| Jurisdiction | Handguns | Long guns | Notes |
| Alabama | Permitless | Open carry without permit allowed. Local restrictions preempted. |
| Alaska | Permitless | Open carry without permit allowed. |
| American Samoa | Handguns illegal | Under license | Open carry legal for holders of a valid License to Possess which are required to purchase and possess firearms; though Licenses to Possess have been restricted to only shotguns and rimfire rifles since 1991, effectively banning handguns. Licenses issued for handguns and other firearms prior to 1991 are grandfathered as long as they remain valid. |
| Arizona | Permitless | Open carry without permit allowed. State law does not preempt tribal laws on Native American reservations, except when traversing a reservation on a state-owned highway. Some tribes do not permit open carry, while some others may require a tribal permit for open carry. |
| Arkansas | Permitless | The legal status of open carry without a license has been considered a gray area since 2013 until 2015, when an Attorney General opinion was issued stating open carry was indeed legal. Despite this there were still questions over the law until 2017, when Governor Asa Hutchinson sent an order to the Arkansas State Police stating open carry was legal. Before 2013, it was unlawful to open carry a handgun in Arkansas even with a concealed carry license. Open carry without a permit allowed, restrictions fully preempted. |
| California | Illegal (except some counties with permit) | Open carry legal in rural counties with local ordinances allowing open carry. Some of these counties issue a permit for open carry. Additionally, a person may also open carry if he or she "reasonably believes that any person or the property of any person is in immediate, grave danger and that the carrying of the weapon is necessary for the preservation of that person or property." One can expect to be detained and questioned by law enforcement in most urban areas if using the latter rationale as the basis for openly carrying a firearm in public. |
| Colorado | Permitless (with local restrictions) | Open carry without a license permitted statewide, except in the City and County of Denver where open carry is completely prohibited. |
| Connecticut | Illegal | Effective October 1, 2023, the open carry of handguns and long guns is generally prohibited in Connecticut, except on property owned or lawfully controlled by the person carrying openly, at a designated shooting range, or while hunting. |
| Delaware | Permitless | Open carry without permit allowed. Local restrictions preempted. In the city of Dover, the "grandfathered" city ordinance restricting open carry that predated state preemption was repealed in 2015. |
| District of Columbia | Illegal | Open carry prohibited. Open carry was briefly legal from July 27, 2015 to July 29, 2015 due to a court ruling. |
| Florida | Permitless | State open carry ban was declared unconstitutional by Florida First District Court of Appeal on 10 September 2025. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Attorney General James Uthmeier welcomed the ruling and ordered law enforcement officers to no longer enforce the ban, effectively making Florida an open carry state. Open carry is now allowed without a permit, with full preemption. |
| Georgia | Permitless | Open carry without permit allowed. Local restrictions preempted. |
| Guam | Under license | Open Carry allowed with FOID. |
| Hawaii | With license | Illegal | Open carry of handguns allowed with permit; permits issued on a may-issue basis but in practice are no-issue. Permits only valid in county of issuance. Local restrictions preempted. Open carry of long guns prohibited. |
| Idaho | Permitless | Open carry without permit allowed. Local restrictions preempted. |
| Illinois | Illegal | Open carry theoretically legal in unincorporated rural areas, where permitted by local ordinance. However, per Attorney General opinion open carry is prohibited.[citation needed] |
| Indiana | Permitless | Open carry of handguns allowed without a permit; permits granted on a shall-issue basis. Local restrictions preempted. No permit required to carry long guns. |
| Iowa | Permitless | Open carry without permit allowed. Local restrictions preempted. |
| Kansas | Permitless | Open carry without permit allowed. Local restrictions preempted. |
| Kentucky | Permitless | Open carry without permit allowed. Local restrictions preempted. |
| Louisiana | Permitless | Open carry without permit allowed. Local restrictions preempted. |
| Maine | Permitless | Open carry without permit allowed. Local restrictions preempted. |
| Maryland | Illegal | Permitless | Open carry of handguns is no longer permitted; permits were issued on a may-issue basis but in practice were No-Issue. Now carry permits are issued on a shall-issue basis. Open carry of long guns allowed without permit. Local restrictions preempted. |
| Massachusetts | Under license | Open carry allowed with Massachusetts Unrestricted License to Carry; permits were issued by local authorities on a may-issue basis. Currently, carry permits are issued on a shall-issue basis. Local restrictions preempted. |
