Frequently Asked Questions

Connecticut residents must be at least 21, complete an approved firearms safety course within the two years before applying, and submit fingerprints and the required application materials to their local or applicable tribal permitting authority for a temporary state permit. The authority must approve or deny a sufficient application within eight weeks, and the applicant must appear at a DESPP-designated location within 60 days after receiving the temporary permit to obtain the state permit. The initial statutory fee is $140, split into $70 local and $70 state portions, plus the FBI criminal history check cost. Under CGS 29-30, the state permit lasts five years and the temporary permit lasts 60 days.

For ordinary handgun purchases, CGS 29-33 accepts a Connecticut pistol permit, a retail firearms permit or a handgun eligibility certificate under CGS 29-36f. For ordinary long gun purchases, CGS 29-37a accepts a long gun eligibility certificate, a handgun eligibility certificate, a pistol permit or a retail firearms permit. DESPP issues both certificates, each with a $35 statutory fee and a five-year term, with criminal history checks required for applicants. Applicants must complete an approved safety course within the two years before applying, and must be at least 21 for the handgun certificate or 18 for the long gun certificate.

CGS 53-202a defines assault weapons through named firearms and separate tests for firearm type, features, magazine capacity and overall length. For example, a semiautomatic centerfire rifle that accepts a detachable magazine is covered if it has at least one listed feature, such as a folding or telescoping stock or a flash suppressor. The 2023 expansion also covers certain semiautomatic firearms manufactured before September 13, 1994, and semiautomatic firearms other than pistols, revolvers, rifles or shotguns that have a listed feature, including an arm brace or other stabilizing brace that could allow the firearm to be fired from the shoulder. Unlawful possession under CGS 53-202c is generally a Class D felony with one year that may not be suspended or reduced, but the statute provides exemptions and a Class A misdemeanor for a qualifying first-time violation.

Connecticut generally prohibits knowingly carrying any firearm with intent to display it under CGS 29-35(a)(2), effective October 1, 2023. Exceptions include a person's dwelling, business or land owned, leased or otherwise possessed by that person, firearm training, bona fide hunting activity and specified circumstances with another property holder's explicit permission. A person who has taken reasonable measures to conceal a firearm is not considered to carry it with intent to display, and neither a fleeting glimpse of a firearm nor an imprint through clothing is a violation, and temporary display during lawful self-defense or other lawful conduct is also excepted. Under CGS 29-37(c), unlawful intentional display is a Class B misdemeanor for a first offense and a Class A misdemeanor for a subsequent offense.

CGS 29-37i requires a firearm kept on premises under your control to be in a securely locked box or other container or in a manner which a reasonable person would believe to be secure, unless it is carried on your person or close enough to retrieve and use as if carried on your person. This applies to any firearm, regardless of whether minors are present. Retail firearm sellers must provide a reusable trigger lock, gun lock or gun locking device appropriate for the firearm under CGS 29-37b. A storage violation can be a Class D felony under CGS 53a-217a if another person obtains the firearm and causes injury or death, subject to its unlawful-entry exception. If your act or omission violates CGS 29-37i, strict civil liability under CGS 52-571g applies when a minor, or a resident who is ineligible to possess a firearm or poses a risk of imminent personal injury, obtains the firearm and causes injury or death.

Carrying a pistol or revolver in Connecticut outside your home, land or business generally requires a permit issued under CGS 29-28, and a permit from another state is not such a permit. A qualifying nonresident who holds another state's carry permit or license may apply directly to DESPP for a Connecticut pistol permit under CGS 29-28(g). Federal interstate transport protection under 18 USC 926A requires that the person not be prohibited from transporting, shipping or receiving firearms, that possession and carry be lawful at both ends of the journey, and that the firearm be unloaded with neither it nor ammunition readily accessible from the passenger compartment. If the vehicle has no separate compartment, the firearm and ammunition must be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console under CGS 29-38d.

