Michigan Carry Laws

Concealed Pistol License Required

Michigan requires a CPL for concealed carry. Open carry is legal without permit but prohibited in some places.

Michigan is shall-issue: a Concealed Pistol License (CPL) is required to carry a concealed pistol, and applicants must complete pistol safety training (MCL 28.425b, 28.425j).

CPL HOLDERS - PISTOL-FREE ZONES (MCL 28.425o)
CPL holders may not carry a CONCEALED pistol in: schools and school property, day care centers, sports arenas and stadiums, taverns whose primary income is on-premises alcohol sales, places of worship (unless the presiding official allows it), entertainment facilities seating 2,500 or more, hospitals, college dormitories and classrooms, and casinos. Parking areas of these places are excluded. Penalties escalate from a civil infraction (first offense) to a felony (third offense), with license suspension or revocation.

OPEN CARRY
Open carry of a lawfully possessed pistol is legal in Michigan without a CPL. However, WITHOUT a CPL you may not possess a firearm in the premises listed in MCL 750.234d - including banks, churches and places of worship, courts, theatres, sports arenas, day care centers, hospitals, and establishments licensed to sell alcohol for on-premises consumption - and possessing a firearm in a school weapon-free zone without a CPL is a felony (MCL 750.237a).

Duty to Inform - Must Immediately Disclose When Stopped

Michigan: A CPL holder carrying a concealed pistol who is stopped by a peace officer must immediately disclose that they are carrying (MCL 28.425f(3)); violation is a state civil infraction — $500 fine plus 6-month CPL suspension for a first offense, $1,000 fine plus revocation for a subsequent offense.

DUTY TO INFORM LAW ENFORCEMENT
MICHIGAN

Michigan: A CPL holder carrying a concealed pistol who is stopped by a peace officer must immediately disclose that they are carrying (MCL 28.425f(3)); violation is a state civil infraction — $500 fine plus 6-month CPL suspension for a first offense, $1,000 fine plus revocation for a subsequent offense.

Authority: MCL 28.425f(3), penalties at MCL 28.425f(5).

Prohibited Places - Where You Cannot Carry

Michigan (MCL 28.425o): a concealed pistol license does NOT allow concealed carry in schools or on school property (parent drop-off in a vehicle excepted), child-care centers, sports arenas or stadiums, bars/taverns whose primary income is on-premises alcohol by the glass, places of worship (unless the presiding official permits), entertainment facilities seating 2,500+, hospitals, or college/university dormitories and classrooms - parking areas of all these are excluded - plus casinos under gaming rule R 432.1212; a first violation is a $500 state civil infraction with a 6-month license suspension, a second a misdemeanor with revocation, and a third a 4-year felony.

PROHIBITED PLACES - WHERE YOU CANNOT CARRY
Michigan

Michigan (MCL 28.425o): a concealed pistol license does NOT allow concealed carry in schools or on school property (parent drop-off in a vehicle excepted), child-care centers, sports arenas or stadiums, bars/taverns whose primary income is on-premises alcohol by the glass, places of worship (unless the presiding official permits), entertainment facilities seating 2,500+, hospitals, or college/university dormitories and classrooms - parking areas of all these are excluded - plus casinos under gaming rule R 432.1212; a first violation is a $500 state civil infraction with a 6-month license suspension, a second a misdemeanor with revocation, and a third a 4-year felony.

Authority: Mich. Comp. Laws 28.425o (pistol-free zones for concealed pistol licensees); Mich. Admin. Code R 432.1212 (casinos).

Red Flag Law - ERPO in Effect

Michigan: An Extreme Risk Protection Order (red flag) law is in effect (Extreme Risk Protection Order Act, 2023 PA 38, MCL 691.1801 et seq., effective Feb. 13, 2024).

RED FLAG / EXTREME RISK LAW
Michigan

Michigan: An Extreme Risk Protection Order (red flag) law is in effect (Extreme Risk Protection Order Act, 2023 PA 38, MCL 691.1801 et seq., effective Feb. 13, 2024).

