Firearm law reference

Washington Gun Laws: Complete Guide

A practical overview of Washington firearm laws affecting private sales, purchases, carrying, transportation, storage, and ownership.

Washington is one of the more heavily regulated states in the scoring model: dealer-processed background checks, a waiting period, licensed concealed carry, magazine and assault-weapon restrictions, and a 2027 permit-to-purchase law all apply, alongside prohibited-person, restricted-location, and federal NFA rules.

Washington 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 pistols and semiautomatic rifles
Washington generally requires age twenty-one to purchase a pistol or semiautomatic assault rifle; other rifles and shotguns generally follow the federal dealer minimum of eighteen, with possession restrictions and exceptions. [1][26]
Purchase permit: Not until May 1, 2027
No general purchase permit is required as of August 2026, but legislation effective May 1, 2027 creates a permit-to-purchase system; current buyers still need safety-training proof and transfer approval. [4][1]
Waiting period: 10 business days
A dealer generally may not deliver a firearm until all required background-check results are known and ten business days have elapsed after the dealer requested the check. [3]

Swipe horizontally to read the full table.

Law	Status	What it means
Private sale background check	Generally required	Washington generally requires private firearm sales and transfers to be processed through a licensed dealer with a State Patrol background check, subject to listed family, temporary, emergency, inheritance, and other exceptions. [2]
FFL required for private transfers	Generally required	Parties to a covered private transfer generally must use a licensed dealer, who performs the check, keeps required records, and may charge a fee. [2][25]
Firearm registration	Transfer records for certain firearms	Washington does not use universal title-style registration for every firearm, but dealers transmit records for pistol and semiautomatic assault-rifle transfers to government agencies and inherited pistols can trigger notice duties. [1]
Firearm owner license	No general requirement	No recurring Washington license is generally required merely to own an ordinary firearm. [1]
Permitless concealed carry	No	Washington generally requires a concealed pistol license to carry a pistol concealed on the person or loaded in a vehicle, subject to statutory exceptions. [1][6]
Concealed carry license	CPL required	Local police or sheriffs issue concealed pistol licenses to qualifying applicants after fingerprint and background checks; Washington recognizes only out-of-state licenses meeting statutory reciprocity conditions. [1][5]
Open carry	Generally legal	Open carry is generally lawful, but displaying a weapon in a manner that warrants alarm and carrying at demonstrations, government meetings, restricted locations, or posted property can be unlawful. [1][6]
Vehicle carry	Loaded pistol generally requires CPL	A loaded pistol in a vehicle generally requires a concealed pistol license and must remain on the licensee, be locked in the vehicle and concealed when unattended, or fit a statutory exception; unloaded transport rules differ. [1][6]
Castle doctrine / duty to retreat	No duty to retreat (case law); no civil-immunity statute	Washington courts hold that a person lawfully present has no duty to retreat before using force in self-defense, and state law allows deadly force to resist a felony against a person in a home, but Washington has no statute granting civil immunity for a justified self-defense shooting. [20][21][22]
Magazine capacity	10 rounds	Washington generally prohibits manufacturing, importing, distributing, selling, or offering for sale a magazine capable of accepting more than ten rounds; possession of previously acquired magazines is not broadly prohibited. [8]
Assault weapons	Sales and import banned; possession grandfathered	Washington generally prohibits manufacturing, importing, distributing, selling, or offering defined assault weapons, while continued possession of lawfully acquired weapons is not itself broadly prohibited. [9]
NFA firearms	Federal rules plus state restrictions	Federally compliant suppressors and short-barreled rifles may generally be lawful, but Washington separately prohibits most machine-gun possession and restricts short-barreled shotguns and other devices. [1][27]
Extreme risk protection orders	Yes	Washington courts may issue temporary and full extreme-risk protection orders prohibiting firearm possession and requiring surrender when statutory risk findings are made. [12]
Safe storage	Access-based criminal liability	Washington can impose criminal liability when a prohibited person gains access to an unsecured firearm and uses or displays it, subject to statutory defenses; the statute is not a universal locked-at-all-times mandate. [10]
Lost or stolen reporting	Within 24 hours	An owner generally must report a lost or stolen firearm to the law-enforcement agency where the loss or theft occurred within twenty-four hours after discovering it. [11]
State preemption	Broad	Washington broadly preempts local firearm regulation while preserving specifically listed local powers and property-management authority. [13]
Bill of sale	Not a substitute for dealer processing	A bill of sale cannot replace Washington's licensed-dealer background-check and recordkeeping process for a covered private transfer. [2]

