Moving to Rhode Island:
A New Resident's Firearms Guide

Relocating to Rhode Island with firearms means following Rhode Island's rules on possession, transport and carry. Rhode Island recognizes no other state's carry permit for carrying within the state, apart from the exemption in 11-47-8(a) for a holder merely transporting a firearm through the state, and the handgun safety certificate must come from the Department of Environmental Management. Proof of passage of the Department of Environmental Management's basic hunter safety course is equivalent to the pistol/revolver safety certificate required to buy a handgun under 11-47-35(c), and a hunter education card also satisfies the ammunition credential in 11-47-64. This guide covers what you can bring, the Blue Card requirement and its alternatives for buying a handgun, and how hunter safety fits in.

Bringing Your Firearms Into Rhode Island

You may bring rifles and shotguns into Rhode Island and possess them without any state permit. The state does not require a permit to own or transport long guns, and generally prohibits government firearm registries, with exceptions for firearms used in crimes of violence and people convicted of those crimes. Handguns you already own may be possessed without a permit within your dwelling, place of business, or land you own or rent under RIGL 11-47-8. Carrying a loaded handgun in public requires a Rhode Island license or permit unless a statutory exception applies. A local license under RIGL 11-47-11 authorizes concealed carry, while an Attorney General permit under RIGL 11-47-18 authorizes carrying whether concealed or not. Rhode Island does not honor another state's concealed carry permit for carrying in the state, except that a holder of another state's license may transport the firearm through the state in a vehicle without any intent to remain in the state.

There is no requirement to register firearms you already own when you become a resident. The state generally prohibits government firearm registries, with exceptions for firearms used in crimes of violence and people convicted of those crimes. Firearms lawfully brought in remain subject to transport and storage rules as well as the prohibited-item rules below.

Magazines and Prohibited Items to Check Before You Move

Confirm the following before you pack:

Magazines over 10 rounds are illegal to possess. RIGL Chapter 11-47.1 bans the possession of any magazine or other feeding device that holds, or can readily be extended to hold, more than 10 rounds for use in a semi-automatic firearm, with narrow exceptions for federally licensed dealers, exempt law enforcement officers, qualifying retired officers, and active-duty military members authorized to possess them. Attached tubular devices that hold only .22 caliber rimfire ammunition are excluded. The one-time compliance window ran for 180 days and closed on December 17, 2022, and it applied only to people who lawfully possessed such magazines on June 20, 2022. There is no path for a new arrival to bring higher-capacity magazines into the state. Leave them out of state, surrender them, or permanently modify them to 10 rounds before you move.

"Assault weapon"-style rifles may be brought in and kept. Rhode Island's assault weapons ban under RIGL Chapter 11-47.2 took effect July 1, 2026. It restricts the manufacture, sale, purchase, and transfer of prohibited firearms. It does not ban possession, and it carries no registration requirement. You may bring a covered rifle into the state and keep it, but you cannot buy one within Rhode Island, and you may sell or transfer one only to a federally licensed firearm dealer or to an out-of-state buyer who may lawfully possess it. The magazine limit above, not the rifle itself, is the trap to watch.

Suppressors and silencers are prohibited, except for law enforcement officers using them within the scope of their official duties as tactical teams under the direct supervision of the police chief, the colonel of the state police, or their designee. RIGL 11-47-20 prohibits the possession of silencers, and Rhode Island does not recognize the federal National Firearms Act process for them. A valid federal tax stamp does not make a suppressor legal here. Do not bring one into the state.

Machine guns are prohibited. RIGL 11-47-8(a) bans the manufacture, sale, purchase, or possession of a machine gun except as otherwise provided in that chapter. Except for the police, sheriffs and on-duty military personnel listed in RIGL 11-47-21, possessing or carrying a bomb or bombshell is prohibited unless it is for blasting or other commercial use.

