Arkansas Gun Laws: Carry Rules, Off-Limits Places, and Penalties

Arkansas gun laws let most adults 18 and older carry a handgun, openly or concealed, without a permit. Under Arkansas Code 5-73-120, carrying only becomes a crime when the person carries with the purpose of using the weapon unlawfully against someone else.¹ That intent requirement is the backbone of the state’s framework, and layered on top of it are location restrictions, federal prohibitions, and rules for buying and transporting firearms that every gun owner in Arkansas should know.

When Carrying Becomes a Crime

Simply having a firearm on your person is not a crime in Arkansas. The offense of carrying a weapon requires possession of a handgun, knife, or club with the purpose of using it unlawfully against another person.¹ Without that intent, carrying alone is lawful.

The statute uses narrow definitions. A “handgun” is a firearm with a barrel shorter than 12 inches designed to be fired with one hand. A “knife” is a bladed instrument at least three inches long capable of serious injury, and a “club” is an instrument specially designed to inflict serious injury by striking. Rifles and shotguns fall outside the statute’s weapon definitions.

When Carrying Is Presumed Lawful

Arkansas law creates a presumption of lawful purpose in several common situations, which shifts the burden to the prosecution to overcome it. You are presumed to be carrying lawfully if you are:

On your own property, including your home, vehicle, or place of business, or any property where you have an ownership or possessory interest.¹
A law enforcement officer, correctional officer, authorized municipal fire department bomb squad member, or member of the armed forces acting within official duties.
Assisting a law enforcement officer, correctional officer, or service member at their request.
Hunting game with a handgun under Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission rules.
A traveler on a journey. This presumption does not apply at a commercial airport security checkpoint, or when a firearm in checked baggage has not been lawfully declared.¹
A commissioned security officer carrying during employment under a commission issued by the Division of Arkansas State Police.²

Where You Cannot Carry

State Off-Limits Locations

Permitless carry does not mean anywhere. Arkansas Code 5-73-306 lists locations where even standard concealed handgun carry license holders cannot bring firearms. These include police and sheriff’s stations, Arkansas State Police facilities, detention facilities and prisons along with their parking lots, courthouses and buildings regularly used for court proceedings, Arkansas Highway Police Division facilities, and Division of Youth Services residential treatment facilities.³

Federal Off-Limits Locations

Federal law adds its own restrictions regardless of what Arkansas permits. Possessing a firearm in any federal building where federal employees regularly work is a crime punishable by up to one year in prison, and up to five years if you brought it in to use in a crime. Federal court facilities carry a separate penalty of up to two years.⁴ Federal facilities must post notice at every public entrance, and a person cannot be convicted at a facility that failed to post unless they had actual knowledge of the ban.

Post office property is off-limits too. Federal regulations bar anyone on U.S. Postal Service property from carrying or storing firearms, openly or concealed, except for official purposes.⁵

The federal Gun-Free School Zones Act makes it illegal to possess a firearm within 1,000 feet of a public, parochial, or private elementary or secondary school. Violations can bring a fine of up to $5,000, up to five years in prison, or both.⁶ State concealed carry license holders are generally exempt from the school zone rule under federal law.

Why Get a Concealed Handgun Carry License

Since carrying without a license is already legal for most adults in Arkansas, the value of a Concealed Handgun Carry License (CHCL) comes down to three things: reciprocity, restricted-location access, and the federal school zone exemption.

Arkansas recognizes concealed carry licenses from every other state, but whether other states honor an Arkansas license depends on their own reciprocity agreements.⁷ If you travel armed outside Arkansas, a license typically expands where you can legally carry. States that require a permit for their own residents will not honor Arkansas’s permitless carry law alone.

Arkansas also offers an enhanced CHCL, which requires additional training. The enhanced license grants access to certain locations otherwise off-limits even to standard license holders under Arkansas Code 5-73-322.

Who Cannot Possess a Firearm at All

Federal Prohibited Persons

No matter how permissive state law is, federal law bars entire categories of people from possessing any firearm or ammunition. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), you are federally prohibited if you:⁸

Have been convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison
Are a fugitive from justice
Are an unlawful user of, or addicted to, a controlled substance
Have been adjudicated as mentally defective or committed to a mental institution
Are unlawfully present in the United States, or are here on a nonimmigrant visa (with limited exceptions)
Were dishonorably discharged from the armed forces
Have renounced your U.S. citizenship
Are subject to a qualifying domestic violence restraining order
Have been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence

A person under indictment for a felony is also barred from shipping or receiving firearms, even before conviction.