Handgun and Rifle/Shotgun Rules in Washington

Washington's pistol and semiautomatic-assault-rifle rules are noticeably stricter than its rules for other rifles and shotguns in several places.

Topic	Handguns	Rifles & shotguns
Minimum age to buy from a licensed dealer	21 for a pistol or semiautomatic assault rifle	18 for other rifles and shotguns, the federal dealer floorWashington's 21-year threshold covers semiautomatic assault rifles as well as pistols, so a qualifying semiautomatic long gun follows the pistol age rather than the ordinary rifle age. [1][26]
Minimum age for a private sale or gift	21 for a pistol or semiautomatic assault rifle; the statute covers private transfers, not just dealer sales	No standalone state age floor for an ordinary rifle or shotgun private transfer [1]
License required to carry concealed	Yes, a concealed pistol license (CPL) is generally required to carry a pistol concealed	No CPL scheme exists for long guns; Washington's concealed-carry licensing statute is written around pistols [6][5]
Carrying in a vehicle	A loaded pistol generally requires a CPL and must meet specific proximity or locked-and-concealed conditions	A loaded rifle or shotgun is generally prohibited in or on a motor vehicle regardless of license, under a separate statuteThe loaded-long-gun prohibition is codified in the wildlife title rather than the general firearms chapter, but it applies broadly, not only while hunting. [6][23]

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Private Sales and Transfers

Quick answer

Most private transfers between Washington residents must go through a licensed dealer for a background check; only a short list of statutory exceptions avoids that requirement. [2]

RCW 9.41.113 generally requires the parties to a firearm sale or transfer to appear together before a licensed dealer, who runs a Washington State Patrol background check, completes required records, and may charge a fee for the service before the transferee takes possession. [2]
Statutory exceptions exist for transfers between immediate family members, antiques, law-enforcement and corrections transactions, certain temporary transfers for hunting or a shooting range, self-defense emergencies, and transfers to executors or administrators of an estate; each exception has its own conditions, so a transfer should be checked against the specific statutory language rather than assumed to qualify. [2]
A seller who knows or has reasonable cause to believe a recipient is legally prohibited from possessing a firearm may not complete the transfer even through a dealer, and an unlawful transfer is not cured by a private bill of sale or informal paperwork. [2][25]

Confirm whether a statutory exception actually applies before skipping dealer processing; most ordinary sales between unrelated Washington residents do not qualify. [2]
Expect the dealer to keep the same records and run the same check used for a retail sale, including the applicable waiting period. [2][3]
Interstate private transfers must go through a licensed dealer in the buyer's home state regardless of any Washington exception. [25]

Important notice: A voluntary bill of sale does not replace dealer processing or excuse a transfer to a person known to be prohibited. [2]

Buying a Firearm

As of August 2026, Washington imposes no general purchase permit, but dealer sales require a Washington State Patrol background check and a mandatory ten-business-day wait from when the dealer requests the check before the firearm may be delivered, even if the check clears sooner. [3][1]
Beginning May 1, 2027, a separate permit-to-purchase law takes effect: a buyer will need a State Patrol-issued permit, obtained by submitting fingerprints and proof of completing a certified firearms safety training course within the prior five years, before a dealer may transfer any firearm. The permit is expected to be valid for five years, and the agency generally has thirty days to issue or deny an application once it is complete. [4]
Pistol and semiautomatic assault-rifle purchases already generate a record that dealers transmit to the Department of Licensing and Washington State Patrol; this transfer record is not a comprehensive firearm registry but does mean these categories are individually traceable through dealer paperwork. [1]

