West Virginia Gun Laws: Complete Guide

Private Sales and Transfers

• §61-7-10 makes it a felony to knowingly sell, rent, give, or lend a firearm or ammunition to a person prohibited from possessing it under Article 7 or under 18 U.S.C. §922, punishable by three to ten years in prison and a fine up to $100,000 for an individual or $250,000 for a business. A separate felony, carrying one to five years and up to a $5,000 fine, applies to knowingly soliciting, persuading, encouraging, or enticing a licensed dealer or another private seller to make an illegal transfer. These penalties are noticeably harsher than the general private-transfer rules in many other permissive states. [8]
• Interstate transfers ordinarily must pass through an FFL under federal law, and repeated profit-driven dealing may require a federal license. West Virginia provides no state form or process that turns an otherwise unlawful transfer into a lawful one. [16]

• Confirm West Virginia residency, identity, age, and eligibility before an intrastate private transfer. [8][16]
• Use an FFL whenever residency or eligibility is uncertain, or whenever the transfer crosses state lines. [16]
• Do not solicit a dealer or another private seller to complete a transfer you know would be unlawful; that request is itself a separate felony. [8]

Important notice: A voluntary bill of sale does not legalize an otherwise prohibited transfer, and knowingly transferring to a prohibited person carries a three-to-ten-year felony penalty. [8]

Buying a Firearm

• West Virginia requires no general purchase permit, waiting period, owner license, or registration. Dealers conduct the federal NICS process, and federal dealer age minimums generally apply: eighteen for rifles and shotguns and twenty-one for handguns and other firearms. [3][17]
• A full West Virginia concealed handgun license issued on or after June 4, 2014, generally qualifies as a Brady-law alternative to a dealer's NICS check under 18 U.S.C. §922(t)(3) as long as it remains within its five-year validity. The provisional license issued to applicants ages eighteen through twenty is different: state law requires it to be printed "NOT NICS EXEMPT," so a dealer must still run a background check for a provisional-license holder even though the license authorizes concealed carry. [5][6][19]

• Dealer minimums are generally eighteen for rifles and shotguns and twenty-one for handguns and frames or receivers. [17]
• A full adult license can skip the dealer's NICS check; a provisional license cannot. [6][19]

Ownership and Prohibited Persons

• §61-7-7(a) bars possession by people convicted of a felony punishable by more than a year in prison, people with a current problem of alcohol or controlled-substance addiction, people adjudicated mentally incompetent or involuntarily committed to a mental institution, unlawfully present aliens, people discharged from the armed forces under dishonorable conditions, and people subject to a qualifying domestic-violence protective order or convicted of a qualifying domestic-violence misdemeanor. A violation is generally a misdemeanor carrying a $100 to $1,000 fine and ninety days to a year in jail, but §61-7-7(b) makes possession by someone convicted of a violent felony or a Schedule I, II, or III drug offense a felony carrying up to five years and a $5,000 fine. [4]
• §61-7-7(f) lets a prohibited person petition the circuit court in the county of conviction (or, for a federal or out-of-state conviction, Kanawha County) for restoration of the right to possess a firearm. The court may grant relief only if it finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that the person is competent and capable of exercising the responsibility that comes with firearm possession, and only if granting relief would not violate federal law. Completing a sentence or probation does not by itself restore firearm rights. [4]

• Do not assume completion of a sentence automatically restores firearm rights; a circuit-court restoration petition is generally required. [4]
• A qualifying domestic-violence protective order or misdemeanor conviction can independently prohibit possession even without a felony record. [4]

