Frequently Asked Questions

Illinois generally requires a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card issued by the Illinois State Police to acquire or possess firearms or ammunition, subject to statutory exemptions. Applicants must meet the eligibility requirements in 430 ILCS 65/4, including the separate rules for applicants under 21. The standard application fee is $10 plus applicable processing fees, with specified military applicants exempt from the fee, and a card is generally valid for 10 years. Eligible cardholders with fingerprints on file can qualify for automatic renewal when a firearm-transfer inquiry is made. Penalties for possession without a valid card depend on eligibility and card status, so they are not always a first-offense misdemeanor followed by a Class 3 felony.

For an ordinary first purchase by an Illinois resident, obtain a valid FOID card and present it to the dealer. The Illinois State Police generally must approve or deny a new FOID application within 30 days of receipt. A licensed dealer uses the Firearm Transfer Inquiry Program for the background check, and a non-exempt firearm sale requires at least 72 hours between the purchase agreement and delivery. A private seller may use a licensed dealer or obtain ISP approval using the buyer's FOID number, and a buyer using the direct ISP route must provide the transfer record to a licensed dealer within 10 days.

Illinois issues concealed carry licenses through the Illinois State Police to applicants who meet the Act's qualifications and are not found ineligible through its review process. Applicants must be at least 21, and residents must have a valid FOID card and meet the other eligibility requirements in 430 ILCS 66/25. Initial training generally requires 16 hours, subject to statutory credits and exemptions, with a live-fire test of 30 rounds, 10 each at 5, 7 and 10 yards, and at least 70% hits. The fee is $150 for residents or $300 for nonresidents, and licenses generally last five years. Renewal requires at least three hours of approved training unless a statutory training exemption applies.

The Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA), signed January 10, 2023, enacted a statewide ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines. Under the features test, assault weapons include semiautomatic rifles that accept a detachable magazine and have one or more prohibited features (pistol grip, thumbhole stock, folding or telescoping stock, grenade launcher, barrel shroud, or flash suppressor), as well as semiautomatic pistols and shotguns with specified features. The named-models list includes AR-15 and AK-47 variants. PICA also bans .50 caliber rifles and cartridges as defined by the Act, and rapid-fire devices such as bump stocks and trigger cranks. Magazines holding more than 10 rounds for rifles or more than 15 rounds for handguns are generally prohibited, subject to statutory exclusions and exemptions. Qualified active and retired law enforcement officers under federal LEOSA and recognized under Illinois law are exempt from the assault-weapon and magazine purchase and possession restrictions.

Illinois generally prohibits magazines that hold more than 10 rounds for long guns or more than 15 rounds for handguns, subject to statutory exclusions and exemptions. A person who lawfully possessed a covered magazine before January 10, 2023 may retain it without an endorsement affidavit. Possession under this grandfathering provision is limited to private property owned or immediately controlled by the person, other private property not open to the public with express permission, lawful repair at a licensed dealer or gunsmith, and lawful use at a licensed range or sport shooting competition venue. Travel to or from those places requires the magazine to be unloaded and enclosed in a case or other listed container. A violation of 720 ILCS 5/24-1.10 is a petty offense with a $1,000 fine for each violation.

Illinois law allows continued possession of qualifying assault weapons lawfully possessed before January 10, 2023 under its endorsement provisions, which set a filing deadline before January 1, 2024. The affidavit requires your FOID number and the firearm's make, model, caliber and serial number. Possession is restricted to specified private property, lawful repair at a licensed dealer or gunsmith, lawful use at a licensed range or sport shooting competition venue, and travel to or from those places with the firearm unloaded and enclosed in a case or other listed container. The statute permits transfer only to an heir, an individual residing in another state who maintains it there, or a federally licensed firearms dealer, with applicable notification and affidavit requirements.

Illinois generally requires a seller to withhold delivery of a firearm for at least 72 hours after the buyer and seller reach an agreement to purchase it. The same period applies to handguns and long guns in both dealer and private sales unless a statutory exception applies. The statute lists its exemptions, including a sale to a law enforcement officer when the seller knows the buyer is an officer, and holding a FOID card or CCL is not among them. Delivery in violation of the waiting-period rule is a Class 4 felony under 720 ILCS 5/24-3.

