North Dakota Gun Laws: Complete Guide

Private Sales and Transfers

• A seller must not transfer to a prohibited person or engage in unlicensed dealing. Federal law ordinarily requires an FFL for interstate transfers, and a voluntary dealer transfer can reduce eligibility uncertainty. [4][12]
• Knowingly or with reasonable cause to believe supplying a handgun to a person barred under North Dakota's prohibited-persons statute is a class A misdemeanor on its own, separate from any federal charge. Supplying any firearm, ammunition, or explosive material to a prohibited person is a distinct offense that becomes a class C felony if the supplier is unlicensed or the conduct shows readiness to repeat the transaction. [4]

• Verify the recipient's identity, residency, age, and legal eligibility. [4][3]
• Use an FFL for interstate transfers or when eligibility is uncertain. [12]
• Do not sell, barter, lend, or give a handgun to a minor outside the direct-adult-supervision exception for firearm safety training, target shooting, or hunting. [3]

Buying a Firearm

• North Dakota adds no general purchase permit, registry, or waiting period. An FFL applies the federal background-check and age rules, while state law restricts handgun transfers to minors and false purchase information. [3][14][13]
• State law separately bars giving false information or false identification evidence when buying a handgun or applying for a concealed weapons license, and requires a licensed handgun retailer to send a copy of its federal license to the local police chief and county sheriff within seven days of receiving it. Selling, bartering, lending, or giving a handgun to a minor is a class A misdemeanor unless the minor uses it under direct adult supervision for safety training, target shooting, or hunting. [3]

• Federal dealer minimums are generally eighteen for rifles and shotguns and twenty-one for handguns, frames, or receivers. [13]
• A North Dakota concealed weapons license is not a purchase permit; a dealer still completes the federal background-check process. [14][8]

Ownership and Prohibited Persons

• North Dakota has no general owner license or extreme risk order statute. State and federal law prohibit firearm possession by specified people, and restoration procedures are fact-specific. [4][14]
• State disabilities are tiered by offense. A violent felony conviction (or an equivalent out-of-state or federal offense, or a juvenile adjudication for the same) bars possession for ten years from conviction or release, parole, or probation completion, whichever is latest. Any other felony, or a class A misdemeanor involving violence committed while using or possessing a firearm or other dangerous weapon, bars possession for five years on the same schedule. A person diagnosed and confined or committed by a court as requiring mental-health treatment or as mentally deficient is barred from purchasing or possessing a firearm unless three years have passed without recurrence, the underlying petition was dismissed, or the person obtains court relief. A person under eighteen may not possess a handgun except under an adult's direct supervision for safety training, target shooting, or hunting. [4]
• A person barred by the five-year felony or misdemeanor category may petition the district court where the offense occurred, or where rights were revoked for an out-of-state or federal offense, for restoration. The court may restore firearm rights only on clear and convincing evidence that the person has paid all fines, completed incarceration and any probation or parole, and has a record and reputation showing the person is unlikely to endanger others; the ten-year violent-felony bar has no equivalent statutory restoration path. A person found subject to the federal mental-health prohibition may separately petition the issuing court, or the district court of the person's residence, for relief no more than once every two years, and the court must grant it if the petitioner shows by a preponderance of the evidence that they are unlikely to be dangerous and relief would not harm the public interest. [4]

• The ten-year and five-year bars run from conviction or from release from incarceration, parole, or probation, whichever date is latest. [4]
• A felon otherwise barred under the five-year category may still possess a long gun meeting the statutory minimum barrel length if it is an antique ignition firearm, a qualifying replica, or a muzzleloader that cannot use fixed ammunition. [4]
• Restoration is never automatic; probation or sentence completion alone does not restore firearm rights without a successful court petition. [4]

Concealed and Open Carry

• Eligible adults may carry a concealed firearm without a license within North Dakota if they possess the required identification and inform law enforcement during in-person contact. Open handgun carry is generally limited to unloaded and plainly visible or secured carry unless a license, constitutional-carry qualification, or other exception applies. [7][5][3]
• Concealed has a specific statutory meaning: a firearm is not concealed if it is in a substantially visible belt holster or carrying case, locked in a vehicle's trunk or luggage compartment, carried in the field while hunting, trapping, or target shooting, carried unloaded in a secure wrapper between a purchase or repair location and home or work, or is a rifle, shotgun, unloaded handgun, or spring- or gas-powered weapon carried in a vehicle. Anything else not ordinarily discernible to a passerby, including a handgun worn under clothing or left in a glove compartment or under a vehicle seat, counts as concealed and needs a license or an exception. [5]
• A Class 1 firearm license requires the applicant to be at least twenty-one, pass the state and federal criminal-history and mental-health records checks, and complete classroom instruction, an open-book test, and a live-fire or certified proficiency exercise. A Class 2 firearm and dangerous weapon license requires only the open-book test and a minimum age of eighteen. Both licenses carry identical in-state rights; a Class 1 license simply qualifies its holder for reciprocity in more states than a Class 2 license. Either license is valid for five years, and the holder must carry the license or a digital image of it and produce it on an officer's request. [8][5]

