Concealed carry in Arkansas
You do not need a licence to carry a handgun in Arkansas. The State Police still issue one, and there are solid reasons to have it.
General information, not legal advice. Carry law here was disputed for a decade and the statutes have been amended several times. Read the current Arkansas Code and the Arkansas State Police concealed handgun pages, and ask an Arkansas attorney about your own facts. Reviewed September 2026.
How Arkansas became a permitless carry state
The old version of Ark. Code 5-73-120 made it a crime to carry a handgun "as a weapon" unless you fit a defense such as being on a journey. Act 746 of 2013 rewrote the offense. Since then a person commits "carrying a weapon" only if they possess a handgun, knife or club on or about their person or in a vehicle with a purpose to attempt to unlawfully employ it as a weapon against a person. Carrying for lawful self-defense is not that purpose.
Not everyone accepted that reading at first. Attorney General opinions went both ways, and some agencies kept telling people a licence was needed. In 2018 the Arkansas Court of Appeals held that simply having a handgun is not a violation of the statute. Act 777 of 2023 then put it in black and white inside the licensing law itself: a person is not required to hold a concealed handgun licence to carry a concealed handgun in Arkansas, and the licence exists for reciprocity and the other benefits the subchapter provides.
What did not change: a prohibited person (Ark. Code 5-73-103) cannot carry at all, handgun possession by those under 18 is restricted (Ark. Code 5-73-119), and the place restrictions below are still enforced.
The Concealed Handgun Carry License (CHCL)
The licence is issued by the Arkansas State Police under Ark. Code 5-73-301 et seq. The process, in outline:
- Take the course from an instructor registered with the State Police. It covers the law, safe handling and a live-fire qualification.
- Apply online through the State Police licensing portal and pay the fee.
- Get fingerprinted electronically for the state and federal background check.
- Wait for the decision. The statute gives the State Police a fixed period to issue or deny after a complete application. Check the agency page for the current processing time.
Eligibility is set out in Ark. Code 5-73-309: citizenship or permanent residency, Arkansas residency with allowances for military members posted here, age 21 (18 to 20 for certain active-duty, Guard, reserve and honorably discharged applicants), and no disqualifying convictions, commitments or substance-abuse history. The licence runs five years. We are deliberately not quoting a dollar figure, because the legislature has cut the fees more than once. The State Police site has today's number.
The enhanced licence
Created by Act 562 of 2017 and found in Ark. Code 5-73-322, the enhanced CHCL requires additional training of up to eight hours, including more range work. In return the holder may carry concealed in many places closed to others: public university, college and community college campuses, most publicly owned buildings, the State Capitol, and some businesses that would otherwise be off limits. Follow-up legislation the same year carved out exceptions, including courtrooms, correctional facilities, K-12 schools, the state hospital and UAMS, and collegiate athletic events operating under a security plan approved by the State Police. If campus carry is the reason you want the licence, read 5-73-322 closely and look for posted notices at the venue.
Places that stay off limits
- K-12 schools, school buses and school events (Ark. Code 5-73-119).
- Publicly owned buildings and facilities, unless a licence provision allows it (Ark. Code 5-73-122).
- The list in Ark. Code 5-73-306: law-enforcement stations, courthouses and courtrooms, detention facilities, meetings of governing bodies, and others. It also lets any private business or home owner prohibit handguns by posting a sign or telling you. Treat this list as applying whether or not you hold a licence.
- Federal property: post offices, federal courthouses, airport sterile areas.
- National wildlife refuges and Corps of Engineers land have their own federal rules. Check before a hunt at White River or Felsenthal.
Travel and reciprocity
Drive an hour from Fort Smith and you are in Oklahoma; from Texarkana, step across State Line Avenue and you are in Texas. Permitless carry stops at the border. Some neighbors have their own permitless carry laws that cover visitors, others rely on recognizing your licence, and their age limits and place rules differ from ours. The Arkansas State Police publish the list of states that honor the Arkansas CHCL. Check it, and the destination state's own rules, before each trip.
Picking a carry gun for Arkansas
Heat decides more than ballistics does. For five months of the year you are in a T-shirt, and a thick double-stack pistol prints under it. That is why slim 9mm micro-compacts and .380s sell so well here, with a small-frame revolver still a common choice for a pocket or a truck console. Whatever you choose, carry it in a holster that covers the trigger guard, and practice drawing from the clothes you actually wear.
Handguns ship to a licensed dealer in your state of residence. You need to be 21 to buy one from a dealer, and you fill out Form 4473 and pass the NICS check at pickup. See how transfers work.
