Nebraska - NE Gun Laws

No state permit or license is required to buy a rifle, shotgun, or handgun in Nebraska since LB 77 repealed the handgun purchase certificate in 2023. 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.

Following LB 77's 2023 repeal of the handgun purchase certificate, private firearm sales between Nebraska residents no longer require any state documentation, dealer involvement, or background check.

Nebraska 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. Nebraska has no red-flag/extreme risk protective order law.

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

Permitless since September 2, 2023 (LB 77) for anyone 21 or older who can legally possess a firearm — no permit, background check at the point of carry, or training requirement. The Nebraska State Patrol still issues an optional Concealed Handgun Permit statewide (not through local sheriffs), useful for reciprocity when traveling and for the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act's permit exception.

No permit or license is required to carry a firearm, loaded or unloaded, concealed or openly, in a vehicle in Nebraska for anyone 21 or older who can otherwise legally possess a firearm. Nebraska's castle doctrine explicitly extends no-duty-to-retreat protection to a person's vehicle, not just their home.

Nebraska has a notably long list of restricted locations: police, sheriff, or State Patrol stations; detention facilities, prisons, or jails; courtrooms or buildings containing courtrooms; polling places during elections; meetings of county, school district, or municipal governing bodies; legislative sessions; financial institutions; professional or semiprofessional athletic events; school buildings, grounds, vehicles, and sponsored activities; places of worship; and hospitals or emergency rooms. Federal restrictions still apply regardless of state law — federal buildings and other federal property remain off-limits under federal statute.

Nebraska 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) — notably, Nebraska's carry age floor is also 21, higher than the 18-year floor most permitless-carry states use. 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. Nebraska has no magazine capacity limit and no assault weapons ban.

Nebraska's castle doctrine removes the duty to retreat before using deadly force in the home, a vehicle, or the workplace, provided the person is not the initial aggressor. Unlike a full stand-your-ground state, Nebraska retains a duty to retreat in public if it can be done with complete safety — a real distinction worth knowing, since it's narrower than most of the permitless-carry states in this batch.

Nebraska has state preemption, local municipalities cannot enact firearm ownership or carry laws stricter than state law, though cities retain authority to regulate the discharge of firearms within city limits, a narrow public-safety carve-out common even in strong-preemption states.

That preemption has been tested in court, with mixed results. Omaha's mayor had issued an executive order banning firearms on city property, but the order was rescinded in 2025 and a Douglas County judge ruled in February 2026 that the resulting lawsuit was moot, so there is currently no ban on carrying in most Omaha city-owned spaces. In that same ruling, the judge upheld Omaha's separate ordinances banning ghost guns and bump stocks, finding they are not preempted by state law. In Lincoln, a lawsuit over the city's ban on carrying in parks, trails, and city buildings is still active: four individual gun owners were found to have standing by the Nebraska Supreme Court in 2025, and as of this recheck the case is before a Lancaster County District Court judge on dueling motions for summary judgment, with no ruling yet. Carry on city-owned property in Lincoln remains legally contested; Omaha's broader ban is gone, but its ghost gun and bump stock ordinances stand.

Nebraska State Patrol, Concealed Handgun Permit resources: statepatrol.nebraska.gov
Nebraska Revised Statutes, Chapter 69 and Chapter 28 (full text): nebraskalegislature.gov
Nebraska State Patrol: for optional Concealed Handgun Permit applications (issued statewide, not through local sheriffs)
ATF: for federal NFA questions — Nebraska does not add state-level restrictions on suppressors beyond federal requirements