Buyers of a pistol or semiautomatic assault rifle generally must be at least twenty-one; federal dealer minimums of eighteen apply to most other long guns. [1][26]
Plan for the ten-business-day wait on every dealer purchase now, and budget time for fingerprinting and training documentation once the permit-to-purchase system takes effect in 2027. [3][4]
A concealed pistol license is not a purchase permit and does not exempt a buyer from the dealer background check or waiting period. [5][3]

Ownership and Prohibited Persons

RCW 9.41.040 bars firearm possession for people with disqualifying convictions, ranging from certain serious felonies (first-degree unlawful possession) to other felonies and specified domestic-violence, harassment, stalking, and protection-order-related misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors (second-degree unlawful possession). Possession is also barred for people involuntarily committed for a mental disorder under specified statutes, people found incompetent to stand trial with a judicial finding of a history of violent acts, minors under eighteen with limited exceptions, and people free on bond awaiting trial for a serious offense. [14]
Restoring possession rights after a disqualifying conviction requires a court petition, not automatic reinstatement. RCW 9.41.041 generally requires three consecutive years in the community without a new disqualifying conviction for lesser offenses, or five consecutive years for felonies and listed domestic-violence, stalking, or firearm-related misdemeanors, plus completion of sentencing conditions and no pending charges; people with a sex felony, a Class A felony, or a felony with a maximum sentence of twenty years or more generally cannot petition at all. A related process under RCW 9.41.047 governs restoration after a not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity finding or an involuntary mental-health commitment, and can place the burden on the petitioner to show they are not a danger to others. [15][16]
Washington courts may also issue extreme-risk protection orders under Chapter 7.105 RCW that temporarily or, after a full hearing, more durably prohibit firearm possession and require surrender when a petitioner shows the statutory risk factors; violating a surrender order is a separate offense. [12]

Do not assume completing probation or a sentence automatically restores firearm rights; a separate court petition is generally required. [15]
Some convictions permanently bar restoration, so check RCW 9.41.041's disqualifying-offense list before relying on the waiting-period path. [15]
A firearm surrendered or restricted under an extreme-risk protection order stays subject to the order until a court terminates it. [12]

Concealed and Open Carry

RCW 9.41.050 generally requires a concealed pistol license to carry a pistol concealed on the person outside the licensee's home or fixed place of business. A licensee must have the license available and display it on request from a law-enforcement officer. Open carry of a visible firearm is generally lawful without a license, but Washington and local law can still treat displaying a weapon in a manner that warrants alarm, or carrying at a demonstration, government meeting, or restricted location, as a separate offense. [6]
Local police departments or county sheriffs, not the Department of Licensing, actually issue concealed pistol licenses; the Department of Licensing page mainly explains eligibility and points applicants to their local agency. Washington does not require a training course before issuing a CPL, which differs from many other licensed-carry states. A license is generally valid for five years and can be renewed through the same local agency up to ninety days before expiration. [5]
Washington recognizes another state's concealed pistol license only for a nonresident, and only if the licensing state does not issue licenses to people under twenty-one and requires a mandatory fingerprint-based criminal and mental-health background check; the Attorney General periodically publishes the list of qualifying states. A Washington resident cannot rely on an out-of-state license and must hold a Washington CPL to carry concealed. [7]

Applicants are generally ineligible for a CPL if they have a revoked license, are subject to a firearm-related court order, are free on bond awaiting a felony trial, have an outstanding warrant, were ordered to forfeit a firearm within the past twelve months, or have a disqualifying conviction. [5]
Fingerprinting and a background check through the issuing local agency are standard parts of the application, even though no state-mandated training class is required. [5]
A nonresident relying on reciprocity must still carry consistent with Washington law once inside the state, including restricted-location and vehicle rules. [7]

