State of Alabama Pistol Permit Laws
- Section 13A-11-70 – Definitions.
For the purposes of this division, the following terms shall have the respective meanings ascribed by this section:
(1) COMMISSION. The Alabama Justice Information Commission.
(2) CONCEALED CARRY PERMIT or PISTOL PERMIT. A permit to carry a pistol in a vehicle or concealed on or about his or her person within the state.
(3) CRIME OF VIOLENCE. Any of the following crimes or an attempt to commit any of them, namely, murder, manslaughter, (except manslaughter arising out of the operation of a vehicle), rape, mayhem, assault with intent to rob, assault with intent to ravish, assault with intent to murder, robbery, burglary, and kidnapping. “Crime of violence” shall also mean any Class A felony or any Class B felony that has as an element serious physical injury, the distribution or manufacture of a controlled substance, or is of a sexual nature involving a child under the age of 12.
(4) HONORABLY DISCHARGED VETERAN. An individual honorably discharged from active duty in the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Air Force, the Space Force, or the Coast Guard of the United States, or any reserve or National Guard component of the United States Armed Forces, as evidenced by his or her DD Form 214, Record and Report of Separation Honorable Discharge Record, or other applicable documentation.
(5) LIFETIME CONCEALED CARRY PERMIT or LIFETIME CARRY PERMIT. A concealed carry permit that is valid for the lifetime of the permit holder.
(6) PERSON. Such terms include any firm, partnership, association, or corporation.
(7) PISTOL. Any firearm with a barrel less than 12 inches in length.
(8) RETIRED MILITARY VETERAN. An individual who is a retiree from active duty in the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Air Force, the Space Force, or the Coast Guard of the United States, or any reserve or National Guard component of the United States Armed Forces.(9) SERVICE MEMBER. An individual who is in military service and is a member of the armed services or reserve forces of the United States or a member of the Alabama National Guard.
- Section 13A-11-72 – Certain persons forbidden to possess pistol.
(a)(1) No person who has been convicted in this state or elsewhere of committing or attempting to commit a crime of violence, misdemeanor offense of domestic violence, violent offense as listed in Section 12-25-32(15), anyone who is subject to a valid protection order for domestic abuse, or anyone of unsound mind shall own a firearm or have one in his or her possession or under his or her control.
(2) A violation of this subsection is a Class C felony.
(b)(1) No person who is a minor, except under the circumstances provided in this section, an habitual drunkard, or who has a drug addiction shall own a pistol or have one in his or her possession or under his or her control.
(2) A violation of this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor.
(c)(1) No person who is an alien and is illegally or unlawfully in the United States or has been admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa as defined in 8 U.S.C § 1101(a)(26), provided no exception to the this subsection as listed in 18 U.S.C § 922(y)(2) applies, shall own a pistol or other firearm or have one in his or her possession or under his or her control.
(2) A violation of this subsection is a Class C felony.
(d)(1) Subject to the exceptions provided by Section 13A-11-74, no person shall knowingly with intent to do bodily harm carry or possess a deadly weapon on the premises of a public school.
(2) A violation of this subsection is a Class C felony.
(e) School security personnel and school resource officers qualified under Section 16-1-44.1(a), employed by a local board of education, and authorized by the employing local board of education to carry a deadly weapon while on duty are exempt from subsection (d). Law enforcement officers are exempt from this section, and persons with permits issued pursuant to Section 13A-11-75, are exempt from subsection (d).
(f) A person shall not be in violation of Section 13A-11-57 or 13A-11-76 and a minor shall not be in violation of this section if the minor has permission to possess a pistol from a parent or legal guardian who is not prohibited from possessing a firearm under state or federal law, and any of the following are satisfied:
(1) The minor is attending a hunter education course or a firearms safety course under the supervision of an adult who is not prohibited from possessing a firearm under state or federal law.
(2) The minor is engaging in practice in the use of a firearm or target shooting at an established range under the supervision of an adult who is not prohibited from possessing a firearm under state or federal law.
(3) The minor is engaging in an organized competition involving the use of a firearm or participating in or practicing for a performance by an organized group under 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3) which uses firearms as part of the performance.
(4) The minor is hunting or fishing pursuant to a valid license, if required, and the person has the license in his or her possession; has written permission of the owner or legal possessor of the land on which the activities are being conducted; and the pistol, when loaded, is carried only in a manner discernible by ordinary observation.
(5) The minor is on real property under the control of the minor’s parent, legal guardian, or grandparent.
(6) The minor is a member of the armed services or National Guard and the minor is acting in the line of duty.
(7) The minor is traveling by motor vehicle to any of the locations or activities listed in subdivisions (1) through (6), has written permission to possess the pistol or firearm by his or her parent or legal guardian, and the pistol or firearm is unloaded, locked in a compartment or container that is in or affixed securely to the motor vehicle, and is out of reach of the driver and any passenger in the motor vehicle.
(g) This section does not apply to a minor who uses a pistol or other firearm while acting in self-defense of himself, herself, or other persons against an intruder into the residence of the minor or a residence in which the minor is an invited guest.
(h) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) CONVICTED.
a. Means a person was represented by counsel in the case, or knowingly and intelligently waived the right to counsel in the case if required by law, and either the case was tried before a judge, tried by a jury, or the person knowingly and intelligently waived the right to have the case tried, by guilty plea or otherwise.
b. A person is not considered to have been convicted for the purposes of this section if the person is not considered to have been convicted in the jurisdiction in which the proceedings were held or the conviction has been expunged, set aside, or is of an offense for which the person has been pardoned or has had his or her civil rights restored, unless the pardon, expungement, or restoration of civil rights expressly provides that the person may not ship, transport, possess, or receive firearms.
