Open Carry in North Carolina

Generally allowed without a permit: the carry offense in G.S. 14-269(a1) applies to carrying a pistol or gun 'concealed about his or her person'. Open carry is still banned in specific places, e.g., educational property ('whether openly or concealed', a Class I felony, § 14-269.2(b)), assemblies charging admission and establishments where alcohol is sold and consumed (§ 14-269.3, with a permittee exception for concealed handguns), the State Capitol, Executive Mansion and courthouses (§ 14-269.4), and parades, funerals and picket lines (§ 14-277.2). 'Anyone may carry a firearm openly' at State-owned rest areas, rest stops and State-owned hunting and fishing reservations (§ 14-415.11(c3)).

The statute bars carrying a pistol 'concealed about his or her person' without a permit (G.S. 14-269(a1)); permittees may carry concealed, including in vehicles, outside the excluded areas. On State-owned or State-leased parking areas, permit holders may keep a handgun in a closed compartment or container in a locked vehicle (§ 14-269(a2)); similar locked-vehicle exceptions apply to permit holders on educational property ('in a closed compartment or container within the person's locked vehicle', § 14-269.2(k)) and at courthouse/State Capitol grounds (§ 14-269.4).

A permit does not authorize concealed carry in: areas prohibited by G.S. 14-269.2 (educational property; exceptions include a handgun in a closed compartment of a locked vehicle, and places of worship that also hold a school outside school hours or during services); areas prohibited by 14-269.3 (assemblies charging admission and establishments where alcohol is sold and consumed — permittees exempt unless the premises are posted) and 14-277.2 (parades, funerals, picket lines); areas prohibited by 14-269.4 (State Capitol, Executive Mansion, and 'any building housing any court of the General Court of Justice'); areas barred by General Assembly rule; areas prohibited by federal law; law enforcement or correctional facilities; buildings housing only State or federal offices; State or federal offices in other buildings; and private premises posted with 'a conspicuous notice' prohibiting concealed handguns (an infraction, fine up to $500). It is unlawful, with or without a permit, to carry a concealed handgun while consuming alcohol or with alcohol or an unlawfully used controlled substance in the body. Permittees may carry in State parks.