Arkansas gun laws

What state law says about buying, owning and carrying a firearm in Arkansas, with the statute numbers so you can read them yourself.

This is general information, not legal advice. Statutes get amended and court decisions change how they are read. Check the current Arkansas Code and the Arkansas State Police pages linked at the bottom, and talk to an Arkansas attorney about your own situation. Reviewed September 2026.

Buying a gun

No permit to purchase. Arkansas does not issue or require a purchase permit, a licence to own, or a firearm owner card.
No registration. The state keeps no registry of ordinary rifles, shotguns or handguns.
The dealer runs NICS. Arkansas is not a point-of-contact state, so a licensed dealer contacts the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System directly after you complete ATF Form 4473. Most answers come back in minutes.
No waiting period. A proceed from NICS means the transfer can finish the same day.
Age: under federal law dealers sell handguns at 21 and long guns at 18. Arkansas makes it an offense to furnish a firearm to a minor without a parent's or guardian's consent (Ark. Code 5-73-109), and restricts handgun possession by people under 18 (Ark. Code 5-73-119).
Private sales: state law does not require a background check between private Arkansas residents. Federal law still forbids selling to a person you know or have reason to believe is prohibited, and interstate transfers must go through a dealer.
Buying online: the firearm ships to a licensed dealer, and you do the form and the check at their counter. That is how every gun we sell is delivered.

Owning a gun

No magazine-capacity limit.
No assault-weapon ban. AR-pattern and other semi-automatic rifles are ordinary rifles under Arkansas law.
No licence to own and no mandatory training to keep a firearm at home.
Federal law still applies. Suppressors, short-barreled rifles and shotguns and machine guns fall under the National Firearms Act. We do not sell NFA items.

Carrying a gun

Arkansas is a permitless carry state, and it got there in two steps. Act 746 of 2013 amended Ark. Code 5-73-120 so that "carrying a weapon" is an offense only when a person carries a handgun, knife or club with a purpose to attempt to unlawfully employ it as a weapon against a person. For years prosecutors and attorneys general disagreed on what that meant. The Arkansas Court of Appeals read the statute the plain way in 2018, and Act 777 of 2023 settled the question by stating in the licensing subchapter that a person is not required to have a licence to carry a concealed handgun in this state.

Open or concealed, the same rule applies: lawful unless carried with an unlawful purpose.
The licence still exists. The Arkansas State Police issue the Concealed Handgun Carry License (CHCL) and an enhanced version under Ark. Code 5-73-301 and the sections after it. People get one for reciprocity in other states and for the extra places an enhanced licence opens up. Our concealed carry guide covers both.
Age: the statutes do not set out a single clear minimum age for carrying without a licence. The CHCL is issued at 21, or at 18 for certain service members and veterans. If you are under 21, get advice before you carry.

Where you cannot carry

K-12 school property, school buses and school events (Ark. Code 5-73-119), with limited exceptions written into the statute.
Publicly owned buildings and the State Capitol grounds (Ark. Code 5-73-122), except as the statute and an enhanced licence allow.
The places listed in Ark. Code 5-73-306, which include police and sheriff's stations, courthouses and courtrooms, jails and prisons, and meetings of a governing body. The list is written for licence holders. Whether each item binds a person carrying without a licence has been argued both ways, so the safe reading is to treat the whole list as applying to you.
Posted private property. A business or owner can bar handguns with a sign or by telling you. Leave when asked.
Federal property: post offices, federal courthouses, the secure side of an airport, and Corps of Engineers facilities follow federal rules regardless of state law.

State preemption

Firearm law in Arkansas is made in Little Rock at the Capitol, not by city councils. Ark. Code 14-16-504 says a local unit of government shall not enact any ordinance or regulation about the ownership, transfer, transportation, carrying or possession of firearms, ammunition or their components, except as state or federal law provides, and Ark. Code 14-54-1411 applies the same rule to municipalities. The practical result is that the rules are the same in Pulaski County, in Fayetteville and on a gravel road in Arkansas County. Cities can still regulate firing a gun inside city limits, and during a declared emergency the statute has its own provisions.

