Washington - WA Gun Laws

Currently, no state permit is required just to purchase a firearm (that changes May 1, 2027, when a new permit-to-purchase system takes effect), but every purchase runs through both the federal NICS check and the state's own background check. A mandatory 10-business-day waiting period applies to all purchases.

All firearm transfers require a background check, including private, person-to-person sales, no family or other exemption applies.

Standard federal disqualifying categories apply. Washington has its own red flag / Extreme Risk Protection Order law allowing family, household members, or law enforcement to petition a court to temporarily remove firearms from someone found to pose a danger.

Generally legal without a permit in most public places for adults 18 and older, though several cities and certain sensitive locations carry their own restrictions, don't assume open carry rules are identical everywhere in the state.

Washington is shall-issue but not permitless, a valid Concealed Pistol License (CPL) is required to carry concealed, issued by the county in which you reside.

Consistent with the state's licensing framework, a valid CPL is generally what governs concealed carry in a vehicle the same way it does elsewhere in the state.

Standard categories: schools, courthouses, and posted government buildings, plus additional local restrictions in some cities.

Washington's general minimum age for possession is 21, with exceptions for a minor who has parental or guardian consent or is under direct supervision, attending a hunter's or firearms safety course, target shooting or practicing at an established range, in an organized competition, hunting or trapping with a valid license, traveling to or from these activities, or at their own residence with a parent or guardian's permission and supervision.

Washington bans the manufacture, import, distribution, and sale of magazines over 10 rounds (SB 5078, effective July 1, 2022) and bans the sale, manufacture, and import of defined assault weapons (effective April 25, 2023), with exemptions for law enforcement and military. Neither ban prohibits continued possession of magazines or weapons already lawfully owned. Both restrictions are currently in full effect and not under injunction as of this writing.

Washington has no stand-your-ground statute, but the state supreme court has held there's no duty to retreat before using force in public. There's no separate Castle Doctrine statute either, Washington's self-defense law folds protection of the home, business, and other property directly into the general self-defense statute rather than treating it as a distinct doctrine.

On paper, strong: Washington law states it fully occupies and preempts the entire field of firearms regulation, including registration, licensing, possession, purchase, sale, transfer, discharge, and transportation, and bars local ordinances that are inconsistent with or more restrictive than state law.

- Washington State Attorney General, Firearms resources: atg.wa.gov/firearms
- Revised Code of Washington, Title 9.41 (weapons): app.leg.wa.gov
- Your local county Sheriff's office, the licensing authority for Concealed Pistol Licenses
- ATF: for federal NFA questions, suppressors are legal in Washington for owners who comply with the National Firearms Act (RCW 9.41.250)