Age Restrictions

Under Arkansas law, anyone under 18 generally cannot possess a handgun. Exceptions cover minors in their own home or on their own property, those lawfully hunting, and those in certified shooting courses or supervised recreational shooting. Federal law also makes it illegal for anyone under 18 to possess a handgun or handgun ammunition.⁸ For long guns, there is no federal minimum possession age, though purchasing from a licensed dealer requires being at least 18.

Buying a Firearm in Arkansas

Purchases from a licensed dealer trigger a National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) check, which screens for the federal prohibitions above. If NICS returns a “delayed” response, the dealer cannot complete the transfer unless three business days pass without a denial.⁹

Federal age limits apply at dealer counters. A licensed dealer cannot sell a handgun or handgun ammunition to anyone under 21. Rifles and shotguns can be sold to buyers 18 and older.⁸

Arkansas does not require background checks for private sales between individuals. Buying from a friend, neighbor, or private seller at a gun show does not legally require a NICS check at the state level. Selling to a prohibited person, however, remains a federal crime even in a private transaction.

Traveling With a Firearm

Driving Across State Lines

The federal Firearm Owners Protection Act provides a safe harbor for interstate transport. You can legally move a firearm from one state where you may lawfully possess it to another where you may lawfully possess it, as long as the firearm is unloaded and neither the gun nor ammunition is readily accessible from the passenger compartment. In a vehicle without a separate trunk, the firearm and ammunition must be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or center console.¹⁰ The protection covers transport only, not extended stops. Overnighting in a state where your firearm is illegal likely falls outside the safe harbor.

Air Travel

TSA allows firearms in checked baggage under strict conditions. The firearm must be unloaded and locked in a hard-sided container. You must declare it to the airline at the ticket counter, and only you should hold the key or combination. Ammunition cannot go in carry-on bags but can travel in checked luggage if packaged in a container designed for ammunition (cardboard, wood, plastic, or metal). Loaded or empty magazines must be securely boxed or placed inside the locked hard-sided case with the unloaded firearm.¹¹ Airlines may add fees or restrictions on top of the federal rules.

Penalties for Getting It Wrong

Carrying a weapon with unlawful intent under Arkansas Code 5-73-120 is a Class A misdemeanor. The maximum sentence is one year in county jail and a fine of up to $2,500.¹²¹³ Carrying into a prohibited location can bring additional charges on top of the base carrying offense.

Federal exposure is far greater. A prohibited person caught possessing a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) faces up to 10 years in federal prison. Three or more prior convictions for violent felonies or serious drug offenses trigger the Armed Career Criminal Act’s 15-year mandatory minimum.¹⁴ Bringing a firearm into a federal building without authorization can mean up to one year in prison, or up to five years if the gun was intended for a crime; federal court facilities carry up to two years.⁴ A Gun-Free School Zones Act violation can bring up to five years and a $5,000 fine.⁶

Anyone with a prior felony, domestic violence conviction, or other disqualifying record should read Arkansas’s permissive state rules carefully. They do not override federal prohibitions, and the federal consequences dwarf the state ones.

1
Justia. Arkansas Code 5-73-120 – Carrying a Weapon
2
Justia. Arkansas Code 17-40-330 – Authority to Issue Commission to Carry a Firearm
3
FindLaw. Arkansas Code Title 5 Criminal Offenses 5-73-306
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 930 – Possession of Firearms and Dangerous Weapons in Federal Facilities
5
USPS (United States Postal Service). Possession of Firearms and Other Dangerous Weapons on Postal Service Property Is Prohibited by Law
6
Office of Justice Programs. Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990
7
Arkansas Department of Public Safety. Concealed Handgun Carry Licensing
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
9
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). ATF Form 4473 – Firearms Transaction Record Revisions
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms
11
Transportation Security Administration. Transporting Firearms and Ammunition
12
Justia Law. Arkansas Code 5-4-401 – Sentence
13
Justia. Arkansas Code 5-4-201 – Fines Limitations on Amount
14
U.S. Sentencing Commission. Quick Facts on Felons in Possession of a Firearm