Open Carry in West Virginia

Allowed without a permit. The Attorney General's guide states that West Virginia allows permitless open carrying of firearms. Persons under 18 who are not married or emancipated may not carry openly or concealed any deadly weapon, except on family property or other property with parental and owner permission, while lawfully hunting, or traveling to and from a hunting site. Open carry is subject to the same place limits as other carry (schools, courts, State Capitol Complex, private property when the owner prohibits it); cities may ban open carry in municipal recreation facilities and carry in municipal buildings.

No permit is needed: any U.S. citizen or legal resident 18 or older who is not prohibited from possessing a firearm may carry a concealed handgun, and no separate loaded/unloaded or locked-container rule for vehicles was found. Specific vehicle rules: on the State Capitol Complex a lawful possessor may keep a firearm in a locked vehicle with the weapon out of normal view; in public-school parking areas only a person 21 or older with a valid concealed handgun license may keep a concealed handgun, stored out of view (and the vehicle locked when unoccupied), while others may keep only an unloaded firearm in a vehicle or locked vehicle; in municipal public parking a lawful weapon may be kept in a locked vehicle out of view; and property owners and employers generally may not ban a lawfully possessed firearm kept out of view and locked in a vehicle in a parking lot.

School buses, the buildings and grounds of public primary and secondary schools (and private ones unless the school adopts a written policy allowing firearms), and school-sponsored functions; the premises of any court of law, including family courts (misdemeanor; felony if carried with intent to commit a crime); the State Capitol Complex (except a firearm locked in a vehicle out of view); regional jails, detention and corrections facilities; municipal buildings and, for open or unlicensed carry, municipal recreation facilities where a city ordinance bans weapons; and private property where the owner, lessee or person in control prohibits firearms (refusing to hand over the weapon or leave when asked is a misdemeanor; per the Attorney General no posting is required). On state college campuses, CHL holders may carry concealed, but colleges may restrict carry in listed areas such as large stadium events, daycare centers, residence halls and secured areas.