Self-Defense and Castle Doctrine

Quick answer

Washington courts recognize no duty to retreat before using force in self-defense in a place you have a right to be, and state law allows deadly force to resist a felony against a person in a home, but there is no statute granting civil immunity for a justified self-defense shooting. [20][21]

Article I, Section 24 of the Washington Constitution protects "the right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state," while clarifying that nothing in the section authorizes private armed groups. [19]
RCW 9A.16.020 makes the use of force lawful when a person about to be injured, or someone lawfully aiding them, uses no more force than necessary to prevent an offense against their person or a malicious trespass or interference with property lawfully in their possession. RCW 9A.16.050 separately makes homicide justifiable when committed in lawful defense of oneself or specified family members against a reasonably apprehended felony or great personal injury, or in actually resisting a felony attempted against the person in a dwelling or other place of abode where they are present. [20][21]
Washington has no codified stand-your-ground or castle-doctrine statute, but its courts have long held, including in State v. Studd (1999) and later cases, that a person assaulted in a place they have a legal right to be has no duty to retreat before defending themselves; this rule is built into the standard self-defense jury instructions given in Washington criminal trials rather than spelled out in a single statute. [20]
RCW 9A.16.110 lets a person acquitted of a violent-crime charge on self-defense grounds recover reasonable costs, including lost time and legal fees, from the state, but this reimbursement provision is not an independent civil-immunity rule and does not by itself pay a judgment or protect a person from being sued. [22]

Deadly force is justifiable only when the statutory conditions are met (reasonable apprehension of a felony or great personal injury, or resisting a felony against the person in a dwelling); it is not a blanket authorization to use force in any confrontation. [21]
No duty to retreat in Washington comes from case law and jury instructions, not a standalone statute, so its application can still turn on the specific facts of an encounter. [20]
A successful self-defense claim in a criminal case can support a cost-reimbursement request under RCW 9A.16.110, but it does not automatically defeat a separate civil lawsuit over the same incident. [22]

Important notice: Washington, unlike some other states, has no statute granting civil immunity for a legally justified act of self-defense. A shooting found justified in a criminal case can still lead to civil liability, decided under a lower standard of proof, so treat criminal justification and civil exposure as separate questions. [22]

Transportation and Vehicles

A loaded pistol in a vehicle generally requires a concealed pistol license, and the pistol must either stay on the licensee's person, remain in the vehicle while the licensee is present, or be locked in the vehicle and concealed from outside view while the licensee is away from it. [6]
A person at least eighteen who is not carrying under a CPL may transport an unloaded pistol in a vehicle if it is locked in the vehicle and concealed from plain view; failing either condition is a misdemeanor. Long guns are not covered by the pistol-specific vehicle statute in the same way, but general possession, prohibited-person, and restricted-location rules still apply to any firearm carried in a car. [6]
School-related transportation has its own rule: RCW 9.41.280 allows a CPL holder to have a pistol in a vehicle while picking up or dropping off students, and allows an adult who is not a student to keep an unloaded firearm locked in an attended vehicle on school property for other legitimate purposes, but it does not authorize carrying the firearm into a school building. [17]

Lock and conceal an unloaded pistol from outside view whenever you are not personally carrying it under a CPL. [6]
A loaded pistol left in an unattended vehicle without a CPL, or left unlocked and visible, can result in a misdemeanor charge. [6]
Do not assume a school-zone or school-transportation exception lets you bring a firearm into a school building; it generally covers the vehicle only. [17]

