Questions and answers

No. Subway cars, rail cars, buses, ferries and the stations and terminals serving them are sensitive locations under Penal Law §265.01-e(2)(n), and a carry license is not a defense. The Second Circuit upheld the transit provision in Frey v. City of New York in September 2025.

Yes. Penal Law §265.01-e(2)(t) covers the area commonly known as Times Square as determined and identified by the City of New York, provided the area is clearly and conspicuously identified with signage. The Second Circuit upheld it in Frey v. City of New York.

Criminal possession of a firearm, rifle or shotgun in a sensitive location is a class E felony under Penal Law §265.01-e. It is not classified as a violent felony, so it does not carry a mandatory determinate sentence, but it is a felony conviction and it ends firearm eligibility.

Penal Law §265.01-e(2)(o) covers establishments holding an active on-premises license under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law where alcohol is consumed. A restaurant with an on-premises liquor license falls within that category. This is a question worth putting to a New York attorney for a specific venue.

Yes. The Christian v. James injunction removes the criminal penalty under §265.01-d for property open to the public; it does not affect a property owner's independent right to exclude. If you are asked to leave and you do not, that is a trespass issue.

No. It remains in the Penal Law. It is permanently enjoined only as applied to private property held open to the public. Coverage describing it as struck down in its entirety is inaccurate.

Following the 2026 injunction, the absence of a permissive sign no longer creates criminal liability at a public-facing business. Posted prohibitions still matter, and they are enforced through trespass law.

The likely charge is criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree under Penal Law §265.03(3), a class C violent felony with a mandatory minimum of three and a half years and a maximum of fifteen, plus post-release supervision. This is one of the most severely punished possessory offenses in New York.

Yes, substantially. An unlicensed handgun possessed unloaded is charged under §265.01-b as a class E felony, which is not a violent felony and carries no mandatory determinate sentence. It is still a felony.

No. New York does not recognize out-of-state carry permits, so possessing a handgun in New York City on another state's permit is unlicensed possession for charging purposes.

A premises license authorizes possession of a handgun at one specified location — your home or your business — plus limited lawful transport. A carry license under Penal Law §400.00(2)(f) authorizes carrying concealed without regard to place of possession, subject to the sensitive-location and private-property rules.

Not on that license alone. Penal Law §400.00(6) provides that a license is not valid within New York City without a special permit from the NYC police commissioner, and 38 RCNY §5-23 implements that as the Special Carry License.

You apply to the NYPD License Division for the carry license, which is a separate license type with its own requirements — including the eighteen-hour training course, four character references, and an in-person interview.

Some do. Penal Law §400.00(1)(c) bars anyone convicted of a felony or a 'serious offense,' a defined category that includes a number of misdemeanors. Separately, §400.00(1)(n) imposes a five-year bar on concealed carry applicants convicted of third-degree assault, misdemeanor DWI, or third-degree menacing.

Yes. Sealed and dismissed matters are disclosed on a New York firearms application. Failure to disclose is generally treated as more damaging than the underlying incident.

As a practical matter, no. New York agreed in March 2026 to remove the social media disclosure item from the State Police application form under a consent injunction in Antonyuk v. James. The statutory provision was enjoined rather than repealed.

Penal Law §400.00(1)(f) bars applicants unlawfully in the United States and those admitted under a nonimmigrant visa, subject to the exception at 18 U.S.C. §922(y)(2). Lawful permanent residents are not barred by that paragraph.

Eighteen — at least sixteen hours of in-person classroom instruction and at least two hours of live-fire range training, with a DCJS-approved instructor, under Penal Law §400.00(19).

At least eighty percent on the written test, plus the live-fire qualification: five rounds from a standing position at four yards, with at least four on target.

Under 38 RCNY §5-03 the certificate must be dated no more than six months before you submit your application. That is a New York City rule; the state statute sets no expiration.

