Utah 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 | Yes* |
* A permit is required to carry a concealed weapon. 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 | Enacted |
No-Net Loss | No Legislation |
Right to Carry Confidentiality | Provisions Enacted |
Right to Carry in Restaurants | Legal |
Right To Carry Laws | No Permit Required |
Right To Carry Reciprocity and Recognition | Outright Recognition |
Right to Keep & Bear Arms State Constitutional Provisions | With Provisions |
Laws on Purchase, Possession and Carrying of Firearms
Purchase
No state permit is required to purchase a rifle, shotgun, or handgun. A criminal history background check is needed for the sale of a firearm by a licensed dealer. A Utah concealed firearm permitholder is exempt from this requirement if the dealer first verifies that the permit is valid with the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification. Utah Code 76-10-526. |
Possession
No state permit is required to possess a rifle, shotgun or handgun. MORE |
Carrying
It is unlawful to carry a loaded firearm on any public street without a permit. Utah Code 76-10-505. It is unlawful to carry a concealed firearm without a permit, even if it is unloaded, unless it is securely encased. A firearm that is unloaded and securely encased is not considered concealed. Utah Code 76-10-501 and -504. A person may carry a loaded firearm without a permit on their real property, a business under the person's control, or at their place of residence, including any temporary residence or camp. Utah Code 76-10-511. MORE |
Preemption
All authority to regulate firearms is reserved to the Legislature. Unless specifically provided by state law, no U.S. citizen or lawfully admitted alien shall be prohibited from owning, possessing, purchasing, selling, transferring, transporting, or keeping any firearm at his place of residence, property, business, or in any vehicle lawfully in his possession or lawfully under his control; or required to have a permit or license to purchase, own, possess, transport, or keep a firearm. No local authority or state entity may enact or enforce any ordinance, regulation, or rule pertaining to firearms, unless specifically authorized by the Legislature by statute. Utah Code 76-10-500. MORE |
Machine Guns
Utah does not prohibit the possession or transfer of machine guns although a person under age 18 is prohibited from possessing a “fully automatic weapon,” which includes a machine gun. Any person who transfers, in violation of applicable state or federal law, a fully automatic weapon to a minor is guilty of a felony. |
Antiques
Utah statutes define antique firearms and exempt them from the requirements for a background check prior to purchase. They are exempt from the prohibition on changing or removing the name of the maker, the model, manufacturer’s number, or other mark of identification. They are also exempt from the requirement that the Department of Public Safety be allowed to place an identifying number or mark on them, and from the prohibition on placing any number except one assigned by the Department of Public Safety on them. They are treated as ordinary firearms for possession and carrying purposes. |
Range Protection
Each state agency or political subdivision shall ensure that any of its rules or ordinances that define or prohibit a public nuisance exclude from the definition or prohibition any shooting range that was established, constructed, or operated prior to the implementation of the rule or ordinance regarding public nuisance. Utah Code 47-3-3. MORE |
Miscellaneous
It is unlawful to discharge any kind of firearm: from any vehicle; from, upon or across any highway; at any road signs; within Utah State Park buildings, designated camp or picnic sites, overlooks, golf courses, boat ramps, and developed beaches; or without written permission to discharge the dangerous weapon from the owner or person in charge of the property within 600 feet of a house, dwelling, or any other building; or any structure in which a domestic animal is kept or fed, including a barn, poultry yard, corral, feeding pen, or stockyard. Utah Code 76-10-508. It is unlawful to fire any tracer or incendiary ammunition in the state of Utah except within the confines of an established military reservation. Utah Code 65A-3-2. MORE |
Pennsylvania only recognizes Utah Resident Permits. |
Friday, September 1, 1995
The intruders should have heeded 71-year-old Kenneth Struhs' warning to leave after kicking in the door to his ...
Saturday, May 1, 1993
"I told him he'd picked the wrong night," said Kyle Wagstaff of the knife-wielding robber he apprehended outside ...
Sunday, November 1, 1992
After successfully fighting off a would-be rapist while walking her dog, a Murray, Utah, woman, enraged over the ...
Wednesday, July 1, 1992
Leon Peterson of Cottonwood Heights, Utah, got a pistol when he heard someone knocking on the doors to ...
Wednesday, January 1, 1992
Her family taken hostage by her daughter's ex-boyfriend, Barbara Holt of Kearns, Utah, and her husband were threatened ...
Thursday, August 1, 1991
Celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary, Steve and Shelly Robertson had just checked into a motel in Midvale, Utah, ...
Tuesday, March 1, 1988
When her landlord forced his way into her Salt Lake City, Utah, home and began beating her friend ...
Saturday, August 1, 1987
A Salt Lake City, Utah, homeowner was disturbed late at night by knocking at his door. After telephoning ...