Minnesota gun laws

What it takes to buy, own and carry a firearm in Minnesota, with the statute behind each rule.

This is general information, not legal advice. Minnesota changed several firearm laws in 2023 and 2024 and more bills are pending. Read the current Minnesota Statutes on the Revisor's site and talk to a Minnesota attorney about your own situation. Reviewed September 2026.

Buying from a dealer

Every dealer sale: ATF Form 4473 and a background check. Minnesota dealers contact the FBI's NICS directly. Handguns at 21 or older, rifles and shotguns at 18 or older.
Handguns and "semiautomatic military-style assault weapons": the dealer needs to see a permit to purchase (called a transferee permit in Minn. Stat. 624.7131) or a valid Minnesota permit to carry. Without either, the sale goes through a transfer report to your police chief or sheriff under 624.7132, and you wait for the response before the gun can be delivered.
The permit to purchase is applied for at your local police department, or the county sheriff if your town has no police department. There is no fee. The agency runs its own background check, and the 2023 amendments gave it up to 30 days to act. A permit is good for one year. Apply before you order and the pickup takes one visit.
Which long guns count: Minn. Stat. 624.712, subd. 7 names models such as the Colt AR-15, AK-47, UZI and others, and adds firearms of similar type and function. If you are ordering an AR-pattern or AK-pattern rifle, expect your dealer to ask for the permit.
Ordinary rifles and shotguns such as bolt actions, lever actions, pumps and field semi-autos need no state permit and have no state waiting period.
Buying online changes none of this. The firearm ships to a licensed Minnesota dealer, who checks your permit where one is needed and runs the background check when you pick it up. See how we ship.

Private transfers

Since August 1, 2023, a person who is not a dealer cannot simply hand over a pistol or a semiautomatic military-style assault weapon to another private person. Under Minn. Stat. 624.7134 the person receiving it must show a valid permit to purchase or permit to carry together with government ID, and both sides fill out a record of transfer and keep a copy, which law enforcement can ask to see during a criminal investigation. The alternative is to take the transfer to a licensed dealer, who runs the check. The statute carves out exceptions, among them certain transfers between close relatives and temporary transfers at a range or while hunting. The wording is precise, so read it rather than assuming you fit.

Owning

No registration of firearms and no owner license.
No magazine-capacity limit and no feature-based ban on semi-automatic rifles as of this review. Proposals have been introduced, so check the legislature's site for anything newer than this page.
Binary triggers and other trigger activators: Minn. Stat. 609.67 was amended with effect from January 1, 2025 to cover binary triggers. That amendment has been challenged in court over how it was enacted. Check the current status. We do not list these parts in any case.
Extreme risk protection orders (the red flag law) have been in force since January 1, 2024 under Minn. Stat. 624.7171 to 624.7178.
Storage around children: Minn. Stat. 609.666 makes it a crime to negligently store a loaded firearm where a child is likely to reach it.
Federal law applies in full. We do not sell suppressors, short-barreled rifles or shotguns, or machine guns.

Carrying

A pistol in public needs a permit to carry (Minn. Stat. 624.714). Minnesota has no permitless carry. The permit does not distinguish between open and concealed carry.
The sheriff issues it after you complete approved training with live fire. Details are in our permit to carry guide.
Rifles and shotguns in public places are restricted by Minn. Stat. 624.7181, with exceptions that include permit holders, hunting and cased transport.
In a vehicle: Minn. Stat. 97B.045 sets the transport rules for uncased long guns, and they depend on where you are and what you are doing. The safe habit is unloaded and cased. A pistol in a vehicle needs the permit to carry unless it is unloaded and in a closed, fastened case as 624.714 describes.

Local rules

Minn. Stat. 471.633 preempts local firearm regulation. A city or county may regulate the discharge of firearms within its limits and may adopt ordinances identical to state law, and that is about all. The rules for buying and carrying in Minneapolis are the rules in Bemidji.

Where you cannot carry

School property, with narrow exceptions (Minn. Stat. 609.66, subd. 1d).
Courthouse complexes and certain state buildings (609.66, subd. 1g), which has its own notice procedure for permit holders. Read it.
Private establishments that post or tell you firearms are banned, under the procedure in 624.714, subd. 17.
Federal buildings, and airports past security.
Anywhere, while impaired. Minn. Stat. 624.7142 bars carrying a pistol under the influence, with a 0.04 alcohol threshold.

