Firearm law reference

New York Gun Laws: Complete Guide

A practical overview of New York firearm laws affecting private transfers, purchases, carrying, transportation, storage, and ownership.

New York uses licensing and firearm-specific records for handguns, a license to acquire semiautomatic rifles, dealer processing for most private transfers, and detailed rules for carry, sensitive places, magazines, assault weapons, storage, and reporting. New York City and some local rules add requirements.

New York Gun Law Quick Facts

Start with the three rules most people need. The full comparison table covers the remaining purchase, carry, ownership, and restriction topics.

Minimum purchase age: Generally 21 for licensed firearms
Applicants for handgun and semiautomatic-rifle licenses generally must be at least twenty-one, subject to limited military exceptions; other long-gun sales remain subject to state and federal age rules. [1][5][17]
Concealed carry license: Required
Applicants generally must satisfy investigation, good-moral-character, training, interview, reference, and other licensing requirements; licenses remain subject to sensitive and restricted location rules. [1][7][4]
Purchase or acquisition license: Required for handguns and semiautomatic rifles
A pistol or revolver license is required to acquire and possess a handgun, and a semiautomatic-rifle license is required to purchase or take possession of a semiautomatic rifle. [1][4][5]

Swipe horizontally to read the full table.

Law	Status	What it means
Private sale background check	Required for most transfers	Most transfers between private people must be processed by a licensed dealer for the required state background check, with a narrow immediate-family exception. [3][6]
FFL required for private transfers	Generally yes	A dealer generally must process an ordinary private firearm, rifle, or shotgun transfer, verify licenses where applicable, and keep the required records. [3][1]
Waiting period	No fixed period; unresolved checks may delay	New York does not impose one fixed delivery delay for every approved sale, but a dealer may not transfer during an unresolved background check until state law permits completion after the extended period. [3]
Firearm registration	Handguns listed; assault weapons registered	Each licensed handgun is recorded on the owner's license, and qualifying grandfathered assault weapons are subject to registration and recertification rules. [1][6]
Firearm owner license	Required for handgun possession	A New York license is generally required to possess a handgun; ordinary manually operated long guns do not have a comparable statewide possession license outside local rules. [1][2]
Permitless concealed carry	No	Carrying a concealed handgun in public generally requires the appropriate New York pistol license. [1][7]
Open carry	No general public handgun open carry	New York does not provide a general right to openly carry a handgun in public, and public long-gun carry can implicate possession, sensitive-place, local, and conduct offenses. [1][2][7]
Vehicle carry and transport	License and secure-transport rules	Handgun possession in a vehicle generally requires the appropriate license, while unattended firearms must be unloaded and secured as state law directs; federal safe passage is narrow. [1][8][9][20]
Magazine capacity	10 rounds	New York generally prohibits large-capacity feeding devices holding more than ten rounds, subject to narrow statutory exceptions and grandfathering rules. [2][6]
Assault weapons	Generally prohibited	New York prohibits possession and transfer of firearms meeting its assault-weapon definitions unless a grandfathering, registration, or statutory exception applies. [2][6]
NFA firearms	Heavily restricted	New York generally prohibits silencers and tightly restricts machine guns and short-barreled firearms; federal NFA approval alone does not override state law. [2][19]
Extreme risk protection orders	Available	New York courts may issue temporary and final extreme risk protection orders requiring firearm surrender and barring acquisition when statutory standards are met. [11]
Safe storage	Required in specified homes and vehicles	Firearms must be locked when a person under eighteen or a prohibited person resides in the home, and an unattended vehicle firearm must be unloaded and locked out of sight in an appropriate container. [8][9]
Lost or stolen reporting	Within 24 hours	A person who loses a firearm, rifle, or shotgun or has one stolen must report it to police within twenty-four hours after discovery. [10]
State preemption	Local rules can be stricter	New York does not broadly displace all local firearm regulation; New York City licensing, transport, magazine, and registration rules are especially important. [1][6]
Bill of sale	Dealer records required	A private bill of sale does not replace dealer processing, licensing, state background checks, or firearm-specific license amendments for a covered transfer. [3][1]
Castle doctrine / duty to retreat	Duty to retreat outside the home	New York requires retreating from deadly force when it can be done with complete safety, except inside your own dwelling if you are not the initial aggressor or when facing specific violent felonies such as burglary or robbery. [22][23]

Handgun and Rifle/Shotgun Rules in New York

New York's licensing scheme applies differently to handguns, semiautomatic rifles, and ordinary manually operated long guns; the table below highlights where the rules genuinely diverge by firearm type.

