It is a felony to possess, obtain, receive, sell, or use a “short-barreled rifle” or a “short-barreled shotgun” in violation of federal law. This does not apply to a peace officer who possesses, obtains, receives, sells, or uses a short-barreled rifle or a short-barreled shotgun in the course of their official duties; Ala. Code Ann. § 13A-11-63; Ala. Code Ann. §§ 13A-11-63, 13A-11-62 (relevant definitions, see also definitions of “rifle” and “shotgun” in that section).

Alabama law doesn’t regulate machine guns, but makes it a felony to possess, obtain, receive, sell, or use a part or combination of parts designed and intended to convert a pistol into a machine gun. This law exempts any person whose firearm, part, or combination of parts is registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record maintained by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives or that is otherwise not subject to that registration requirement, and it also exempts any “part, combination of parts, or device designed or intended to increase a pistol’s rate of fire but which does not enable a semiautomatic pistol to fire more than two shots, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger”; Ala. Code Ann. § 13A-11-82.1.

Alabama has no laws requiring microstamping or “smart guns.”

Alabama law at Ala. Code. Ann. § 13A-11-72 prohibits the following persons from owning, possessing, or having under their control, a firearm: 

• anyone convicted (in Alabama or elsewhere) of committing or attempting to commit a crime of violence as defined in Section 13A-11-70, a misdemeanor offense of domestic violence, or a violent offense listed in Section 12-25-32(15). A “misdemeanor offense of domestic violence” is one that that has, as its elements, the use or attempted use of physical force or the threatened use of a dangerous instrument or deadly weapon, and the victim is a current or former spouse, parent, child, person with whom the defendant has a child in common, or a present or former household member. A “violent offense” under Ala. Code § 12-25-32(15) means any of the 50 listed crimes or any substantially similar offense committed under any state or federal law.
• Anyone who is subject to a valid protection order for domestic abuse, as defined in that section.
• Anyone of “unsound mind” as defined in that section (generally, this means anyone involuntarily committed for inpatient treatment, or who has been formally adjudicated as mentally ill or incompetent).
• Anyone illegally or unlawfully in the United States or who has been admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa that doesn’t fall into the exceptions in federal law at 18 U.S.C. § 922(y)(2).

State law has a handgun-specific prohibition: anyone who is a “drug addict or a habitual drunkard” is prohibited from owning, possessing or having control of a pistol; Ala. Code Ann. § 13A-11-72(b). 

Minors are prohibited from owning or possessing handguns unless one of the exceptions in Ala. Code § 13A-11-72(f) or (g) applies. (General state law defines the age of majority as 19; see Ala. Code Ann. § 26-1-1).

Effective October 1, 2025, the new law on prohibited persons makes it a felony to own or possess a firearm by a person who:

• has been convicted in Alabama or elsewhere of any kind of felony offense within the previous five years or convicted of three or more felony offenses of any kind at any time (the felony convictions used to support a “three or more” prohibition must arise from a different indictment or complaint or otherwise arise on a different date of charge).
• has been convicted in Alabama or elsewhere of committing or attempting to commit a crime of violence as defined in Section 13A-11-70, misdemeanor offense of domestic violence as defined in Section 13A-11-72 (h), or a violent offense as defined in Section 12-25-32.
• is subject to a valid protection order for domestic abuse issued against them, as defined in as defined in Section 13A-11-72 (h).
• is of “unsound mind,” as defined in Section 13A-11-72 (h) (generally, this requires an involuntary commitment for inpatient treatment after a court hearing, or some similar adjudication that the person is mentally incompetent or insane).
• is illegally or unlawfully in the United States or has been admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa that does not allow possession of firearms.

“Conviction” excludes any conviction that has been expunged, set aside, or for which the person has been pardoned or has had his or her civil rights, including firearm rights, restored.

A handgun-specific prohibition prohibits anyone who is a “habitual drunkard” or has a drug addiction from owning, possessing or having control of a pistol; Ala. Code Ann. § 13A-11-72(b)(1). 

Minors are also prohibited from owning, possessing or having control of a pistol but the section contains exemptions at Section 13A-11-72 (f), most of which require the minor to have permission to possess a pistol from a parent or legal guardian who is not prohibited from possessing a firearm under state or federal law. (General state law defines the age of majority as 19; see Ala. Code Ann. § 26-1-1.)