Restricted Firearms and Magazines

RCW 9.41.370 generally bans manufacturing, importing, distributing, selling, or offering for sale a magazine capable of holding more than ten rounds, with narrow exceptions for sales to the armed forces, Washington state and local law enforcement, and certain out-of-state transfers by licensed dealers. The statute targets commercial conduct rather than simple possession, so a magazine acquired before the restriction generally is not itself confiscated, but it cannot lawfully be sold or transferred within the state outside an exception. [8]
RCW 9.41.390 similarly bans manufacturing, importing, distributing, selling, or offering for sale a defined assault weapon as of April 25, 2023, again with exceptions for the armed forces and law-enforcement agencies. A person who lawfully owned a covered weapon before the ban may generally keep it, but transfer options are narrow: an heir who inherits a covered weapon generally may only sell it to a licensed dealer, a federally licensed gunsmith for repair, or law enforcement for surrender, not resell it to another private Washington resident. [9]
Federally compliant NFA items such as suppressors and short-barreled rifles are generally lawful once federal registration and tax requirements are met, but Washington layers on its own restrictions: most machine-gun possession is separately prohibited under state law, and short-barreled shotguns and certain other devices face additional state limits beyond the federal framework. [1][27]

Do not sell, gift, or otherwise transfer a large-capacity magazine or an assault weapon to another Washington resident outside a listed statutory exception, even if you lawfully possess it. [8][9]
An inherited assault weapon generally must go to a dealer, a gunsmith for repair, or law enforcement rather than to another private buyer. [9]
A federal tax stamp for a suppressor or short-barreled rifle does not override a separate Washington restriction on machine guns or short-barreled shotguns. [1][27]

Safe Storage and Reporting

RCW 9.41.360 does not impose a universal rule that every firearm in a home must be locked at all times. Instead, it can impose criminal liability when a person stores or leaves a firearm in a manner that allows a prohibited person, including a minor, to access it and the firearm is then used, displayed, or possessed in a way the statute covers, subject to statutory defenses such as a locked container, a trigger or cable lock, or the firearm being carried on the person. [10]
RCW 9.41.368 requires an owner to report a lost or stolen firearm to the law-enforcement agency where the loss or theft occurred within twenty-four hours of discovering it; failing to report can carry its own penalty separate from any liability under the storage statute. [11]

Use a locked container, cable lock, or trigger lock when a prohibited person, including a minor, could otherwise access the firearm. [10]
Report a lost or stolen firearm within twenty-four hours of discovering it, not twenty-four hours from when it actually went missing. [11]
Keep serial numbers and purchase records separate from the firearm so a report can be filed quickly and accurately. [11]

Restricted Locations and Private Property

RCW 9.41.300 prohibits firearms in the restricted-access areas of jails and law-enforcement facilities, courtroom and related judicial areas, restricted-access areas of public mental-health facilities, spaces reserved for people twenty-one and older at licensed liquor or cannabis establishments, the security-restricted areas of commercial airports, libraries, accredited zoos and aquariums, and public transit stations and facilities, and it bars openly carrying a firearm within 250 feet of a permitted demonstration after law-enforcement notice. CPL holders are exempted from the general library, zoo, aquarium, and transit-facility restrictions, but not from the jail, courthouse, mental-health-facility, airport-security, or demonstration rules. [18]
RCW 9.41.280 separately bars firearms on public and private elementary and secondary school premises, school-provided transportation, and school-sponsored events off campus, with exceptions for licensed adults dropping off or picking up students, law-enforcement and military personnel, authorized firearms-safety courses or competitions, and certain unloaded firearms locked in a vehicle for legitimate school-related business; a conviction also triggers a three-year CPL revocation. [17]
A private property owner or business can independently exclude firearms by posting notice and relying on trespass law even where no state statute specifically restricts the location, and federal law separately restricts firearms in federal buildings and other federal property regardless of a Washington license. [6][5]

A CPL lets you carry concealed in a library, zoo, aquarium, or transit facility, but does not open the door to jails, courthouses, secured mental-health areas, or airport security zones. [18]
Stay at least 250 feet from a permitted demonstration if openly carrying once law enforcement has given the statutory notice. [18]
A school-related exception generally covers the vehicle or the drop-off and pick-up process, not the school building itself. [17]

State Preemption and Local Rules

RCW 9.41.290 declares that the state fully occupies the field of firearm regulation and generally preempts city and county ordinances on firearm purchase, sale, possession, carrying, transportation, and licensing, while preserving specifically listed local authority such as zoning and business-licensing rules that are not aimed at regulating firearms themselves. [13]
Preemption does not eliminate the need to check location-specific rules: a public building can still restrict firearms if it satisfies the security and signage conditions in state law, and a private property owner can still exclude firearms through posted notice and trespass law even under broad state preemption. [13][18]

