Question 1

Is Maine a constitutional carry state?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The ban on carrying a concealed weapon does not apply to a handgun carried by a person who is 21 years of age or older and is not otherwise prohibited from carrying a firearm, or by a person 18 to 20 who is on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces or National Guard, or is an honorably discharged veteran of them, and is not otherwise prohibited. A person carrying concealed without a Maine permit must immediately tell a law enforcement officer that he or she is carrying a concealed handgun when first in contact during an arrest, detainment or routine traffic stop.

Question 2

How do you get a concealed carry permit in Maine?

Accepted Answer

Permit to carry concealed handguns. Shall-issue: the issuing authority 'shall, upon written application, issue' a permit to an applicant who has demonstrated good moral character and meets the requirements. Issued by the municipal officers (or the police chief or sheriff they designate) for residents of municipalities with a full-time police chief, and by the Chief of the State Police for others, including nonresidents. Applicant must be 18 years of age or older and must show knowledge of handgun safety, for example by a handgun-safety course completed within 5 years (military members with basic firearms training are exempt). Fees: $50 for an original resident application and $35 for a renewal; $80 for a nonresident original or renewal. Permits are valid for 4 years. A resident of 5 or more years must be issued or denied within 30 days; others within 60 days.

Question 3

Is open carry legal in Maine?

Accepted Answer

Maine's weapons statute prohibits concealed carry without a permit or exception and the display of a weapon in a threatening manner; it does not require a permit to carry a handgun openly. Place restrictions apply regardless of how the gun is carried, such as public school property, courthouses, and licensed bars posted to prohibit firearms.

Question 4

How old do you have to be to buy a gun in Maine?

Accepted Answer

Handguns: it is a crime to knowingly transfer (sell, give, lend or otherwise provide) a handgun to a person under 18, with exceptions such as temporary transfers with a parent's written consent or for employment, target practice, hunting or safety instruction. Long guns: a non-parent may not knowingly transfer a firearm other than a handgun to a person under 16 (Class D crime), and may not sell one to a person 16 or 17 (civil violation up to $500 for a first offense); the parent's approval is an affirmative defense. These rules apply to private sellers as well as dealers.

Question 5

Do private gun sales need a background check in Maine?

Accepted Answer

Partly. A private seller who sells a firearm at a gun show or as a result of an advertisement (TV, radio, internet, print, or posted sign) must complete the sale through a federally licensed dealer, who runs a NICS background check on the buyer; selling in violation is a Class C crime. Sales between family members and of curios/relics between licensed collectors or antique firearms are excluded. Other private sales do not require a check. No permit to purchase is required.

Question 6

Is there a waiting period to buy a gun in Maine?

Accepted Answer

72 hours for all firearms (and unfinished frames or receivers): a seller may not knowingly deliver a firearm to a buyer sooner than 72 hours after the agreement of sale; the period runs concurrently with any background-check wait. Exceptions include sales to law enforcement, corrections and licensed security officers, sales to dealers, sales between family members, curio/relic and antique firearms, and sales where no background check is required by law. Violation is a civil violation ($200-$500; $500-$1,000 for a repeat). A federal district court enjoined the law in February 2025, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit vacated that injunction on April 3, 2026 (Beckwith v. Frey, No. 25-1160), and the U.S. Supreme Court denied review on October 19, 2026 (No. 26-258), so the law is in effect.

Question 7

Does Maine have a red flag law?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Under the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act, a family or household member, a law enforcement agency or a law enforcement officer may petition a court. After a hearing (held within 14 days of the petition), the court may bar the respondent from purchasing, possessing or receiving a dangerous weapon for up to one year, renewable for additional periods of up to one year. An emergency (ex parte) order may last up to 14 days until the hearing.

Question 8

Does Maine ban assault weapons or high-capacity magazines?

Accepted Answer

Maine has no state law that bans assault weapons or limits magazine capacity. State law does regulate machine guns, armor-piercing ammunition and undetectable firearms.

Question 9

Can you keep a gun in your car in Maine without a permit?

Accepted Answer

Maine generally prohibits having a loaded firearm in or on a motor vehicle (a firearm with a cartridge in the chamber or an attached magazine, clip or cylinder). Exception: a person 21 or older who may lawfully possess a firearm, or a person 18 to 20 on active military/National Guard duty or an honorably discharged veteran, may have a loaded pistol or revolver in or on a vehicle. Long guns must be unloaded in a vehicle. The hunting-license exception to the concealed-carry ban does not allow carrying a concealed or loaded firearm in a motor vehicle.

