Gun Laws in Maryland

Nov 4, 2024 | Read Time: 12 minutes

This post explains the most relevant laws on owning guns in Maryland, and the current status of the concealed carry laws. In 2022, the Supreme Court made concealed carry legal in all 50 states with the Bruen opinion. In response, some states that did not like that decision made a lot of new gun laws. Maryland did that.

If you are a Maryland gun owner, and especially if you want to carry a concealed firearm in Maryland, you better know the laws on this subject. They are confusing and don’t make sense, but that won’t stop the state from putting you in jail because of them. So you better know what they are. I have tried to make that easier here.

Maryland is not exactly a gun friendly state. We have a lot of laws affecting gun ownership. I believe Maryland authorities will be looking for people who violate those laws so they can make an example out of them. You do not want to be that guy.

So read on to find out what you have to do to stay out of trouble as a Maryland gun owner.

This post will give an overview of the most important gun laws in Maryland. It cannot possibly be comprehensive. Maryland actually has a lot of laws about guns. It is one of the most restrictive states in the nation regarding gun laws. Therefore, use this post for informational purposes. It will cover 90% of your Maryland gun law related questions.

Storage of Firearms

In my opinion, this is one of the most important to know and live by – you cannot store or leave a loaded firearm where an unsupervised child under 16 may gain access to it. “Supervised” means supervised by a person at least 21 years old. That simply means – lock up your guns.

(Personal rant 1: Part of being a responsible gun owner is paying enough money for proper storage so it can’t be stolen by some bad guy who will use it for bad purposes, or accessed by some kid. Don’t cheap out on this. There are a ton of excellent options out there. Google it to find reviews and recommendations.)

Assault Weapons

Maryland does ban a specific list of assault weapons. Assault weapons are hard to define from a legal perspective, so Maryland keeps a specific list of weapons that are banned. If a specific weapon is not on that list, it is legal. In Maryland you can legally own a lot of guns that the average person would consider an “assault rifle.”

The list of assault long guns is found in the state code at section 5-101 of the Public Safety article. A list of assault pistols is found at section 4-101 of the Criminal Law article. You can look up the actual statutes here, or you can see a list kept by the Maryland State Police here.

Detachable Magazines – 10 round limit

Maryland also bans the sale of detachable magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. It is illegal to manufacture, sell, offer for sale, purchase, receive, or transfer a detachable magazine with a capacity over 10 rounds of ammunition for firearms.

High capacity magazines are another frequent target of laws trying to define and ban assault rifles. They also play into handgun laws as any handgun sold in Maryland is limited to a 10 round magazine. There are plenty of guns that can hold more, but when you buy such a gun in Maryland, it will come with a 10 round magazine.

However, this doesn’t mean it is illegal to own a higher capacity magazine. It is perfectly legal to own. You just cannot buy it in Maryland, and any gun you buy in Maryland will come with a magazine holding 10 rounds or less. But you can buy it somewhere else and own it in Maryland.

Rifles & Shotguns

Individuals must be 18 or older to purchase a long gun (shotgun or rifle). You do not need a permit to purchase a shotgun or most “normal” rifles.

By “normal” I am talking about most rifles the average person would go hunting with. As I said, it is very hard to properly define things like “assault weapons.” So you can get way down in the weeds on this topic if you want. But generally, you can legally own any “normal” hunting type rifle or shotgun. You will still be limited to 10 round magazines in those rifles.

So you cannot own most of the modern AR15 style rifles (sorry John Wick), or a sawed off shotgun (sorry Al Capone), or a blunderbuss (sorry Jack Sparrow, er, I mean Captain Jack Sparrow).

But rest assured, if you are looking for a “normal” gun to go hunting or use for basic home defense, you can probably own it and buy it in Maryland. If you think you really need that tricked out AR15 with a 50 round mag for home defense, then you may disagree with that opinion.

But see the Assault Weapons section above. You will be surprised to find out what you actually can buy and own in Maryland.

Machine Guns

Machine guns are illegal in Maryland. Machine guns are generally defined as guns that allow continuous fire with one trigger pull. They are illegal in any state without very special licenses. You have to be a federal firearms dealer or a licensed collector. The licenses for that cost thousands of dollars. If you have to ask, you are not a FFL holder, and you cannot own a machine gun, regardless of how much fun that would be.