Check state statutes and agency guidance first rather than assuming a city or county may create its own purchase, registration, or carry rules. [13]
A public building's own security and signage measures, and a private property owner's posted notice, remain independent of preemption analysis. [13][18]

Before Completing a Private Firearm Sale in Washington

Confirm whether a statutory exception applies before skipping dealer processing for a private transfer; otherwise use a licensed dealer and expect the standard background check. [2]
Budget ten business days for a dealer purchase now, and plan for fingerprinting and safety-training documentation once the 2027 permit-to-purchase law takes effect. [3][4]
Apply for a concealed pistol license through your local police department or county sheriff, not the Department of Licensing directly, if you want to carry concealed or take advantage of vehicle-carry rules. [5][6]
Lock and conceal an unloaded pistol in a vehicle whenever you are not personally carrying it under a CPL. [6]
Do not sell, gift, or otherwise transfer a large-capacity magazine or an assault weapon to another Washington resident outside a listed exception. [8][9]
Store firearms so a prohibited person or minor cannot access them, and report a loss or theft within twenty-four hours of discovering it. [10][11]
Check restricted-location, school, and posted-property rules before carrying, and confirm whether a prior conviction requires a restoration petition before you may possess a firearm again. [18][17][15]

Official Washington Firearm Law Resources

Chapter 9.41 RCW, Firearms and Dangerous Weapons

The core state firearms chapter covering possession, carry, transfers, and restricted locations.

Washington State Legislature

RCW 9.41.113, Firearm Sales or Transfers

Dealer-processing requirements and exceptions for private firearm transfers.

Washington State Legislature

RCW 9.41.092, Dealer Deliveries and Background Checks

The mandatory ten-business-day wait and background-check process for dealer sales.

Washington State Legislature

RCW 9.41.121, Permit to Purchase Firearms

The permit-to-purchase system taking effect May 1, 2027.

Washington State Legislature

Concealed Pistol License

Eligibility overview and links to local issuing law-enforcement agencies.

Washington State Department of Licensing

RCW 9.41.370, Large Capacity Magazines

The ten-round magazine restriction and its exceptions.

Washington State Legislature

Washington Constitution, Article I, Section 24

The state constitutional right to bear arms in defense of oneself or the state.

State of Washington

RCW 9A.16.020, Use of Force, When Lawful

The general statute defining when using force against another person is lawful.

Washington State Legislature

RCW 9A.16.050, Homicide, By Other Person, When Justifiable

The self-defense and defense-of-dwelling statute governing when homicide is justifiable.

Washington State Legislature

RCW 9A.16.110, Defending Against Violent Crime, Reimbursement

The cost-reimbursement provision for an acquittal based on self-defense; not a civil-immunity statute.

Washington State Legislature

Washington Gun Law FAQ

How old do you have to be to buy a gun in Washington?

Generally 21 to buy a pistol or semiautomatic assault rifle, from either a dealer or a private party, and generally 18 for other rifles and shotguns under the federal dealer floor.

[1][26]

Are background checks required for private gun sales in Washington?

Generally yes. Most private transfers must go through a licensed dealer for a Washington State Patrol background check, subject to family, temporary, emergency, and other narrow statutory exceptions.

[2]

Do you need a permit to buy a gun in Washington?

Not as of August 2026, but a permit-to-purchase law takes effect May 1, 2027, requiring fingerprints, a safety-training certificate, and a State Patrol-issued permit before a dealer may transfer a firearm.

[4]

Does Washington have a waiting period?

Yes. A dealer generally may not deliver a firearm until all required background-check results are back and at least ten business days have passed since the dealer requested the check.

[3]

Who is prohibited from owning a firearm in Washington?