Permitless Carry. Anyone aged 19 or over who is not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a firearm may carry a handgun without a permit. Ala. Code Ann. § 13A-11-74.1 and 13-11-85(a); general state law defines the age of majority as 19; Ala. Code Ann. § 26-1-1.

Permits to Carry. Alabama is a “shall issue” jurisdiction. The permit law is found at Ala. Code Ann. § 13A-11-75. The permit is valid for the carrying of a handgun in a motor vehicle or concealed on the permittee’s person throughout the state, unless otherwise prohibited.

Issuing agency/official: The sheriff of the applicant’s county of residence

Minimum age to apply: 19, unless the applicant is a service member or a retired or honorably discharged military veteran, in which case the minimum age is 18

State residency: Must be a resident of Alabama. If the Alabama permit holder takes up residency in another state, their permit expires on that date. Residents of Alabama cannot carry in Alabama with an out-of-state permit.

Objective disqualifications: The applicant is not eligible if he or she (1) was found guilty but mentally ill in a criminal case, (2) was found not guilty in a criminal case by reason of insanity or mental disease or defect, (3) was declared incompetent to stand trial in a criminal case, (4) asserted a defense in a criminal case of not guilty by reason of insanity or mental disease or defect, (5) was found not guilty only by reason of lack of mental responsibility under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, (6) required involuntary inpatient treatment in a psychiatric hospital or similar treatment facility, (7) required involuntary outpatient treatment in a psychiatric hospital or similar treatment facility based on a finding that the applicant was an imminent danger to himself or herself or to others, (8) required involuntary commitment to a psychiatric hospital or similar treatment facility for any reason, including drug use, (9) is or was the subject of a prosecution or of a commitment or incompetency proceeding that could lead to a prohibition on the receipt or possession of a firearm under state or federal law, (10) falsified any portion of the permit application, or (11) caused or causes justifiable concern for public safety.

Fees: If there is no local law setting the fees, the fee for a one-year permit is $25, and $125 for a five-year permit. The fee for a lifetime permit is $300 ($150 for an applicant aged 60 or older). There are no fees for issuing or renewing a permit to a service member, a retired or honorably discharged military veteran, a law enforcement officer, or an honorably retired law enforcement officer, as those terns are defined.

Maximum processing time? 30 days

Duration of permit? One year, five years, or lifetime permit, subject to the law on revocation

Training required? No

Other ID required when carrying with permit? No

Mandatory notifications: A change of permanent address, or a lost or stolen permit, must be reported to the sheriff of the county of residence within 30 days. Ala. Code Ann. § 13A-11-95 requires that the possession of a pistol/firearm concealed on or about the person or in a vehicle occupied by the person must immediately be disclosed if asked by a law enforcement officer acting in the scope of official duty.

Non-resident carry? The permitless carry law applies to anyone aged 19 or over who is not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing a firearm. Those with a valid permit issued by any state can carry at age 18. The reciprocity law only covers license holders from another state, (residents of Alabama cannot carry in Alabama with an out-of-state permit). Alabama does not issue non-resident permits. 

Special provisions: A driver or occupant of a vehicle stopped on a traffic stop or for another law enforcement purpose and who is transporting or has a loaded handgun in the vehicle cannot knowingly touch the handgun once the law enforcement officer begins approaching and until the officer ends the encounter, unless the officer directs otherwise; Ala. Code § 13A-11-96.

Prohibited Places for Carrying or Possession.

 A. Possession or carrying of a firearm in any of the following places is prohibited under Ala. Code Ann. § 13A-11-61.2, even for permit holders, subject to the exceptions below. These places must have notices posted at the public entrances that the possession or carrying of firearms is prohibited: 

• inside a police, sheriff's, or highway patrol station or inside or on the premises of a prison, jail, halfway house, community corrections facility, or other detention facility.
• inside any inpatient or custodial care facility for psychiatric, mental, or emotional disorder treatment.
• inside a courthouse or courthouse annex, a building in which a district attorney’s office is located or where a county commission or city council is currently having a meeting, or the primary office of any elected official.
• inside any building where access is controlled during normal business hours using guards and other security features, like magnetometers, key cards, biometric screening devices, turnstiles or other physical barriers that prevent persons entering the facility from bringing prohibited items inside.

