV. STAT. § 17-556. Public safety; firearms; explosives; riots; regulation

Cities of the second class and villages shall have power to prevent and restrain riots, routs, noises, disturbances, or disorderly assemblages; to regulate, prevent, restrain, or remove nuisances in residential parts of municipalities and to designate what shall be considered a nuisance; to regulate, punish, and prevent the discharge of firearms, rockets, powder, fireworks, or any other dangerous combustible material in the streets, lots, grounds, alleys, or about or in the vicinity of any buildings; to regulate, prevent, and punish the carrying of concealed weapons, except the carrying of a concealed handgun in compliance with the Concealed Handgun Permit Act; and to arrest, regulate, punish, fine, or set at work on the streets or elsewhere all vagrants and persons found without means of support or some legitimate business.

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Antiques and Replicas

Antique handgun or pistol means any handgun or pistol, including those with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system, manufactured in or before 1898 and any replica of such a handgun or pistol if the replica (a) is not designed or redesigned for using rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition or (b) uses rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition which is no longer manufactured in the United States and which is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade. A certificate and instant check are not required to transfer an antique handgun.

Machine Guns

A machine gun is any firearm that shoots automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. State law prohibits the transportation or possession of any machine guns. The prohibition does not apply to peace officers, members of the armed forces or persons qualified under the provisions of federal law relating to machine guns.

Range Protection

Any range meeting the state shooting range performance standards may continue operation without regard to any regulation, law, ordinance or rule that is enacted.

NEB. REV. STAT. § 37-1305. Existing shooting range; effect of noise provisions

Any shooting range that is existing and lawful may continue to operate as a shooting range notwithstanding, and without regard to, any law, rule, regulation, ordinance, or resolution related to noise enacted thereafter by any city, county, village, or other political subdivision of the state, except as provided in section 37-1308, if operated in compliance with the shooting range performance standards

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Miscellaneous

It is unlawful to knowingly possess, receive, sell, or lease any firearm from which the manufacturer’s identification mark or serial number has been removed, defaced, altered, or destroyed. It is also unlawful to intentionally remove, deface, cover, alter, or destroy the manufacturer’s identification mark or serial number or other distinguishing numbers on any firearm.

It is unlawful to discharge any firearm or weapon using any form of compressed gas as a propellant from any public highway, road, or bridge. It is unlawful to intentionally discharge a firearm at an inhabited dwelling house, occupied building, occupied motor vehicle, occupied aircraft, or inhabited motor home.

It is unlawful to possess a firearm in a school, on school grounds, in a school owned vehicle, or at a school-sponsored activity or athletic event. This prohibition does not apply to: members of the armed forces, peace officers or other duly authorized law enforcement officers when on duty or training; firearms which may lawfully be possessed by the person receiving instruction, for instruction under the immediate supervision of an adult instructor; or firearms contained within a private vehicle operated by a non-student adult which are not loaded and are encased or are in a locked firearm rack that is on a motor vehicle.

Dealers of firearms shall distribute to all purchasers information developed by the Department of Health and Human Services regarding the dangers of leaving loaded firearms unattended around children.

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