An Updated List of States That Allow Campus Carry

UPDATE: This article, originally posted in Aug. 2017, has been updated to reflect policy changes made in some states. Most of the data below has been pulled from research conducted by BestColleges.com, which was last updated in April 26, 2024. ALWAYS check with your state legislature for the most up-to-date laws and policies.

Which states allow concealed guns on college campuses? Considering the current political climate, the answer to that question seems to be constantly changing. Case in point, West Virginia will soon be added to the list of states that allow campus carry. In March 2024, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice signed Senate Bill 10, the Campus Self-Defense Act, which will take effect July 1.

And, according to the Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus, varying campus carry bills are being considered in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, North Dakota, and Tennessee.

To make things easy for you, Campus Safety has compiled a running list of states that allow concealed handguns on campus for the public to reference. We’ll keep this as up-to-date as possible (to the best of our ability) as things change. 

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Unfortunately, things aren’t quite black and white, so we’re also listing states that allow colleges to make their own concealed carry policies and states that expressly ban concealed carry on college campuses. Here’s the breakdown as it now stands.

States That Allow Campus Carry

(Editor’s Note: There are many differences in each state’s law that make concealed carry policies different. Kansas, for instance, allows public colleges to ban guns in campus buildings if signs are posted at every entrance explicitly stating weapons are prohibited, and Wisconsin allows colleges to prohibit guns from campus buildings as well. Additional policies are noted alongside the applicable state.)

1. Arkansas
2. Colorado; must be a CCW permit holder
3. Georgia
4. Idaho; however, they are prohibited in dorms, residence halls, and entertainment spaces
5. Kansas
6. Mississippi; legislation passed in 2011 created an exception to allow concealed carry on college campuses for those who have taken a voluntary course on safe handling and use of firearms by a certified instructor
7. Oregon; under Oregon Senate Bill 554, individuals with concealed carry permits are allowed to carry firearms at public colleges and universities. However, schools have the right to prohibit it.
8. Tennessee; Tennessee allows faculty members with licenses to carry weapons on campus but the law does not extend to students or the general public
9. Texas
10. Utah; Utah is the only state to have a statute specifically naming public colleges and universities as public entities that do not have the authority to ban concealed carry
11. Wisconsin

States That Leave Campus Carry Decisions Up to Each College/University

1. Alabama; however, effective Jan. 1, 2023, schools must allow students to keep firearms in their vehicles, subject to certain requirements
2. Alaska
3. Arizona
4. Connecticut
5. Delaware; every college and university is required to have written rules regarding the possession and use of firearms on campus
6. Hawaii
7. Indiana
8. Iowa; however, they are generally prohibited and considered acts of misconduct
9. Kentucky
10. Maine
11. Maryland
12. Minnesota
13. New Hampshire
14. North Dakota
15. Pennsylvania
16. Rhode Island
17. South Dakota
18. Vermont
19. Virginia
20. Washington
21. West Virginia

States That Prohibit Campus Carry

1. California
2. Florida
3. Illinois
4. Louisiana
5. Massachusetts
6. Michigan
7. Missouri
8. Montana; the Montana Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that state legislators infringed on authority granted to higher education officials by the state Constitution by passing a law in 2021 that allowed individuals to carry on public campuses. The Board of Regents has a policy banning firearm possession on campuses, with exceptions for law enforcement and security officers
9. Nebraska
10. Nevada
11. New Jersey
12. New Mexico
13. New York
14. North Carolina
15. Ohio
16. Oklahoma
17. South Carolina
18. Wyoming

It should be noted that while most states prohibit campus carry or leave it up to individual schools, some states allow guns to be locked in cars on campus, including Alabama, Florida, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.

Whether or not you live or work in a state that allows campus carry, recent history has shown many states are becoming more flexible in their permitting laws overall. Therefore, it is important to educate yourself and stay up-to-date on concealed carry laws and statistics since it continues to affect so many campuses and schools.

Here’s another article on a state-by-state breakdown of concealed carry laws and permits issued.

What If Campus Carry Comes to Your State?

If your campus is looking to create a concealed carry policy or may need to in the future, check out our Roadmap for Colleges Creating Concealed Carry Policies on Campus.

Additionally, here’s some advice on best practices from retired Lieutenant John Weinstein of the Northern Virginia Community College Police Department.

We hope these lists of states that allow guns on campus are helpful, and we encourage our readers to let us know if any of these lists need to be amended. We feel strongly that information on individual states’ concealed carry policies, also known as campus carry policies, should be easily available to the public so people can stay informed.

Again, always check with your state legislature for the most up-to-date campus concealed carry policies.