← Arkansas firearms laws›Duty to Inform Police
Arkansas Duty to Inform Police Laws (2026)
Conditional: No duty to tell an officer unprompted. If you carry on an Arkansas concealed handgun license and an officer asks for your ID, you must show the license and tell the officer you hold it and have a handgun.
No duty to tell an officer unprompted. If you carry on an Arkansas concealed handgun license and an officer asks for your ID, you must show the license and tell the officer you hold it and have a handgun. Whether this binds out-of-state license holders is not stated, so treat it as applying. No such duty is stated for people carrying without a license.
Official source: dps.arkansas.gov →
General legal information, not legal advice — verify important decisions with a licensed attorney.
Duty to Inform Police in states bordering Arkansas
The same rule in each neighboring state LawLert has verified, from that state’s own official source.
- LouisianaConditional
Yes. If an officer approaches you in an official manner or with an identified official purpose, a permit holder or permitless carrier must tell the officer they have a weapon on them, submit to a pat-down, and allow the officer to temporarily disarm them. A permit holder who fails to comply gets a six-month permit suspension. A permitless carrier faces a fine of up to $500, up to six months in jail, or both. In the French Quarter Management District the fine is $500 to $1,000.
Verified Oct 12, 2026 · Source: legis.la.gov · Full Louisiana rule →
- MississippiConditional
Mississippi has no proactive duty to inform, but a licensee must carry the license with a valid ID whenever armed and display both when an officer demands them (Miss. Code § 45-9-101(1)(b), a $25 noncriminal offense). Permitless carry in a holster or a case under § 45-9-101(24) carries no display duty. (Code text via the Legislature's official reprint; the Mississippi Code publishes only through LexisNexis.)
Verified Jul 18, 2026 · Source: billstatus.ls.state.ms.us · Full Mississippi rule →
- MissouriConditional
Missouri has no proactive duty to inform, but a permit holder must carry the permit whenever carrying concealed and display it with a photo ID at the request of any peace officer (RSMo 571.121.1); noncompliance is expressly noncriminal, with a citation of up to $35. The duty attaches only to permit holders — Missouri permitless carriers have no duty to inform or to display.
Verified Jul 18, 2026 · Source: revisor.mo.gov · Full Missouri rule →
- OklahomaConditional
Yes. If you carry on an out-of-state permit, tell any Oklahoma peace officer you contact that you are armed, without waiting to be asked. If you carry here on a permitless home state's law, tell any officer who instructs you to. All other carriers must say so when an officer demands it during an arrest, detention or routine traffic stop (citation up to $100). Keep a valid handgun license, military ID, driver license or state photo ID on you and show it on demand.
Verified Oct 12, 2026 · Source: oscn.net · Full Oklahoma rule →
- TennesseeConditional
Tennessee law does not require you to tell an officer you are armed. A Tennessee permit holder must keep the permit on them and show it when an officer demands it. An out-of-state permit holder must also have the permit on them.
Verified Oct 12, 2026 · Source: tn.gov · Full Tennessee rule →
- TexasConditional
Texas law does not require you to tell an officer you are armed. A License to Carry (LTC) holder who is carrying a handgun must show both a Texas driver license or ID certificate and the license when a peace officer or magistrate demands identification. That section sets no penalty. Without a license, no statute requires you to show or tell anything.
Verified Oct 12, 2026 · Source: dps.texas.gov · Full Texas rule →
We watch the official sources behind Arkansas firearms rules. If a tracked rule changes, you get one short email — never more than one a week. Free, unsubscribe anytime.