Topic	Handguns	Rifles & shotguns
State purchase or possession license	A pistol license is required to acquire and possess a handgun, and the handgun must be listed on the license.	An ordinary (non-semiautomatic) rifle or shotgun needs no state possession license, but a semiautomatic rifle requires its own semiautomatic-rifle license under the same statute.The real divide is handgun and semiautomatic rifle (both licensed) versus an ordinary manually operated long gun (not licensed). [1]
Minimum age for a licensed dealer sale	21, the same age required for the pistol license itself.	18 under the federal floor for an ordinary long gun; a semiautomatic rifle instead requires the same 21-year-old license threshold as a handgun. [1][17]
Carrying in public	Requires an unrestricted carry license with training, a background investigation, and character references.	No comparable statewide carry-license scheme, but the same sensitive-location and private-property restrictions apply, and local rules can add further limits. [1][7][12]
Transporting in a vehicle	Possessing it in a vehicle generally requires the applicable pistol license.	No license is required to transport an unloaded, secured long gun, but the same unattended-vehicle storage rule applies to any firearm, rifle, or shotgun. [1][8]

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Private Sales and Transfers

Quick answer

Most private transfers of firearms, rifles, and shotguns must be completed through a licensed dealer. [3]

The dealer submits a background check request to the New York State Police, verifies any required handgun or semiautomatic-rifle license, and maintains transfer records. The dealer may charge no more than ten dollars to process the transaction, and delivery may occur once the state police issue a proceed response or, absent a denial, after thirty calendar days have passed. [3]
The immediate-family exception is narrow: it excuses only transfers between spouses, domestic partners, children, and step-children, not parents, siblings, grandparents, or other relatives. A transfer that falls outside that exception and is not conducted through a dealer is a class A misdemeanor, and interstate transfers remain separately regulated by federal law regardless of any family relationship. [3]

Use a New York dealer unless a clearly applicable statutory exception covers the transfer. [3]
Confirm the buyer has the correct license before transferring a handgun or semiautomatic rifle. [1]
Do not rely on the immediate-family exception for a transfer to a parent, sibling, or more distant relative; route those transfers through a dealer. [3]

Important notice: A private seller may not knowingly transfer to a person prohibited under New York or federal law even when an exception excuses dealer processing. [3][16]

Buying a Firearm

A handgun buyer must obtain a pistol license and have the handgun added to it. A buyer acquiring a semiautomatic rifle must hold the applicable license and be at least twenty-one, subject to limited military exceptions. Dealers submit the background check request through the state system, and an unresolved response can extend delivery up to thirty days even without a separate fixed statutory waiting period. [1][4][5][3]
New York also requires a background check for ammunition purchases, run through the New York State NICS system. A buyer presents identification, the seller submits the request and records the transaction, and a fee applies; this requirement covers in-person and remote ammunition sales and is separate from the background check performed on the firearm itself. [15][5]

A semiautomatic-rifle license generally must be recertified every five years, similar to a premises license. [5][4]
Federal dealer age minimums (eighteen for long guns, twenty-one for handguns) do not lower New York's own twenty-one-year-old licensing threshold. [1][17]

