Frequently Asked Questions

Rhode Island has a local concealed carry license under RIGL § 11-47-11 and an Attorney General permit under § 11-47-18. The local authority shall issue to an eligible applicant age 21 or older if it appears that the applicant has good reason to fear an injury to his or her person or property or has any other proper reason for carrying a pistol or revolver, and is a suitable person to be so licensed. The Attorney General may issue to a person age 21 or older upon a proper showing of need, and that permit authorizes concealed or open carry. Both routes require the qualification certificate under § 11-47-15, including a score of at least 195 out of 300. Applications go to the local licensing authority or the Attorney General, depending on the route.

RIGL Chapter 11-47.2 took effect July 1, 2026 and prohibits manufacturing, selling, offering to sell, transferring or purchasing prohibited firearms, subject to limited exceptions. Its characteristics-based definition covers semi-automatic rifles accepting detachable magazines with at least one listed feature, semi-automatic rifles or pistols with fixed magazines exceeding 10 rounds, semi-automatic shotguns with fixed magazines exceeding six rounds, revolving-cylinder shotguns, and semi-automatic firearms capable of accepting a belt ammunition feeding device. The chapter excludes semi-automatic rifles with an attached tubular device capable of operating only with .22 caliber rimfire ammunition, and it does not prohibit possession or require registration. A lawful owner may sell or transfer a prohibited firearm to a federally licensed dealer or to an out-of-state individual who may lawfully possess it. A violation carries up to 10 years in prison or a fine up to $10,000, and the firearm is subject to forfeiture.

RIGL Chapter 11-47.1 generally prohibits making, selling, transferring, buying, possessing or controlling a feeding device capable of holding, or readily extendable to hold, more than 10 rounds for a semi-automatic firearm. An attached tubular device capable of holding only .22 caliber rimfire ammunition is excluded. A person who lawfully possessed a device on June 20, 2022 had 180 days from that date to permanently modify it to hold no more than 10 rounds, surrender it to police, or transfer or sell it to an FFL or an eligible out-of-state recipient. The law excepts federally licensed dealers, specified law enforcement officers, qualifying retired officers with a § 11-47-18(b) permit, and authorized active duty members of the Armed Forces or National Guard. A violation carries up to five years in prison or a fine up to $5,000, and the device is subject to forfeiture.

A Massachusetts or Connecticut carry permit does not by itself authorize carrying a pistol or revolver in Rhode Island outside your home, business or land, because § 11-47-8(a) requires a license or permit issued under §§ 11-47-11, 11-47-12 or 11-47-18. Under RIGL § 11-47-8(a), a valid out-of-state carry permit holder is exempt while merely transporting the firearm through Rhode Island in a vehicle without any intent to stop or remain in the state. Separate exceptions under §§ 11-47-9 and 11-47-10 cover specified unloaded handgun transport. Federal protection under 18 U.S.C. § 926A applies to a person not otherwise prohibited by that chapter, traveling for a lawful purpose between places where the person may lawfully possess and carry the firearm, with the firearm unloaded and neither it nor ammunition readily or directly accessible from the passenger compartment. In a vehicle without a separate compartment, the firearm or ammunition must be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console.

Under RIGL § 11-47-60.1(b), a firearm that is stored or left in any place must be secured in a locked container or equipped with a properly engaged tamper-resistant mechanical lock or other safety device that renders it inoperable by anyone other than the owner or another lawfully authorized user. The exception is a firearm being carried by, or that can be readily carried by, a lawfully authorized user who is in proximity to it. Unsafe storage carries a civil fine of up to $250 for a first offense and up to $1,000 for a second, while a third or subsequent offense carries up to six months in prison, a fine up to $500, or both. Subject to the statutory exceptions, subsection (c) makes it second-degree criminal storage to store or leave a firearm on premises under your control if you know or reasonably should know a child under 18 is likely to gain access without the permission of the child's parent or guardian, or a prohibited person is likely to gain access, and the child or prohibited person obtains access. Subsection (d) makes it first-degree criminal storage when the second-degree offense occurs and the firearm is used by that person in a crime or to cause injury.

Rhode Island generally imposes a seven-day waiting period for delivery of pistols and revolvers under RIGL § 11-47-35 and of rifles and shotguns under § 11-47-35.2. In both statutes, the seven days run from noon on the day following the purchase application. Persons licensed under the local concealed carry statute, § 11-47-11, are exempt under § 11-47-35.1 for handguns and § 11-47-35.2(c) for rifles and shotguns, along with other listed exemptions. Those exemption provisions do not list Attorney General permit holders under § 11-47-18.

Rhode Island does not require a separate permit to purchase a rifle or shotgun, but handgun purchasers generally must present a DEM pistol/revolver safety certificate, commonly called a Blue Card. The certificate can be earned through a basic safety course of at least two hours or by passing DEM's objective test on the course material. Proof of passing DEM's basic hunter safety course is equivalent, and statutory exemptions include persons licensed under § 11-47-11 rather than every carry permit holder. Rifles and shotguns do not require a Blue Card or safety course. RIGL § 11-47-37 prohibits firearm sales to anyone under 21.

RIGL § 11-47-8 generally requires a Rhode Island license or permit to carry a pistol or revolver in a vehicle, whether loaded or unloaded, unless an exception applies. For trips between home or business and a bona fide target range under § 11-47-10, the pistol or revolver must be broken down, unloaded and carried as openly as circumstances will permit, or unloaded and secured in a separate container suitable for the purpose. Other specified trips under § 11-47-9(a) have unloaded-firearm and ammunition-access conditions, including a locked-container requirement when the vehicle has no compartment separate from the passenger compartment. Rifles and shotguns are governed separately by § 11-47-51, which generally prohibits possessing them loaded, or with shells or cartridges still in their magazine, upon or along a public highway, road, lane or trail. A locked container alone does not create a general exception to the handgun permit requirement.

Rhode Island requires a person to attempt retreat before using deadly force if they are consciously aware of an open, safe and available avenue of escape (State v. Quarles, 1986). The only exception is statutory. Under § 11-8-8, when someone dies or is injured while committing an offense listed in §§ 11-8-2 through 11-8-6, the owner, tenant or occupier of the place is rebuttably presumed to have acted by reasonable means in self-defense and has no duty to retreat from that person. The listed offenses cover breaking and entering of dwellings, business places, public buildings and other buildings. In Quarles the court declined to adopt a common-law castle doctrine for an attack by a cohabitant.

Unsafe storage under RIGL § 11-47-60.1(b) carries a civil fine of up to $250 for a first offense. Unlicensed handgun carrying under § 11-47-8(a) carries one to 10 years in prison, a fine up to $10,000, or both, while ghost gun possession under § 11-47-8(e) carries up to 10 years, a fine up to $10,000, or both, with additional sentencing restrictions for repeat convictions. A prohibited-firearm transaction under § 11-47.2-2 carries up to 10 years or a fine up to $10,000, and the firearm is subject to forfeiture. A large-capacity feeding-device violation carries up to five years or a fine up to $5,000 with the device subject to forfeiture, while unlawful ammunition sales under § 11-47-64 carry up to five years, a $5,000 fine, or both, subject to that section's exceptions. Using a firearm during a crime of violence under § 11-47-3.2 requires a consecutive sentence in addition to the sentence for the underlying crime.