Maryland gun laws

A plain-English overview of buying, owning and carrying firearms in Maryland, with the statute behind each rule.

This is general information, not legal advice. Maryland amends its firearm laws most years, and several are in court. Read the current Annotated Code, check the Maryland State Police Licensing Division, and talk to a Maryland attorney about your own situation. Reviewed September 2026.

Two kinds of firearm

Most of Maryland firearm law turns on one definition. Public Safety Article § 5-101 makes a regulated firearm either a handgun or one of the specific firearms on the statutory list of assault weapons. Everything else, which means an ordinary bolt, lever, pump, single-shot or sporting semi-automatic rifle or shotgun, is simply a rifle or shotgun. The rules for the two groups are very different.

Buying a rifle or shotgun

No state license and no state waiting period. A licensed dealer completes ATF Form 4473 and a federal background check. Dealers sell long guns to buyers 18 and older.
Private transfers go through a dealer. Since October 2021, Public Safety Article § 5-204.1 requires most private sales and transfers of rifles and shotguns to be processed by a licensed dealer with a background check. The statute sets out exceptions, including some family transfers.
Buying online: the firearm ships to a licensed dealer, who runs the check when you collect it. That is how we ship every gun.

Buying a handgun

Handgun Qualification License. Public Safety Article § 5-117.1 requires an HQL to buy, rent or receive a handgun, with limited exemptions. Applicants must be 21, a Maryland resident, complete an approved firearms safety course that includes live fire, and submit fingerprints to the State Police. The federal appeals court upheld the requirement in 2024.
The Handgun Roster. Handguns made after 1984 can be sold in Maryland only if the model is on the roster kept by the Handgun Roster Board (Public Safety Article §§ 5-405, 5-406).
Application and seven-day wait. The dealer files a State Police application for each regulated firearm, and may not release it until seven days after the application is forwarded (§ 5-123). A person may generally buy no more than one regulated firearm in 30 days (§ 5-128).
Private handgun sales also run through a regulated-firearms dealer or a designated law enforcement agency (§ 5-124).

Because the license, the roster and the state application cannot be checked from an online listing, this store does not list handguns or frames. A Maryland regulated-firearms dealer is the place to buy one.

The assault weapons ban

Criminal Law Article § 4-303 prohibits transporting into the state, possessing, selling, offering to sell, transferring, purchasing or receiving an assault weapon, with exceptions in § 4-302 and for firearms lawfully held before the 2013 law took effect. Section 4-301 defines the term three ways: assault pistols, the assault long guns named in Public Safety Article § 5-101(r)(2), and copycat weapons, which are defined by features. A semi-automatic centerfire rifle that accepts a detachable magazine and has two of the listed features, one with an overall length under 29 inches, a semi-automatic shotgun with a folding stock, and a shotgun with a revolving cylinder are all examples. The full federal appeals court upheld the ban in 2024, and the Supreme Court declined to review that decision in 2025.

The State Police publish guidance on how particular models are treated. We do not try to draw those lines listing by listing. AR and AK pattern rifles, stripped receivers and rifles with the listed features are not offered to Maryland buyers.

Magazines

Criminal Law Article § 4-305 provides that a person may not manufacture, sell, offer for sale, purchase, receive or transfer a detachable magazine with a capacity of more than 10 rounds in Maryland. Separate provisions add penalties for using one in a crime. We ship a magazine to Maryland only when the listing itself states 10 rounds or fewer. If the listing does not say, it is not offered.

Unserialized firearms

Public Safety Article § 5-703 prohibits buying, selling or transferring an unfinished frame or receiver that lacks the required serial number, and restricts possessing a firearm without one. We sell no unfinished frames or receivers.

Carrying and transporting

Handguns: wearing, carrying or transporting a handgun, openly or concealed, generally requires a wear and carry permit (Criminal Law Article § 4-203; Public Safety Article § 5-303). Section 4-203 lists exceptions, such as carrying an unloaded handgun in an enclosed case to and from a range, a dealer or a repair shop. See our wear and carry permit guide.
Long guns: transport them unloaded and cased. Natural Resources Article § 10-410 prohibits having a loaded firearm in or on a vehicle, with narrow exceptions. Local rules and the sensitive-place rules in Criminal Law Article § 4-111 also apply.

