Mississippi - MS Gun Laws

No state permit or license is required to buy a rifle, shotgun, or handgun in Mississippi. Dealer purchases run through the standard federal NICS background check (Form 4473), with federal age minimums of 18 for a long gun and 21 for a handgun. There's no state waiting period and no state-added purchase restrictions beyond what federal law already requires.

Mississippi does not require a background check for private, face-to-face firearm sales between people who can legally possess firearms. Federal law still applies — a private seller may not knowingly transfer to someone they believe is a prohibited possessor.

Mississippi follows the standard federal prohibited-persons categories: felony conviction, certain domestic violence convictions or active protective orders, unlawful drug users, individuals adjudicated mentally defective or committed to a mental institution, fugitives from justice, dishonorable military discharge, undocumented immigration status, and renunciation of U.S. citizenship. Mississippi has no red-flag/extreme risk protective order law.

Legal without a permit for anyone 18 or older who can otherwise legally possess a firearm.

Permitless since July 2016 (SB 2394) — anyone 18 or older who can legally possess a firearm may carry concealed without a permit, background check at the point of carry, or training requirement. Mississippi still offers an optional Standard Firearms Permit (SFP) and Enhanced Firearms Permit (E-SFP), useful for reciprocity when traveling and for carrying in some locations that are otherwise off-limits to permitless carriers.

Vehicle carry is unrestricted in Mississippi — no permit is required to keep a firearm, loaded or unloaded, concealed or in plain view, within reach in a vehicle.

Mississippi prohibits firearms in schools, courthouses, and police stations, and private property owners can bar firearms by posting "no firearms" signage. Federal restrictions still apply regardless of state law — federal buildings and other federal property remain off-limits under federal statute.

Mississippi does not set a comprehensive statewide minimum age for possessing a firearm beyond the federal purchase-age framework (18 for long guns, 21 for handguns through a dealer). Supervised possession and use by minors below these ages — for hunting, target shooting, or firearms safety instruction under adult supervision — is common practice and not separately restricted by a dedicated state age-floor statute.

None. Mississippi has no magazine capacity limit and no assault weapons ban, and state preemption law (Miss. Code Ann. §§ 45-9-51, 45-9-53) blocks any city or county from creating one locally.

Mississippi's justifiable-homicide and defensive-force statute (Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-15) allows the use of force, including deadly force, in self-defense without a duty to retreat, when a person is in a place they have a legal right to be.

Mississippi has strong state preemption under Miss. Code Ann. §§ 45-9-51 and 45-9-53 — counties, cities, towns, and other political subdivisions are explicitly barred from enacting any ordinance, regulation, tax, or rule relating to firearms.

Mississippi Department of Public Safety, Firearms Permit resources: dps.ms.gov
Mississippi Code, Title 45 and Title 97 (full text): law.justia.com/codes/mississippi
Your county Sheriff's Office: for optional SFP/E-SFP permit applications
ATF: for federal NFA questions — Mississippi does not add state-level restrictions on suppressors or other NFA items beyond federal requirements