• A Class 2 licenseholder may apply to upgrade to a Class 1 license within five years of issuance; a Class 1 holder may convert to Class 2 before expiration. [5]
• North Dakota recognizes another state's concealed carry license only if that state extends equivalent recognition to North Dakota license holders. [5]

Self-Defense and the Castle Doctrine in North Dakota

• The North Dakota Constitution, Article I, Section 1, protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms for the defense of their person, family, property, and the state, and for lawful hunting, recreational, and other lawful purposes, a right added by voter initiative in 1984. The North Dakota Supreme Court has held this right is not absolute and remains subject to reasonable regulation under the state's police power. [10]
• Century Code Section 12.1-05-03 justifies using force against another person to defend against imminent unlawful bodily injury, sexual assault, or detention, subject to exceptions for resisting a public servant's lawful duty, provocation, and mutual combat. Section 12.1-05-07 justifies deadly force in lawful self-defense or defense of others when necessary to protect against death, serious bodily injury, or a violent felony, and bars deadly force when it can be avoided, with safety to the actor and others, by retreat or other minimally intrusive conduct. [11]
• Section 12.1-05-07.1 presumes a person reasonably feared death or serious bodily injury when using force against someone unlawfully and forcibly entering, or attempting to enter, the person's occupied dwelling, place of work, or vehicle. A 2021 revision to the chapter also removed any general duty to retreat: a person who is not engaged in unlawful activity giving rise to the need for force and who did not provoke the confrontation is not required to retreat from any place they are otherwise legally allowed to be. [11]
• Section 12.1-05-06 separately justifies nondeadly and, in limited circumstances, deadly force to prevent or stop an unlawful entry onto premises or a forcible property crime such as arson or burglary, subject to its own conditions. [11]

Important notice: North Dakota goes further than merely preserving civil remedies: Section 12.1-05-07.2 makes a person who used force permitted under Chapter 12.1-05 immune from civil liability to the person against whom the force was used (with an exception when the other person was an identified law enforcement officer acting in the line of duty), and a court that finds a defendant immune must award that defendant lost income, attorney's fees, court costs, and disbursements. This immunity still depends on a court finding the underlying force was justified, so a self-defense claim can still be litigated, and every confrontation is fact-specific and high-stakes. Get individualized legal advice before relying on any of this content in an actual confrontation. [11]

Transportation and Vehicles

• A loaded firearm in a vehicle is generally allowed for a person meeting constitutional-carry qualifications, a licensee, or another statutory exception. Others must comply with the loaded-vehicle prohibition and secured or unloaded transport rules; federal safe passage may protect qualifying interstate transport. [4][9][16]
• The loaded-vehicle infraction has numerous statutory exceptions beyond constitutional carry: a concealed weapons licensee or reciprocity holder carrying a handgun; a licensee carrying a loaded rifle or shotgun outside the hunting field; a hunter or trapper actively in the field pursuing nongame or fur-bearing animals; a licensed security guard or private investigator; and a person not otherwise barred from a Class 2 license who carries only a valid driver's license or state identification card, whether the firearm is a handgun or a rifle or shotgun outside the field. A hunter engaged in lawful big-game or small-game hunting who otherwise violates the loaded-vehicle rule faces only a noncriminal citation rather than the standard infraction. [4]
• A public or private employer may not prohibit an employee, customer, or invitee from keeping a lawfully owned firearm locked inside or to a private vehicle in a parking lot, search a vehicle to look for one except through an on-duty law enforcement officer, condition employment on holding or not holding a concealed weapons license, or discipline someone for exercising this right. Exceptions apply to schools, correctional facilities, national-defense or homeland-security sites, explosives-related businesses, an employer-owned vehicle, and the state hospital. [4]

• A concealed weapons license or valid North Dakota or resident-state driver's license or identification card is the key to lawful loaded handgun carry in a vehicle outside these exceptions. [4]
• For qualifying federal safe passage, keep the firearm unloaded and inaccessible and travel only between places where possession is lawful at both ends of the trip. [16]