Concealed and Open Carry

• A United States citizen or legal resident at least eighteen years old who is not prohibited under state or federal law may generally carry a concealed deadly weapon in West Virginia without a license under §61-7-7(c). That permitless status is a state-law protection, not a portable credential — it lets an eligible eighteen-to-twenty-year-old carry concealed inside West Virginia, but it does nothing for carry in another state, since other states generally look for a license rather than a residency-based status. [4][14]
• That is why the optional license system still matters even under permitless carry. A resident twenty-one or older may apply to their county sheriff for a full five-year concealed handgun license under §61-7-4, useful mainly for reciprocity while traveling and for the federal NICS exemption described in the buying section above. A resident eighteen through twenty may instead apply for a provisional license under §61-7-4a, which confers the same in-state carry rights as the full license, expires automatically at twenty-one, and is marked "not NICS exempt." Both require live-fire handgun training and pass a nationwide background check that the sheriff must complete within forty-five days. [5][6]
• West Virginia recognizes another state's concealed-carry license only for a nonresident who is at least twenty-one, has the license in their immediate possession, and comes from a state that either has a reciprocity agreement with West Virginia or has notified the State Police that it recognizes West Virginia licenses. The State Police maintains the current reciprocity registry. [7][15]

• Open carry generally requires no license for an eligible adult, but a minor under eighteen is separately restricted from possessing most deadly weapons outside narrow exceptions such as supervised hunting or instruction. [3]
• A nonresident relying on reciprocity must still be at least twenty-one; West Virginia's own permitless-carry age of eighteen does not extend to a visiting license holder from another state. [7]

Self-Defense and the Castle Doctrine in West Virginia

• The West Virginia Constitution, Article III, Section 22, protects the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home, and state, and for lawful hunting and recreational use. [1]
• §55-7-22(a) justifies a lawful occupant's use of reasonable and proportionate force, including deadly force, against an intruder or attacker to prevent or terminate an unlawful entry into a home or other place of residence when the occupant reasonably fears death or serious bodily harm to themself or another, or reasonably believes the intruder intends to commit a felony inside and that deadly force is necessary. §55-7-22(b) confirms the occupant has no duty to retreat in that situation. [2]
• §55-7-22(c) extends the same no-duty-to-retreat, reasonable-and-proportionate-force standard to a person lawfully present outside the home who reasonably believes deadly force is the only way to save themself or another from imminent death or serious bodily harm. [2]
• §55-7-22 does not address deadly force used solely to protect property, and it expressly does not authorize resisting or obstructing a law-enforcement officer acting in the course of duty, or creating a hazardous condition on property designed to injure someone engaged in criminal conduct. [2]

Important notice: §55-7-22(d) makes justified force under this section a full and complete defense to a civil lawsuit brought by the intruder or attacker — a meaningfully stronger civil protection than the general rule in many other states, where a criminal-law justification does not by itself bar a civil claim. But §55-7-22(e) removes that civil defense if the person using force was committing or escaping a felony, or provoked the confrontation and did not clearly withdraw. This statute also does not immunize force used against someone other than the intruder or attacker (a bystander, for example), and every self-defense situation is fact-specific and high-stakes. Get individualized legal advice before relying on any of this content in an actual confrontation. [2]

Transportation and Vehicles

• A qualifying adult may generally carry a handgun in a vehicle under the same permitless or licensed-carry rules that apply to carry generally; West Virginia does not impose a separate loaded-or-unloaded vehicle-carry statute for handguns. [4]
• §61-7-14 protects a person's right to keep a lawfully owned firearm locked inside or locked to a vehicle in a parking lot, even on property whose owner otherwise restricts firearms. A property owner or employer generally may not search a vehicle for firearms, may not exclude someone or terminate their employment solely because their vehicle contains a lawfully stored firearm, and may not condition employment on whether an employee holds or agrees to give up that right. The Attorney General may pursue civil penalties up to $5,000 per violation, and an affected person can also sue for damages and attorney fees. [10]

• Keep a vehicle-stored firearm locked inside the vehicle or locked to it and out of view to fall within the §61-7-14 protection. [10]
• §61-7-11a still restricts firearms in vehicles parked at schools and courthouses to an unloaded firearm secured out of view in a locked vehicle, or to a full licensee's vehicle in a designated parking area. [9]

