Pre-trip check · DE → PA
Driving from Delaware to Pennsylvania?
The law changes the moment you cross the line — what's legal to carry, light, or do in Delaware can be a violation in Pennsylvania. Every status below is live from LawLert's database, dated, and linked to its official source.
Laws change at the state line.The free LawLert iPhone app alerts you when you cross into a state where a law you track differs: firearms, cannabis, alcohol, fireworks and 9 more. No account.Get the appWhat changes for you (10)
Pennsylvania bars the driver and passengers alike from possessing an open alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle on a highway; it is a summary offense (75 Pa.C.S. 3809).
Full Pennsylvania rule · Official source · verified May 31, 2026
Pennsylvania bars hunting with the aid of aircraft or other devices prohibited by the Game and Wildlife Code (34 Pa.C.S. 2308), and expressly bans launching or operating drones on State Game Lands (58 Pa. Code 135.41);…
Full Pennsylvania rule · Official source · verified Jul 7, 2026
Open carry of a handgun is legal in Pennsylvania without a license at 18 and older statewide, except in Philadelphia, where a License to Carry Firearms (LTCF) is required. An LTCF is also required to carry in a vehicle.
Full Pennsylvania rule · Official source · verified May 31, 2026
Pennsylvania allows medical cannabis only (Medical Marijuana Act, 2016), and recreational use is illegal. A House legalization bill passed in 2025 but failed in the Senate.
Full Pennsylvania rule · Official source · verified Jul 13, 2026
57.6 cents/gallon state tax for 2026 (oil-company franchise tax + excise) — the highest state gas tax in the nation; excludes the 18.4c federal tax.
Full Pennsylvania rule · Official source · verified May 31, 2026
Open burning of debris is regulated locally; counties and the Governor can impose burn bans (county bans last up to 30 days, extendable). Propane/gas stoves, charcoal grills, and tobacco are exempt from county bans.…
Full Pennsylvania rule · Official source · verified Jun 18, 2026
Pennsylvania's longstanding Sunday hunting ban was repealed (Act 36 of 2025, signed July 9, 2025) — the Game Commission now sets Sunday opportunities, approved Sundays within established seasons are open to any…
Full Pennsylvania rule · Official source · verified Jul 2, 2026
Pennsylvania allows camera enforcement only in limited settings: work-zone speed cameras statewide (75 Pa.C.S. 3369) and automated speed enforcement on specified Philadelphia corridors. There is no general statewide use.
Full Pennsylvania rule · Official source · verified Jun 18, 2026
In Pennsylvania, no permit is needed to buy or set off consumer fireworks (age 18+), though municipalities may add local limits.
Full Pennsylvania rule · Official source · verified Jun 5, 2026
PA has no statewide blade-length limit or concealed-knife ban; only 'offensive weapons' under 18 Pa.C.S. 908 (which no longer includes ordinary or automatic knives) are prohibited.
Full Pennsylvania rule · Official source · verified Jul 7, 2026
Same status
Matching status ≠ identical law — details, limits and penalties can still differ.
Carrying with a permit? Whether Delaware permits are honored in Pennsylvania is its own map — check Pennsylvania concealed-carry reciprocity. And federal land (national parks, forests) plays by federal rules in both states — see the federal-land guide.
Also from Delaware: DE → MD · DE → NJ · reverse (PA → DE)
Delaware to Pennsylvania: common questions
- Do the laws change when you drive from Delaware to Pennsylvania?
- Yes — 10 of the 13 categories LawLert tracks have a different status in Pennsylvania than in Delaware: alcohol, drones, firearms, cannabis, taxes, burn bans, hunting, driving, fireworks, knives. Each is listed on this page with its current status, the official source it came from, and the date it was last verified.
- What are the alcohol laws in Pennsylvania if I'm coming from Delaware?
- Pennsylvania: Restricted — Pennsylvania bars the driver and passengers alike from possessing an open alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle on a highway; it is a summary offense (75 Pa.C.S. 3809). In Delaware the same category is Info.
- What are the drones laws in Pennsylvania if I'm coming from Delaware?
- Pennsylvania: Restricted — Pennsylvania bars hunting with the aid of aircraft or other devices prohibited by the Game and Wildlife Code (34 Pa.C.S. 2308), and expressly bans launching or operating drones on State Game Lands (58 Pa. Code 135.41);… In Delaware the same category is Conditional.
- What are the firearms laws in Pennsylvania if I'm coming from Delaware?
- Pennsylvania: Conditional — Open carry of a handgun is legal in Pennsylvania without a license at 18 and older statewide, except in Philadelphia, where a License to Carry Firearms (LTCF) is required. An LTCF is also required to carry in a vehicle. In Delaware the same category is Permitted.
- Is my Delaware concealed carry permit honored in Pennsylvania?
- Permit reciprocity is decided separately from the firearms status shown on this page, so it is not answered here. LawLert publishes Pennsylvania's recognition list, with the statute or agency page behind it, at lawlertapp.com/firearms/PA/reciprocity. Permitless carry, where a state allows it, is a different question again — it does not make an out-of-state permit valid.
- How current is this Delaware to Pennsylvania comparison?
- Every rule on this page stores the date it was last checked against its source; the oldest on this comparison is 2026-05-31. Every rule LawLert publishes carries a source URL, and every correction it has made is public at lawlertapp.com/how-we-verify. Laws change — confirm anything consequential against the linked source.