Concealed carry in Tennessee does not require a permit for most adults. Under a 2021 change to state law, anyone 21 or older who can legally possess a handgun may carry it concealed (or openly) in most public places without applying for anything. Two optional permits are still issued by the state, and they matter mainly if you travel to states that do not honor Tennessee’s permitless carry. Regardless of how you carry, Tennessee bans firearms in a specific list of places, and getting that list wrong can turn a lawful carrier into a felon.
Who Can Carry Concealed Without a Permit
Tennessee’s permitless carry rule is at T.C.A. § 39-17-1307(g). Three conditions have to line up: you are at least 21, you lawfully possess the handgun, and you are somewhere you have a legal right to be.1Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-1307 – Unlawful Carrying or Possession of a Weapon
The age drops to 18 for three military categories: honorably discharged or retired veterans of the U.S. armed forces; honorably discharged reserve or National Guard members who completed basic training; and active-duty service members or reservists and Guard members currently serving who have completed basic training.1Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-1307 – Unlawful Carrying or Possession of a Weapon
“Lawfully possesses” does a lot of work in that sentence. Federal law at 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) bars firearm possession by anyone convicted of a felony, anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, anyone adjudicated as mentally defective or committed to a mental institution, and unlawful users of controlled substances.2Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Identify Prohibited Persons Tennessee adds its own disqualifiers through T.C.A. § 39-17-1316, including people convicted of stalking, people addicted to alcohol, and people judicially committed to a mental institution or adjudicated as mentally defective.3Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-1316 – Sales of Dangerous Weapons If any of those apply, permitless carry is not available and carrying in a public place with people present is a Class A misdemeanor.1Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-1307 – Unlawful Carrying or Possession of a Weapon
The Two Optional Permits
Tennessee still issues two handgun carry permits, and getting one is worth considering if you drive into other states, want documented training, or (in the case of the enhanced permit) want the option of open carry recognized more broadly.
Concealed Handgun Carry Permit
The Concealed Handgun Carry Permit (CHCP), authorized by T.C.A. § 39-17-1366, covers concealed carry only. Training is an approved online course of at least 90 minutes that includes a competency quiz and a printable certificate.4Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. Become an Instructor, School or Approved Online Class The application fee is $65.5Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. Handgun Permit Fees
Enhanced Handgun Carry Permit
The Enhanced Handgun Carry Permit (EHCP), under T.C.A. § 39-17-1351, allows both open and concealed carry. Training is an eight-hour in-person course at a Tennessee-certified handgun safety school, including live fire at a range, with the certificate dated within 12 months of the application. Veterans and active-duty members with at least four hours of documented handgun training on a DD-214 or equivalent can skip the range portion but still take the classroom segment.6Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. Enhanced Handgun Carry Permit Training Requirements The application fee is $100, or $65 for military applicants.5Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. Handgun Permit Fees The Enhanced permit is the one most other states recognize, so it is the better choice if reciprocity matters.
Both permits last eight years. Renewal is available online up to six months before expiration and as late as eight years after it lapses.7Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. Handgun Permit Online Services
Where You Cannot Carry
Several categories of location are off-limits no matter which permit you hold or whether you rely on permitless carry.
Schools, Colleges, and Universities
T.C.A. § 39-17-1309 makes it an offense to possess or carry any firearm on the property of any public or private school, college, or university, including buildings, buses, campuses, athletic fields, and recreation areas. Possession without intent to go armed is a Class B misdemeanor. Carrying with intent to go armed is a Class E felony, punishable by up to six years in prison and a fine of up to $3,000. One narrow carve-out: a nonstudent adult may keep a firearm inside a private vehicle on school property so long as no one handles it while the vehicle is there.8Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-1309 – Carrying Weapons on School Property
Buildings With Judicial Proceedings in Progress
T.C.A. § 39-17-1306 bars carrying a firearm inside any building where judicial proceedings are in progress, regardless of intent. A Tennessee Attorney General opinion has read “judicial proceedings” broadly: it covers anything a judge is doing on a case, including reviewing briefs or writing an opinion in chambers, and the ban applies to the whole building whenever any such proceeding is happening inside.
