Can You Carry a Concealed Gun in Missouri Without a Permit?

Missouri lets you carry a concealed handgun without a permit if you are at least 19 years old and legally eligible to possess a firearm under state and federal law. The state’s permitless carry framework has been in effect since January 1, 2017, but it comes with a long list of places you still cannot go armed, and the penalties for slipping up are steeper without a permit than with one.¹

Who Qualifies

The baseline age is 19. Active-duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces and those honorably discharged qualify at 18.¹

Age is only the first hurdle. You also have to be legally allowed to possess a firearm, which means none of the following can apply to you:

Any felony conviction.
An active warrant or fugitive status.
A court finding of mental incompetence.
A valid full order of protection against you.
A misdemeanor conviction for the use or attempted use of physical force against a spouse, former spouse, cohabiting partner, co-parent, or someone you had a dating relationship with. This is a federal bar and it applies even if the charge itself was labeled simple assault or battery rather than “domestic violence.”²

The domestic violence prohibition catches more people than any other disqualifier. For convictions involving a dating partner (as opposed to a spouse or co-parent), the prohibition can be lifted five years after the conviction or completion of the sentence, but only if you have no other disqualifying convictions.²

Where You Cannot Carry

Not having a permit does not shorten the list of off-limits places. It lengthens it. Some locations are barred to everyone; others are open to permit holders but closed to you if you carry without one.

Off-Limits to Everyone

These locations are closed to concealed carry regardless of permit status:³

Police, sheriff, and highway patrol stations, unless the officer in charge consents.
Jails, prisons, and juvenile detention centers.
Courtrooms, court offices, and libraries inside courthouses, including juvenile, family, and drug courts.
Within 25 feet of a polling place on election day.
Stadiums or arenas with a seating capacity of 5,000 or more.
Any hospital accessible to the public.

Federal law adds federal courthouses, federal office buildings, post offices, and everything past an airport security checkpoint.

Off-Limits Only If You Do Not Have a Permit

Permit holders may legally carry in the following places. You may not, if you are relying on permitless carry:

Churches and other buildings where people have assembled for religious services.
Any building owned or occupied by a federal, state, or local government agency.
Anywhere inside an election precinct on election day, not just the 25-foot zone around the polling place.
School buses and any function or activity sponsored by school officials or a school district.

If you spend time in government buildings or attend school-sponsored events, this gap by itself is often enough reason to get the permit.

Bars and Restaurants

You cannot carry concealed into the portion of an establishment with a liquor license that is primarily devoted to serving alcohol. A restaurant open to the public that seats at least 50 and earns at least 51% of its gross annual income from food sales is exempt from that prohibition.³

The practical test: food-driven place with real dining capacity, you can carry; drinking establishment, you cannot. Even where carrying is legal, possessing a firearm while intoxicated is separately prohibited.⁴

Posted Private Property

Any property owner, business, or employer can ban concealed firearms by posting a sign at the entrance. The sign has to be at least 11 by 14 inches with lettering at least one inch tall.³

For permit holders, walking past a posted sign is a $100 civil fine and the initial consequence is being asked to leave. Without a permit, the same act can be charged as a misdemeanor, and refusing to leave after being told to stacks a separate trespassing charge on top.

In Your Vehicle

Anyone legally eligible to possess a firearm can carry a concealed, loaded handgun anywhere inside their own vehicle without a permit.¹ It does not have to be in the glove box, console, or a case. It can sit on the seat next to you.

The vehicle rule gives you a workaround for some restricted locations. You can leave the firearm in your car when parked at a law enforcement station, near a polling place, or at a restricted workplace, as long as it stays inside the vehicle and you do not brandish it.⁵

Public transit is different. Boarding a bus with a concealed weapon without the owner’s consent is a felony under Missouri law, and carrying on the Bi-State Development Agency’s MetroLink and MetroBus system in the St. Louis region is prohibited without specific authorization.

Penalties If You Get It Wrong

Enter a restricted location under Section 571.107 as a permit holder and you face a $100 civil fine. Do the same thing without a permit and you are looking at a Class A or Class B misdemeanor.³

A Class A misdemeanor in Missouri carries up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000. A Class B misdemeanor carries up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $500. The exact classification depends on the location and circumstances. Refusing to leave when asked adds a trespassing charge.

A $100 civil fine versus up to a year in jail for the same misstep is the single strongest practical argument for getting a permit even though the law does not require one.

Why a Permit Is Still Worth Considering

Permitless carry makes the permit optional, not pointless. A Missouri concealed carry permit is recognized in 49 other states, and Missouri recognizes permits from every state that issues them.⁶ Without a permit, your ability to carry ends at the Missouri line, and many neighboring states do not extend permitless carry to non-residents.

A standard, extended, or lifetime Missouri permit also qualifies as an alternative to the federal NICS background check when buying from a licensed dealer, which can spare you delays at the counter. Provisional permits do not qualify.⁷

And a permit opens up the churches, government buildings, and school events that are closed to permitless carriers, while reducing the penalty for an honest mistake from a criminal charge to a civil fine. Applications go through the sheriff’s office in your county of residence and require a firearms safety course and a background check.⁸

1
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 571.030 – Unlawful Use of Weapons
2
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence Prohibitions
3
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 571.107 – Prohibited Locations
4
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 571.107
5
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 571.215 – Permit Authorizes Carrying on Person or in Vehicle
6
Attorney General Office of Missouri. Concealed Carry Reciprocity
7
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Brady Permit Chart
8
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Revised Statutes 571.101 – Concealed Carry Permit Application