State Law Background
Kentucky does not:
- Require a background check prior to the sale or transfer of a firearm by an unlicensed person;
- Conduct its own background checks for firearm sales, but instead relies on the FBI;
- Prohibit the transfer or possession of assault weapons, 50 caliber rifles or large capacity ammunition magazines;
- License firearm owners;
- Require the registration of firearms;
- Limit the number of firearms that may be purchased at one time;
- Impose a waiting period on firearm purchases;
- Regulate unsafe handguns;
- Require firearm owners to report lost or stolen firearms to law enforcement; or
- Significantly regulate ammunition sales.
Local governments in Kentucky generally lack authority to regulate firearms or ammunition, and the state requires local law enforcement to issue a concealed handgun license to any applicant who meets certain basic qualifications.
In 2017, Kentucky had the 16th highest gun death rate among the states. Kentucky also supplied crime guns to other states at the eighth highest rate among the states. Kentucky exported crime guns at more than twice the national rate and more than twice the rate at which it imported crime guns from other states.
Kentucky Firearms Laws
For details about specific firearms laws in Kentucky, choose a topic below, or see all of the firearms laws in this state.
People Prohibited from Firearm Possession
Prohibited Purchasers Generally
Minimum Age to Purchase & Possess
Domestic Violence & Firearms
Disarming Prohibited Persons
Sales & Transfers
Background Checks
Mental Health Reporting
Multiple Purchases & Sales of Firearms
Retention of Sales & Background Check Records
Waiting Periods
Gun Dealers & Other Sellers
Dealer Regulations
Private Sales
Gun Shows
Gun Owner Responsibilities
Licensing of Gun Owners & Purchasers
Registration of Firearms
Reporting Lost or Stolen Firearms
Firearms in Public Places
Concealed Weapons Permitting
Open Carrying
Guns in Vehicles
Guns in Schools
Other Location Restrictions
Consumer & Child Safety
Design Safety Standards for Handguns
Locking Devices
Personalized & Owner-Authorized Firearms
Child Access Prevention
Classes of Weapons & Ammunition
Assault Weapons
Large Capacity Ammunition Magazines
Fifty Caliber Rifles
Machine Guns & Automatic Firearms
Non-Powder Guns
Ammunition Regulation
Investigating Gun Crimes
Microstamping & Ballistic Identification
Trafficking
Other Laws
State “Right to Bear Arms”
Local Authority to Regulate Firearms
Immunity Statutes