Restricted Firearms and Magazines

• North Dakota has no general magazine limit or assault-weapon ban. State provisions governing machine guns, automatic rifles, silencers, and bombs must be read with their federal-registration exceptions and the federal NFA process. [6][15]
• State law separately bans purchasing, selling, or possessing a machine gun (a mechanism firing five or more shots per second without repeated trigger pulls), a fully automatic rifle, a silencer, or a bomb loaded with explosives or a poisonous or dangerous gas, unless the person has fully complied with the National Firearms Act. Law enforcement officers, military members using organization-issued weapons on duty, and a licensee's authorized agents or servants are exempt from the state ban. Short-barreled rifles and shotguns are banned as a distinct class C felony, with exceptions only for on-duty law enforcement and military use of issued weapons or full NFA compliance. [6]
• When federal law requires a North Dakota chief law enforcement officer's certification for an NFA making or transfer application, the officer must act within thirty days, may not refuse based on a generalized objection to lawful private ownership, and must give a written reason for any denial. An applicant may appeal a denial to district court and recover costs and attorney's fees if the court finds the applicant is not legally prohibited from receiving or possessing the firearm. [6]

• A tax stamp or CLEO certification does not excuse unlawful use, prohibited-person possession, or carry in a restricted location. [6]
• Seized noncompliant NFA items are forfeited on conviction and may be auctioned, retained for law-enforcement use, or destroyed by court order. [6]

Safe Storage and Reporting

• North Dakota has no universal home-locking mandate or general lost-or-stolen reporting deadline for ordinary owners. Secure storage and prompt voluntary reporting remain prudent, especially where minors or prohibited persons may gain access. [4][3]
• Instead of a universal storage law, North Dakota narrowly regulates minors' access to loaded firearms: a parent, guardian, or other adult authorized by them who lets a child under fifteen carry or use a firearm loaded with powder and projectile in public commits a class B misdemeanor unless the child is under that adult's direct supervision. Separately, a person under eighteen may not possess a handgun outside direct adult supervision for safety training, target shooting, or hunting. [4]
• A recovered stolen, forfeited, or abandoned firearm held by a North Dakota law-enforcement agency is returned to its documented owner only after the owner submits proof of ownership and the agency confirms the owner was not complicit in the conduct that led to seizure; unclaimed firearms are eventually sold at public auction or disposed of by court order. Keeping serial numbers, photographs, and purchase records separate from the firearm materially speeds recovery. [1]

• Use a locked container or disabling device when children or unauthorized people may access the home. [4]
• Report a lost or stolen firearm promptly to place its serial number in law-enforcement systems, even without a state-mandated deadline. [1]

Restricted Locations and Private Property

• Firearms are restricted in liquor establishments, public gatherings, schools, certain government buildings, and other listed places, subject to statutory exceptions. Private owners may control access to their property. [4][7]
• Knowing possession of a firearm or dangerous weapon in the alcohol-service and consumption area of a liquor establishment, or at a gaming site where bingo is the primary activity, is an infraction, with exceptions for the proprietor and staff, a raffle or auction display of an unloaded firearm, on-duty security personnel handling receipts, and the restaurant portion of a venue that admits people under twenty-one. Separately, possession at a school or school-sponsored event, a church or other place of worship, or a publicly owned or operated building is barred by default. [4]
• The public-gathering ban carries an unusually long list of exceptions: law enforcement and specified correctional officers; an on-duty ambulance or fire-department member with written permission, a Class 1 license, and required training; military members on duty; organized sport-shooting competitors; gun and antique shows; blank-cartridge participants at sporting or theatrical events; a firearm secured in a temporary residence or vehicle; hunter-safety students and instructors; private and public security personnel on duty; state and federal parks; instructors, officials, and participants at an authorized event with the venue's permission; public rest areas and restrooms; a concealed carrier in a church whose leadership or governing body has approved concealed carry; the governor, certain judges, and attorney general staff who maintain law-enforcement-level proficiency; a resident storing a firearm in an assigned unit of a state- or subdivision-owned residential building with consent; and a school's approved armed first responder. [4]
• A political subdivision or the state board of higher education may adopt a public-gathering firearm policy that is less restrictive than the state default, and any such policy supersedes the state rule within that jurisdiction. Private property owners may still exclude firearms through notice and general trespass law regardless of any statutory public-gathering exception. [4]

• Check whether a specific venue (school, church, government building, or licensed liquor establishment) falls under a statutory ban before carrying there. [4]
• A church or other place of worship cannot be held liable for injury caused by someone it has approved to carry a concealed weapon under this exception. [4]