Also note that Maryland does have some specific enhanced sentences for anyone using a machine gun in a crime of violence or for aggressive purposes.

One Per Month Restriction

Under Maryland law, individuals may only purchase one handgun, short-barreled rifle, or short-barreled shotgun every 30 days, or two within 60 days if submitted on Maryland State Police (MSP) paperwork together.

So if you are building a collection of firearms in Maryland, you will build it slowly. You might not like the fact you can’t run out and pick up 3 guns in one weekend, but your spouse probably loves it. Approved Maryland Designated Collectors are exempt from this restriction.

(Secret pro tip – it is very easy to become a Maryland Designated Collector and get around this limit. If you poke around, you will find that a lot of gun laws in the US have giant loopholes you can drive a truck through with minimal effort. This is because politicians like to lie to us about the laws they pass, and what those laws actually mean. Insert “shocked face emoji” here.)

Handgun Ownership

Handguns are not banned in Maryland, but they are heavily regulated. You must have a license to buy one. You must be 21 years old. You must take a multi-day course and pass a safety test to get the license. And your guns will be registered with the state at the time of purchase.

If you want to buy a handgun in Maryland, you have to get a Handgun Qualification License (HQL). You will have to find and register for an approved class. The person giving that class will take you step by step through the (very confusing) set of hoops you have to jump through. We won’t list them all here. Getting you through those hoops is part of what you are paying that person to do.

You will pay a lot of fees too. It is expensive to get your HQL. And it is a burden. The politicians did this very much on purpose to make it hard for you to own a gun. The system does not make any logical sense. It is confusing and repetitive. Bring your patience and your wallet with you if you want to get your Maryland HQL. It will be a chore.

You will have to answer some questions when you buy your gun, including some that are amusing like “are you currently a fugitive from justice?” and “are you a habitual drunkard?” So Otis can’t own a gun in Maryland, which is probably a good thing. And if you don’t get that reference, go as your grandfather.

You will also wait 7 days to pick up your handgun. The original purpose of that was  to enable a criminal background check. But even though they can do a criminal background check almost instantly, Maryland still has a 7 day waiting period built into the system.

Transportation

Transporting a gun (as opposed to carrying it concealed with a permit – see below) is generally illegal in Maryland. Of course there are several exceptions which we will list below. But remember that regardless of the exception, you must have it unloaded, keep it in a case, and keep the ammo as separate as reasonably possible. That is hard to define, but just remember to keep the gun and ammo separate and in different areas as much as possible.

Exceptions to the prohibition on transporting firearms include:

• Traveling between a residence or business you own or lease.
• Traveling to and from target practice, a sport shooting event, hunting, trapping, or dog obedience training.
• A gun collector transporting his/her collection.

So if you drive around with guns of any type in your car, and anyone asks you why they are there, you better say you are on your way to go  hunting or shooting. Also, keep them unloaded, and keep the ammo separate from the gun as much as possible.

Other

There are a bunch of other specific laws on handguns in Maryland. They are voluminous and we cannot possibly list them all here. This is a general article and should cover most of the gun restrictions that the “average” Marylander will need to know.

Concealed Carry

As most of you probably know, the Supreme Court struck down state laws that prohibit most adults from carrying a concealed firearm. Maryland was one of those states. We had a very similar law to the one in New York that was found unconstitutional.

Therefore, you are now able to carry a concealed firearm in Maryland – subject to many, many, many restrictions. If you want to get super detailed on this topic, see this resource. If you want to know all the laws about handguns in Maryland in a one hour, very watchable video, watch this video. It is very detailed. This is the guy I took my class with, and I can vouch for the fact he knows his stuff, stays on top of it, and explains it very well.

To get your permit to carry concealed, you will have to take another class and jump through another set of hoops, and any person giving that class will lead you through all the specific things you need to do. We will leave that to your instructor. Suffice it to say it is similar to the HQL. Bring your patience and your wallet if you want to get a concealed carry permit in Maryland.

Handguns must be concealed. You cannot open carry in Maryland anymore. Believe it or not, that was legal before 2023. Most people had no idea. If you momentarily and inadvertently display your concealed gun, you don’t violate the law.

(Personal rant 2: Please don’t test this and rile people up, which just leads to more regulations. Spend some money on a good concealable holster. Keep it hidden. Soccer moms don’t want to see your super cool Glock with the laser sights. They will complain to your local politicians, who will just make more laws you don’t like. Please be cool and keep your handgun well concealed.)

