Gun laws in Kentucky

Gun laws in Kentucky regulate the sale, possession, and use of firearms and ammunition in the Commonwealth of Kentucky in the United States.

Summary table

Subject / law	Longguns	Handguns	Relevant statutes	Notes
State permit required to purchase?	No	No
Firearm registration?	No	No
Assault weapon law?	No	No
Magazine capacity restriction?	No	No
Owner license required?	No	No
Permit required for concealed carry?	N/A	No	KRS KRS	Kentucky is a "shall issue" state for citizens and lawful permanent residents who are 21 years or older. Permitless carry took effect on June 26, 2019.
Permit required for open carry?	No	No		May carry openly without permit.
Castle Doctrine/Stand Your Ground law?	Yes	Yes	KRS
State preemption of local restrictions?	Yes	Yes	KRS KRS	No locality "may occupy any part of the field of regulation of the manufacture, sale, purchase, taxation, transfer, ownership, possession, carrying, storage, or transportation of firearms, ammunition, components of firearms, components of ammunition, firearms accessories, or combination thereof." The following entities can restrict concealed carry, per law: Postsecondary educational institutions Any unit of government within the state in buildings that it owns, leases, or occupies – however, concealed carry is allowed in highway rest areas, public housing, and private dwellings
NFA weapons restricted?	No	No
Shall certify?	Yes	Yes	KRS	Shall certify within 15 days.
Peaceable Journey laws?	No	No
Background checks required for private sales?	No	No

State constitutional provisions

Article 1, Section 1, Paragraph 7 of the Constitution of Kentucky states, "The right to bear arms in defense of themselves and of the State, subject to the power of the General Assembly to enact laws to prevent persons from carrying concealed weapons."

Concealed carry

Kentucky's concealed carry law, set forth in, is "shall-issue". The law is written to allow the carry of concealed "deadly weapons", not just handguns. Although Kentucky allows concealed carry without a permit for those 21 and over, permits are still issued. The permit is called a Concealed Deadly Weapons License. The definition of a "deadly weapon", found in, includes a wide array of weapons other than guns, including knives, clubs, blackjacks, nunchaku, shuriken, and brass knuckles. All CDWLs are issued for 5 years. Only Kentucky residents are eligible to apply for and obtain the permit.
Kentucky's law in this area has a few distinctive features:

Active and honorably discharged military personnel who apply for licenses are no longer required to undergo training on state laws related to legal liability and the use of deadly force.
Applicants cannot be in arrears on child support obligations in an amount that would equal or exceed that accumulated in one year of nonpayment.
The required firearms safety course can be no longer than 8 hours, and also includes a mandatory marksmanship test, in which the applicant must hit a full-sized silhouette target from 7 yards with at least 11 out of 20 rounds fired.

Under, Kentucky recognizes all currently valid concealed carry permits issued by other U.S. jurisdictions regardless of age.
On March 16, 2011, a change to was signed into law by Governor Steve Beshear allowing guns to be carried without a permit in any factory-installed compartment within the passenger area of a vehicle. Previously, such carry was only allowed in a glove compartment.
On March 11, 2019, Governor Matt Bevin signed into law Senate Bill 150 that eliminated the requirement of a permit to concealed carry in Kentucky. Open carry is allowed without a permit, and is specifically protected in the Kentucky State Constitution as decided in Holland v Commonwealth.

Prohibited places

, which governs the issue of permits, also lists places where concealed carry is prohibited. Per KRS § 237.110, concealed carry is prohibited in:
The prohibition against carrying concealed in an establishment that serves alcohol applies only to the "portion of the establishment primarily devoted to that purpose." This means that concealed carry is allowed in restaurants that serve alcohol, with only the bar section off-limits to permit holders. This assumes that the owner has not posted the establishment to prohibit concealed carry.
authorizes private businesses to prohibit concealed carry on their premises. Although, only once asked to leave the premises may the gun owner be duly cited for trespassing or disturbing the peace. However, "facilities renting or leasing housing" are specifically prohibited from restricting concealed carry. Private employers can prohibit their employees or permit holders from having weapons concealed in employer-owned vehicles, but cannot prohibit concealed weapons in individually owned vehicles. Public employers can prohibit carry within their buildings, but cannot prohibit the carry of weapons by employees or permit holders in any vehicle, with the exception of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, which can prohibit employees from carrying any non-duty weapon in a vehicle while they are transporting persons under the employees' jurisdiction or supervision. This provision was upheld against the University of Kentucky in 2012 by the Kentucky Supreme Court, which held that the university could not prevent legal carry of weapons in personal vehicles.

Reciprocity

Though Kentucky observes all other states licenses, not all states observe Kentucky's. The following is a list of states that have reciprocity with Kentucky:

Other laws

prohibits the state from seizing firearms from private citizens in the event of a disaster or emergency.
Suppressors are legally transferable in Kentucky.
Some counties have adopted Second Amendment sanctuary resolutions.
With respect to the prohibition of weapons on school property, states that adults who are not pupils of the school may have weapons in their vehicles as long as they do not remove the weapons from the vehicle or brandish them while on school property.
Visitors are permitted to carry guns into the capitol building in Frankfort, though other potential weapons are prohibited.