Storage, red-flag orders and prohibited persons

Criminal Law Article § 4-104 makes it a crime to store or leave a firearm where an unsupervised minor could gain access to it, subject to the conditions in the statute. Extreme risk protective orders (Public Safety Article §§ 5-601 and following) let a court temporarily remove firearms from a person found to be a danger. Public Safety Article §§ 5-133 and 5-205 and federal law, 18 U.S.C. 922(g), list the people who may not possess firearms.

Hunting

Seasons, bag limits and legal firearms are set by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and change each year. Whether a rifle may be used for deer depends on the county. See our waterfowl and deer gun guide, then confirm the rule for your county in the current Guide to Hunting and Trapping.

Official sources

Maryland State Police Licensing Division — mdsp.maryland.gov (HQL, wear and carry permits, firearm bulletins)
Annotated Code of Maryland — mgaleg.maryland.gov (Public Safety Article Title 5, Criminal Law Article Title 4)
Maryland Department of Natural Resources — dnr.maryland.gov (hunting seasons and legal devices)
ATF — atf.gov (federal firearms rules)

Do I need a license to buy a rifle or shotgun in Maryland?

No. The Handgun Qualification License applies to handguns only. An ordinary rifle or shotgun that is not on the state list of regulated firearms is bought from a licensed dealer with ATF Form 4473 and a federal background check, with no state license and no state waiting period.

What is an HQL?

The Handgun Qualification License, created by Public Safety Article § 5-117.1. With limited exemptions, a person needs one before buying, renting or receiving a handgun in Maryland. It is issued by the Maryland State Police Licensing Division after a firearms safety course, fingerprints and a background investigation.

Is there a waiting period in Maryland?

For regulated firearms, which means handguns and the specific firearms listed in Public Safety Article § 5-101, yes: the dealer may not release the firearm until seven days after the purchase application is forwarded to the State Police (§ 5-123). There is no state waiting period for an ordinary rifle or shotgun.

Are AR-15 rifles legal to buy in Maryland?

Most are not. Criminal Law Article §§ 4-301 to 4-303 ban the sale, purchase, transfer and receipt of assault long guns named on the state list and of copycat weapons defined by their features. The law has exceptions and fine distinctions, and the State Police publish guidance on specific models. We do not list AR or AK pattern rifles for Maryland at all.

What is the magazine limit in Maryland?

Criminal Law Article § 4-305 prohibits manufacturing, selling, offering for sale, purchasing, receiving or transferring a detachable magazine that holds more than 10 rounds in Maryland. We ship a magazine to Maryland only when the listing states a capacity of 10 rounds or fewer.

Do private sales of rifles and shotguns need a background check?

Yes. Since October 2021, Public Safety Article § 5-204.1 requires most sales and transfers of a rifle or shotgun between private parties to go through a licensed dealer, who runs the background check. The statute lists exceptions, including certain transfers between immediate family members. Read it before relying on one.

Can I buy a handgun from this store?

No. A Maryland handgun sale needs an HQL, a model on the Handgun Roster and a Maryland regulated-firearms dealer who files the state application. None of that can be verified from an online product listing, so we do not list handguns or frames.

Does Maryland register firearms?

Maryland keeps records of regulated firearm transfers, because every handgun sale is filed with the State Police. There is no comparable state record for ordinary rifles and shotguns. People who move into the state with regulated firearms have a registration duty under Public Safety Article § 5-143, so new residents should read it.

Can a county or city make its own gun laws?

Only within limits. Criminal Law Article § 4-209 reserves most firearm regulation to the state, but lets local governments regulate in some areas, such as near parks, schools, places of worship and public buildings, and with respect to minors. Check your county code as well as state law.

Who cannot have a gun in Maryland?

Public Safety Article § 5-133 (regulated firearms) and § 5-205 (rifles and shotguns) list disqualifications, including certain convictions, protective orders and mental-health commitments, and federal law adds its own list in 18 U.S.C. 922(g). If a past case might affect you, ask a Maryland attorney before you buy or handle a firearm.