Mississippi Gun Laws

• Constitutional Carry & Enhanced Permits: Mississippi operates under a robust permitless (constitutional) carry framework enacted in 2015. Any law-abiding adult 18 or older may carry a concealed weapon without a permit in most public spaces. However, the state’s unique "Enhanced Carry Permit" remains highly utilized, as it legally bypasses nearly all statutorily prohibited zones (like public college campuses, polling places, and non-judicial courthouse areas).
• Aggressive State Preemption: The 2026 political climate fiercely guards Second Amendment rights. State preemption strictly forbids local municipalities, cities, or counties from enacting any ordinances that regulate the possession, transfer, or carrying of firearms.
• Church Protection Focus: Mississippi maintains the "Mississippi Church Protection Act," which specifically empowers places of worship to create designated, legally protected security teams from their congregations, extending unique civil and criminal immunities to those authorized carriers.

Mississippi is a "Shall Issue" state. The Department of Public Safety (DPS) issues both Standard and Enhanced Firearms Permits. An Enhanced Permit is highly recommended due to the vast exemptions it provides to off-limits locations.

• Minimum Age: 21 years old for a permit (18 for active-duty military or veterans). Note that permitless carry is legal at 18.
• Training Requirements: A Standard Permit requires no training. The Enhanced Permit requires the applicant to complete an 8-hour training course taught by a DPS-certified instructor, including legal instruction and live-fire qualification.
• Background Checks: A state and federal (FBI) fingerprint-based background check is mandatory.
• Fingerprints: A complete set of electronic fingerprints must be submitted to the DPS.
• Application Fees: The initial fee is $112.00 ($80 application fee + $32 background check fee). Renewals are $72.00 ($32 for applicants 65 and older).
• Processing Times: By law, the DPS has 45 days to issue or deny the permit after receiving a complete application.

Mississippi imposes no state-level restrictions on modern sporting rifles, magazine capacities, or specific firearm models.

• Magazine Capacity: No restrictions. Any capacity magazine is completely legal to possess, buy, sell, and carry.
• "Assault Weapon" Bans: None. Mississippi does not regulate or ban semi-automatic firearms based on cosmetic features or military appearance.
• Restricted Ammunition: Mississippi explicitly prohibits the possession and use of armor-piercing ammunition (designed to penetrate bulletproof vests) during the commission of a crime. Standard hollow-point ammunition is fully legal.
• Banned Models: No specific firearm models are banned by name in the state.

Mississippi offers incredibly strong self-defense protections, heavily favoring individuals forced to defend themselves, their families, or their property.

• Stand Your Ground: Yes. Mississippi law states that a person who is not the initial aggressor and is in a place they have a right to be has no duty to retreat before using deadly force to prevent death or great bodily harm.
• Castle Doctrine: Yes. The law applies a legal presumption that a person reasonably feared imminent death if they use deadly force against an intruder unlawfully and forcefully entering their home, business, or occupied motor vehicle.
• Duty to Retreat: No. State statute explicitly declares there is no legal duty to retreat.
• Civil Immunity: Yes. Mississippi provides statutory immunity from civil lawsuits for individuals who use justified force in self-defense, preventing attackers or their surviving relatives from successfully suing for damages.

Transportation of firearms in Mississippi is straightforward and highly permissive due to constitutional carry vehicle protections.

• Handguns: Any law-abiding adult 18 or older may transport a loaded handgun, openly or concealed, anywhere inside the passenger compartment of a vehicle without a permit.
• Long Guns: May be legally transported loaded in a motor vehicle. There is no state requirement for long guns to be unloaded or cased during transport.
• Federal Gun-Free School Zone Act: Constitutional carry does not satisfy the federal GFSZA exemption. To legally drive within 1,000 feet of a K-12 school in Mississippi without violating federal law, an individual must possess a state-issued Standard or Enhanced Firearms Permit.

Mississippi defers entirely to federal law for commercial firearm transactions and places no mandates on private sales.

• Dealer Sales: All purchases through a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) require a standard NICS background check.
• Private Sales: No background check, paperwork, or government registration is required for private, face-to-face firearm transfers between two Mississippi residents.
• Waiting Periods: There are no mandatory waiting periods for purchasing any type of firearm in Mississippi.
• CCW Bypass: A valid Mississippi Firearms Permit (Standard or Enhanced) qualifies as an exemption to the NICS background check at a dealer, allowing for the immediate transfer of the firearm.

Mississippi does not have an Extreme Risk Protection Order (Red Flag) law. There is no civil legal mechanism in the state that allows law enforcement or family members to petition a judge for the temporary, preemptive confiscation of an individual's firearms without full criminal due process.

Because Mississippi operates under constitutional carry, eligible adults (18+) face no penalties for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. However, if a "prohibited person" (such as a convicted felon) is caught in possession of a firearm, it is a severe felony carrying a penalty of 1 to 10 years in state prison.

Carrying a firearm into a statutorily prohibited zone, or ignoring a valid "No Weapons" sign on private property, is generally prosecuted as a misdemeanor for the first offense, punishable by up to 6 months in county jail and a $500 fine. Carrying a firearm onto K-12 school property without an Enhanced Permit or proper authorization is a felony punishable by up to 3 years in prison and a $5,000 fine.