Legal information provided is for reference and not legal advice. Consult an attorney for specific legal concerns.
Legal information provided is for reference and not legal advice. Consult an attorney for specific legal concerns.
Federal and state gun control laws place limits on the purchase, use, and possession of firearms throughout the country, with state laws varying considerably. With limited gun control legislation emerging from a divided Congress, state legislators must balance concerns about gun violence with the rights of law-abiding gun owners. The majority of Ohio lawmakers favor gun rights over increased regulation, resulting in Ohio gun laws containing fewer restrictions compared to other states.
A major limitation on gun restrictions appears in the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. In recent years, the U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed the right to bear arms as an individual right to own guns for self-defense and other lawful reasons. In assessing the constitutionality of laws that restrict the possession of firearms, the focus is on whether the law is consistent with regulations of guns at the time of the Constitution’s adoption.
Ohio gun control laws prohibit certain weapons while restricting gun purchases and ownership by certain individuals. For instance, Ohio prohibits the possession of:
- Sawed-off shotguns
- Zip guns, which are improvised and often dangerous firearms
- Certain weapons and ammunition designed for military use
The state has not banned assault weapons or sought to regulate so-called undetectable firearms known as “ghost guns.”
Under Ohio law, the following cannot own or possess firearms:
- Certain convicted felons
- Individuals with substance abuse problems
- Those found mentally incompetent
Ohio does not require a waiting period prior to purchasing a gun. If you purchase a gun from a federally licensed dealer, they will run a criminal background check using the federal National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) before delivering the firearm. If you buy from a private seller or unlicensed dealer, you are not required to undergo a criminal background check to verify whether you fall under a firearm prohibition.
Ohio law does not provide a minimum age for possessing a firearm. Those under 18 cannot legally purchase a firearm, and persons under 21 cannot legally purchase a handgun, with exceptions for police officers and active-duty military who are at least 18.
In 2022, the Ohio General Assembly passed a permitless carry law. Under this law, a qualifying adult is not required to complete firearms training or obtain a concealed handgun license (CHL) to carry a concealed handgun in the state.
A qualifying adult must be 21 years of age or older, not prohibited from possessing a firearm under state or federal law, and otherwise meet the criteria to obtain a CHL. Whether you are an Ohio resident or a non-resident working in Ohio, you file your license application with your local sheriff’s office or the sheriff of a neighboring county.
Ohio maintains its concealed carry permit process to assist permit-holders traveling to states that have a reciprocity agreement with Ohio.
Even with laws that permit open or concealed carry of firearms, state law prohibits bringing guns into certain locations. States vary in what locations are off-limits. Private property owners can ban guns from their property but must provide signage. In Ohio, the law prohibits guns in the following locations under most circumstances:
- Sheriff, highway patrol, and police stations
- Premises controlled by the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI)
- State correctional facilities, jails, workhouses, and other detention facilities
- Restricted areas of airports
- Institutions governed by state mental health and addiction or developmental disability services
- School safety zones
- Courthouses and courtrooms
- Permit D liquor establishments
- Government buildings of the state (including the Statehouse and Capitol in Columbus) and its political subdivisions
- Premises owned or leased by public or private colleges and universities
- Places of worship
- Locations prohibited under federal law
Ohio bans transporting or having a loaded gun in a motor vehicle in a manner that an operator or passenger can access it without leaving the vehicle. There are several exceptions, including one for those with a valid CHL who are not in a prohibited location.
The main provisions of Ohio gun control laws appear in the table below.