Restricted Firearms and Magazines

• West Virginia has no general magazine limit or assault-weapon ban. §61-7-9 separately prohibits carrying, transporting, or possessing a machine gun, submachine gun, or other fully automatic weapon, but that prohibition does not apply to a person who has fully complied with the applicable federal statutes and Treasury Department (now ATF) rules and regulations — an unlawful violation is a misdemeanor carrying $1,000 to $5,000 and ninety days to a year in jail, well below typical felony penalties in other states. [12][18]
• Making or transferring most NFA items still requires a chief-law-enforcement-officer certification. §61-7-16 requires the local chief law-enforcement officer to certify within thirty days that an applicant is not prohibited from making, transferring, receiving, or possessing the firearm, and generally may not deny certification based on a generalized objection to firearm ownership; a denial must be in writing with reasons, and a denied applicant may appeal to circuit court, which can award costs and attorney fees if it orders the certification issued. [11]

• A tax stamp and federal compliance do not excuse carrying an NFA item in a restricted location or possession by someone otherwise prohibited under §61-7-7. [18][4]
• Apply for the required chief-law-enforcement-officer certification early — the statute gives the officer up to thirty days to respond, and an unjustified denial can be appealed to circuit court. [11]

Safe Storage and Reporting

• West Virginia has no universal firearm-locking law or general lost-or-stolen reporting deadline for ordinary owners. Secure storage and prompt voluntary reporting remain prudent, especially where minors are present, since §61-7-10 still creates felony liability for knowingly furnishing a firearm to anyone prohibited from possessing it, including most minors. [8]
• The absence of a universal storage mandate does not eliminate liability under the unlawful-transfer and general-negligence rules described elsewhere in this guide. A prompt theft report can place the serial number in law-enforcement systems and create a contemporaneous ownership record if the firearm later turns up in someone else's possession. [3]

• Use a locked safe or container and store ammunition separately when children or unauthorized people may access the firearm. [3]
• Keep photographs, serial numbers, and purchase records somewhere separate from the firearm. [3]

Restricted Locations and Private Property

• §61-7-11a makes it generally a felony, punishable by two to ten years and up to a $5,000 fine, to possess a deadly weapon on a school bus, on school grounds, or at a school-sponsored function, and generally a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year and a $1,000 fine, to possess one on courthouse or family-court premises. Exceptions exist for law-enforcement officers, authorized school safety officers, approved shooting-team and instructional activities, and a full licensee who keeps an unloaded firearm locked out of view in a vehicle in a designated parking area. A minor adjudicated delinquent for a school-weapons violation faces driver's-license suspension, and an adult convicted faces a minimum one-year license revocation; a parent or guardian who knows of an imminent violation and fails to report it also commits a misdemeanor. [9]
• Federal facilities, correctional facilities, and other secured government buildings can impose their own possession restrictions. Private property owners may generally exclude firearms from their premises through notice and trespass law, but §61-7-14 separately protects a firearm locked out of view inside a vehicle in the property's parking area, even where the owner otherwise prohibits firearms on the premises. [10][3]

• A full concealed handgun license does not authorize carry inside a school building — at most it lets the licensee keep an unloaded, locked, out-of-view firearm in a vehicle in a designated school parking area. [9]
• Posted private-property signage can exclude firearms from the premises generally, but it cannot override the separate vehicle-parking-lot protection in §61-7-14. [10]

State Preemption and Local Rules

• §8-12-5a broadly bars a municipality from restricting the purchase, possession, transfer, ownership, carrying, transport, sale, or storage of any deadly weapon, firearm, pepper spray, or ammunition, and bars zoning or other regulation of a firearms or ammunition business in a manner more restrictive than what applies to other retail businesses. [13]
• The statute preserves narrow local authority: a municipality may regulate or prohibit carrying a deadly weapon, firearm, or pepper spray inside a municipally owned building used for business purposes, may regulate open carry (but not licensed concealed carry) in a municipal recreation facility, may require that a firearm be locked and out of sight in a municipal parking facility, and may prohibit an unlicensed person from carrying on other municipal property. It may not, however, restrict carrying on public streets and sidewalks or adopt an ordinance designed to effectively prohibit firearm sales or services within its borders. [13]