| Michigan | Permitless | Open carry allowed without permit. Permit required if carrying in vehicle; .mw- }More details State law says: "A local unit of government shall not impose special taxation on, enact or enforce any ordinance or regulation pertaining to, or regulate in any other manner the ownership, registration, purchase, sale, transfer, transportation, or possession of pistols or other firearms, ammunition for pistols or other firearms, or components of pistols or other firearms, except as otherwise provided by federal law or a law of this state." |
| Minnesota | Under license | Open carry allowed with permit; permits issued on a shall-issue basis. Local restrictions preempted. |
| Mississippi | Permitless | Open carry of handguns allowed without permit; permits issued on a shall-issue basis. No permit required to carry a long gun. Local restrictions preempted. |
| Missouri | Permitless (localities may require permit) | Open carry without permit allowed. However, several cities and counties restrict open carry, in which case one must either: 1. have a carry permit, thus exempting them from local restrictions on open carry, or 2. carry concealed, which is allowed without a permit and localities are preempted. |
| Montana | Permitless | Open carry without permit allowed. Local restrictions preempted. |
| Nebraska | Permitless | Open carry allowed without permit. Local restrictions preempted. |
| Nevada | Permitless | Open carry without permit allowed. Local restrictions preempted. Carrying loaded long guns in a vehicle prohibited. |
| New Hampshire | Permitless | Open carry without permit allowed. Local restrictions preempted. |
| New Jersey | Illegal | Under license | Open carry of a handgun is no longer allowed even with a Permit to Carry a Handgun. Authorities must issue a permit if the applicant meets the minimum requirements. Open carry of unloaded long guns is legal with a Firearm Purchaser Identification Card. |
| New Mexico | Permitless | Open carry allowed without permit. State law does not preempt tribal laws on Native American reservations, except when traversing a reservation on a state-owned highway. Some tribes do not permit open carry, while some others may require a tribal permit for open carry. |
| New York | Illegal | Permitless (local bans) | Open carry of pistols and loaded long guns prohibited. Open carry of unloaded long guns allowed without permit except in New York City. |
| North Carolina | Permitless | Open carry allowed without permit. Local restrictions preempted. |
| North Dakota | Permitless | Open carry without a permit is allowed while one is in possession of valid identification. Local restrictions preempted. |
| Northern Mariana Islands | Permitless | Illegal | Open carry and ownership of handguns prohibited by law but the prohibition was declared unconstitutional and is not enforced so open carry of a loaded handgun is allowed without permit. |
| Ohio | Permitless | Open carry without permit allowed. Local restrictions preempted. |
| Oklahoma | Permitless | Open carry allowed without permit. Open carry of a handgun in a vehicle without permit allowed. Residents of states that do not require permits for concealed carry may openly carry with a valid ID proving residence. Local restrictions preempted. |
| Oregon | Permitless (localities may require permit) | Open carry without permit allowed. However, several cities and one county restrict open carry of loaded firearms. Restrictions on carrying unloaded firearms preempted. Persons with an Oregon Concealed Handgun License exempt from local restrictions. |
| Pennsylvania | Permitless | Open carry without permit allowed. Permit required if carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle. Permit no longer required if carrying in Philadelphia. All other local restrictions preempted. More details Though the statute prohibiting unlicensed open carry which was declared unconstitutional in Philadelphia is specifically titled "Carrying firearms on public streets or public property in Philadelphia.", the law itself states: "No person shall carry a firearm [...] in a city of the first class[...]". In Pennsylvania, a city of the first class is defined as having a population in excess of one million, which only Philadelphia does. |
| Puerto Rico | Illegal |
| Rhode Island | Under license | Permitless | Open carry of handguns expressly allowed with a Rhode Island Attorney General's Office Pistol Permit; Issued on a may-issue basis. No permit required to carry unloaded long guns. Local restrictions preempted. |
| South Carolina | Permitless | Open carry allowed without permit. Local restrictions preempted. |
| South Dakota | Permitless | Open carry allowed without a permit. Local restrictions preempted. |
| Tennessee | Permitless | Illegal | Open carry of handguns allowed without a permit. Open carry of long guns prohibited, except while hunting. Local restrictions preempted. |
| Texas | Permitless | Open carry of handguns allowed without a permit as long as it is in any kind of holster. Open carry of long guns allowed without a permit. Local restrictions preempted. |
| Virgin Islands | Illegal | Open carry is prohibited. |