Self-defense law

Arkansas sets out when deadly physical force is justified in Ark. Code 5-2-607, and Ark. Code 5-2-620 covers force used to defend people and property inside a home. Act 250 of 2021 removed the duty to retreat for a person who is lawfully present, is not the initial aggressor, and is not otherwise barred from possessing a firearm. Those conditions matter, and real cases turn on them. More on our home defense page.

Prohibited persons

Under Ark. Code 5-73-103 a person may not possess or own a firearm if they have been convicted of a felony, adjudicated mentally ill, or involuntarily committed to a mental institution. Federal law (18 U.S.C. 922(g)) has a longer list, including people subject to qualifying protective orders, people convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence, and unlawful users of controlled substances. A sealed or expunged record, or a pardon, does not always restore firearm rights. If anything in your past might count, ask an Arkansas attorney before you buy or handle a gun.

Hunting

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) sets seasons, zones, legal equipment and bag limits, and the rules change every year. Federal migratory-bird rules add non-toxic shot and the three-shell limit for waterfowl. See our duck gun and deer rifle guide, then read the current AGFC guidebook before you go.

Official sources

Arkansas Code, Title 5, Chapter 73 (weapons) — via the Arkansas General Assembly
Arkansas State Police, Concealed Handgun Licensing — dps.arkansas.gov (applications, fees, reciprocity)
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission — agfc.com (seasons, zones, licences)
ATF — atf.gov (federal firearms rules)

Do you need a permit to buy a gun in Arkansas?

No. Arkansas has no purchase permit, no firearm owner card and no registration. At a licensed dealer you complete ATF Form 4473 and the dealer runs a background check through the FBI NICS system.

Is there a waiting period in Arkansas?

No. Arkansas sets no state waiting period. If the NICS check returns a proceed, the dealer can complete the transfer during the same visit. A delayed check means the dealer holds the firearm while the FBI works on it.

Does Arkansas require background checks on private sales?

State law does not require a background check for a sale between two private Arkansas residents. Federal law still makes it a crime to sell to someone you know or have reason to believe is prohibited, and a private seller cannot ship a gun to a buyer in another state without a dealer. Everything we sell goes through a licensed dealer and a background check.

Is Arkansas a permitless carry state?

Yes. Act 746 of 2013 rewrote Ark. Code 5-73-120 so that carrying a handgun is a crime only when it is carried with a purpose to unlawfully use it against a person, and Act 777 of 2023 states plainly that a licence is not required to carry a concealed handgun in Arkansas. Place restrictions and the prohibited-person rules still apply.

Does Arkansas limit magazine capacity or ban any rifles?

No. Arkansas has no magazine-capacity limit and no state ban on semi-automatic rifles. Federal law, including the National Firearms Act, still applies.

Can Little Rock or another city pass its own gun rules?

Generally no. Ark. Code 14-16-504 bars local units of government from regulating the ownership, transfer, transport, carrying or possession of firearms and ammunition, and Ark. Code 14-54-1411 says the same for municipalities. Local governments keep narrow powers, such as rules about discharging a firearm inside city limits.

How old do you have to be to buy a gun in Arkansas?

Federal law sets the dealer rules: 21 for a handgun and handgun ammunition, 18 for a rifle or shotgun and its ammunition. Arkansas separately makes it a crime to furnish a firearm to a minor without the consent of a parent or guardian (Ark. Code 5-73-109).

Does Arkansas honor other states’ carry permits?

Yes. Arkansas recognizes a valid concealed handgun licence issued by another state (Ark. Code 5-73-321). Whether another state honors an Arkansas licence is up to that state, and the Arkansas State Police keep the current reciprocity list.

Who cannot possess a firearm in Arkansas?

Ark. Code 5-73-103 bars possession by a person convicted of a felony, a person adjudicated mentally ill, and a person involuntarily committed to a mental institution. Federal law (18 U.S.C. 922(g)) adds more categories, including people under certain protective orders and unlawful users of controlled substances.

Does a concealed handgun licence let me skip the background check?

ATF has listed Arkansas concealed handgun licences issued on or after April 1, 1999 as an alternative to the NICS check. The ATF permit chart changes, and dealers may still run a check, so ask your dealer before you count on it.