Indiana Gun Laws: Concealed Carry, Open Carry and Buying a Gun

Yes, since July 1, 2022. A person who is at least 18 and is not otherwise prohibited by state or federal law is not required to have a license or permit to carry a handgun in Indiana. The following may not carry a handgun: a person convicted of an offense punishable by more than one year; a fugitive from justice; an alien (a person not lawfully in the United States); a person convicted of a crime of domestic violence, domestic battery or criminal stalking (unless a court restored firearm rights for the first two); a person restrained by a protective order; a person under indictment; a person adjudicated dangerous under the red flag law, adjudicated a mental defective or committed to a mental institution; a person dishonorably discharged from the military or National Guard; a person who renounced U.S. citizenship; and a person under 18, or under 23 with a juvenile adjudication for certain acts, unless authorized under IC 35-47-10. Violation is a Class A misdemeanor, or a Level 5 felony on or near school property, on a school bus, or with certain prior convictions.

Indiana License to Carry a Handgun, issued by the superintendent of the Indiana State Police; it is optional and mainly used to carry in states that recognize it. Applications go through the local police chief or county sheriff, with fingerprints and checks of criminal history databases including NICS. The superintendent 'shall issue' a license if the applicant has a proper reason, is of good character and reputation, is a proper person, and is a U.S. citizen or a non-citizen allowed to carry under federal law. No license may be issued to a person under 18, a felon, a person prohibited by federal law or listed in IC 35-47-2-1.5, among others. There is no fee (a $20 fee applies to a duplicate). Licenses are valid for 5 years or for life; non-residents with a regular place of business or employment in Indiana may receive only a 5-year license. The statute sets no training requirement.

Allowed. A person who is at least 18 and not prohibited by state or federal law needs no license to carry a handgun, and the statute does not limit whether it is carried openly or concealed. Persons listed in IC 35-47-2-1.5 (including those under 18) may not carry a handgun.

18 for handguns. No one may sell, give or otherwise transfer a handgun to a person under 18, except within a parent-child or guardian relationship or otherwise in compliance with IC 35-47-10 and federal law. A child under 18 who possesses any firearm (handgun or long gun) commits dangerous possession of a firearm unless an exemption applies, such as a hunter or firearms safety course, supervised target shooting, licensed hunting, or being on family-controlled property with a parent's or guardian's permission. It is also a crime to transfer a handgun to someone the transferor knows is ineligible, for reasons other than age, to receive one from a dealer or who intends to commit a crime, and to make a straw purchase. Article 47 sets no separate minimum age for buying a long gun.

Indiana has no state law that requires a background check, permit-to-purchase or license for private (non-dealer) firearm sales. Dealers must obtain a completed Form 4473 and NICS authorization before transferring a handgun from inventory. For private handgun transfers, it is a defense to a charge of transferring to an ineligible person that the seller contacted NICS (or had a dealer do so) and received authorization.

Indiana has no state law that sets a waiting period for buying handguns or long guns. Local governments may not regulate the ownership, possession, transfer or commerce in firearms (with narrow exceptions).

Yes. Only a law enforcement officer may seek seizure: a court may issue a warrant on an officer's sworn affidavit that a person is 'dangerous' and has a firearm, or an officer may seize without a warrant and file an affidavit within 48 hours. The court must make a good-faith effort to hold a hearing within 14 days; the State must prove dangerousness by clear and convincing evidence. If the person is found dangerous, the firearm is retained, any handgun license is suspended, and the person is barred from renting, receiving, owning or possessing a firearm. The person may petition for return at least 180 days after the order: within one year of the order the person must prove by a preponderance that they are no longer dangerous; after one year the State must prove continued dangerousness by clear and convincing evidence. If the State fails to prove dangerousness, the court must order the firearm returned within 5 days and the records sealed and expunged (as amended effective July 1, 2025).

Indiana has no state law that bans assault weapons or limits magazine capacity. Local governments may not regulate firearms, ammunition or firearm accessories.

No license is needed. A person who is at least 18 and not prohibited may carry a handgun without a license, including in a vehicle; the statute sets no loaded/unloaded or case requirement for such persons. An employer generally may not bar an employee from keeping a firearm or ammunition locked in the trunk, in the glove compartment of a locked vehicle, or out of plain sight in a locked vehicle. On school property, a legally possessed firearm may be kept in a vehicle, but leaving it in plain view in a vehicle parked in a school parking lot is a Class A misdemeanor.

All. Licenses to carry handguns issued by other states or foreign countries are recognized according to their terms, but only while the holders are not Indiana residents. (Indiana's permitless carry also applies to eligible adults regardless of license.)

State law bans possessing a firearm in or on school property or on a school bus (a Level 6 felony), with exceptions including firearms kept in or locked out of sight in a vehicle and attending worship or serving at a house of worship located on school property; bans firearms on commercial or chartered aircraft and in controlled-access areas of airports; and lets local governments bar firearms in a building that contains a courtroom and in a public hospital with a secure correctional health unit, and bar intentional display of a firearm at a public meeting. The Attorney General also lists casinos, the Indiana Government Center, the State Fairgrounds (unless the gun is for sale or trade at an event) and penal institutions. Private property owners may prohibit firearms on their property.

Indiana has no state law that regulates unserialized or homemade firearms or unfinished frame or receiver kits. State law does make it a Level 5 felony to remove, obliterate or alter an importer's or manufacturer's serial number on a firearm, or to possess a firearm whose serial number has been removed, obliterated or altered.