The Blue Card: Buying a Handgun After You Arrive

To purchase a handgun in Rhode Island, you generally must present a Blue Card or proof of passing DEM's basic hunter safety course, unless you hold a local carry license under 11-47-11 or qualify for another statutory exemption^[1]. No prior training or certification from another state satisfies this requirement, and there is no reciprocity. The Blue Card, the pistol/revolver safety certificate, comes from a basic safety course administered by the Department of Environmental Management, or from a passing grade on the objective test the department prepares for people who believe they do not need the course. The department prepares the objective test and an instruction manual on which the test is based, and a person receiving a passing grade is issued the certificate. The course consists of not less than two hours of instruction, and proficiency in the use of pistols or revolvers is not a prerequisite to the certificate. A person need not complete the course more than once unless unable to produce the certificate or provide the department with evidence of successful completion. Persons licensed under 11-47-11 are exempt from the requirement. Rifles and shotguns do not require a Blue Card^[2] to buy, but purchases of ammunition as defined in RIGL 11-47-64 generally require a Blue Card or a Rhode Island hunter education course card issued by DEM. Holders of a carry license under RIGL 11-47-11 or 11-47-18 are exempt. The law also exempts specified law enforcement and correctional personnel and persons serving on active duty in the United States armed forces, organized reserves, or National Guard.

A Blue Card or proof of passing DEM's basic hunter safety course satisfies the handgun purchase credential, and a Blue Card or Rhode Island hunter education course card issued by DEM satisfies the ammunition purchase credential. A license under 11-47-11 exempts its holder from the handgun requirement, while licenses under 11-47-11 or 11-47-18 exempt their holders from the ammunition requirement. Separate exemptions apply to specified personnel under 11-47-35(g)-(h), 11-47-35.1, and 11-47-64(c). None of these is required to possess handguns you already own within your dwelling, place of business, or land you possess. Bringing them into Rhode Island must comply with the carry and transport rules in RIGL 11-47-8 and its statutory exceptions.

Hunter Safety and Your Hunting License

Hunter safety is a separate matter from firearm ownership. DEM administers hunter safety education, which is required for a hunting license unless the applicant held a hunting license in a prior year or qualifies for the military exemption under 20-13-4. Proof of passing DEM's basic hunter safety course is equivalent to the pistol/revolver safety certificate for buying a handgun under 11-47-35(c), and a Rhode Island hunter education course card issued by DEM satisfies the ammunition credential in 11-47-64. Good news for new residents: Rhode Island accepts hunter education from other states. State law provides that no hunting license shall be issued unless the applicant held a license in a prior year or presents a hunter education card issued by Rhode Island or under an equivalent hunter safety program adopted by any other state^[3]. A hunter education card you already hold will be honored when you apply for a Rhode Island hunting license. People who are serving in or were honorably discharged from the armed forces are exempt from the hunter education requirement.

After You Arrive: Purchases, Waiting Periods, and Storage

Firearm purchases from a licensed dealer generally involve a federal NICS check and a separate state background check, subject to each system's exemptions. For purchases subject to both checks, the dealer runs the federal NICS check, and the state application is forwarded to the police chief of the city or town where you live, or to the Rhode Island State Police if you live in Exeter or out of state, for a state records check. Subject to statutory exemptions, Rhode Island imposes a seven-day waiting period on handgun purchases under RIGL 11-47-35 and on rifle and shotgun purchases under RIGL 11-47-35.2, measured from noon on the day following the application. Holders of a local Rhode Island license to carry (§ 11-47-11) are exempt from these waiting periods. RIGL 11-47-60.1 requires a firearm that is stored or left in any place to be secured in a locked container or equipped with a properly engaged tamper-resistant mechanical lock or other safety device that makes it inoperable by anyone other than the owner or another lawfully authorized user. This does not apply if the firearm is being carried by or can be readily carried by a lawfully authorized user who is in proximity to it. Criminal storage penalties apply when a person stores or leaves a firearm on premises under their control, knows or reasonably should know that a child under 18 is likely to gain access without parental or guardian permission or that a prohibited person is likely to gain access, and the child or prohibited person obtains access. Subsection (e) provides exceptions for illegal entry or taking, secure storage, a nearby authorized user who can readily carry the firearm, and lawful self-defense or defense of another.

What Rhode Island Does Not Require

Rhode Island does not require new residents to register firearms they already own. RIGL 11-47-41 prohibits government firearms registries, except for firearms used in crimes of violence and people convicted of crimes of violence. There is no permit to purchase rifles or shotguns. The state has broad preemption of firearms regulation under RIGL 11-47-58. Control over ownership, possession, carrying, transfer, sale, purchase, licensing, registration, and taxation rests solely with the state, except as otherwise provided in chapter 11-47. Section 11-47-58 vests control of firearms, ammunition and their components solely in the state, except as otherwise provided in chapter 11-47.