Can You Carry a Gun in Your Car in Maryland?

You can carry a gun in your car in Maryland, but the rules depend on what you’re carrying and whether you hold a permit. A loaded or readily accessible handgun requires a Maryland Wear and Carry Permit issued by the Maryland State Police.¹ Without that permit, a handgun can only ride in the car unloaded, in an enclosed case, with ammunition stored separately, and only when the trip fits one of a short list of approved purposes. Long guns follow a simpler rule under a different statute: unload them before they go in the vehicle.

Carrying With a Wear and Carry Permit

The Wear and Carry Permit is what allows you to keep a handgun loaded, on your person, or within reach inside your vehicle. It covers both open and concealed carry.¹

To qualify you must be at least 21 (or an active member of the armed forces or National Guard), have no disqualifying criminal history or mental health adjudications, and complete a firearms training course approved by the Secretary of State Police.²

The permit is not a blanket. You still cannot carry while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. There is no numeric threshold in the statute; the standard is simply “under the influence,” and violating it is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail, a fine up to $1,000, or both.³ The permit also doesn’t override the location bans described further down.

Transporting a Handgun Without a Permit

Maryland allows unpermitted handgun transport, but only for specific trips. You cannot just drive around with a cased handgun for general purposes. The trip has to fall into one of the categories in Criminal Law § 4-203.⁴

The Approved Trips

To or from a place where you are legally buying or selling the handgun.
To or from a licensed repair shop.
Between one home you own and another.
Between your home and a business you substantially own and operate.
To, from, or during target practice, sport shooting events, hunting, trapping, organized military activity, or a Department of Natural Resources firearms safety class.

Running errands with a cased handgun in the trunk is not one of these categories, and no amount of careful packaging makes it legal.

How the Handgun Has to Be Stored

For any approved trip, the handgun must be unloaded and carried in an enclosed case or an enclosed holster.⁴ The Maryland State Police further advise that ammunition be stored separately from the firearm.⁵ A chambered round, an inserted magazine, or loose ammunition in the same case as the gun all create legal exposure.

The statute itself says only “enclosed case or enclosed holster.” It does not spell out that the case must go in the trunk. Even so, placing the cased handgun in the trunk or another locked container away from the passenger compartment is the most defensible practice, and many attorneys recommend it to avoid any argument that the gun was readily accessible.

Long Guns in the Vehicle

Rifles and shotguns do not require a Wear and Carry Permit for transport. They fall under Natural Resources § 10-410, which prohibits possessing a loaded shotgun, or a rifle with ammunition in the magazine or chamber, inside a vehicle.⁶ Unload the gun before it goes in the car.

What counts as “loaded” differs slightly between the two. A shotgun is loaded if it contains any ammunition at all. A rifle is loaded if ammunition is in the magazine or chamber. Clear the firearm completely either way.

There is no statutory requirement that long guns be cased. But an uncased rifle or shotgun visible through a window invites law enforcement attention. A soft or hard case is a practical decision more than a legal one.

Out-of-State Permits and Driving Through Maryland

Maryland does not honor concealed carry permits from any other state.¹ A Virginia, Pennsylvania, or any other state’s permit has no legal effect once you cross the state line. As a visitor without a Maryland permit, you’re under the same restrictions as any unpermitted resident: unloaded handgun, enclosed case, ammunition separate, and only for an approved trip.

Maryland does issue Wear and Carry Permits to non-residents on the same terms as residents, including Maryland-based training and fingerprinting.

Federal law offers a narrower protection for genuine pass-through travel. Under the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. § 926A, you may transport a firearm through any state — including Maryland — if the firearm is unloaded, not readily accessible from the passenger compartment, and you are legally allowed to possess it at both your origin and destination. The operative word is “through.” If you check into a hotel, go shopping, or otherwise make Maryland a destination rather than a waypoint, the federal safe-passage protection likely does not apply.

Places You Still Cannot Bring a Firearm

Maryland bans firearms in a long list of locations regardless of whether you hold a permit. Since 2023, Criminal Law § 4-111 has grouped these together, and the reach is broader than many drivers expect.⁷

Restricted places include buildings owned or leased by state or local government where signage indicates firearms are banned (courthouses, state offices, airports beyond security, public transit), school property including parking lots and school-owned vehicles,⁸ child care centers and preschools, businesses licensed to sell alcohol or cannabis for on-site consumption, casino facilities, and public demonstrations and polling places.

The provision that catches the most people off guard applies to private property open to the public. Since October 2023, you may not bring a firearm into stores, restaurants, shopping centers, or office buildings unless the property owner has posted signage specifically allowing firearms or given you express permission. The default is prohibition. If there’s no sign welcoming firearms, assume they’re banned.

The Locked-Container Exception for Vehicles

Section 4-111 has a narrow carveout for cars. The prohibitions do not apply to a firearm locked in a container inside a motor vehicle.¹ So if you drive to a government building, a restaurant serving alcohol, or a store without permissive signage, you can leave the firearm in the car — as long as it is inside a locked container. Carrying it in on your person or leaving it loose on the seat does not qualify.

What the Penalties Look Like

These are not traffic-ticket offenses. A first conviction for illegal handgun transport under § 4-203 is a misdemeanor carrying 30 days to 5 years in prison, a fine between $250 and $2,500, or both.⁴ If the handgun was loaded, the mandatory minimum jumps to 90 days. A second conviction runs 1 to 10 years, generally with a one-year mandatory minimum, and a second offense with a loaded handgun carries a three-year mandatory minimum.

Willfully carrying a firearm in a location restricted by § 4-111 is a separate misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail, a fine up to $1,000, or both.⁷ A conviction under this section does not merge with other charges from the same incident, so you can be sentenced for both the location violation and any other firearms offense.

A single mistake, especially involving a loaded handgun, can produce a criminal record and real jail time on a first offense. If you’re driving with a firearm in Maryland, treat the storage rules and the location rules with the same care you’d give to any other criminal statute.

1
Maryland Department of State Police. Handgun Wear and Carry Permit
2
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Public Safety Code 5-306 – Qualifications for Permit
3
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Public Safety Code 5-314 – Carrying, Wearing, or Transporting Handgun While Under Influence of Alcohol or Drugs
4
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Criminal Law Code 4-203 – Wearing, Carrying, or Transporting Handgun
5
Maryland State Police. FAQs
6
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Natural Resources Code 10-410
7
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Criminal Law Code 4-111 – Possession of Firearm at Demonstration, in Certain Areas, and in Certain Locations
8
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Criminal Law Code 4-102