(Personal rant 3: Also, don’t do things like this guy did – walking around with a rifle at a school bus stop – trying to prove a point. Really?! You don’t live in Wyoming or Texas. You live in very suburbanized Maryland. Don’t rile people up asserting yourself. It won’t end well.)

New Restrictions in 2023

Maryland politicians got their first chance to react to the Supreme Court legalizing concealed carry in 2023. And wow did they react dramatically! They passed a comprehensive law making it harder to concealed carry in Maryland. But lawsuits were filed, and part of this law has been blocked as of this writing. This is all very complicated right now. See below for details.

The main thing the 2023 Maryland laws did was to establish a bunch of places you CANNOT carry a concealed handgun. The first three below, marked by ***, have been blocked. See below. Here is the list:

• *** Any private property (residence or business) that does not publicly post notice that it is OK to concealed carry. This means the default status for any private property is that it is not legal to carry on that property.
• *** Locations selling alcohol or cannabils for on site consumption. This means you cannot carry in liquor stores, bars & restaurants that serve alcohol – even if you are not personally consuming alcohol.
• *** Within 1000 feet of a demonstration
• Schools
• Colleges
• Health care facilities
• Daycare centers
• Youth camps
• Rehab centers
• Government buildings
• Government land. This includes all state parks and state forests.
• Public transportation
• Polling places
• Electric plants, electric storage facilities, gas plants, and nuclear power plants (sorry Homer).
• Stadiums or anywhere hosting a sporting activity
• A live theater performance
• A ticketed music event
• Museums
• Amusement parks, fairs & carnivals
• Racetracks
• Video lottery facilities
• Casinos

That is a general list. If you want to get super detailed, watch Ryan’s video above. There is a reason it is 1 hour long. There is a lot to cover!

Challenging the 2023 Law – Novotny v. Moore

Gun rights groups filed a lawsuit to stop the 2023 law I wrote about above. That lawsuit is now making its way through the court system – painfully slowly (as per usual). As of November 2024, some parts of the 2023 law have been blocked by the US District Court. But that decision is on appeal and may change. Stay tuned.

Here is what got blocked and what it means right now:

• The part making it illegal to concealed carry in private property unless the owner posts a sign. That particular part of the new law tried to make the default status of all private property to “no concealed carry allowed” and made each property owner post a sign if they want to allow guns on their property.
• The part that banned concealed carry in places where alcohol is served, even if the person carrying is not drinking alcohol.
• The part banning guns within 1000 feet of a demonstration.

The rest of the restrictions listed above are in effect.

I personally believe this will make it all the way to the Supreme Court. So this block may last for a long time. That means you can carry in most private property and restaurants (as long as you are not drinking) for the time being.

If you want to know the up to the minute status, see this link to one of the groups leading the lawsuit challenging the law.

Be a Responsible Gun Owner!

Yeah I know. Everybody has an opinion. But since I am the one writing this post, I get to rant about mine. Call this personal rant # 4.

Be a responsible gun owner! Practice safety. Keep your guns locked up. And spend some time learning what to do if you actually use your concealed carry weapon. Practice so you can shoot straight, and draw without dropping your gun or shooting yourself in the foot.

You don’t want to screw up and shoot some innocent bystander because you rushed things in a high stress situation. Practice often and build muscle memory. There are no shortage of Youtube videos out there teaching you how to do it right and do it safely, and teaching you drills you can do drawing and dry firing at home to build that muscle memory. You don’t even have to leave your house to learn 90% of this.

But when you do leave your house, go shoot a bit. Put some rounds through your gun. Get familiar with it. Invest the time to make sure you are a responsible gun owner and concealed carry permit holder. Be ready to deliver on the promise of a responsible gun owning citizenry if you are called on to do so.

Like I said earlier, Maryland is looking for people to make an example out of. Don’t be that guy!

If you read this and have no idea where to start, email me and I will share some links with you. I have already done the research for myself and I am happy to share. Now you have no excuse.

Conclusion

Maryland has a lot of laws about guns. We have tried to summarize the biggest. We hope you found this listing informative. Feel free to share it with others who may have similar questions because of the newsworthiness of this topic right now.

Next Steps

Want to know more? Discover what you need to know about Maryland law. Click here to see our Free Legal Consumer Guides and get answers to your questions today. Know your options. Be informed. Protect yourself.

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