Louisiana Gun Laws And Concealed Carry Guide

Louisiana is a permitless carry state. Since July 4, 2024, adults 18 and older who can legally possess a firearm may carry a concealed handgun without a permit under R.S. 14:95(M). No state law requires a permit to open carry.

The Louisiana Concealed Handgun Permit still matters, and since August 1, 2025 non-residents can apply for one too. This guide covers who can carry, how to get the permit, training, reciprocity, vehicles, off-limits places and Louisiana’s self-defense law.

Do You Need A Permit To Carry In Louisiana?

No, not if you are 18 or older and not barred from having a gun. R.S. 14:95(M) lifts the ban on concealed carry for anyone 18 or older who is not prohibited under R.S. 14:95.1, 18 U.S.C. 922(g) or any other state or federal law.

Prohibited persons include people convicted of certain felonies and anyone barred by federal law. Federal law covers felony convictions, domestic violence misdemeanors, certain protective orders, unlawful drug users and some mental health adjudications. Under 18, handgun possession is generally illegal except for listed activities such as hunting, range practice or with written parental permission (R.S. 14:95.8).

Permitless carry does not remove the rules. Under R.S. 14:95(N), people carrying without a permit follow the same place restrictions, alcohol rules and duty to inform police that apply to permit holders under R.S. 40:1379.3.

Why Get A Louisiana Concealed Handgun Permit Anyway?

• Carry in other states. Louisiana State Police list 37 states that honor the Louisiana permit. Permitless carry only works inside Louisiana.
• Skip the background check at the gun counter. The ATF Brady Permit Chart lists the Louisiana Concealed Handgun Permit and the lifetime permit as alternatives to a NICS check. The ATF says a permit issued more than five years before the purchase cannot be used.
• Federal school zones. State law lets permit holders and permitless carriers carry concealed within 1,000 feet of a school campus. Federal law has its own school-zone rule, which exempts people licensed by the state where the zone sits. A Louisiana permit meets that test. Permitless carry does not.
• A lifetime option. Louisiana sells a lifetime permit (see below), so you can avoid paying for renewals.

How To Get A Louisiana Concealed Handgun Permit

The permit is issued by Louisiana State Police (LSP) under R.S. 40:1379.3. You must be 21 or older.

1. Complete approved training. See the class section below. Most training options must be finished within 12 months before you apply.
2. Apply online or on paper. Use the online portal at chp.la.gov or the original PDF form. Affidavits must be notarized within 60 days of the application date.
3. Submit fingerprints electronically. LSP requires electronic prints through LAPS using service code 27KBNN.
4. Send supporting documents. Include a copy of your driver’s license or ID, certified dispositions for any arrests, military papers if they apply, and the medical summary form if your answers require it.
5. Pay the fee. For online applications, pay within 30 days of getting the payment link or the application is purged.

Current fees from the LSP fee page:

• Resident 5-year permit: $125 ($62.50 for age 65+ or active duty military)
• Resident lifetime permit: $500 ($250 for age 65+ or active duty military)
• Non-resident 5-year permit: $250 ($125 for age 65+ or active duty military)
• Non-resident lifetime permit: $1,000 ($500 for age 65+ or active duty military)

Veterans with an honorable discharge are exempt from fees. First-time applicants who have not lived in Louisiana continuously for the past 15 years pay an extra $50. LSP does not publish a processing time; check status at chp.la.gov or call the CHP Unit.

Do You Need A Class For A Louisiana Carry Permit?

Yes. Every applicant must show competence with a handgun under R.S. 40:1379.3(D) and LAC 55:I.1311. Accepted routes include an NRA or USCCA course, a DPS-approved course, a POST-certified academy, or qualifying military small-arms training, each within a set time window.

The LSP instructor requirements (updated January 2026) set the course content:

• 1 hour of handgun nomenclature and safe handling
• 1 hour of ammunition knowledge and shooting fundamentals
• 3 hours on the use of deadly force and conflict resolution
• 1 hour of shooting positions
• 1 hour of child access prevention
• 2 hours of live range fire and handgun cleaning

The live fire is 36 rounds: 12 each at 6, 10 and 15 feet, with a safe reload at each distance. You must put 100% of hits inside the silhouette of a B-27 target. The statute allows live ammunition or fixed-case marking rounds.