- Ohio Revised Code (O.R.C.), Title 29 Crimes-Procedure, Sections 2923.11 through 2923.30, Weapons Control
- Carrying a concealed handgun without a license — Section 2923.111
- Carrying concealed weapons; affirmative defenses — Section 2923.12
- Possession of firearm in liquor permit premises — Section 2923.121
- Conveyance or possession of deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in school safety zone — Section 2923.122
- Illegal conveyance, possession, or control of deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in a courthouse — Section 2923.123
- Application; license — Section 2923.125
- License expiration; prohibited places; private employers; immunity; signage; reciprocity — Section 2923.126
- Having weapons while under disability — Section 2923.13
- Possession of a deadly weapon while under detention — Section 2923.131
- Using (or carrying) weapons while intoxicated — Section 2923.15
- Improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle — Section 2923.16
- Unlawful possession of dangerous ordnance — Section 2923.17
- Unlawful transactions in weapons — Section 2923.20
- Defacing identification marks of a firearm; possessing a defaced firearm — Section 2923.201
- Improper furnishing firearms to a minor — Section 2923.21
The following firearms are illegal in Ohio, with limited exceptions for law enforcement, military, and those licensed under the National Firearms Act:
- Automatic firearms (firearms designed or specially adapted to fire a succession of cartridges with a single function of the trigger)
- Sawed-off firearms
- Zip guns
- Defaced firearms (with the name of the manufacturer, model, manufacturer’s serial number, or other mark of identification altered or removed)
- Any firearm and ammunition designed and manufactured for military purposes
- Any firearm muffler or suppressor
- Any combination of parts intended by the owner for use in converting a firearm or device into a dangerous ordnance (See O.R.C. Section 2923.11K)
Ohio does not require a waiting period to purchase a firearm.
The following people may not own or possess a firearm under Ohio law:
- A fugitive from justice
- A person who is under indictment for or has been convicted of a violent felony offense or has been adjudicated a delinquent child for an offense that would be a violent felony offense if committed by an adult
- A person who is under indictment for or has been convicted of any felony drug offense or has been adjudicated a delinquent child for a drug offense that would be a felony if committed by an adult
- A person who is drug dependent, in danger of drug dependence, or has chronic alcoholism
- A person who is under adjudication of mental incompetence; has been committed to a mental institution; has been found by a court to be a mentally ill person subject to a court order; or is an involuntary patient other than one who is a patient only for purposes of observation
Federal law provides further categories of persons who cannot possess a firearm, including those convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence or under certain protection orders. (See 18 U.S.C. Section 922g)
No. Ohio does not require a license to own a firearm.
No. Ohio does not require a concealed carry license to carry a concealed handgun. However, there are location prohibitions.
Yes. Open carry of firearms is legal in Ohio. However, there are location prohibitions.
Issuance of a concealed handgun license is based on the following criteria. You must:
- Be at least 21 years of age
- Legally living in the U.S.
- Not be a fugitive from justice (no warrants)
- Not be under a felony indictment for or charged with a felony, a drug offense, or a misdemeanor offense of violence
- Have not been convicted of or plead guilty to a felony, a drug offense, an assault on a law enforcement officer, or any other misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment over one year, or have been adjudicated as a delinquent child for any such offenses
- Have not been convicted or pled guilty to domestic violence, or have been adjudicated as a delinquent child for any such offense
- Have not been convicted or pled guilty to a misdemeanor offense of violence in the last three years, or have been adjudicated as a delinquent child for any such offenses in that time frame
- Have not been convicted or pled guilty to two or more violations of assault or negligent assault within the last five years, or have been adjudicated as a delinquent child for any such offenses in that time frame
- Have not been convicted or pled guilty to a violation of resisting arrest within the last 10 years, or have been adjudicated as a delinquent child for any such offense in that time frame
- Have not been committed to any mental institution
- Are not under adjudication of mental incompetence
- Have not been found by a court to be a person with mental illness subject to court order
- Are not an involuntary patient (other than one only for observation)
- Are not currently subject to a civil protection order, a temporary protection order, or a protection order from another state
- Certify that you desire to carry a concealed firearm for defensive purposes while engaged in lawful activity
- Submit a competency certification related to gun training and/or information on firearms safety
- Not be subject to a suspension of a prior CHL
- Show proof of employment in Ohio if you reside in another state
- Certify that you are not an unlawful user or addicted to a controlled substance
- Not have been discharged from the armed forces under dishonorable conditions
- Certify that you have not renounced U.S. citizenship, if applicable
- Pass a criminal background check