Connecticut gun laws require a state-issued permit or eligibility certificate for essentially every form of firearm ownership, run every sale and private transfer through a background check, ban open carry and assault weapons, cap magazines at ten rounds, and require all firearms to be securely stored whether or not children are in the home. The rules sit on top of federal law, and where the two disagree, the stricter one applies.
Permits and Certificates You Need
You cannot walk into a Connecticut gun shop and walk out with a firearm the same way you might in a less regulated state. Before any purchase, you need a credential issued by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP), and the credential you need depends on what you want to own and whether you want to carry it in public.
State Permit to Carry Pistols and Revolvers
Carrying a handgun outside your home requires a State Permit to Carry Pistols and Revolvers. You must be at least 21. Applications start with your local police chief or town’s chief executive officer, who issues a temporary state permit after finding you a “suitable person” who intends only lawful use.1Justia. Connecticut Code 29-28 – Permit for Sale at Retail of Firearms, Permit to Carry Pistol or Revolver The application then goes to DESPP for state and national criminal history checks before the permanent permit issues. The state fee is $70.2CT.gov. Connecticut State Pistol Permit
Pistol or Revolver Eligibility Certificate
If you want to buy a handgun but keep it at home, a pistol or revolver eligibility certificate is the right credential. You must be 21 or older and complete an approved firearms safety course. For applications filed on or after July 1, 2024, the training must have been completed within the previous two years and must cover safe storage, lawful use, and lawful public carrying.3Justia. Connecticut Code 29-36f – Eligibility Certificate for Pistol or Revolver DESPP fingerprints you and checks both the State Police Bureau of Identification and FBI records.4FindLaw. Connecticut Code 29-36g – Application for Eligibility Certificate
Long Gun Eligibility Certificate
Rifles and shotguns need a long gun eligibility certificate under C.G.S. § 29-37p. The minimum age is 18. The training and background screening mirror what handgun applicants go through, and the disqualifiers are the same list of felony convictions, certain misdemeanors including domestic violence, and psychiatric commitments within specified windows.5Justia. Connecticut Code 29-37p – Long Gun Eligibility Certificate If you already hold a carry permit or pistol eligibility certificate, that satisfies the purchase requirement and you don’t need a separate long gun certificate.
Who Is Barred From Owning a Firearm
Federal and Connecticut law both disqualify certain people, and either list can block you on its own.
Federal law prohibits possession if you have been convicted of any crime punishable by more than a year in prison, are a fugitive, are an unlawful drug user, have been involuntarily committed, are subject to certain domestic violence restraining orders, or have been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.6U.S. Marshals Service. Lautenberg Amendment The domestic violence misdemeanor category, added by the Lautenberg Amendment, imposes a permanent federal bar that surprises many first-time applicants.
Connecticut layers on more. You are ineligible if you have been convicted of certain misdemeanors within the past twenty years, including assault, stalking, threatening, or harassment. A conviction for any crime designated as a family violence offense under state law disqualifies you regardless of when it happened. Court-ordered psychiatric confinement within the previous sixty months, or voluntary admission to a psychiatric hospital within the previous six months, also blocks eligibility.3Justia. Connecticut Code 29-36f – Eligibility Certificate for Pistol or Revolver
Buying or Transferring a Firearm
Every firearm transfer in Connecticut runs through a background check, whether it happens at a licensed dealer or between two neighbors. There is no private-sale loophole.
For a handgun, the person transferring the firearm must contact DESPP for an authorization number. DESPP runs an instant criminal check and confirms the buyer holds a valid carry permit or eligibility certificate. Both parties fill out a prescribed form documenting the serial number, make, model, and caliber, with copies going to the local police and state police.7Justia. Connecticut Code 29-33 – Sale, Delivery or Transfer of Pistols and Revolvers Skipping any part of this is a Class C felony, up to ten years in prison with two years that cannot be suspended. If the gun is stolen or has an altered serial number, the charge becomes a Class B felony with a three-year mandatory minimum.
Long gun transfers follow a similar authorization process. The buyer must hold a valid long gun eligibility certificate, pistol eligibility certificate, or carry permit, and the seller obtains an authorization number from DESPP. Private transfers can go directly through DESPP or through a federally licensed dealer.8FindLaw. Connecticut Code 29-37a – Sale, Delivery or Transfer of Long Guns Long gun sales carry a two-week waiting period from the date of application, though the wait is waived if the buyer already holds a carry permit or any eligibility certificate. Because Connecticut requires one of those credentials for purchase eligibility, the waiting period affects only a narrow set of exempt transfers in practice.
Where and How You Can Carry
Public Act 23-53 made Connecticut a concealed-carry-only state in 2023. You cannot knowingly carry a firearm with intent to display it in any public place. A fleeting glimpse or an imprint through clothing does not count, and briefly displaying a firearm during lawful self-defense is also excepted.9Connecticut General Assembly. Connecticut Public Act 23-53 – An Act Addressing Gun Violence A first violation is a Class B misdemeanor carrying up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. A second or later offense is a Class A misdemeanor, up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine. Either conviction can also trigger permit revocation.