Ownership and Prohibited Persons

Handgun possession generally requires a license listing the firearm. A license applicant or holder becomes disqualified for reasons including a felony or other serious-offense conviction, unlawful drug use or addiction, dishonorable military discharge, an involuntary mental-health commitment or a certification of unsuitability, or an active protective or extreme risk protection order. Federal prohibited-person categories apply independently and can bar possession even when a New York disqualifier does not. [1][16]
A person with a single eligible felony or serious-offense conviction who was not sentenced to state prison may ask the sentencing court for a Certificate of Relief from Disabilities; a person with two or more felony convictions must instead seek a Certificate of Good Conduct from the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. Neither certificate is available for an A-1 felony or most violent felony convictions, and New York courts have increasingly issued certificates that expressly withhold restoration of firearm rights. A state certificate also does not by itself override the separate federal felon-in-possession prohibition. [14][16]
Courts may issue a temporary or final extreme risk protection order on a petition from a police officer, a district attorney, or another statutorily authorized petitioner. An order requires surrender of firearms, rifles, and shotguns already possessed and bars acquisition of new ones while it remains in effect. [11]

Do not assume a certificate of relief or good conduct automatically restores firearm rights; read the certificate's specific terms. [14]
A New York restoration does not resolve a separate federal firearm disability; consult federal requirements independently. [16]

Concealed and Open Carry

Public handgun carry generally requires a qualifying, unrestricted carry license. An applicant must be at least twenty-one, complete sixteen hours of classroom firearms-safety training plus two hours of live-fire instruction, pass a written test, supply at least four character references, disclose household members and three years of social media accounts, and meet in person with the licensing officer. An unrestricted license must be recertified every three years; premises and semiautomatic-rifle licenses are recertified every five years. [1][7]
New York does not recognize a carry license issued by another state, does not offer a nonresident carry license, and does not participate in reciprocity agreements; a New York county's own license can also be invalid inside New York City without a separate license issued by the NYPD License Division. Open handgun carry is not a general lawful alternative to licensing, and publicly carrying a long gun can still trigger possession, sensitive-place, local, or conduct violations. [1][7]

Apply through the licensing officer in the county of residence, or the county of principal employment for some license types. [1][4]
Expect denial or revocation for false statements, a newly disqualifying conviction, a qualifying mental-health determination, or an active protective or extreme risk order; a written explanation and appeal rights generally follow. [1][7]

Self-Defense and the Castle Doctrine

Quick answer

New York requires retreating before using deadly force when it can be done with complete safety, except inside your own dwelling if you are not the initial aggressor. [22]

New York is one of the few states whose constitution does not include a right-to-bear-arms provision. The right is instead codified by statute: Civil Rights Law Section 4 states that a well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms cannot be infringed, and New York courts have treated it as coextensive with the Second Amendment. [21]
Penal Law Section 35.15 justifies using physical force, and in some circumstances deadly physical force, to defend oneself or a third person from what a person reasonably believes is the imminent use of unlawful physical force. Before using deadly physical force, a person generally must retreat if they know they can do so with complete personal safety to themselves and others, unless they are in their own dwelling and were not the initial aggressor, are a police or peace officer acting within the scope of that duty, or reasonably believe the other person is committing or attempting a kidnapping, forcible rape, forcible sexual abuse, robbery, or a burglary covered by Penal Law Section 35.20. [22]
Penal Law Section 35.20 separately justifies deadly physical force against a burglary of a dwelling or occupied building, and non-deadly force to prevent damage to premises generally, with deadly force also permitted to prevent or terminate arson. Combined with Section 35.15's dwelling exception to the duty to retreat, this is New York's version of the castle doctrine: a person in their own home who is not the initial aggressor need not retreat before using justified force against an intruder. [23]

The no-duty-to-retreat exception applies inside your own dwelling; it does not extend to a vehicle, a workplace, or other outdoor property, where safe retreat can still be required before deadly force is justified. [22]
A justification defense for using force does not itself authorize carrying a restricted firearm, an over-capacity magazine, or a firearm into a sensitive location; those rules apply independently of self-defense law. [22][12]