(2) DEADLY WEAPON. A firearm or anything manifestly designed, made, or adapted for the purposes of inflicting death or serious physical injury, and the term includes, but is not limited to, a bazooka, hand grenade, missile, or explosive or incendiary device; a pistol, rifle, or shotgun; or a switch-blade knife, gravity knife, stiletto, sword, or dagger; or any club, baton, billy, black-jack, bludgeon, or metal knuckles.
(3) MISDEMEANOR OFFENSE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. A misdemeanor offense that has, as its elements, the use or attempted use of physical force or the threatened use of a dangerous instrument or deadly weapon, and the victim is a current or former spouse, parent, child, person with whom the defendant has a child in common, or a present or former household member.
(4) PUBLIC SCHOOL. A school composed of grades K-12 and shall include a school bus used for grades K-12.
(5) QUALIFIED INDIVIDUAL. A spouse or former spouse of the person, an individual who is a parent of a child of the person, or an individual who cohabitates or has cohabited with the person.
(6) SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER. An Alabama Peace Officers’ Standards and Training Commissioner-certified law enforcement officer employed by a law enforcement agency who is specifically selected and specially trained for the school setting.
(7) UNSOUND MIND. Includes any person who is subject to any of the findings listed below, and who has not had his or her rights to possess a firearm reinstated by operation of law or legal process:
a. Found by a court, board, commission, or other lawful authority that, as a result of marked subnormal intelligence, mental illness, incompetency, condition, or disease, is a danger to himself, herself, or others or lacks the mental capacity to contract or manage his or her own affairs.
b. Found to be insane, not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, found mentally incompetent to stand trial, or found not guilty by a reason of lack of mental responsibility by a court in a criminal case, to include state, federal, and military courts.
c. Involuntarily committed for a final commitment for inpatient treatment to the Department of Mental Health or a Veterans’ Administration hospital by a court after a hearing.
(8) VALID PROTECTION ORDER. An order issued after a hearing of which the person received actual notice, and at which the person had an opportunity to participate, that does either of the following:
a. Restrains the person from harassing, stalking, or threatening a qualified individual or child of the qualified individual or person or engaging in other conduct that would place a qualified individual in reasonable fear of bodily injury to the individual or child and that includes a finding that the person represents a credible threat to the physical safety of the qualified individual or child.
b. By its terms, explicitly prohibits the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the qualified individual or child that would reasonably be expected to cause bodily injury.
- Section 13A-11-73 – Permit to carry pistol in vehicle or concealed on person - Required; possession of unloaded pistol in motor vehicle.
a) Except on land under his or her control or in his or her own abode or his or her own fixed place of business, no person shall carry a pistol in any vehicle or concealed on or about his or her person without a permit issued under Section 13A-11-75(a)(1) or recognized under Section 13A-11-85.
(b) Except as otherwise prohibited by law, a person legally permitted to possess a pistol, but who does not possess a valid concealed weapon permit, may possess an unloaded pistol in his or her motor vehicle if the pistol is locked in a compartment or container that is in or affixed securely to the vehicle and out of reach of the driver and any passenger in the vehicle.
- Section 13A-11-76 – Delivery to minors, habitual drunkards, etc.
No person shall deliver a pistol to any person under the age of 18 or to one who he has reasonable cause to believe has been convicted of a crime of violence or is a drug addict, an habitual drunkard or of unsound mind.
- Section 13A-11-85 – Reciprocity for licenses issued in other states.
(a) A person licensed to carry a handgun in any state whose laws recognize and give effect in that state to a license issued under the laws of the State of Alabama shall be authorized to carry a handgun in this state. This section shall apply to a licenseholder from another state only while the licenseholder is not a resident of this state. A licenseholder from another state shall carry the handgun in compliance with the laws of this state.
(b) The Attorney General shall periodically publish a list of states which meet the requirements of subsection (a).
- Section 13A-11-74 – License to carry pistol in vehicle or concealed on person - Exceptions.
The provisions of Section 13A-11-73 shall not apply to marshals, sheriffs, prison and jail wardens and their regularly employed deputies, policemen and other law enforcement officers of any state or political subdivision thereof, or to the members of the army, navy or marine corps of the United States or of the national guard, or to the members of the national guard organized reserves or state guard organizations when on duty or going to or from duty, or to the regularly enrolled members of any organization duly authorized to purchase or receive such weapons from the United States or from this state; provided, that such members are at or are going to or from their places of assembly or target practices, or to officers or employees of the United States duly authorized to carry a pistol, or to any person engaged in manufacturing, repairing or dealing in pistols, or the agent or representative of such person possessing, using, or carrying a pistol in the usual or ordinary course of such business, or to any common carrier, except taxicabs, licensed as a common carrier, or to any person permitted by law to possess a pistol while carrying it unloaded in a secure wrapper, from the place of purchase to his home or place of business, or to or from a place of repair or in moving from one place of abode or business to another.
18 U.S. Code § 926B – Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (L.E.O.S.A.)
Alabama Permit-less Carry Law – Explained
Alabama Reciprocity for licenses issued in other states
Alabama Concealed Carry Reciprocity Map & Gun Laws