Can You Carry Without a License in Texas? Places, Penalties, and Limits

You can carry a handgun without a license to carry in Texas if you’re an eligible adult, thanks to House Bill 1927, which took effect September 1, 2021. Open carry and concealed carry are both allowed. Open carry requires a holster. The right comes with real limits: age and criminal-history rules decide who qualifies, state law lists places where a firearm is a felony regardless of eligibility, and federal law creates a school-zone trap that catches unlicensed carriers who would be fine under Texas law alone.¹

Who Qualifies to Carry

Texas Penal Code Section 46.02 defines the law by who’s disqualified rather than who’s allowed. If none of the disqualifications apply to you, you can carry.²

The statute sets the minimum age at 21. A 2022 federal court decision in Firearms Policy Coalition v. McCraw struck down that age limit as unconstitutional, and Texas dropped its appeal. Otherwise-eligible people aged 18 to 20 can now carry in practice, though the statute itself has not been amended, which leaves some ambiguity on the books.

You’re also disqualified if you were convicted of any of these offenses within the past five years:

Assault causing bodily injury
Deadly conduct
Terroristic threat
Disorderly conduct involving a firearm

The five-year clock runs from the date of the offense, not the date of conviction. A conviction four years old for something you did six years ago no longer disqualifies you.²

Separately, if state or federal law bars you from possessing a firearm at all, you can’t carry. That category includes people with felony convictions, people convicted of a Class A misdemeanor assault against a family or household member (each subject to its own waiting period under Penal Code 46.04), anyone under an active protective order, and, under federal definitions, anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, unlawful users of controlled substances, and people adjudicated as mentally defective or committed to a mental institution.³⁴ Carrying while banned from possession draws far harsher penalties than an ordinary unlawful-carry charge.

How You Can Carry

Concealed carry has no equipment requirement. Open carry does: the handgun must be in a holster. Carrying a handgun in plain view without a holster is itself a criminal offense.²

In a vehicle or watercraft, you can keep a handgun with you. Concealed and out of sight, no holster is needed. In plain view, the holster rule and the eligibility rules still apply. You also can’t be engaged in criminal activity or otherwise barred from possessing a firearm.

Places Where Carry Is Still a Crime

Even fully eligible carriers commit a felony by bringing a handgun into locations listed in Penal Code Section 46.03. Most violations there are third-degree felonies, punishable by two to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.⁵ The prohibited locations include:

K-12 school premises, school buses, and school-sponsored events. LTC holders may concealed carry on public university campuses under campus carry; permitless carriers cannot.
Polling places on election day and during early voting
Government courts and offices used by the court, without written authorization
Racetracks
Secured areas of airports
Bars that earn 51 percent or more of their income from on-premises alcohol sales (these post a “51%” sign at the entrance)
The premises of high school, collegiate, and professional sporting events
Correctional and civil commitment facilities
Hospitals licensed under the Health and Safety Code
Within 1,000 feet of a designated execution site on execution day, if notice has been given

The sporting-events rule surprises people. It reaches everything from a high school football game to a professional rodeo, and it applies to the premises where the event is held.

Private Property and Posted Signs

Property owners can prohibit firearms with posted signs, and Texas uses three different ones depending on how you’re carrying:⁶

A Section 30.05 sign bars unlicensed carry. If you’re carrying without an LTC and enter a property posted this way, you can be charged with criminal trespass.
A Section 30.06 sign bars concealed carry by LTC holders.
A Section 30.07 sign bars open carry by LTC holders.

A business that wants to ban firearms outright usually posts multiple signs. For an unlicensed carrier, the 30.05 sign is the one that matters, and ignoring it is a criminal offense, not a policy issue. Verbal notice counts too: if the owner or their representative asks you to leave because you have a firearm and you refuse, you can be charged with trespass whether or not signs are posted.

You Cannot Carry While Intoxicated

Texas makes it a separate offense to carry a handgun while intoxicated, whether open, concealed, or in a vehicle. The only exception is on your own property or property under your control.² Intoxicated means not having normal use of your mental or physical faculties due to alcohol or drugs, or a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher. Being legally allowed to drink somewhere and legally allowed to carry doesn’t mean you can do both at the same time.

The Federal School Zone Rule Every Permitless Carrier Should Know

The federal Gun-Free School Zones Act makes it a crime to possess a firearm within 1,000 feet of any public or private elementary or secondary school. The penalty is up to five years in federal prison.⁷

The statute exempts people who hold a state-issued license that required a background check. A Texas LTC qualifies. Permitless carry does not. Without a license, driving past a school with a loaded handgun in your car is technically a federal offense. To comply, an unlicensed carrier would need to unload the firearm and lock it in a container before entering any 1,000-foot zone, which is close to impossible in a city where schools are scattered throughout residential and commercial areas. Federal prosecutions under this statute are uncommon, but the exposure is real.

What to Do During a Traffic Stop

Texas doesn’t require you to volunteer that you have a firearm during a traffic stop or other police encounter. If an officer asks, you must answer truthfully. Under House Bill 1927, police also cannot stop or briefly detain you solely because a handgun is partially or fully visible in a holster.¹

Even without a legal duty to disclose, many defense attorneys recommend telling the officer calmly at the start of the encounter. Surprises escalate stops. Being up front usually works in your favor.

What Unlawful Carry Costs

A basic Section 46.02 violation — carrying while under the statutory age or during the five-year disqualification window, for example — is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000.²

Bringing a firearm into a Section 46.03 prohibited location is generally a third-degree felony: two to ten years and up to a $10,000 fine.⁵ Walking into the wrong building turns a legal act into a felony.

Carrying while barred from firearm possession due to a felony conviction is a second-degree felony with a five-year mandatory minimum. A carry violation tied to a family-violence conviction is a Class A misdemeanor.²

Reasons to Get an LTC Anyway

Permitless carry didn’t retire the License to Carry. The Texas Department of Public Safety lists several benefits license holders keep:⁸

Concealed carry on public university campuses under campus carry, which permitless carriers cannot do
Reciprocity with other states, which do not recognize Texas permitless carry
Exemption from the federal 1,000-foot school zone rule⁷
A faster path through firearm purchases: the LTC can substitute for the federal NICS background check at a licensed dealer⁹
Acceptance as valid personal identification, including as voter ID in Texas
Carry in some government meetings where permitless carriers may be barred

A license also cushions ambiguous private-property situations. A property posted only with a Section 30.05 sign bars unlicensed carriers but doesn’t necessarily bar an LTC holder carrying concealed. When the signage is unclear, a license gives you firmer legal ground than carrying without one.

1
Texas Legislature Online. Texas House Bill 1927 – Bill Analysis
2
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.02 – Unlawful Carrying Weapons
3
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.04 – Unlawful Possession of Firearm
4
Texas State Law Library. Restrictions After a Criminal Conviction – Firearms
5
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.03 – Places Weapons Prohibited
6
Texas State Law Library. Businesses and Private Property – Gun Laws
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
8
Texas Department of Public Safety. LTC Benefits
9
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Brady Permit Chart