Are firearms legal in Ohio?

Q: Are firearms legal in Ohio?

Firearms in Ohio are permitted. No license is needed in Ohio at 21 or older. A qualifying adult, meaning someone 21 or older who is not legally barred from having a firearm and meets Ohio's license background criteria, may carry a concealed handgun without a license. The statute has no residency requirement. Nonimmigrant-visa holders do not qualify. Ohio also issues an optional concealed handgun license.

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OHIO · FIREARMS

Firearms

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Permitted: No license is needed in Ohio at 21 or older.

Permitted

Summary

No license is needed in Ohio at 21 or older. A qualifying adult, meaning someone 21 or older who is not legally barred from having a firearm and meets Ohio's license background criteria, may carry a concealed handgun without a license. The statute has no residency requirement. Nonimmigrant-visa holders do not qualify. Ohio also issues an optional concealed handgun license.

Source: ohioattorneygeneral.gov → · Updated October 12, 2026

Ohio Firearms topics

Concealed Carry in Ohio →Permitted
No license is needed in Ohio at 21 or older.
Open Carry in Ohio →Permitted
Open carry of a handgun is legal in Ohio without a license.
Magazine Capacity in Ohio →Permitted
No state law limits magazine capacity in Ohio — standard-capacity and high-capacity magazines are legal to buy and possess under state law.
Gun Possession in Ohio →Permitted
Ohio has no red-flag law (also called an Extreme Risk Protection Order, or ERPO), and no assault-weapon ban or state-level restriction on magazines.
Transporting Firearms in Ohio →Conditional
In Ohio, a person 21 or older who may legally carry concealed, with or without a license, may transport a loaded handgun in a vehicle unless under the influence of alcohol or a drug of abuse, or over the legal limit for alcohol or a listed drug.
Duty to Inform Police in Ohio →Conditional
Ohio has had no proactive duty to inform since June 13, 2022 (SB 215), but you must still disclose truthfully when an officer asks: it is a second-degree misdemeanor to knowingly fail to disclose that you are carrying before or at the time an officer asks during a stop (ORC 2923.12(B)(1)).
Suppressors & Silencers in Ohio →Conditional
Suppressors are legal in Ohio, which classifies a suppressor as "dangerous ordnance," but ORC 2923.17(C)(5) exempts owners whose device is registered in the federal National Firearms Act (NFA) registry, so possession is lawful with an ATF stamp.
Reciprocity — where is my Ohio permit honored? →
State-by-state map of which states honor a Ohio concealed-carry permit.

Other Ohio laws

Firearms in nearby states

Browse all state laws →

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