Authority: Extreme Risk Protection Order Act, 2023 PA 38, MCL 691.1801 et seq., effective Feb. 13, 2024.

No Magazine Capacity Limit

Michigan has no state-level magazine capacity restrictions. Standard and extended magazines are legal.

NO MAGAZINE CAPACITY LIMIT
Michigan

Michigan has no state-level magazine capacity restrictions. Standard and extended magazines are legal.

Authority: Exhaustive grep of the entire Michigan Penal Code (Act 328 of 1931, official MCL PDF) - no magazine-capacity provision; Giffords state page.

No-Carry Signs - Not Criminal to Ignore

Michigan: private 'no firearms' signs have no statutory force (trespass applies only after you are told to leave and refuse, MCL 750.552), but CPL holders are barred by statute — signs or not — from schools, child care/day care centers, sports arenas and stadiums, taverns, places of worship (absent permission), entertainment venues seating 2,500+, hospitals, and college dorms and classrooms (MCL 28.425o(1); penalties under 28.425o(6): $500 civil infraction + 6-month license suspension, then misdemeanor with revocation, then felony for repeat violations); casinos are also off-limits — MCL 28.425o(3) makes it a statutory violation for a CPL holder to carry in violation of Michigan Gaming Control Board rule R 432.1212.

NO-CARRY SIGNS - NOT CRIMINAL TO IGNORE
Michigan

Michigan: private 'no firearms' signs have no statutory force (trespass applies only after you are told to leave and refuse, MCL 750.552), but CPL holders are barred by statute — signs or not — from schools, child care/day care centers, sports arenas and stadiums, taverns, places of worship (absent permission), entertainment venues seating 2,500+, hospitals, and college dorms and classrooms (MCL 28.425o(1); penalties under 28.425o(6): $500 civil infraction + 6-month license suspension, then misdemeanor with revocation, then felony for repeat violations); casinos are also off-limits — MCL 28.425o(3) makes it a statutory violation for a CPL holder to carry in violation of Michigan Gaming Control Board rule R 432.1212.
Authority: MCL 28.425o (official legislature.mi.gov text, MCL complete through PA 91 of 2026) — premises list (1)(a)-(h), casino incorporation at subsection (3), penalties at subsection (6).

Stand Your Ground - No Duty to Retreat

Michigan: Stand Your Ground state. No duty to retreat before using force in self-defense anywhere you have a legal right to be.

STAND YOUR GROUND - NO DUTY TO RETREAT
Michigan

Michigan: Stand Your Ground state. No duty to retreat before using force in self-defense anywhere you have a legal right to be.
Authority: Mich. Comp. Laws § 780.972(1) (Self-Defense Act, PA 309 of 2006).

Vehicle Carry - Felony Without CPL; Unloaded, Cased, In Trunk to Transport

Michigan: Having a pistol in a vehicle — 'whether concealed or otherwise' — without a concealed pistol license is a felony punishable by up to 5 years (MCL 750.227(2)-(3)); without a CPL a pistol may only be transported unloaded, in a closed case designed for firearms, in the trunk (or, in a vehicle without a trunk, not readily accessible) (MCL 750.231a(1)(d)-(e)); CPL holders may carry loaded; rifles and shotguns must be unloaded in any motor vehicle (MCL 750.227c).

VEHICLE CARRY - FELONY WITHOUT CPL; UNLOADED, CASED, IN TRUNK TO TRANSPORT
Michigan

Michigan: Having a pistol in a vehicle — 'whether concealed or otherwise' — without a concealed pistol license is a felony punishable by up to 5 years (MCL 750.227(2)-(3)); without a CPL a pistol may only be transported unloaded, in a closed case designed for firearms, in the trunk (or, in a vehicle without a trunk, not readily accessible) (MCL 750.231a(1)(d)-(e)); CPL holders may carry loaded; rifles and shotguns must be unloaded in any motor vehicle (MCL 750.227c).

Authority: Mich. Comp. Laws 750.227(2)-(3); MCL 750.231a(1)(a),(d),(e); MCL 750.227c.