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Minnesota Gun Laws
Minnesota Concealed Carry Weapon (CCW): Gun Laws, Application, Requirements & Online Training

Minnesota Concealed Carry Weapon (CCW): Gun Laws, Application, Requirements & Online Training

Minnesota has a shall-issue policy for CCW permits, and processing is done at the county level of your home of residence.

As long as you meet the necessary Minnesota concealed carry permit requirements, your application will be accepted.

Minnesota also has fair gun laws compared to other states with stringent regulations.

Residents and non-residents’ permits are issued, and you can also purchase a firearm as long as you have the purchase permit.

Minnesota Gun Laws

For conceal carrying, Minnesota issues a Permit to Carry a Pistol (PCP), this serves as the state’s CCW permit.

You need to be twenty-one years old, or more before you can apply for a Minnesota concealed carry permit.

Unlike in other states, you do not need a permit to transport firearms within the state; neither do you need a license to keep a firearm in your home of residence.

Minnesota CCW Reciprocity

Minnesota reciprocates CCW permits with other states that have similar gun laws and requirements. So you are allowed to conceal carry within Minnesota if you have a permit from any of these states.

Other aspects of Minnesota reciprocity includes the following:

States that Minnesota honors their CCW permits: These are states that have almost similar concealed carry reciprocity with Minnesota. The Department of Public Safety in Minnesota publishes a list of these states from time to time. There are fifteen of them.
States that honor Minnesota CCW permits: These states will allow you to conceal carry within their territory if you have any of the Minnesota CCW Permits. There are fourteen of them.
States that have restricted reciprocity with Minnesota: These states will only accept a Minnesota CCW permit issued to residents. Therefore, an issued non-residents permit is not valid in these states. There are two of them.
States that do not require a permit to conceal carry within their territory: These states run on a permitless carry, and you do not need any license whatsoever to possess your gun. However, you must meet other concealed carry requirements of the state, like age limit to own a gun and location restrictions. There are fourteen of them.

Regardless of Minnesota reciprocity deal with a state, you are required to possess your firearms following the state concealed carry laws at all times.

For non-residents that would like to use their state of residence permit in Minnesota, even though Minnesota only reciprocates CCW permits of states with similar gun laws, you still need to learn about all gun laws in Minnesota.

Note that these laws are always entirely, not the same.

Minnesota CCW Location Restrictions

Your Minnesota concealed carry permit does not give you the right to possess guns everywhere, or anywhere in the state.

The state laws term some locations as off-limits, and except you are an officer of the law, you are not allowed to possess a CCW in these places.

Places Where You Cannot Possess A Firearm In Minnesota

You cannot conceal carry in the school premises, and this includes primary, secondary, elementary, government-owned, and private-owned schools.
You cannot conceal carry in school buses or any vehicle that is used for the transportation of school students.
You cannot conceal carry on any privately owned building or property that has signage prohibiting the possession of CCW on the premises.
You cannot conceal carry in state prisons ad correctional facilities.
You cannot conceal carry in hospitals, health centers, and other medical facilities.
You cannot conceal carry in your place of work if your employer prohibits the use of firearms within the premises.
You cannot conceal carry in a building used for children’s care or a daycare center.
You cannot conceal carry at any place if you are under the influence of alcohol or any other intoxicating substance.
You cannot conceal carry in capitol areas or leased properties of the state government.
You cannot conceal carry within the premises of the Minnesota zoo garden.
You cannot conceal carry in a hotel, and the person in charge can refuse to admit or accommodate you if they believe that you are with a CCW.
You cannot conceal carry at game reserves areas of the state.
You cannot conceal carry in state wildlife management area of counties like Washington, Dakota, Scott, and Carver.
You cannot conceal carry in places where the federal law has restrict the possession of firearms.

Places Where You Can Conceal Carry In Minnesota

There are usually some misconceptions about places where you can conceal carry in Minnesota, and this is majorly due to the restrictions in other states.

However, Minnesota conceal carry laws do not restrict you from the possession of your guns in the following places.

Restaurants and Bars: You can conceal carry in restaurants and bars except you are under the influence of alcohol, or the place has a post that prohibits the usage of firearms within the premises.
Private Cars: You can conceal carry in your private vehicle, but you have to be with your Minnesota CCW permit.
Roadsides: You can conceal carry along roadsides and in rest areas.
State Wildlife Management Areas: You can conceal carry in state’s wildlife management areas except those of counties such as Washington, Dakota, Scott, and Carver.
Traveling in an aircraft: You can conceal carry while traveling on a private plane.
Places of worship: You can conceal carry in places of worship except they have a post or signage that prohibits the possession of firearms within their premises.

Conceal Carry For Law Enforcement Officers

According to the Law Enforcement Officer Safety act, an office of the law can conceal carry in any jurisdiction of the United States without location restrictions or any other limitation from state or municipality laws.

Law enforcement officers in this context cover those that are actively in service, out of service for a good cause, and the retired officers.

