Last Updated: Monday, September 22, 2025
Delaware Gun Laws
Gun Laws Overview
RIFLES & SHOTGUNS | HANDGUNS | |
---|---|---|
Licensing of Owners | No | No |
Permit to Carry | No | Yes |
Permit to Purchase | No | Yes* |
Registration of Firearms | No | No |
* Handgun Qualified Purchaser Permit law effective Nov. 16, 2025. The list and map below are included as a tool to assist you in validating your information. We have made every effort to report the information correctly, however reciprocity and recognition agreements are subject to frequent change. The information is not intended as legal advice or a restatement of law and does not include: restrictions that may be placed on non-resident permits, individuals under the age of 21, qualifying permit classes, and/or any other factor which may limit reciprocity and/or recognition. For any particular situation, a licensed local attorney must be consulted for an accurate interpretation. YOU MUST ABIDE WITH ALL LAWS: STATE, FEDERAL AND LOCAL. |
Laws on Purchase, Possession and Carrying of Firearms
Hardware Restrictions/Bans
Delaware has adopted bans on “assault weapons,” “large capacity” magazines, machine guns, bump stocks, trigger cranks or similar rapid-fire devices, suppressors, personally made/unserialized firearms, and short-barreled shotguns. MORE |
Ammunition
The same persons who are prohibited under state law from purchasing, owning or receiving firearms (see Possession Standards, below) are also ineligible to purchase or possess ammunition; Del. Code Ann. tit. 11 § 1448. Del. Code Ann. tit. 11 § 1445(a)(4) prohibits the sale or other transfer of firearm ammunition to a person under 21 years of age unless any of the exceptions in § 1448 apply. This law is of questionable validity because, as of August 29, 2025, the state law that imposed a firearm ban on 18- to 20-year-olds was held unconstitutional by the Superior Court of Delaware as violating Art. 1, Section 20 (the right to keep and bear arms) of the State Constitution; see Birney v. RLG Delaware Dept. of Safety and Homeland Security, 2025 WL 2489468 (Aug. 29, 2025). |
Licensing or Permitting of Possession/Acquisition
As of November 2025, Delaware requires a “handgun qualified purchaser permit,” issued by the State Bureau of Identification within the Division of State Police, to purchase a handgun; Del. Code Ann. tit. 11 § 1448D. MORE |
Registration
Delaware does not require the registration of firearms and state law expressly prohibits “the State or any agency, department, or instrumentality thereof” from “establish[ing] any system for the registration of firearms, firearm owners, or firearm transactions or dispositions, except with respect to persons prohibited from receiving a firearm under Chapter 5 of Title 11.” Del. Code Ann tit. 24, § 904A(c). |
Possession Standards
State law, Del. Code Ann. tit. 11, § 1448, prohibits several classes of individuals from purchasing, owning, possessing, or controlling a firearm or other deadly weapon or ammunition for a firearm. MORE |
Right to Carry
Delaware does not have a permitless carry law. Open carry is not prohibited. It is a felony to carry a concealed firearm upon or about the person without a license; Del. Code Ann. tit. 11 § 1442(a). As of September 2025, neither the Delaware concealed carry permit nor the Handgun Qualified Purchaser Permit qualify as NICS-exempt permits according to the ATF: see Brady Permit Chart | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives MORE |
Preemption
Del. Code Ann. tit. 22, § 111 (municipalities) and Del. Code Ann. tit. 9, § 330(c) and (d) (counties) prohibit local governments from enacting a law, ordinance or regulation to prohibit, restrict or license the ownership, transfer, possession or transportation of firearms or components of firearms or ammunition. MORE |
Private Transfers
With some exceptions, Delaware law mandates that sales or transfers of firearms by persons who are not federal firearm licensees (FFLs) to any person who is also not an FFL must comply with a mandatory background check process done through a licensed firearms dealer and the State Bureau of Identification. Non-FFLs who wish to acquire a handgun must have a valid handgun qualified purchaser permit. MORE |
Stand Your Ground Law
Delaware law on the use of deadly force requires that a person retreat if he or she “knows that the necessity of using deadly force can be avoided with complete safety by retreating,” although the person is not required to retreat in or from their dwelling, or in or from their place of work; Del. Code Ann. tit. 11, § 464(e)(2). |
Red Flag Law
Delaware’s red flag law allows a court to issue a “lethal violence protective order” enjoining a person from controlling, owning, purchasing, possessing, having access to, or receiving a firearm or projectile weapon. See Del. Code Ann. tit. 10 §§ 7701 to 7709. MORE |
SOURCES: Del. Code, Ann. |
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