The §400.00(19) requirement is written for concealed carry licenses. Requirements for premises licenses differ, and New York City sets its own application rules in 38 RCNY chapter 5.

Not on another state's permit. New York does not recognize out-of-state licenses, and there is no general unloaded-and-locked exemption. Federal 18 U.S.C. §926A offers limited peaceable-journey protection for a continuous trip between two places where possession is lawful, but it is treated as a defense rather than a shield against arrest, and it does not cover stopovers.

Yes. Penal Law §400.00(6) permits transport to a shooting range or competition provided the handgun is unloaded, carried in a locked container, and the ammunition is carried separately. In New York City, 38 RCNY §5-23 sets the authorized destinations.

Only if it is unloaded and locked in a fire-, impact- and tamper-resistant storage depository, hidden from view. Penal Law §265.45(3) expressly excludes glove compartments.

Yes. New York City Administrative Code §10-312 requires a safety locking device whenever the weapon is out of your immediate possession or control, regardless of who else lives in the home. The state rule at Penal Law §265.45 is narrower and applies only when you reside with a minor, a person subject to an ERPO, or a prohibited person.

No. Penal Law §265.45(3) expressly excludes glove compartments from the definition of a safe storage depository.

Failure to safely store under Penal Law §265.45 is a class A misdemeanor.

No. New York has no reciprocity statute and recognizes no out-of-state pistol permit. Penal Law §265.20(a)(3) exempts only holders of a license issued under §400.00.

Not without a Special Carry License. Penal Law §400.00(6) provides that a license is not valid within New York City absent a special permit from the NYC police commissioner, and 38 RCNY §5-23 implements it.

Yes. 38 RCNY §5-03 provides for applicants residing outside New York State, with additional background-investigation forms from each jurisdiction of residence over the previous five years. New York State's official guidance confirms that residency is not required to apply.

Both, depending on the license. Concealed carry licenses under Penal Law §400.00(2)(f) are on a three-year cycle under §400.00(10)(d); other licenses are on the five-year cycle under §400.00(10)(b).

No. New York State's guidance is explicit that licensees in New York City, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester do not recertify with the State Police and instead follow their county's requirements. In the five boroughs that means renewing with the NYPD.

New York City handgun licenses run for a three-year term and renew on the licensee's birthday. The rifle and shotgun permit is also a three-year term, subject to automatic renewal.

Yes. New York City Administrative Code §10-303 requires an NYPD rifle and shotgun permit to possess or purchase a long gun, and §10-304 requires each one to be registered. No equivalent requirement exists elsewhere in New York State.

Three years, subject to automatic renewal, under Administrative Code §10-303.

No. They are separate permits with separate applications, separate fees, and separate NYPD sections — the rifle and shotgun section is in Kew Gardens, and handgun licensing is at One Police Plaza.

Not immediately. Under 38 RCNY §5-25 you need prior written purchase authorization from the License Division, valid thirty days, which you present to the dealer.

Two under 38 RCNY §5-25, of which only one may be carried at a time — the other must remain secured. Premises licensees are authorized one initially.

Yes. 38 RCNY §5-25 provides that no person shall acquire a firearm within ninety days of a previous acquisition.

Under CPLR §6340(2): a police officer or district attorney with jurisdiction, a family or household member, a school administrator of a school the respondent attends or attended within six months, or a licensed health care practitioner who has treated the respondent within the previous six months.

Yes. It requires surrender of firearms and suspension or revocation of any firearm license, and it also triggers the safe-storage duty for anyone who lives with the respondent and owns a firearm.

LEOSA authorizes a qualified retired officer meeting its conditions to carry concealed, subject to the statute's limits and to state law on prohibited places. New York's sensitive-location statute at §265.01-e(3) exempts qualified retired law enforcement officers.

Among other conditions: at least ten years of aggregate service or separation due to a service-connected disability, separation in good standing, and current annual firearms qualification. The statute sets out the full list.