Are firearms legal in Maryland?

Q: Are firearms legal in Maryland?

Firearms in Maryland are restricted. A Maryland Wear and Carry Permit is required to carry, wear or transport a handgun. The minimum age is 21 (active military and National Guard are excepted). Requirements include 16 hours of in-person training, Livescan fingerprints and a background check. Carrying without a permit is a crime; a first offense carries 30 days to 5 years in prison and/or a $250 to $2,500 fine, unless an exception applies.

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MARYLAND · FIREARMS

Firearms

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Restricted: A Maryland Wear and Carry Permit is required to carry, wear or transport a handgun.

Restricted

Summary

A Maryland Wear and Carry Permit is required to carry, wear or transport a handgun. The minimum age is 21 (active military and National Guard are excepted). Requirements include 16 hours of in-person training, Livescan fingerprints and a background check. Carrying without a permit is a crime; a first offense carries 30 days to 5 years in prison and/or a $250 to $2,500 fine, unless an exception applies.

Source: mdsp.maryland.gov → · Updated October 12, 2026

Maryland Firearms topics

Concealed Carry in Maryland →Restricted
A Maryland Wear and Carry Permit is required to carry, wear or transport a handgun.
Open Carry in Maryland →Restricted
Open carry is not allowed. A Maryland Wear and Carry Permit lets you carry a handgun only concealed from view, under clothing or in an enclosed case; brief accidental exposure is not a violation.
Magazine Capacity in Maryland →Restricted
Maryland bans manufacturing, selling, offering for sale, purchasing, receiving or transferring a detachable magazine that holds more than 10 rounds.
Gun Possession in Maryland →Restricted
Maryland has a red-flag law (Extreme Risk Protective Orders, or ERPOs), an assault-weapon ban based on a banned-firearms list, and registration for regulated firearms.
Transporting Firearms in Maryland →Restricted
Without a Maryland permit, a handgun may be transported only to or from a legal purchase, sale or repair shop; between your homes, or home and a business you substantially own and operate; and to, from or during target shooting, hunting, trapping and other listed activities.
Duty to Inform Police in Maryland →Info
Maryland has no statutory duty to inform: its wear-and-carry statute (Pub. Safety § 5-308) only requires the permit holder to carry the permit whenever carrying, and the current text has no volunteer duty and no display-on-demand clause.
Suppressors & Silencers in Maryland →Conditional
Suppressors are legal in Maryland, which has no state ownership ban — they are lawful through the federal National Firearms Act (NFA) process on ATF Form 4.
Reciprocity — where is my Maryland permit honored? →
State-by-state map of which states honor a Maryland concealed-carry permit.

Other Maryland laws

Firearms in nearby states

Browse all state laws →

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