Important notice: A successful criminal justification defense under Article 35 does not automatically prevent a civil lawsuit over the same conduct. New York has no statute granting civil immunity for a justified use of force, so a person who is acquitted or never charged can still face a civil claim decided under the lower preponderance-of-the-evidence standard. [22][23]

Transportation and Vehicles

A handgun in a vehicle generally must be lawfully licensed to the occupant carrying or controlling it. When a firearm is left in an unattended vehicle, the ammunition must be removed and the firearm locked in an appropriate fire-, impact-, and tamper-resistant storage depository that is hidden from outside view; a glove compartment does not satisfy this rule, and New York City's own rule requires an unloaded firearm to be cased and out of sight even while an occupant remains with the vehicle. [8][9]
Federal safe passage under 18 U.S.C. 926A can protect an interstate traveler who is not otherwise prohibited, but only when the firearm is unloaded, neither it nor any ammunition is readily accessible from the vehicle's passenger compartment, and the trip runs between two places where possession is lawful; it does not authorize carry once the traveler is no longer in transit or stops for a purpose unrelated to the trip. [20]

A locked container in the trunk, or a locked case not readily accessible from the passenger compartment if there is no separate trunk, generally satisfies safe-passage rules for unlicensed interstate transport. [20]
License status does not excuse leaving an unattended firearm loaded or visible in a vehicle. [8][9]

Restricted Firearms and Magazines

A magazine holding more than ten rounds is generally a prohibited large-capacity feeding device, though a pre-existing magazine registered with an antique or curio firearm at least fifty years old, and a tubular .22-caliber rimfire magazine, can fall outside the definition. A magazine that can be readily restored or converted to hold more than ten rounds counts even if it is currently pinned or blocked to a lower capacity. [2][6]
New York's assault-weapon definition targets semiautomatic rifles, shotguns, and pistols with a detachable magazine combined with listed military-style features, such as a folding or telescoping stock or a conspicuously protruding pistol grip. A firearm manufactured before October 1, 1993, or otherwise falling within the state's grandfathering and registration rules, may remain lawful only if the owner registers and recertifies it as required; an unregistered qualifying firearm is not protected by prior ownership alone. [2][6]
Silencers are generally prohibited for civilian possession regardless of federal National Firearms Act registration, and machine guns and short-barreled rifles or shotguns face independent state restrictions layered on top of the federal approval process; a federal tax stamp alone does not make possession lawful in New York. [2][19]

Register a qualifying assault weapon and keep its recertification current; do not assume an unregistered firearm is grandfathered. [6]
Confirm any magazine over ten rounds is either permanently modified to hold ten or fewer, or independently exempt, before bringing it into New York. [2][6]

Safe Storage and Reporting

A rifle, shotgun, or firearm must be kept in a locked, tamper-resistant safe storage depository, or secured with a locking device, whenever the owner resides with someone under eighteen or with someone barred from possession by an extreme risk protection order, a felony conviction, or another disqualifying federal or state restriction. A separate unattended-vehicle rule requires the ammunition removed and the firearm locked out of view; law enforcement and military personnel acting in an official capacity are exempt. Violating the storage law is a class A misdemeanor. [8][9]
A person who loses a firearm, rifle, or shotgun, or discovers one stolen, must report it to the police department, sheriff, or state police having jurisdiction within twenty-four hours of discovery. A prompt report both satisfies the statute and helps place the serial number into law-enforcement systems before a lost or stolen firearm can be traced back to the reporting owner in an unrelated investigation. [10]

Minors may access a securely stored firearm for licensed hunting or supervised lawful shooting activities without violating the storage law. [8]
New York City imposes an additional rule requiring an unloaded, cased firearm out of sight in a vehicle, even while an occupant remains present. [9]