Exceptions: (1) a person who has the “express permission of a person or entity with authority over the premises” to possess or carry a firearm; or (2) possessing a firearm within the person’s residence or during ingress or egress into that residence; or (3) possession of a handgun on the premises of a sheriff’s office that issues carry permits if the handgun remains inside of a locked vehicle at all times while the person is on the premises, or (4) possession, transportation, or storage of a lawfully possessed firearm in an employee’s privately-owned motor vehicle while

in a public or private parking area, as permitted by Ala. Code Ann. § 13A-11-90 (for a handgun, the vehicle must be in a location where it is allowed to be, and the handgun is either carried concealed on the person or is secured in the unattended vehicle locked within a compartment, container, or in a compartment or container securely affixed to the vehicle).

B.  Athletic Events.  Under Ala. Code Ann. § 13A-11-61.2, possession of a firearm is prohibited in the following places unless (1) the person has the express permission of a person or entity with authority over the premises, or (2) the person is in possession of a valid permit to carry issued or recognized by Alabama:

• Inside any facility hosting an athletic event not related to firearms which is sponsored by a private or public elementary or secondary school, or any private or public institution of postsecondary education.
• Inside any facility hosting a professional athletic event not related to or involving firearms.

C. Schools. Section § 13A-11-72(d) prohibits the carrying or possession of any “deadly weapon” with the intent to do bodily harm on the premises of a public school, but the law exempts anyone with a valid Alabama-issued carry permit. School security personnel and school resource officers employed by a local board of education and authorized by the employing local board of education to carry a deadly weapon while on duty, are also exempt, as are law enforcement officers. A “public school” means a school composed of grades K-12 and includes a school bus used for grades K-12. Ala. Code Ann. § 13A-11-72(d), (e), and (h) (definition of public school).  

Colleges and universities: Ala. Code Ann. § 13A-11-92 allows the governing body of each two-year or four-year institution of higher education to adopt policies governing the possession of firearms or other weapons on grounds owned or controlled by the institution, but any such policies must allow individuals, not otherwise prohibited from possession of a firearm by state or federal law, to possess a firearm and ammunition for that firearm in the individual’s privately-owned vehicle while it is parked or operated on the grounds of the institution if the individual complies with the conditions listed at § 13A-11-92(b).

D. Demonstrations.  It is unlawful for any person (other than a law enforcement officer) to possess, on their person or in their vehicle, any firearm (loaded or unloaded) while attending or participating in any demonstration being held at a public place. This also applies to possession of a firearm within 1,000 feet of a demonstration, if the person has been warned by a police officer that a demonstration is underway and told to leave the area. A “demonstration” means demonstrating, picketing, speechmaking or marching, holding of vigils and the like, but not the casual use of property by visitors or tourists which does not have an intent or propensity to attract a crowd or onlookers. A “public place” means any place to which the general public has access and a right to resort for business, entertainment or other lawful purpose, and includes the front or immediate area or parking lot of any store, shop, restaurant, tavern, shopping center or other place of business, and also includes any public building, its grounds and curtilage, any public parking lot, public street, right-of-way, sidewalk right-of-way, and public park or other public grounds. Ala. Code § 13A-11-59.

Ala. Code § 13A-11-61.3 establishes “within the Legislature complete control over regulation and policy pertaining to firearms, ammunition, and firearm accessories,” and except as otherwise provided or expressly authorized by statute, the Legislature “occupies and preempts the entire field of regulation in this state touching in any way upon firearms, ammunition, and firearm accessories to the complete exclusion of any order, ordinance, or rule promulgated or enforced by any political subdivision of this state.” A political subdivision cannot rely on any proprietary authority, home rule status, or any other inherent or general power to regulate firearms, ammunition, and firearm accessories.

The specific exceptions to preemption are listed at Ala. Code § 13A-11-61.3(c) and (g).

Any orders, ordinances, or rules promulgated or enforced contrary to the preemption law are null and void. Any person adversely affected by a violation of the preemption law has the right to file a petition with the state Attorney General requesting that he or she bring an action in circuit court for declarative and injunctive relief. The Attorney General must, within 90 days, either bring an enforcement action against the entity allegedly in violation or provide written reasons for a finding that a violation has not occurred. A court may award reimbursement for actual and reasonable expenses to a person adversely affected if an action results in a final determination in favor of the person adversely affected.      

The preemption law specifically prohibits a political subdivision from participating in gun “buybacks” by offering “remuneration for the surrender or transfer of a privately owned firearm to the political subdivision or another party as a method of reducing the number of privately owned firearms within the political subdivision.” Ala. Code Ann. § 13A-11-61.3(g)(6).