A valid Connecticut State Pistol Permit generally allows you to carry a loaded handgun in your vehicle. Without a permit, handgun possession in a vehicle is generally a Class D felony under CGS 29-38, but specific transport exceptions apply, including qualifying interstate travel under CGS 29-38d. For that interstate exception, possession and carry must be lawful at both ends of the trip, the person must not be prohibited from firearm possession or transport, and the firearm must be unloaded with neither it nor ammunition readily accessible from the passenger compartment. If there is no separate compartment, the firearm and ammunition must be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console. A violation of CGS 29-38 can carry up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.

CGS 53a-19 generally permits reasonable physical force to defend yourself or another person from what you reasonably believe to be the use or imminent use of physical force. Deadly physical force may not be used unless you reasonably believe the other person is using or about to use deadly physical force, or inflicting or about to inflict great bodily harm. You must retreat before using deadly force if you know you can avoid its necessity with complete safety, except that you need not retreat in your dwelling or place of work if you were not the initial aggressor. The statute also restricts force by a person who provokes physical force with intent to cause physical injury or death, is the initial aggressor or participates in combat by agreement not specifically authorized by law, with an exception for an initial aggressor who withdraws and effectively communicates that withdrawal if the other person continues or threatens the use of physical force.

CGS 29-36a generally prohibits possession of a firearm without a serial number or other identification mark from January 1, 2024, unless possession was declared under the statute or a properly requested DESPP identifier has not yet been received. A person who completes manufacture must notify DESPP within 30 days, obtain an identifier and engrave or permanently affix it as required. The January 1, 2024 declaration deadline covered firearms lawfully possessed before that date and manufactured before October 1, 2019. Military members on official duty outside the state could declare within ninety days of returning, and a person who moves into the state with an unmarked firearm must within ninety days obtain and affix an identifier, render the firearm permanently inoperable, sell it to a federally licensed dealer or remove it from the state. Exceptions include otherwise lawfully possessed firearms manufactured before December 16, 1968, antique firearms and firearms made using an unfinished frame or receiver already marked as specified in CGS 53-206j(c). A violation is a Class C misdemeanor for a person not ineligible to possess a firearm, but a Class C felony for an ineligible person, with two years of the sentence that may not be suspended or reduced.

CGS 53-202w generally prohibits purchasing, transferring or possessing a large capacity magazine, defined as a feeding device that holds or can readily be restored or converted to accept more than ten rounds, subject to statutory exceptions. The definition excludes permanently limited devices, .22 caliber tube feeding devices, tubular magazines in lever-action firearms and permanently inoperable magazines. Declared magazines may be retained under CGS 53-202x, which reopened declarations through January 1, 2024 for qualifying magazines lawfully possessed before January 1, 2014. Unlawful possession is a Class D felony for a person ineligible to possess firearms, or a Class A misdemeanor for a person not ineligible.

If your temporary pistol permit application is denied, CGS 29-28a requires a detailed written reason for the denial. Under CGS 29-32b, you may appeal a refusal to issue or renew a permit to the Board of Firearms Permit Examiners within 90 days after receiving notice. Filing a clear and concise statement of the facts and the relief you seek initiates the appeal, and the board may not reject it merely for lack of formality.

Carrying a pistol or revolver without a permit in violation of CGS 29-35(a)(1) is a Class D felony under CGS 29-37(b), with one year that may not be suspended or reduced unless the court finds mitigating circumstances and records them in writing. Unlawful assault-weapon possession under CGS 53-202c is generally a Class D felony with a nonsuspendable one-year term, subject to exemptions and a qualifying first-offense Class A misdemeanor, while prohibited sale or transfer under CGS 53-202b is a Class C felony with a nonsuspendable two-year term. Firearms trafficking under CGS 53-202aa is a Class B felony with a nonsuspendable three-year term. Criminal possession under CGS 53a-217 is a Class C felony with a minimum of two years and one day that may not be suspended or reduced. Storage violations that result in another person obtaining a firearm and causing injury or death can also trigger a Class D felony under CGS 53a-217a, subject to its unlawful-entry exception, and strict civil liability applies in the circumstances specified in CGS 52-571g.