Question 10

Which states' carry permits does Maine honor?

Accepted Answer

Maine honors a concealed handgun permit issued to a person by that person's state of residence if that state honors a Maine permit. Separately, anyone 21 or older (or 18-20 military/veteran) who may lawfully carry may carry concealed in Maine without a permit.

Question 11

Where can't you carry a gun in Maine?

Accepted Answer

Firearms may not be possessed on public school property or the property of an approved private school (limited exceptions, such as an unloaded firearm in a locked vehicle at a school-authorized hunter's breakfast). Unauthorized possession of a firearm in a courthouse, and in a correctional facility or jail, is a crime. Possessing a firearm in a licensed bar or restaurant serving alcohol for on-premises consumption is a crime if the premises is posted to prohibit firearms, or if the person is under the influence; a concealed-carry permit is not a defense.

Question 12

Are ghost guns legal in Maine?

Accepted Answer

Maine requires serial numbers. A person may not knowingly possess, import, transfer or offer to transfer an unfinished frame or receiver, or a firearm or frame or receiver, that has not been imprinted with a serial number by a federal firearms licensee, and may not buy a serialized frame or receiver without a background check. Exceptions include licensees, antiques, curios or relics, firearms made before 1968, permanently inoperable firearms, and a person who has had the item unserialized for no more than 48 hours and has an appointment with a licensee to have it serialized. Penalties apply beginning January 1, 2027: unlawful possession is a civil violation (fine up to $50) for a first offense, Class D for a second and Class C for a third; unlawful import, transfer or purchase is Class D (Class C for repeat); using an unserialized firearm in a Class A or B crime is Class C. Undetectable firearms are also prohibited.

Permitless (constitutional) carry	Yes. The ban on carrying a concealed weapon does not apply to a handgun carried by a person who is 21 years of age or older and is not otherwise prohibited from carrying a firearm, or by a person 18 to 20 who is on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces or National Guard, or is an honorably discharged veteran of them, and is not otherwise prohibited. A person carrying concealed without a Maine permit must immediately tell a law enforcement officer that he or she is carrying a concealed handgun when first in contact during an arrest, detainment or routine traffic stop. Duty to inform: https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/25/title25sec2003-A.html Source: 25 M.R.S. §2001-A(2)(A-1); 25 M.R.S. §2003-A
Concealed carry permit	Permit to carry concealed handguns. Shall-issue: the issuing authority 'shall, upon written application, issue' a permit to an applicant who has demonstrated good moral character and meets the requirements. Issued by the municipal officers (or the police chief or sheriff they designate) for residents of municipalities with a full-time police chief, and by the Chief of the State Police for others, including nonresidents. Applicant must be 18 years of age or older and must show knowledge of handgun safety, for example by a handgun-safety course completed within 5 years (military members with basic firearms training are exempt). Fees: $50 for an original resident application and $35 for a renewal; $80 for a nonresident original or renewal. Permits are valid for 4 years. A resident of 5 or more years must be issued or denied within 30 days; others within 60 days. Fees as amended by PL 2025, c. 388, Pt. VVV. Source: 25 M.R.S. §2003(1), (1)(E)(4)-(5), (5), (11); 25 M.R.S. §2002(9)
Open carry	Maine's weapons statute prohibits concealed carry without a permit or exception and the display of a weapon in a threatening manner; it does not require a permit to carry a handgun openly. Place restrictions apply regardless of how the gun is carried, such as public school property, courthouses, and licensed bars posted to prohibit firearms. No official Maine page on open carry could be read (State Police page refused). Statute does not set a separate open-carry age; handgun transfers to persons under 18 are restricted (17-A §554-B). Source: 25 M.R.S. §2001-A(1); 20-A M.R.S. §6552; 17-A M.R.S. §§1057, 1058
Guns in your car	Maine generally prohibits having a loaded firearm in or on a motor vehicle (a firearm with a cartridge in the chamber or an attached magazine, clip or cylinder). Exception: a person 21 or older who may lawfully possess a firearm, or a person 18 to 20 on active military/National Guard duty or an honorably discharged veteran, may have a loaded pistol or revolver in or on a vehicle. Long guns must be unloaded in a vehicle. The hunting-license exception to the concealed-carry ban does not allow carrying a concealed or loaded firearm in a motor vehicle. Source: 12 M.R.S. §11212-A(1)-(3)(E); 25 M.R.S. §2001-A(2)(E)
Other states' permits (reciprocity)	Maine honors a concealed handgun permit issued to a person by that person's state of residence if that state honors a Maine permit. Separately, anyone 21 or older (or 18-20 military/veteran) who may lawfully carry may carry concealed in Maine without a permit. Source: 25 M.R.S. §2001-A(2)(F), (A-1)
Where guns are banned	Firearms may not be possessed on public school property or the property of an approved private school (limited exceptions, such as an unloaded firearm in a locked vehicle at a school-authorized hunter's breakfast). Unauthorized possession of a firearm in a courthouse, and in a correctional facility or jail, is a crime. Possessing a firearm in a licensed bar or restaurant serving alcohol for on-premises consumption is a crime if the premises is posted to prohibit firearms, or if the person is under the influence; a concealed-carry permit is not a defense. Bars: https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/17-A/title17-Asec1057.html; courthouses: https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/17-A/title17-Asec1058.html. Source: 20-A M.R.S. §6552; 17-A M.R.S. §§1057, 1058, 1059

