Is firearms legal in Tennessee?

Q: Is firearms legal in Tennessee?

Firearms in Tennessee is permitted. Tennessee has permitless carry: no permit is required, and anyone 18 and older who lawfully possesses and is lawfully present may carry openly or concealed (a 2025 law formalized ages 18 to 20). Optional permits are available.

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TENNESSEE · FIREARMS

Firearms

Permitted: Tennessee has permitless carry: no permit is required, and anyone 18 and older who lawfully possesses and is lawfully present may carry openly or concealed (a 2025 law formalized ages 18 to 20).

Permitted

Summary

Tennessee has permitless carry: no permit is required, and anyone 18 and older who lawfully possesses and is lawfully present may carry openly or concealed (a 2025 law formalized ages 18 to 20). Optional permits are available.

Source: https://www.tn.gov/safety/tnhp/handgun.html · Updated July 6, 2026

Tennessee Firearms topics

Concealed Carry in Tennessee →Permitted
Tennessee has permitless carry: no permit is required, and anyone 18 and older who lawfully possesses and is lawfully present may carry openly or concealed (a 2025 law formalized ages 18 to 20).
Open Carry in Tennessee →Permitted
Open carry of a handgun is allowed in Tennessee without a permit for anyone 18 or older who may lawfully possess one.
Magazine Capacity in Tennessee →Permitted
No state law limits magazine capacity in Tennessee — standard-capacity and high-capacity magazines are legal to buy and possess under state law.
Gun Possession in Tennessee →Permitted
Tennessee has no red-flag law (also called an Extreme Risk Protection Order, or ERPO) — a 2024 law preempts and bars local ERPO ordinances — and no assault-weapon ban or limit on magazine capacity.
Transporting Firearms in Tennessee →Permitted
In Tennessee, anyone who is not prohibited may carry or keep a loaded handgun anywhere in a privately owned vehicle, without a permit.
Duty to Inform Police in Tennessee →Conditional
Tennessee has no proactive duty to inform, but an enhanced-permit holder must keep the permit in immediate possession while carrying and display it on an officer's demand (T.C.A. § 39-17-1351(t); the same rule applies to the concealed-only permit under § 39-17-1366).
Suppressors & Silencers in Tennessee →Conditional
Suppressors are legal in Tennessee once they are registered under the federal National Firearms Act (NFA).
Reciprocity — where is my Tennessee permit honored? →
State-by-state map of which states honor a Tennessee concealed-carry permit.

Other Tennessee laws

Firearms in nearby states

Browse all state laws →

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