An online-only course does not meet this requirement, because the shooting demonstration must be done in person. LSP rules do not say whether the classroom part may be taught online, so ask your instructor. If you have never had formal training, a short online safety course is a good primer before your in-person class.

Can Non-Residents Get A Louisiana Carry Permit?

Yes. Act 273 of 2025 (HB 407) took effect August 1, 2025 and repealed the residency requirement in R.S. 40:1379.3(C)(3). The LSP FAQ now says an applicant does not need to be a Louisiana resident.

Non-residents meet the same age, background and training rules and pay the higher non-resident fees listed above. Some states honor only resident permits from other states, so check each state you plan to visit before relying on a non-resident Louisiana permit.

Visitors may not need a Louisiana permit at all. The text of R.S. 14:95(M) does not limit permitless carry to residents. Louisiana also honors permits held by people 21 and older from states that recognize Louisiana permits (R.S. 40:1379.3(T)(2)).

Which States Honor The Louisiana Concealed Handgun Permit?

The LSP reciprocity page lists 37 states with a mutual agreement. They include Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and North Carolina.

LSP lists 11 states that do not honor the permit: California, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Rhode Island.

Louisiana honors out-of-state permits only for holders 21 and older, and only from states that honor Louisiana permits. A Louisiana resident cannot use another state’s permit to carry in Louisiana (R.S. 40:1379.3(T)(4)). When you carry in another state, that state’s laws apply.

Going next door? Read our guides for Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi, or browse gun laws by state.

Can You Open Carry In Louisiana?

Yes. R.S. 14:95 makes it a crime to intentionally conceal a firearm without legal authority, but no state statute bans open carry. Because handgun possession under 18 is generally illegal, open carry of a handgun is in practice limited to adults.

The off-limits places below still apply. Be careful near schools: the 1,000-foot firearm-free zone exception in R.S. 14:95.2(C)(9) covers concealed handguns only. Open carry within 1,000 feet of a school is risky unless you are on private property or inside a vehicle.

Can You Keep A Gun In Your Car In Louisiana?

Yes. LSP says carrying a handgun in a motor vehicle is legal under most circumstances. Adults 18 and older who are not prohibited may keep a handgun concealed in the car with or without a permit.

Employer parking lots: Under R.S. 32:292.1, a person who lawfully possesses a firearm may keep it in a locked, privately owned vehicle in a parking lot or garage. Employers and businesses cannot ban this, but they may require the gun to be hidden from view or locked in a case. The law does not cover employer-owned vehicles, places where state or federal law bans guns, or gated lots where the employer offers other parking or storage.

School parking lots: School grounds are a firearm-free zone, but both R.S. 14:95.6(B)(5) and R.S. 14:95.2(C)(5) except “a firearm contained entirely within a motor vehicle.” Once you step out of the car with the gun on campus, that exception ends.

Where You Can’t Carry A Gun In Louisiana

These limits in R.S. 40:1379.3(N) apply to permit holders and, through R.S. 14:95(N), to permitless carriers:

• Police stations and law enforcement offices (N(1); also R.S. 14:95(A)(5))
• Detention facilities, prisons and jails (N(2))
• Courthouses and courtrooms (N(3))
• Polling places (N(4))
• Public buildings while used as a governing body’s meeting place (N(5))
• The State Capitol (N(6))
• Airport areas where federal law bans guns; checked, cased firearms may go into the terminal (N(7))
• Churches, synagogues, mosques and similar places of worship, unless the person in charge authorizes it (N(8))
• Permitted parades and demonstrations, for active participants only; Act 271 of 2025 made clear bystanders are not covered (N(9))
• The permitted area of bars and other businesses holding a Class A-General retail alcohol permit for on-premises drinking (N(10))
• Schools, school campuses and school buses (N(11); R.S. 14:95.2; R.S. 14:95.6)
• Anywhere state or federal law bans firearms, such as federal buildings (N; M)
• Private property where the owner restricts guns, and anyone else’s home without consent (O)

A permit is automatically suspended while the holder is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, defined as a blood alcohol level of .05% or higher (R.S. 40:1379.3(I)).

Duty to inform: Yes. Under R.S. 40:1379.3(I)(2), anyone carrying a concealed handgun must tell a police officer who approaches in an official manner that they are armed. You must also submit to a pat down and let the officer take the gun temporarily.