State Preemption and Local Rules

• North Dakota broadly preempts local firearm and ammunition regulation, but municipalities retain limited statutory authority, including regulation of firearm discharge within their jurisdiction. [2]
• The preemption statute bars any political subdivision, including a home rule city or county, from enacting an ordinance regulating the purchase, sale, ownership, possession, transfer, registration, or licensure of firearms or ammunition that is more restrictive than state law, and voids any conflicting ordinance already on the books; a separate provision voids any local zoning ordinance touching the same subjects outright. A political subdivision may still enforce a general business ordinance that applies equally to all commerce and does not specifically target firearms or ammunition, but the absence of a state restriction on a given practice is not itself authority for a local one, and a person harmed by an unlawful local ordinance may sue the political subdivision for damages. [1]
• North Dakota also limits state and local law enforcement from assisting federal enforcement of a firearm, firearm-accessory, or ammunition regulation adopted after January 1, 2021, that is more restrictive than state law, unless a federal court finds a national-security threat, the conduct also violates state law, or it involves certain other listed state offenses; this does not block assistance with unrelated felony investigations such as drug, violent, or trafficking offenses. State agencies, political subdivisions, and law enforcement agencies are separately barred from conducting, funding, or participating in a firearm buyback program. [1]

• A city or county cannot impose its own purchase permit, registration, or licensing system; any such ordinance is void even if enacted before the current preemption law. [1]
• Local governments retain authority over generally applicable business regulation and firearm discharge, but not over the core subjects of purchase, sale, ownership, possession, transfer, registration, or licensing. [2][1]

Before Completing a Private Firearm Sale in North Dakota

• Verify identity, residency, age, and eligibility before a private transfer. [4][3]
• Carry qualifying identification whenever relying on constitutional concealed carry. [7]
• Inform law enforcement of the firearm during in-person contact when state law requires it. [7][5]
• Check whether open or vehicle carry must be unloaded, secured, licensed, or covered by an exception. [3][4]
• Review restricted-location rules before carrying. [4]
• Complete state and federal compliance before possessing an NFA firearm. [6][15]

Official North Dakota Firearm Law Resources

North Dakota Gun Law FAQ

Sources

1. 1. North Dakota Century Code Chapter 62.1-01, Definitions - General ProvisionsNorth Dakota Legislative Branch. State statute. Accessed August 7, 2026.
2. 2. North Dakota Century Code Title 62.1, WeaponsNorth Dakota Legislative Branch. State statute. Accessed August 7, 2026.
3. 3. North Dakota Century Code Chapter 62.1-03, HandgunsNorth Dakota Legislative Branch. State statute. Accessed August 7, 2026.
4. 4. North Dakota Century Code Chapter 62.1-02, Possession of WeaponsNorth Dakota Legislative Branch. State statute. Accessed August 7, 2026.
5. 5. North Dakota Century Code Chapter 62.1-04, Concealed WeaponsNorth Dakota Legislative Branch. State statute. Accessed August 7, 2026.
6. 6. North Dakota Century Code Chapter 62.1-05, Machine Guns, Automatic Rifles, Silencers and BombsNorth Dakota Legislative Branch. State statute. Accessed August 7, 2026.
7. 7. Constitutional Concealed CarryNorth Dakota Attorney General. State agency. Accessed August 7, 2026.
8. 8. Concealed Weapon LicensesNorth Dakota Attorney General. State agency. Accessed August 7, 2026.
9. 9. Attorney General Letter Opinion 2017-L-07North Dakota Attorney General. State agency. Accessed August 7, 2026.
10. 10. North Dakota Constitution, Article I, Declaration of RightsNorth Dakota Legislative Branch. State statute. Accessed August 14, 2026.
11. 11. North Dakota Century Code Chapter 12.1-05, Justification - Excuse - Affirmative DefensesNorth Dakota Legislative Branch. State statute. Accessed August 14, 2026.
12. 12. Firearms Questions and Answers: Unlicensed PersonsBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal agency. Accessed August 7, 2026.
13. 13. Minimum Age for Gun Sales and TransfersBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal agency. Accessed August 7, 2026.
14. 14. National Instant Criminal Background Check SystemFederal Bureau of Investigation. Federal agency. Accessed August 7, 2026.
15. 15. National Firearms ActBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal agency. Accessed August 7, 2026.
16. 16. 18 U.S.C. 926A, Interstate Transportation of FirearmsOffice of the Law Revision Counsel. Federal statute. Accessed August 7, 2026.
17. 17. 18 U.S.C. 922(b)(3), Restrictions on Interstate Firearm Sales by Licensed DealersOffice of the Law Revision Counsel. Federal statute. Accessed August 14, 2026.