A valid permit does not open every door. Firearms are barred from any public or private school property and from school-sponsored events. They are also barred from buildings where either chamber of the General Assembly meets, where legislative offices sit, or where a legislative committee is holding a public hearing. Private property owners can prohibit firearms on their premises through signage or verbal notice, and your permit does not override that.1Justia. Connecticut Code 29-28 – Permit for Sale at Retail of Firearms, Permit to Carry Pistol or Revolver Bringing a firearm into a school zone can trigger separate charges for possession of a weapon on school grounds.
Safe Storage Rules
Connecticut’s safe storage law, often called Ethan’s Law, was rewritten in 2023. The old version applied only when the owner knew or should have known a minor, prohibited person, or someone at risk of self-harm could get the gun. The current version applies to everyone. If you store or keep a firearm on premises you control, it must be in a securely locked container or stored in a manner a reasonable person would believe to be secure.10Justia. Connecticut Code 29-37i – Responsibilities re Storage of Firearms The one exception is if the firearm is on your person or close enough for immediate retrieval and use.
A trigger lock, locked gun safe, or locked container all satisfy the rule. A nightstand drawer does not. A separate civil statute imposes strict liability for damages when a storage failure allows a minor, a prohibited person, or someone at risk of self-harm to obtain a firearm and cause injury or death.11Justia. Connecticut Code 52-571g – Strict Liability of Person Who Fails to Store Firearm Safely Under strict liability, the injured party does not need to prove you were careless; the unsecured gun and the resulting harm are enough.
Assault Weapons and Large Capacity Magazines
Connecticut bans assault weapons two ways. First, a statutory list names dozens of specific semi-automatic rifles, pistols, and shotguns by make and model. Second, a features test catches weapons not on the list.12Justia. Connecticut Code 53-202a – Assault Weapons: Definitions Under the features test, a semi-automatic centerfire rifle that accepts a detachable magazine counts as an assault weapon if it also has any one of: a folding or telescoping stock, a pistol grip or thumbhole stock, a forward pistol grip, a flash suppressor, or a grenade launcher. Semi-automatic pistols and shotguns have parallel criteria covering threaded barrels, barrel shrouds, revolving cylinders, or detachable magazines.
Possession of an assault weapon without a valid certificate of possession is a Class D felony, up to five years in prison with one year non-suspendable.13Justia. Connecticut Code 53-202c – Possession of Assault Weapon Prohibited A first-time violation drops to a Class A misdemeanor if you can prove you lawfully owned the weapon before the relevant ban date and otherwise complied with storage and registration rules. People who owned assault weapons before each successive ban (1993, 2013, and 2023) had windows to register them with DESPP. The most recent deadline, for weapons newly classified under the 2023 expansion, was May 1, 2024.14Justia. Connecticut Code 53-202d – Certificate of Possession of Assault Weapon
Magazines that hold more than ten rounds are also banned. Selling, distributing, importing, or purchasing one is a Class D felony.15FindLaw. Connecticut Code 53-202w – Large Capacity Magazines Simple possession is a Class D felony if you are already barred from firearms, and a Class A misdemeanor otherwise. People who lawfully owned these magazines before January 1, 2014, had to declare them with DESPP, and a second registration window closed January 1, 2024.16FindLaw. Connecticut Code 53-202x – Declaration of Possession of Large Capacity Magazine If you move to Connecticut with a large capacity magazine, you have 90 days to make it permanently inoperable, sell it to a licensed dealer, or take it out of state. Military personnel transferred into Connecticut after January 1, 2024, can apply to declare the magazine within 90 days of arrival.
Ghost Guns and Unserialized Firearms
Since October 1, 2019, Connecticut has banned the sale and receipt of unfinished frames and lower receivers lacking serial numbers or other unique identification, the components used to build so-called ghost guns.17CT.gov. Decision Upholding Federal Ghost Gun Regulations Federal rules add that any licensed dealer who takes possession of a privately made firearm must mark it with a serial number within seven days or before transfer, whichever comes first.18Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Privately Made Firearms Between the state ban on unserialized components and the federal serialization rule for anything moving through a dealer, an untraceable firearm is effectively illegal at every step.
Red Flag Risk Protection Orders
Connecticut was one of the first states to enact a red flag law. Under C.G.S. § 29-38c, a judge can order the seizure of firearms and ammunition when there is probable cause to believe a person poses a risk of imminent injury to themselves or others.19Justia. Connecticut Code 29-38c – Risk Protection Order
Two routes lead there. A state’s attorney or police officer can file a complaint directly with a Superior Court judge. A family member, household member, or medical professional with a good-faith belief that someone 18 or older poses imminent danger can apply for a risk protection order investigation through the court clerk. The judge weighs recent threats or violence toward others, recent threats or violence toward the person themselves, and recent acts of animal cruelty.
Once an order issues, police execute a warrant to seize all firearms, deadly weapons, and ammunition. A court hearing within 14 days decides whether the order stays in place. The person can first petition to terminate it no earlier than 180 days after the hearing. If a court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the risk continues, the firearms remain in state custody. The person can also arrange to transfer their firearms to a federally licensed dealer instead of leaving them with the state.