Firearm law reference

Wyoming Gun Laws: Complete Guide

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

Wyoming is broadly permissive and, unlike most permitless-carry states, extends unlicensed concealed carry to qualifying nonresidents as well as residents. Prohibited-person, restricted-location, school, private-property, and federal NFA rules still apply.

Wyoming 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: Depends on firearm and seller
Federal dealers generally require age eighteen for long guns and twenty-one for handguns and other firearms; Wyoming has no separate statute setting its own age floor for an ordinary intrastate private transfer. [1][19]
Permitless concealed carry: Yes, residents and nonresidents age 21+
A person age twenty-one or older who may lawfully possess firearms may generally carry concealed without a permit, whether a Wyoming resident or a resident of any other U.S. state. [2][4]
Private sale background check: Not generally required
Wyoming does not generally require a background check for an occasional intrastate private firearm transfer; federal prohibited-person and dealer rules still apply. [1][18]

Swipe horizontally to read the full table.

Law	Status	What it means
FFL required for private transfers	Generally no	An ordinary intrastate private transfer in Wyoming generally need not use an FFL, but interstate transfers and anyone engaged in dealing remain subject to federal dealer rules. [1][18]
Purchase permit	No general requirement	Wyoming requires no general permit to purchase an ordinary firearm. [1]
Waiting period	No state waiting period	Wyoming imposes no separate state waiting period for firearm purchases. [1]
Firearm registration	No general requirement	Wyoming has no general registry for ordinary privately owned firearms. [1]
Firearm owner license	No general requirement	No recurring Wyoming license is generally required merely to own an ordinary firearm. [1]
Concealed carry license	Optional; available from age 18	DCI issues optional concealed firearm permits to Wyoming residents age eighteen or older through the standard application process; permits mainly matter for reciprocity, campus carry, and out-of-state travel. [3][4][8]
Open carry	Generally legal	Open carry is generally lawful without a permit for a person who may legally possess the firearm, subject to restricted locations, private property, and conduct rules. [2]
Vehicle carry	Generally allowed	A qualifying adult may generally carry a handgun in a vehicle, openly or concealed, under the same permitless-carry rules that apply outside a vehicle. [2][4]
Magazine capacity	No state limit	Wyoming imposes no general magazine-capacity limit. [1][5]
Assault weapons	No state ban	Wyoming has no general assault-weapon ban for ordinary semiautomatic firearms. [1][5]
NFA firearms	Generally allowed under federal law	Suppressors, short-barreled firearms, machine guns, and other NFA items are generally lawful in Wyoming, including for hunting, when federal registration, tax, and possession requirements are satisfied. [1][20][14]
Extreme risk protection orders	No state ERPO law; enforcement of one is a crime	Wyoming has no extreme risk protection order process, and a 2026 law makes it a misdemeanor for a state or local official to enforce a red flag order, including one issued by another state. [1][9]
Safe storage	No universal mandate	Wyoming has no universal rule requiring every firearm in a private home to be locked, though access by minors or prohibited people can create liability under general criminal law. [1]
Lost or stolen reporting	No general state deadline	Wyoming imposes no general statewide deadline for an ordinary owner to report a lost or stolen firearm. [1]
State preemption	Broad	Wyoming broadly preempts city, town, and county firearm regulation, while allowing zoning ordinances that treat firearms businesses like other businesses generally. [5]
Bill of sale	Not generally required	Wyoming does not generally require a bill of sale for an occasional lawful intrastate private transfer, though documentation cannot cure an illegal transfer. [1][18]
Castle doctrine / no duty to retreat	Yes, plus civil immunity from suit	Wyoming presumes deadly force is reasonable against someone unlawfully and forcibly entering your home, imposes no duty to retreat anywhere you are lawfully present and not the aggressor, and grants a person who used reasonable defensive force civil immunity from a lawsuit over that same conduct, not just a criminal defense. [16][17]

Handgun and Rifle/Shotgun Rules in Wyoming

Wyoming's concealed-weapons and permit statutes are written around handguns specifically. Most other Wyoming firearm rules, including private-sale eligibility and prohibited-person restrictions, apply the same way to both firearm types.