People with disqualifying felony or specified domestic-violence, harassment, stalking, or protection-order-related convictions, people involuntarily committed for a mental disorder or found incompetent with a violence finding, minors under eighteen with limited exceptions, and people free on bond awaiting trial for a serious offense.

[14]

Can you carry concealed without a permit in Washington?

No. Washington generally requires a concealed pistol license to carry a pistol concealed outside your home or fixed place of business, or loaded in a vehicle, subject to limited statutory exceptions.

[6]

Who issues a Washington concealed pistol license, and how do you renew it?

Your local police department or county sheriff issues and renews the license, not the Department of Licensing; Washington does not require a training class before issuance. A CPL is generally valid for five years and can be renewed through the same local agency up to ninety days before it expires.

[5]

Is open carry legal in Washington?

Generally yes without a license, but displaying a firearm in a way that warrants alarm, or carrying at a demonstration, government meeting, or restricted location, can still be unlawful.

[6][18]

Does Washington recognize out-of-state concealed carry licenses?

Only for a nonresident whose home state does not issue licenses to people under twenty-one and requires a mandatory fingerprint-based background check. Washington residents cannot rely on an out-of-state license.

[7]

Can a nonresident buy a gun in Washington?

A nonresident may generally buy a rifle or shotgun other than a semiautomatic assault rifle from a Washington dealer if the purchase is lawful in both Washington and the buyer's home state and follows Washington's usual background-check process; nonresident handgun purchases remain federally restricted and are rarely practical.

[24]

Does Washington require gun registration?

Not a universal title-style registry, but dealers transmit transfer records for pistol and semiautomatic assault-rifle sales to state agencies, so those categories are individually traceable even though most other firearms are not centrally tracked.

[1]

Does Washington limit magazine capacity?

Yes. Manufacturing, importing, distributing, or selling a magazine over ten rounds is generally prohibited, though the law targets commercial conduct rather than confiscating magazines already lawfully owned.

[8]

Does Washington ban assault weapons?

Washington generally bans manufacturing, importing, distributing, selling, or offering a defined assault weapon as of April 25, 2023, but a person who lawfully owned one before that date may generally keep it, with narrow transfer options such as sale to a dealer, a gunsmith, or law enforcement.

[9]

Are suppressors legal in Washington?

Federally compliant suppressors are generally lawful, but Washington separately restricts most machine guns and short-barreled shotguns beyond the federal NFA framework.

[1][27]

Does Washington have a red-flag law (extreme risk protection order)?

Yes. Courts may issue temporary and, after a full hearing, longer-lasting extreme risk protection orders that prohibit firearm possession and require surrender when a petitioner shows the statutory risk factors.

[12]

Can a felon get their firearm rights back in Washington?

Only through a court petition, generally after three or five consecutive conviction-free years depending on the offense, with some felonies permanently disqualifying a person from petitioning at all.

[15]

Does Washington have a castle doctrine or stand-your-ground law?

Washington has no single stand-your-ground statute, but its courts have long held there is no duty to retreat before defending yourself in a place you have a right to be, and state law allows deadly force to resist a felony against a person in a dwelling.

[20][21]

If I use a firearm in self-defense in Washington, could I still be sued?

Yes. Washington has no statute granting civil immunity for a legally justified self-defense act; a criminal acquittal on self-defense grounds can support reimbursement of your defense costs, but it does not by itself prevent or defeat a separate civil lawsuit judged under a lower standard of proof.

[22]

Can you carry a gun in your car in Washington?

A loaded pistol in a vehicle generally requires a concealed pistol license and must stay on the licensee, remain in the vehicle while the licensee is present, or be locked and concealed when the licensee is away. An unloaded pistol without a license must be locked and concealed from view, and a loaded rifle or shotgun is generally prohibited in a vehicle regardless of license.

[6][23]

Is a bill of sale required for a private gun sale in Washington?

A bill of sale does not replace Washington's licensed-dealer background-check and recordkeeping process for a covered private transfer, and it cannot make an otherwise unlawful transfer legal.

[2]

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.