Open Carry in Alabama

Alabama has no state law that requires a permit to carry a pistol openly. Open carry is subject to the same rules as other carry: prohibited persons may not possess firearms (§ 13A-11-72); without a permit a person may not carry a pistol on another person's private property without the owner's or legal possessor's consent (§ 13A-11-52); and the places listed in § 13A-11-61.2 (police stations, jails, courthouses, etc.) apply to everyone. ALEA calls Act 2022-133 the 'Open Carry or Permit-less Carry' act.

No permit is needed to have a pistol in a vehicle, loaded or concealed, since Act 2022-133 repealed § 13A-11-73 (which had required a permit to carry a pistol in a vehicle) effective January 1, 2023. Prohibited persons may not possess firearms anywhere. Employers may not bar an employee from keeping a lawfully possessed pistol in a privately owned vehicle in a parking area if the pistol is kept from ordinary observation while the employee is in the vehicle, and kept from ordinary observation and locked in a compartment, container or the vehicle's interior when the vehicle is unattended. At a § 13A-11-61.2 location (for example a police station, courthouse or secured building), a firearm on the premises must be kept from ordinary observation and locked in the vehicle.

Without the express permission of the person or entity in charge, no one (including permit holders) may knowingly carry a firearm inside a police, sheriff or highway patrol station; in or on the premises of a prison, jail, halfway house or other detention facility; inside an inpatient psychiatric facility; inside a courthouse, courthouse annex, a building with a district attorney's office, a building where a county commission or city council is meeting, or the primary office of an elected official; inside a building with guards plus security screening (such as magnetometers); and, unless the person has a permit, inside a facility hosting a school or college athletic event or a professional athletic event. Violations are Class C misdemeanors, and notices must be posted at public entrances. Carrying a deadly weapon on school premises with intent to do bodily harm is a Class C felony. Without a permit, a pistol may not be carried on another person's private property without consent. Employers may ban carry on their property (except storage in vehicles as allowed by § 13A-11-90).