Federal Buildings
Federal law at 18 U.S.C. § 930 prohibits firearms in federal facilities, meaning any building or space owned or leased by the federal government where federal employees regularly work. Federal court facilities carry up to two years in prison; other federal buildings carry up to one year. Federal facilities must post notice at every public entrance, and conviction generally requires either posted notice or actual knowledge of the ban. In national parks and wildlife refuges, state law governs carry on the trails and roads, but any building inside (visitor centers, ranger stations, fee-collection offices) is a federal facility and off-limits.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 930 – Possession of Firearms and Dangerous Weapons in Federal Facilities
Posted Private Property
Any individual, business, or government entity may prohibit firearms on property it owns, operates, or controls under T.C.A. § 39-17-1359. To make the ban enforceable, the property has to post a specific sign at every primary entrance: the phrase “NO FIREARMS ALLOWED” in letters at least one inch high and eight inches wide, the citation “As authorized by T.C.A. § 39-17-1359,” and a pictorial symbol of a firearm inside a circle with a diagonal line, at least four inches by four inches. A property owner can also restrict carry to concealed-only, allowing entry only to Enhanced or Concealed permit holders.10Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-1359 – Posted Notice
Drinking, and Being Under the Influence
Possessing a handgun while under the influence of alcohol or any controlled substance is a Class A misdemeanor under T.C.A. § 39-17-1321, permit or no permit, and it applies everywhere. A separate rule makes it a Class A misdemeanor to possess a handgun while drinking inside an establishment open to the public that serves alcohol; a permit holder who violates that rule also loses the permit for three years.11Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-1321 – Possession of Handgun While Under Influence of Alcohol or Controlled Substance You can carry into a restaurant that serves alcohol, so long as you are not drinking.
Carrying in a Vehicle
Tennessee treats vehicle carry as its own exception. Under T.C.A. § 39-17-1307(e), you can keep a firearm (loaded is fine) and ammunition in a motor vehicle or boat as long as you are not a prohibited person under federal law or T.C.A. § 39-17-1316, and you lawfully possess the vehicle or boat. There is no age-21 floor on this exception, and it covers rifles and shotguns as well as handguns. If your employer supplies the vehicle and has a written policy against firearms, the vehicle exception does not apply during work.1Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-1307 – Unlawful Carrying or Possession of a Weapon
Out-of-State Permits and Traveling With a Tennessee Permit
Tennessee recognizes any valid out-of-state handgun, firearms, or weapons permit or license. Visitors carrying on one must keep it on their person the entire time they are armed in Tennessee, and it authorizes handgun carry only, even if the issuing state allows more. New residents (and out-of-state residents who work in Tennessee regularly) have six months to obtain a Tennessee permit; a denial during that window ends the other state’s permit’s effect in Tennessee immediately.12Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-1351 – Enhanced Handgun Carry Permit
Going the other direction, check the destination state before you cross the border. The Enhanced permit is honored more widely than the Concealed permit because of its heavier training. Tennessee’s permitless carry status has no legal effect in another state unless that state independently permits nonresident permitless carry. The Tennessee Department of Safety keeps a current list of states that honor each permit.
For transit through states that do not recognize your permit, federal safe-passage protection at 18 U.S.C. § 926A lets you move a firearm from a place you can legally possess it to another such place, so long as the firearm is unloaded and neither it nor any ammunition is readily accessible from the passenger compartment. In a car with a trunk, the trunk is fine; in an SUV or similar, use a locked container other than the glove compartment or console.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms That protection covers transit only, not on-person carry, and some states read it narrowly, so keep the firearm inaccessible for the whole trip through strict-law states.