Topic	Handguns	Rifles & shotguns
Minimum age to buy from a licensed dealer	21	18 [19]
Minimum age to buy ammunition from a dealer	21 for handgun ammunition	18 for rifle or shotgun ammunition [19]
Covered by the concealed-weapons and permit statute	Yes — W.S. 6-8-104 defines the regulated 'firearm' as a pistol, revolver, or derringer designed to be fired with a single hand, and that definition is what the permitless-carry and permit rules govern	Not covered by that definition, but no license has ever been required to carry a rifle or shotgun openly in WyomingConfirm current statute text before relying on this distinction for an unusual or converted firearm. [2]

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Private Sales and Transfers

Quick answer

An occasional transfer between eligible Wyoming residents generally needs no FFL or background check. [1][18]

A seller must not transfer a firearm to someone known or reasonably believed to be prohibited from possessing one under Wyoming or federal law. Interstate transfers ordinarily must pass through an FFL in the buyer's state, and repeated profit-driven dealing can require a federal license regardless of the state in which it occurs. [1][18]
Wyoming has no state form or waiver that turns an otherwise unlawful transfer into a lawful one, and no state agency processes private-sale background checks. A voluntary written record documenting the date, firearm, and parties can be useful evidence, but a seller should use a licensed dealer instead whenever the buyer's residency, age, identity, or eligibility is uncertain. [1][18]

Confirm residency, identity, age, and eligibility before completing a private transfer. [1][18]
Use an FFL whenever the buyer lives out of state or eligibility is uncertain. [18]
Do not knowingly transfer a firearm to a person barred by Wyoming or federal law, including a person subject to a qualifying protective order or a felony firearm disability. [1][18]

Important notice: A voluntary bill of sale does not legalize an otherwise prohibited transfer. [18]

Buying a Firearm

Wyoming requires no general purchase permit, waiting period, owner license, or registration for an ordinary firearm. A federally licensed dealer runs the buyer through the FBI's NICS background-check process and applies federal dealer age minimums regardless of any Wyoming permit the buyer holds. [1][19]
A Wyoming concealed firearm permit is not a purchase permit and does not exempt a dealer sale from the federal background check. Dealer minimums are generally age eighteen for rifles, shotguns, and ammunition for those firearms, and age twenty-one for handguns, other firearms, and handgun ammunition; a private, intrastate transfer outside a dealer is not bound by those federal dealer minimums but remains subject to federal juvenile-transfer and prohibited-person restrictions. [19][1]

Dealer minimums are generally eighteen for long guns and twenty-one for handguns, frames, and receivers. [19]
A delayed or extended NICS response at a dealer is a federal processing step, not a Wyoming waiting period. [19]

Ownership and Prohibited Persons

Wyoming and federal law prohibit possession by specified people, and Wyoming has no general firearm owner license. A person convicted of a violent felony who has not been pardoned or had rights restored is permanently barred from using or knowingly possessing a firearm; a person convicted of a non-violent felony faces the same bar unless pardoned or restored. [1]
A first-time, non-violent Wyoming felony conviction can qualify for restoration of firearm rights five years after completing the sentence, with no other unrelated felony conviction. People discharged from a Wyoming sentence on or after July 1, 2023 receive that restoration automatically; those discharged earlier must apply through the Department of Corrections. A 2026 law separately clarified that a firearm-rights restoration granted by another state or the federal government is recognized in Wyoming for that out-of-state conviction. [11][10]
Wyoming has no extreme risk protection order (red flag) statute, and a 2026 law makes it a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine, for a Wyoming state or local official to knowingly enforce a red flag order seizing firearms, including an order issued by another state. [9]

Do not assume that completing probation or parole automatically restores firearm rights; the five-year post-sentence clock and pardon route still control. [11]
A violent felony conviction (including offenses such as murder, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault) is not eligible for the standard restoration path without a pardon. [1][11]
Qualifying domestic-violence protective orders and federal disqualifications can independently prohibit possession even without a Wyoming felony conviction. [1]

Concealed and Open Carry

Quick answer

A qualifying adult age twenty-one or older may generally carry concealed without a permit, whether a Wyoming resident or a resident of any other U.S. state. [2][4]

Since July 1, 2021, Wyoming has extended permitless concealed carry beyond its own residents: any U.S. resident who is at least twenty-one and may legally possess firearms under Wyoming and federal law may carry concealed in Wyoming without a permit. This is broader than most permitless-carry states, which generally limit unlicensed carry to state residents or to residents of states with similar laws. [4][2]
DCI still issues optional concealed firearm permits, which a resident may apply for beginning at age eighteen since a 2026 law removed the prior discretionary sheriff-recommendation step for eighteen-to-twenty-year-old applicants and moved them onto the standard shall-issue process used for adults twenty-one and older. Wyoming does not issue permits to nonresidents. A permit remains useful because it can satisfy reciprocity with the other states that currently recognize a Wyoming permit under DCI's own reciprocity guidance, allow campus carry with institutional consent, and let an eighteen-to-twenty-year-old carry concealed since that age group falls outside the permitless-carry age floor. [3][4][8]
Open carry requires no permit for anyone who may lawfully possess the firearm, but it is still subject to the same restricted-location, school, and private-property rules described below, along with local conduct ordinances such as disturbing the peace. [2]