Restricted Locations and Private Property

Carrying a firearm, rifle, or shotgun in a designated sensitive location is a class E felony. Sensitive locations include government administration buildings and courts, health and mental-health care facilities, places of worship, libraries, public parks, playgrounds and zoos, childcare and youth program sites, schools and other educational institutions, public transit, establishments licensed to serve alcohol or cannabis on premises, theaters and other entertainment venues, polling places, Times Square, and gatherings held to exercise constitutional assembly or protest rights. Narrow exemptions cover on-duty law enforcement, qualifying retired officers, licensed armed security guards at their post, active-duty military, and licensed hunters, competitors, or program operators acting within the scope of that license. [12][7]
Private property carries a separate default rule: entering or remaining on private property with a firearm without the owner's or lessee's permission is also a class E felony. Permission must come from clear and conspicuous signage authorizing firearms or from express verbal consent; the absence of a 'no guns' sign is not permission. New York has stated it is not currently enforcing this default-prohibition rule against carry on private property that is generally held open to the public, but the underlying statute has not been repealed and businesses may still separately exclude firearms through their own posted signage or a direct request to leave. [13][7]

Treat every unfamiliar location as off-limits until signage, posted rules, or a location's known status confirm carry is permitted. [12][13]
A license does not override a sensitive-location or unauthorized private-property restriction; carrying there can lead to license revocation as well as criminal charges. [1][7]

State and Local Rules

New York does not have a general statewide preemption statute displacing local firearm regulation the way many other states do; the state's licensing statute preempts local handgun-licensing standards specifically, but cities, towns, and villages otherwise retain broad authority to add their own acquisition, storage, transport, and possession rules as long as they do not conflict with state law. [1][6]
New York City is the clearest example: the NYPD License Division issues its own handgun licenses, and a license issued elsewhere in New York does not authorize carry or possession inside the city without a separate NYPD-issued license, even though a valid New York City license is honored statewide. Other counties and municipalities can also impose narrower local rules, so a traveler should confirm licensing, transport, and storage requirements for every New York jurisdiction visited rather than assuming one county's rule applies statewide. [1]

Do not assume a non-NYC New York license authorizes carry or possession inside New York City. [1]
Check municipal codes in addition to state law before relying on a right that state law alone appears to grant. [6]

Before Completing a Private Firearm Sale in New York

Use a licensed dealer for a private transfer unless a narrow statutory exception clearly applies. [3]
Obtain the required pistol or semiautomatic-rifle license before acquisition. [1][4]
Verify current sensitive-place and private-property rules before carrying. [7]
Keep magazines and firearm configurations within New York definitions. [2][6]
Lock firearms as required in homes and unattended vehicles. [8][9]
Report a discovered loss or theft to police within twenty-four hours. [10]
Do not rely on an out-of-state carry license inside New York; it is not recognized. [1][7]

Official New York Firearm Law Resources

Firearm Licensing Statute

Handgun and semiautomatic-rifle licensing requirements.

New York State Senate

State Police License Application

Official pistol, revolver, and semiautomatic-rifle application materials.

New York State Police

Private Transfer Law

Dealer processing and background-check requirements.

New York State Senate

Gun Owner Resources

Official guidance on assault weapons, magazines, and transfers.

New York State

Concealed Carry FAQ

Licensing, sensitive places, and private-property guidance.

New York State

Safe Storage Guidance

Home and vehicle storage requirements.

New York State

Sensitive and Restricted Location Statutes

Sensitive-location and default private-property carry restrictions.

New York State Senate

Right to Keep and Bear Arms Statute

New York's statutory (not constitutional) right-to-keep-and-bear-arms provision.

New York State Senate

Defense of a Person Statute

Justification and duty-to-retreat rules for using physical force in self-defense.

New York State Senate

Defense of Premises Statute

Castle-doctrine justification for using force against burglary or arson.

New York State Senate

Certificate of Relief from Disabilities

State process for restoring certain civil disabilities.

New York State Senate

New York Gun Law FAQ

Are background checks required for private gun sales in New York?

Yes for most private transfers. A licensed dealer generally must process the transfer and conduct the state background check, subject to a narrow immediate-family exception.

[3]

Do you need a permit to buy a handgun in New York?

Yes. A pistol license is generally required to acquire and possess a handgun, and the handgun must be recorded on the license.

[1][4]

Do you need a license to buy a semiautomatic rifle in New York?