Prohibited persons

Minn. Stat. 624.713 and federal law (18 U.S.C. 922(g)) list who may not possess firearms or ammunition. Minnesota's list is broader than the federal one in places, and it includes people convicted of a "crime of violence" as state law defines it. If you have any doubt, ask an attorney first. Buying for someone who cannot lawfully own a gun is a serious crime under both state (624.7141) and federal law.

Hunting

Seasons, legal firearms and zones come from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and change each year. The big change for 2026 is the end of the statewide shotgun-only deer zone, with counties allowed to keep it locally. See our deer rifle guide and the DNR regulations for your county.

Official sources

Minnesota Statutes, chapters 624 and 609 — revisor.mn.gov
Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension — dps.mn.gov (permit to carry, reciprocity, forms)
Minnesota DNR — dnr.state.mn.us (hunting regulations)
ATF — atf.gov (federal firearms rules)

Do you need a permit to buy a gun in Minnesota?

For a handgun or a semiautomatic military-style assault weapon bought from a dealer, yes: you need a permit to purchase (Minn. Stat. 624.7131) or a valid Minnesota permit to carry, or you go through the transfer report process in 624.7132, which comes with a wait. Ordinary rifles and shotguns need no state permit, only the federal Form 4473 and background check.

What is a semiautomatic military-style assault weapon?

It is a defined term in Minn. Stat. 624.712, subd. 7. The statute names specific models, including the Colt AR-15 and AK-47 types, and adds other firearms of similar type and function. It is not a ban. It decides which long guns are bought under the same permit rules as handguns.

Is there a waiting period in Minnesota?

Not for buyers who hold a permit to purchase or a permit to carry, and not for ordinary long guns. Without a permit, a dealer sale of a handgun or a semiautomatic military-style assault weapon goes through a transfer report to the local police chief or sheriff, who has a statutory period to respond. The 2023 amendments lengthened that period, so read the current text of 624.7132.

Do private sales need a background check in Minnesota?

Since August 1, 2023, a private transfer of a pistol or a semiautomatic military-style assault weapon requires the buyer to show a valid permit to purchase or permit to carry along with ID, and both people to complete and keep a record of transfer, or the transfer can be run through a licensed dealer instead (Minn. Stat. 624.7134). The statute lists exceptions, including some transfers between close relatives. Read it before relying on one.

Does Minnesota have a red flag law?

Yes. Extreme risk protection orders took effect January 1, 2024 (Minn. Stat. 624.7171 to 624.7178). Family or household members, law enforcement and certain prosecutors can petition a court to bar a person from possessing firearms for a period when the court finds a significant danger.

Are binary triggers legal in Minnesota?

The legislature added binary triggers to the definition of a trigger activator in Minn. Stat. 609.67, effective January 1, 2025, which makes them illegal to own or sell. The way that provision was passed has been challenged in court, so check the current status with the Revisor and the Attorney General. We do not list binary triggers or any other rate-of-fire device, whatever the outcome.

Does Minnesota limit magazine capacity?

No. As of our last review Minnesota has no magazine-capacity limit and no ban on semi-automatic rifles by feature. Bills on both have been introduced in recent sessions, so check the legislature if you are reading this well after the review date.

Can Minneapolis or St. Paul make their own gun rules?

Largely no. Minn. Stat. 471.633 reserves firearm regulation to the state. Cities and counties may regulate the discharge of firearms and may adopt rules identical to state law, and ordinary zoning applies to businesses.

How old do I have to be?

A dealer can sell a rifle or shotgun to a buyer 18 or older and a handgun to a buyer 21 or older under federal law. The Minnesota permit to purchase is available from age 18, which matters for private transfers.

Who cannot have a gun in Minnesota?

Minn. Stat. 624.713 and 18 U.S.C. 922(g) list the people barred from possessing firearms, including those convicted of a crime of violence or a felony, people subject to certain protective orders, and others. Restoration of rights is complicated. Talk to a Minnesota attorney before you buy or handle a firearm if any of it might apply to you.