Section 65 of the Firearm Concealed Carry Act lists prohibited locations including schools, courts, hospitals, publicly funded transit, colleges, libraries and specified parks and entertainment venues. It also covers establishments serving alcohol where more than 50% of gross receipts in the prior three months came from alcohol sales, and specified permitted public gatherings. Private property owners may prohibit concealed carry through the required signs, except that a private residence does not require a sign. At most prohibited locations, a licensee may enter the parking area with a concealed firearm in the vehicle and store it concealed in a case within a locked vehicle or locked container out of plain view. That parking exception does not apply to the nuclear facilities or federally prohibited areas identified in Section 65(a)(22) and (23).

Illinois does not provide a general right to openly carry firearms in public, and neither a FOID card nor a CCL creates one. A CCL authorizes concealed handgun carry, with the handgun completely or mostly concealed from public view outside a vehicle. Statutory exceptions allow firearm possession in specified circumstances, including on your own land or in your home or fixed place of business, on another person's land or in their dwelling with permission, and during lawful hunting or target-range use. The applicable offense and penalty depend on the circumstances and license status, and lawful transport has statutory alternatives to unloaded, cased transport.

Under 720 ILCS 5/7-1, a person may use force when and to the extent they reasonably believe it is necessary to defend themselves or another against imminent unlawful force. Force intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm is justified only if the person reasonably believes it necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to themselves or another, or the commission of a forcible felony. Section 7-2 allows force when and to the extent a person reasonably believes it necessary to prevent or terminate an unlawful entry into or attack upon a dwelling, but deadly force requires either a violent, riotous or tumultuous entry and a reasonable belief that the force is necessary to prevent an assault or personal violence against someone in the dwelling, or a reasonable belief that the force is necessary to prevent a felony in the dwelling.

Yes, ordinary private firearm sales are permitted subject to eligibility, approval and record requirements. Under 430 ILCS 65/3(a-10), a private seller generally must use a federally licensed dealer or contact ISP with the buyer's FOID number for an eligibility determination that includes the federal background-check system. Under Section 3(b), the seller must keep the transfer record for 10 years, and a buyer using the direct ISP route must give a transfer record to a licensed dealer within 10 days, which the dealer keeps for 20 years. Bona fide gifts to the relatives listed in Section 3(a-15)(2) are exempt from the subsection (a-10) verification procedure, but separate lawful-possession and transfer requirements still apply. A non-exempt firearm sale also requires the 72-hour waiting period.

A valid Illinois CCL generally permits carrying a loaded or unloaded handgun on or about your person within a vehicle. A FOID holder without a CCL may transport an unloaded firearm enclosed in a case or other statutory container, and the weapons statute also recognizes transport when the firearm is broken down in a non-functioning state or is not immediately accessible. The cited transport provision does not require ammunition to be stored separately. Nonresidents who meet 430 ILCS 66/40(e) may carry a concealed firearm within their vehicle without an Illinois CCL and must store it within a locked vehicle or locked container within the vehicle as Section 65(b) provides if they leave the vehicle unattended. During an investigative stop, a licensee or a nonresident carrying under Section 40(e) must, on the officer's request, disclose that they have a concealed firearm or present the license or the nonresident evidence, identify the firearm's location and let the officer secure it for the stop.

Carrying a concealed firearm in Illinois generally requires a license issued under the Firearm Concealed Carry Act, and a permit from another state is not such a license. Under 430 ILCS 66/40(e), a nonresident without an Illinois license may transport a concealed firearm within their vehicle if the firearm stays in the vehicle, they are not prohibited under federal law, and they are eligible to carry in public under their home state's laws, as shown by a home-state license or permit if one applies. If they leave the vehicle unattended, the firearm must be stored within a locked vehicle or a locked container within the vehicle as Section 65(b) provides. Nonresidents of states ISP finds substantially similar may apply for an Illinois CCL, must meet the applicable qualifications and training requirements, and pay $300. Federal safe-passage protection under 18 U.S.C. 926A applies to a person not prohibited from firearm transport who travels for a lawful purpose between places where they may lawfully possess and carry it, with the firearm unloaded and neither the firearm nor ammunition readily 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.

On July 9, 2026, the Seventh Circuit decided the consolidated Barnett and Harrel appeals (Nos. 24-3060 to 24-3063), reversing the district court judgments, which had permanently enjoined PICA, and remanding with directions to enter judgments for the defendants. PICA remains enforceable. The Supreme Court denied review of the earlier preliminary-injunction ruling in Barnett on July 2, 2024. On September 25, 2026, Justice Barrett extended the challengers' deadline to seek Supreme Court review to November 6, 2026, and on October 14, 2026 they asked to extend it again to December 4, 2026. An extension does not grant review.