Permit holders must show the permit when an officer asks (H(2)), and the R.S. 14:95(N) cross-reference applies these duties to permitless carriers.

Louisiana Lifetime Concealed Handgun Permit

The lifetime permit costs the equivalent of 20 years of fees: $500 for residents, or $250 for applicants 65 and older. You must still prove recertification training every five years under R.S. 40:1379.3(V). If you miss it, the permit is suspended until you submit proof.

The recertification includes live fire: 36 rounds at 6, 10 and 15 feet with 100% hits on a B-27 silhouette. Regular 5-year permits also require renewal training completed within one year before you renew. LSP mails a notice about 120 days before a 5-year permit expires.

Louisiana Castle Doctrine And Stand Your Ground Law

Louisiana’s main self-defense statute is R.S. 14:20 (justifiable homicide). Deadly force is justified when you reasonably believe you face imminent danger of death or great bodily harm and that killing is necessary to save yourself.

Castle doctrine: The law covers your home, place of business and motor vehicle. If someone unlawfully and forcibly enters, or is trying to, and you know or have reason to believe it, the law presumes your belief that deadly force was necessary was reasonable (R.S. 14:20(B)).

Stand your ground: You have no duty to retreat if you are not engaged in unlawful activity and are in a place you have a right to be (R.S. 14:20(C)). A judge or jury may not consider whether you could have retreated (R.S. 14:20(D)).

Civil immunity: R.S. 9:2800.19 bars civil suits over force justified under R.S. 14:19 or 14:20. If a court finds you immune, it must award your reasonable attorney fees, costs and lost income.

Limits: The protections do not apply if you are engaged in unlawful activity, and the home and vehicle provisions exclude people involved in certain drug offenses. Your belief must be reasonable.

None of this stops an arrest, an investigation or charges. A self-defense case can be expensive to defend, even when you were justified, which is why many carriers buy legal protection in advance.

Louisiana Gun Laws FAQ

Is Louisiana A Constitutional Carry State?

Yes. Permitless concealed carry took effect July 4, 2024, through Act 1 of the 2024 Second Extraordinary Session. Adults 18 and older who are not prohibited may carry concealed without a permit.

How Old Do You Have To Be To Carry A Gun In Louisiana?

You must be 18 to carry concealed without a permit under R.S. 14:95(M). You must be 21 to get a Louisiana Concealed Handgun Permit.

How Much Is A Louisiana Concealed Carry Permit?

For residents, the 5-year permit is $125 and the lifetime permit is $500. Non-residents pay $250 and $1,000. Honorably discharged veterans pay nothing, and applicants 65 and older and active duty military pay half.

Can You Carry A Gun In A Bar In Louisiana?

Not in the permitted area of a business with a Class A-General retail alcohol permit for on-premises drinking. Carrying while at .05% blood alcohol or higher also suspends a permit. Other businesses may set their own rules.

Do You Have To Tell Police You Have A Gun In Louisiana?

Yes. If an officer approaches you in an official manner, you must say you are carrying, submit to a pat down and allow temporary disarming. The rule applies to permitless carriers too.

Can You Carry A Gun In Church In Louisiana?

Only with permission. R.S. 40:1379.3(N)(8) bars concealed carry in churches, synagogues, mosques and similar tax-exempt places of worship unless the person with authority over the church’s administration authorizes it. Ask your church leadership before you carry.

Churches that arm volunteers should also look at legal protection for church security teams.

Sources

• R.S. 14:95, Illegal carrying of weapons
• R.S. 40:1379.3, Statewide permits for concealed handguns
• Act 273 of 2025 (HB 407) résumé digest
• Act 271 of 2025 (HB 393) résumé digest
• R.S. 14:20, Justifiable homicide
• R.S. 9:2800.19, Civil immunity for use of force
• R.S. 14:95.2, Firearms on school property
• R.S. 14:95.6, Firearm-free zones
• R.S. 14:95.8, Handgun possession by juveniles
• R.S. 32:292.1, Firearms in locked private vehicles
• Louisiana State Police: CHP requirements
• Louisiana State Police: CHP fees
• Louisiana State Police: Reciprocity
• Louisiana State Police: CHP FAQ
• Louisiana State Police: CHP instructor requirements (January 2026)
• ATF Brady Permit Chart