A Wyoming permit application requires fingerprints, a background check, and demonstrated firearms familiarity, with a $64 new-application fee and a five-year permit term. [4]
An eighteen-to-twenty-year-old who is not a Wyoming resident cannot rely on Wyoming's permitless-carry law and cannot obtain a Wyoming permit; that person needs a home-state or other recognized permit to carry concealed in Wyoming. [4][8]

Self-Defense and the Castle Doctrine in Wyoming

Quick answer

Wyoming presumes a person's fear of death or serious bodily injury was reasonable when someone unlawfully and forcibly enters the person's home, imposes no duty to retreat before using reasonable defensive force anywhere the person is lawfully present and did not start the confrontation, and gives a person who used reasonable defensive force civil immunity from a lawsuit over that same conduct, not merely a criminal-law defense. [16][17]

The Wyoming Constitution, Article 1, Section 24, states that the right of citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and of the state shall not be denied. [15]
Wyoming Statutes Sections 6-2-601 through 6-2-603 justify using defensive force, including deadly force, when a reasonable person in the same circumstances would judge it necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury to the person using the force or to another person. [16]
A person attacked anywhere they are lawfully present has no duty to retreat before using reasonable defensive force, provided the person is not the initial aggressor and is not engaged in illegal activity at the time. Wyoming also presumes a reasonable fear of imminent death or serious bodily injury when the person against whom defensive force was used was unlawfully and forcibly entering, or had unlawfully and forcibly entered, the actor's home or habitation, or was removing or attempting to remove someone against their will from that home, and the actor knew or had reason to believe this was happening. [16]

Important notice: Wyoming Statutes Section 6-1-204 goes further than simply preserving a civil claim despite a criminal-law justification: it gives a person who used reasonable defensive force under Section 6-2-602 affirmative immunity from a civil lawsuit over that same conduct. To use it, the person files a pretrial motion, the court must hold a hearing, and if the person proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the force was reasonable defensive force, the court must award attorney fees, court costs, lost income, and other litigation expenses. That is a stronger civil protection than in many states, but it still requires proving in court that the force was lawful under Section 6-2-602, every confrontation is fact-specific and high-stakes, and this summary is not a substitute for individualized legal advice. [17][16]

Transportation and Vehicles

Because Wyoming's permitless-carry law covers concealed carry generally rather than singling out vehicles, a qualifying adult may carry a loaded handgun in a vehicle, openly or concealed, under the same age, residency, and eligibility rules that apply to carry outside a vehicle. [2][4]
Federal safe-passage protection can shield a person transporting a firearm through Wyoming between two places where possession is lawful, provided the firearm is unloaded and not readily accessible from the vehicle's passenger compartment. Wyoming's own permitless and licensed carry rules are broader than that federal minimum for anyone who qualifies to carry in Wyoming itself. [21][2]

Restricted locations that apply to concealed carry generally, such as courthouses, detention facilities, and posted private property, still apply to a firearm carried in or from a vehicle at those locations. [2][4]
For interstate safe passage under federal law, keep the firearm unloaded and inaccessible and travel only between places where possession is lawful at both ends of the trip. [21]

Restricted Firearms and Magazines

Wyoming has no state magazine-capacity limit and no assault-weapon ban for commonly owned semiautomatic firearms. Suppressors, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, and machine guns are generally lawful to possess in Wyoming once all federal registration, tax, and transfer requirements under the National Firearms Act are satisfied, and Wyoming adds no separate state licensing layer on top of that federal process. [1][5][20]
Wyoming Game and Fish Department regulations allow the use of a firearm suppressor while legally taking game, so a properly registered suppressor may be used for both defensive and hunting purposes in Wyoming, subject to the same federal compliance requirements. [14][20]

A federal tax stamp does not excuse unlawful use, prohibited-person possession, or carry in a restricted location. [20]
Federal machine-gun manufacture-date restrictions and other NFA classifications remain fully controlling even though Wyoming imposes no separate state ban. [20]