Yes. A person generally needs a semiautomatic-rifle license to purchase or take possession of one.

[1][5]

Can you carry concealed without a permit in New York?

No. Public handgun carry generally requires the appropriate New York license and compliance with sensitive-place rules.

[1][7]

Is open carry legal in New York?

New York does not provide general unlicensed public open carry of handguns, and publicly carrying long guns can trigger state or local restrictions.

[1][2][7]

How often do I need to renew my New York pistol license?

An unrestricted carry license generally must be recertified every three years, while premises and semiautomatic-rifle licenses are recertified every five years.

[1][5][4]

Does New York have a state constitutional right to bear arms?

No. Unlike most states, New York's constitution does not include a right-to-bear-arms provision. The right is instead codified by statute in Civil Rights Law Section 4, which New York courts have treated as coextensive with the Second Amendment.

[21]

Do I have a duty to retreat before using deadly force in New York?

Generally yes, if you know you can retreat with complete safety to yourself and others. The main exception is inside your own dwelling, if you were not the initial aggressor, along with a few other statutory exceptions such as facing a burglary or robbery.

[22]

Does New York's castle doctrine protect me if I use force against an intruder in my home?

It can. Penal Law Section 35.20 justifies deadly force against a burglary of your dwelling, and Section 35.15 removes the duty to retreat inside your own home if you were not the initial aggressor.

[22][23]

Can I be sued for using force in self-defense even if I'm not criminally charged?

Yes. New York has no statute granting civil immunity for a justified use of force, so a person who is acquitted or never charged criminally can still face a civil lawsuit decided under the lower preponderance-of-the-evidence standard.

[22][23]

What is New York's magazine limit?

The general limit is ten rounds, subject to narrow statutory exceptions.

[2][6]

Are assault weapons legal in New York?

Defined assault weapons are generally prohibited unless a grandfathering, registration, or statutory exception applies.

[2][6]

Are suppressors legal in New York?

Generally no for ordinary civilian possession. Federal NFA approval does not override New York's silencer prohibition.

[2][19]

Does New York have a red flag law?

Yes. Courts can issue temporary and final extreme risk protection orders requiring surrender and barring firearm acquisition.

[11]

How quickly must a lost or stolen gun be reported in New York?

Within twenty-four hours after discovering the loss or theft.

[10]

Does New York recognize a concealed carry permit from another state?

No. New York does not recognize any other state's carry license, does not issue nonresident licenses, and requires a separate New York City license before a non-NYC license authorizes carry inside the city.

[1][7]

Can a New York felony conviction ever restore gun rights?

Sometimes. A person with one eligible conviction not sentenced to state prison can seek a Certificate of Relief from Disabilities from the sentencing court, and a person with two or more felony convictions can seek a Certificate of Good Conduct from the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. Neither is available for an A-1 or most violent felonies, courts can withhold firearm rights specifically, and a state certificate does not override a separate federal firearm disability.

[14][16]

Can a non-resident buy a gun in New York?

A licensed dealer cannot sell a handgun directly to someone who does not reside in New York; a non-resident's handgun purchase must ship FFL-to-FFL to the buyer's home state under federal law. A rifle or shotgun can generally be bought face-to-face from a New York dealer by an out-of-state resident if both states' laws allow it, subject to New York's own background-check and licensing rules.

[18][1]

Sources

Educational information only, not legal advice.

GunList does not provide legal advice and does not guarantee that this guide covers every law, exception, court ruling, or local ordinance. Laws and court orders can change quickly. Verify current requirements through official government sources or consult a qualified attorney before possessing, carrying, buying, selling, or transporting a firearm, or before relying on any self-defense or castle-doctrine provision.

Reading or using this guide does not create an attorney-client relationship with GunList, and GunList disclaims liability for any loss or harm arising from reliance on this content. A criminal-law justification for using force does not guarantee protection from civil liability; use-of-force outcomes are fact-specific and high-stakes, so consult a qualified attorney before acting.