• Check §8-12-5a's specific carve-outs before assuming a municipal building or recreation-facility rule is preempted — several narrow local powers survive. [13]
• A municipal ordinance that tries to regulate purchase, ownership, or general carry on public streets is preempted regardless of local intent. [13]

Before Completing a Private Firearm Sale in West Virginia

• Confirm West Virginia residency, identity, age, and eligibility before a private transfer, and never transfer to someone you know or reasonably believe is prohibited. [8][16]
• Use an FFL for interstate transfers or whenever eligibility is uncertain. [16]
• Confirm you are at least eighteen, a citizen or legal resident, and not prohibited before relying on permitless concealed carry. [4]
• Get a full license at twenty-one (or a provisional license at eighteen through twenty) if you want reciprocity while traveling or the NICS-exempt purchase benefit. [5][6][19]
• Check school, courthouse, and other restricted-location rules before carrying, and keep any vehicle-stored firearm locked and out of view. [9][10]
• Store firearms securely and keep serial-number records separately. [3]

Official West Virginia Firearm Law Resources

West Virginia Gun Law FAQ

Sources

1. 1. Constitution of West Virginia, Article III, Section 22West Virginia Legislature. State statute. Accessed August 14, 2026.
2. 2. West Virginia Code Section 55-7-22, Civil Relief for Persons Resisting Certain Criminal ActivitiesWest Virginia Legislature. State statute. Accessed August 14, 2026.
3. 3. West Virginia Code Chapter 61, Article 7, Dangerous WeaponsWest Virginia Legislature. State statute. Accessed August 9, 2026.
4. 4. West Virginia Code Section 61-7-7, Persons Prohibited From Possessing Firearms; Right of Nonprohibited Persons Over Eighteen to Carry ConcealedWest Virginia Legislature. State statute. Accessed August 9, 2026.
5. 5. West Virginia Code Section 61-7-4, License to Carry Deadly WeaponsWest Virginia Legislature. State statute. Accessed August 8, 2026.
6. 6. West Virginia Code Section 61-7-4a, Provisional License to CarryWest Virginia Legislature. State statute. Accessed August 9, 2026.
7. 7. West Virginia Code Section 61-7-6a, Recognition of Out-of-State LicensesWest Virginia Legislature. State statute. Accessed August 9, 2026.
8. 8. West Virginia Code Section 61-7-10, Sale or Disposal of Firearms to Persons Prohibited From Possessing ThemWest Virginia Legislature. State statute. Accessed August 9, 2026.
9. 9. West Virginia Code Section 61-7-11a, Possession of Deadly Weapons on Premises of Schools and CourthousesWest Virginia Legislature. State statute. Accessed August 9, 2026.
10. 10. West Virginia Code Section 61-7-14, Rights of Employees and Others to Keep Firearms in Vehicles on Employer's or Others' PropertyWest Virginia Legislature. State statute. Accessed August 9, 2026.
11. 11. West Virginia Code Section 61-7-16, Certification for Federal Firearm TransfersWest Virginia Legislature. State statute. Accessed August 9, 2026.
12. 12. West Virginia Code Section 61-7-9, Possession of Machine GunsWest Virginia Legislature. State statute. Accessed August 9, 2026.
13. 13. West Virginia Code Section 8-12-5a, Firearm PreemptionWest Virginia Legislature. State statute. Accessed August 8, 2026.
14. 14. Gun Reciprocity Frequently Asked QuestionsWest Virginia Attorney General. State agency. Accessed August 9, 2026.
15. 15. Concealed Weapons Permit FormsWest Virginia State Police. State agency. Accessed August 9, 2026.
16. 16. Firearms Questions and Answers: Unlicensed PersonsBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal agency. Accessed August 8, 2026.
17. 17. Minimum Age for Gun Sales and TransfersBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal agency. Accessed August 8, 2026.
18. 18. National Firearms ActBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal agency. Accessed August 8, 2026.
19. 19. Brady Permit ChartBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal agency. Accessed August 9, 2026.