Safe Storage and Reporting

Wyoming has no universal firearm-locking law and no general deadline requiring an ordinary owner to report a lost or stolen firearm. Secure storage and prompt voluntary reporting remain prudent, particularly in a household where children or legally prohibited people may have access. [1]
The absence of a statewide storage mandate does not remove liability under Wyoming's general weapons-offense and reckless-endangerment statutes if an unsecured firearm is used unlawfully. A prompt theft report to law enforcement can place the serial number in state and federal crime databases and creates a contemporaneous record that can help recover the firearm or clear the owner in a later inquiry. [1]

Use a locked safe or container and store ammunition separately when children or unauthorized people may be present, including in a school-district or workplace lock-box setting. [1][12]
Keep photographs, serial numbers, and purchase records somewhere separate from the firearm itself. [1]

Restricted Locations and Private Property

Quick answer

Concealed carry, licensed or permitless, is restricted in law-enforcement and detention facilities, courtrooms, legislative and government meetings, school athletic events, and areas serving alcohol, among other listed places. [2][4]

Wyoming's concealed-carry statute lists specific places where a permit does not authorize carry, and the same list generally governs permitless carriers because both rely on the same statutory exception: law-enforcement and detention facilities, courtrooms, meetings of the legislature and other government bodies, school athletic events, elementary and secondary school facilities, and the portion of an establishment devoted to serving alcohol. Carry is also excluded from any place where possession is separately prohibited by federal or other state law, such as federal buildings and courthouses. [2][4]
College and university property is restricted unless the institution gives written consent. The University of Wyoming's policy allows permit holders (not permitless carriers) to carry a concealed handgun on campus, but bars carry in health and counseling facilities, the police department, labs with hazardous materials, and areas serving alcohol during service, and it requires a locked or biometric container for storage in residence halls. [13][4]
A K-12 school district's board of trustees may separately adopt a policy allowing specific permit-holding employees to carry a concealed handgun on school property after an approval process and mandatory live-fire and scenario-based training; without that board action and individual approval, carrying on school property remains restricted for everyone, including staff. [12]

Posted or otherwise clearly communicated private property can exclude firearms; ignoring a direct request to leave can lead to criminal-trespass consequences. [2]
A concealed firearm permit does not override a restriction imposed by federal law, such as at a post office, federal courthouse, or military installation. [4]

State Preemption and Local Rules

W.S. 6-8-401 declares the right to keep and bear arms a fundamental right and preempts the sale, transfer, purchase, delivery, taxation, manufacture, ownership, transportation, storage, use, carrying, and possession of firearms, weapons, accessories, and ammunition to the state. No city, town, county, or other political subdivision may authorize, regulate, or prohibit those activities except as the chapter specifically allows. [5]
The statute carves out an exception for zoning and other ordinances that treat firearms businesses the same way as other businesses; a zoning or other ordinance designed specifically to restrict or prohibit firearm or ammunition sale, purchase, transfer, or manufacture as a means of regulating firearms conflicts with the statute and is prohibited. [5]

Check state statutes and DCI guidance first rather than assuming a city or county may create its own purchase, registration, storage, or carry rule. [5]
A local government retains ordinary property-management authority over its own buildings but cannot use zoning as a backdoor way to regulate firearm commerce generally. [5]

Before Completing a Private Firearm Sale in Wyoming

Confirm identity, age, and eligibility before completing a private transfer, and use an FFL when residency or eligibility is uncertain. [1][18]
Remember that federal dealer age minimums (18 for long guns, 21 for handguns) apply at a licensed dealer even though Wyoming sets no separate age floor for private transfers. [19]
Confirm you meet the age-21 and eligibility requirements for permitless carry, or apply for a Wyoming permit (available from age 18) if you need reciprocity or campus-carry benefits. [2][4][8]
Check restricted-location rules before carrying into a courthouse, school, government meeting, college campus, or posted private property. [2][4][13][12]
Do not rely on completed probation alone to restore firearm rights after a felony; confirm the five-year restoration timeline or pardon status with the Department of Corrections. [11]
Store firearms securely, keep serial-number records separately, and report a lost or stolen firearm to law enforcement promptly even though Wyoming sets no formal deadline. [1]

Official Wyoming Firearm Law Resources

Concealed Firearm Permit FAQ

Official guidance on permit eligibility, age, fees, reciprocity, and restricted locations.

Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation

Concealed Firearm Permits

Application process, county sheriff filing, and program overview.

Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation

Wyoming Statutes Title 6, Chapter 8

Official weapons offenses, concealed-carry, and preemption statutes.