Age to buy a gun	Handguns: it is a crime to knowingly transfer (sell, give, lend or otherwise provide) a handgun to a person under 18, with exceptions such as temporary transfers with a parent's written consent or for employment, target practice, hunting or safety instruction. Long guns: a non-parent may not knowingly transfer a firearm other than a handgun to a person under 16 (Class D crime), and may not sell one to a person 16 or 17 (civil violation up to $500 for a first offense); the parent's approval is an affirmative defense. These rules apply to private sellers as well as dealers. Long guns: https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/17-A/title17-Asec554-A.html Source: 17-A M.R.S. §§554-A, 554-B
Background checks and private sales	Partly. A private seller who sells a firearm at a gun show or as a result of an advertisement (TV, radio, internet, print, or posted sign) must complete the sale through a federally licensed dealer, who runs a NICS background check on the buyer; selling in violation is a Class C crime. Sales between family members and of curios/relics between licensed collectors or antique firearms are excluded. Other private sales do not require a check. No permit to purchase is required. Added by PL 2023, c. 675. Buying a serialized frame or receiver also requires a background check (25 M.R.S. §2037(1)(C), (F)). Source: 15 M.R.S. §395
Waiting period	72 hours for all firearms (and unfinished frames or receivers): a seller may not knowingly deliver a firearm to a buyer sooner than 72 hours after the agreement of sale; the period runs concurrently with any background-check wait. Exceptions include sales to law enforcement, corrections and licensed security officers, sales to dealers, sales between family members, curio/relic and antique firearms, and sales where no background check is required by law. Violation is a civil violation ($200-$500; $500-$1,000 for a repeat). A federal district court enjoined the law in February 2025, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit vacated that injunction on April 3, 2026 (Beckwith v. Frey, No. 25-1160), and the U.S. Supreme Court denied review on October 19, 2026 (No. 26-258), so the law is in effect. Supreme Court docket: https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/26-258.html. The exception for sales where no background check is required (§2016(4)(C)(3), as amended by PL 2025, c. 537) means many private sales outside §395 may be exempt; check the statute. Source: 25 M.R.S. §2016; Beckwith v. Frey (1st Cir. Apr. 3, 2026); U.S. Sup. Ct. No. 26-258
Ghost guns and homemade firearms	Maine requires serial numbers. A person may not knowingly possess, import, transfer or offer to transfer an unfinished frame or receiver, or a firearm or frame or receiver, that has not been imprinted with a serial number by a federal firearms licensee, and may not buy a serialized frame or receiver without a background check. Exceptions include licensees, antiques, curios or relics, firearms made before 1968, permanently inoperable firearms, and a person who has had the item unserialized for no more than 48 hours and has an appointment with a licensee to have it serialized. Penalties apply beginning January 1, 2027: unlawful possession is a civil violation (fine up to $50) for a first offense, Class D for a second and Class C for a third; unlawful import, transfer or purchase is Class D (Class C for repeat); using an unserialized firearm in a Class A or B crime is Class C. Undetectable firearms are also prohibited. Added by PL 2025, c. 537. Penalties: https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/25/title25sec2038.html Source: 25 M.R.S. §§2036-2039; 17-A M.R.S. §1060

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

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