In Minnesota, retired and out of service officers are qualified to conceal carry after providing any of the following:

An identification card with other documentation of firearms training, issued by Minnesota law enforcement agency.

An issued identification card by a Minnesota agency and a certification from firearm training provided by a licensed instructor form the state’s police department.

Buying And Selling Of Firearms In Minnesota

Before the sales and purchase of a firearm in Minnesota, you need to familiarize yourself with the laws that guide dealing with guns in the state.

These laws also cover, transportation of firearms form place to place, and transfer of firearms form person to person.

Gun Purchase Permits In Minnesota

Before buying a firearm in Minnesota, you need to have a purchase permit or a Minnesota CCW permit.

A permit is also required for the sales, loans, transfers, and gifting of firearms from one person to another.

Also, a seller must document all guns bought in the state, and provide a record of the sale to the Department of public safety

Background Checks And Handgun Registrations

There are no background checks to purchase a firearm in Minnesota because the tests take place during the application for permits.

So if you do not have a clean criminal record, you cannot obtain either of the two permits, talk less of buying a firearm

However, other state restrictions still apply.

Also, you need to keep your firearm sales receipt to prove ownership of your firearm.

There are no handgun registrations in the state too.

Waiting Period For Firearm Purchase

If you have your Minnesota CCW permit or a purchase permit, a firearm sale can be completed without the need for a waiting period.

If you do not have any of the permits, then you may have to wait for a period of five to seven days before completing the purchase of your firearm.

Age Requirement For Dealing With Guns In Minnesota

You have to be at least eighteen years old before you can possess or transport a firearm in Minnesota.

However, you must be twenty-one or more before you can buy, sell, or own a Minnesota CCW permit and a purchase permit.

Process Of Purchasing Handgun In Minnesota

Firstly, you must have either a Minnesota CCW permit or a permit to purchase or transfer a gun before buying a firearm.

You can apply for a purchase permit in either your local police station or your county’s sheriff’s office.

The document you need to complete this application is a state driver’s license or a state identification card.

After you have submitted the necessary documents, the sheriff’s office or police chief will run your criminal background check. This check will take up to a week to complete.

If your background record comes out clean, the sheriff’s office will mail your purchase permit to you.

This permit is valid for just one year and cannot be used to purchase a firearm after this period.

In some cases, if your gun purchase is just a single transaction, a licensed firearm seller will allow you to make a purchase permit application in the store.

The seller will conduct the background check for you and charge you for this service.

However, this is according to the discretion of a firearm seller, and it only occurs in rare cases.

Castle Doctrine In Minnesota

Castle doctrine in Minnesota is a self-defense policy that allows you no duty to retreat when faced with a life threat.

However, you can only make use of deadly force as a last resort when you have no other option left to save your life.

Unlike other states, Minnesota does not have a Castle Doctrine law.

But the state agrees to the doctrine principle a person should use the necessary force required when faced with the risk of an attack that can lead to a severe bodily injury, death, or to stop an act of felony from taking place in one’s home of residence.

Although this is not a concise law, there are still some cases in the state where the court of law accepted castle doctrine duty to retreat as a form of self-defense.

Minnesota CCW Permit Requirement

Before Minnesota concealed carry permit application, you have to make sure that you meet all the requirements provided by the state law.

If you do not meet all Minnesota concealed carry permit requirements, then do not bother applying because it will not be accepted.

The requirements include the following:

You must be at least twenty-one years old.
You must have completed a Minnesota concealed carry class and have a certificate to prove this. This could also be a Minnesota concealed carry online course.
You must complete the application form.
You must not have a Minnesota court order that prohibits you from possessing a firearm.
Your name must not be on the list of a criminal gang investigation system.
You must be a resident of the local county where you are processing the Minnesota CCW application. For non-residents permit, you are allowed to apply in any county in Minnesota.
You must meet federal law requirements for the CCW permit application.

How To Apply For Minnesota CCW Permit

Having met all requirements, you can now apply for your Minnesota CCW permit.

The steps are as follows

Complete A Firearm Training

A firearm training certificate is essential for Minnesota concealed carry permit application.

You can also apply for a Minnesota concealed carry permit online, as long as a certified instructor oversees the training.

Download Application

You can either download the application online or visit your local county sheriff’s office to collect one.

Submit The Necessary Documents

Other documents you have to provide alongside your CCW application are your training course certificate and your Minnesota driver’s license or an identification card.

Receive Application Notification

You will receive a mail to notify you if your Minnesota concealed carry permit application is approved.

Minnesota Firearm Training Requirements

You are required to provide evidence of firearm training under a certified instructor within one year before the application of the Minnesota CCW permit.

This requirement is very important that even military members undergo this training.

Minnesota concealed carry permit course must include the following training:

Basic instruction about the use of firearms.
A complete shooting exercise that comprises a live-fire session.
Training on the legal aspect of conceal carry that includes the use of a firearm, self-defense, and the limitations of using deadly force.
Make sure that your training instructor is a state-certified one before enrolling for the program.