Wyoming Legislature

Wyoming Constitution, Article 1, Section 24

State constitutional right to bear arms in self-defense.

State of Wyoming

Wyoming Statutes Sections 6-2-601 to 6-2-603

Self-defense justification statute, including the no-duty-to-retreat rule.

Wyoming Legislature

Wyoming Statutes Section 6-1-204

Civil-immunity statute for a person who used reasonable defensive force, with mandatory attorney-fee shifting.

Wyoming Legislature

Restoration of Rights

Firearm-rights restoration eligibility, waiting periods, and application process.

Wyoming Department of Corrections

Campus Carry FAQs

Campus-specific concealed-carry and restricted-area rules for permit holders.

University of Wyoming Police Department

House Bill 96 (2026)

Enrolled act lowering the concealed firearm permit application age to 18.

Wyoming Legislature

Wyoming Gun Law FAQ

Can you carry a concealed gun without a permit in Wyoming?

Generally yes if you are at least twenty-one and may lawfully possess firearms, whether you are a Wyoming resident or a resident of another U.S. state.

[2][4]

What age do you have to be to buy a gun in Wyoming?

A licensed dealer generally must be eighteen or older to sell a rifle or shotgun and twenty-one or older to sell a handgun, following the federal dealer floor; Wyoming has no separate state age statute for an ordinary intrastate private transfer.

[1][19]

Are background checks required for private gun sales in Wyoming?

Not generally for an occasional intrastate transfer between eligible people. Interstate transfers ordinarily require a licensed dealer.

[1][18]

Is open carry legal in Wyoming?

Generally yes for a person who may lawfully possess the firearm, subject to restricted-location and private-property rules.

[2]

Can you carry a loaded handgun in a vehicle in Wyoming?

Generally yes if you meet the same age and eligibility rules that apply to carry outside a vehicle, though restricted-location and posted-property rules still apply where a vehicle is parked or stopped.

[2][4]

What age can you get a concealed firearm permit in Wyoming?

As of July 1, 2026, a Wyoming resident may apply starting at age eighteen through the standard process; the prior discretionary sheriff-recommendation requirement for 18-to-20-year-olds was repealed. Wyoming does not issue permits to nonresidents.

[8][4]

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

Yes. Wyoming imposes no duty to retreat before using reasonable defensive force anywhere you are lawfully present and did not start the confrontation, presumes deadly force reasonable against someone unlawfully and forcibly entering your home, and gives a person who used reasonable defensive force civil immunity from a lawsuit over that conduct, not just a criminal-law defense.

[16][17]

Does Wyoming have a red flag law?

No. Wyoming has no extreme risk protection order process, and a 2026 law makes it a misdemeanor for a Wyoming official to enforce a red flag order, including one from another state.

[9]

Are suppressors legal in Wyoming?

Generally yes, including for hunting, when the owner complies with the National Firearms Act and all other applicable federal law.

[20][14]

Does Wyoming limit magazine capacity or ban assault weapons?

Wyoming has no general magazine-capacity limit or assault-weapon ban for commonly owned semiautomatic firearms.

[1][5]

Does Wyoming require firearm registration?

No. Wyoming has no general registry for ordinary privately owned firearms.

[1]

Is there a waiting period to buy a gun in Wyoming?

No. Wyoming imposes no separate state waiting period; a delayed NICS response at a licensed dealer is a federal processing step, not a Wyoming law.

[1][19]

Does Wyoming recognize out-of-state carry permits?

Wyoming recognizes qualifying out-of-state permits, and many states recognize a Wyoming permit in return, but reciprocity lists change; check current DCI reciprocity guidance before traveling rather than relying on a fixed list of states.

[6][4]

Can a felon possess a firearm in Wyoming?

Generally no without a pardon or restoration of rights. A first-time non-violent felony conviction can qualify for restoration five years after completing the sentence; a violent felony conviction is barred absent a pardon.

[1][11]

Can school staff carry concealed firearms on Wyoming school property?

Only if the school district's board of trustees has adopted a policy allowing it and the specific employee, who must hold a valid concealed carry permit, has completed the district's approval and training process.

[12]

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

No general Wyoming law requires one for an occasional lawful intrastate private transfer, but a voluntary record can document the parties and firearm.

[1][18]

Can a Wyoming dealer sell to someone from another state?

A licensed Wyoming dealer generally cannot sell a handgun to a nonresident, but federal law lets a dealer sell a rifle or shotgun to a resident of any other state if the buyer appears in person and the sale complies with the law of both states.

[18]

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.