Maine Concealed Carry Quick Stats
- Constitutional Carry
- Shall Issue
- Permits issued to Residents and Non-Residents
- 18 years of age required
- Valid for 4 years
- $35 Initial / $20 Renewal
- Processing Time within 30 Days or 60 Days for Residents less than 5 Years and Non-Residents
- Maine Reciprocity Maps
- Maine Concealed Handgun Permit Website
- Maine Concealed Handgun Permit Application for Residents
- Maine Concealed Handgun Permit Application for Non-Residents
- Maine Concealed Handgun Permit Booklet
- Maine Firearms Forums
Maine Concealed Handgun Permit Example
Maine Concealed Carry FAQ’s
Do I need a permit to carry concealed in Maine?
No. On October 15, 2015, Maine’s Constitutional Carry law went into effect. Residents and non-residents that are legally allowed to possess a firearms and are at least 21 years old are allowed to carry concealed in Maine. Active Military and Honorably Discharged Veterans can carry at the age of 18.
Does Maine issue concealed carry permits?
Maine is a Shall Issue State and still issues Concealed Handgun Permits to residents of Maine and non-residents. Even though they allow anyone legally allowed to possess a firearm to carry concealed, they still issue concealed carry permits.
To apply, check the Town Listing for the city or town you live in before sending your application in to the State Police. If you do not see your city or town on the list then you will need to contact your respective city\town office for more information on how to apply for a concealed handgun permit. If you live in a city\town that has their own police department you must go through them to obtain a concealed handgun permit.
Who issues Maine Concealed Handgun Permits?
Maine Concealed Handgun Permits usually issued by the State Police. Check the Town Listing for the city or town you live in before sending your application in to the State Police. If you do not see your city or town on the list then you will need to contact your respective city\town office for more information on how to apply for a concealed handgun permit. If you live in a city\town that has their own police department you must go through them to obtain a concealed handgun permit.
Are background checks required for a Maine Concealed Handgun Permit?
Yes, there is a background check when apply for a Maine Concealed Handgun Permit but it is not a NICS check.
Does having a Maine Concealed Handgun Permit exempt you from the background check when purchasing a firearm Maine?
No, the background check is conducted is not a NICS check so having a Maine Concealed Handgun Permit does not exempt you from the background check when purchasing a firearm.
How long is a Maine Concealed Handgun Permit valid for?
Maine Concealed Handgun Permits are valid for 4 years.
What is the processing time for a Maine Concealed Handgun Permit?
The processing time for new Maine Concealed Handgun Permits is within 30 days for Maine Residents that have been a resident for 5 or more years. For residents that have been a resident for less than 5 years and non-residents the processing time is within 60 days.
How much does a Maine Concealed Handgun Permit cost?
The fee for a new Maine Concealed Handgun Permit is $35. Renewal licenses cost $20. The cost is $2 for a duplicate permit, change of address or name change.
What are the requirements for a Maine Concealed Handgun Permit?
The requirements to obtain a Maine Concealed Handgun Permit are the following:
- Is 18 years of age or older;
- Is not disqualified to possess a firearm pursuant to Title 15, section 393, is not disqualified as a permit holder under that same section and is not disqualified to possess a firearm based on federal law as a result of a criminal conviction;
- Repealed, P.L. 1993, c. 368 § 4.
- Submits an application that contains the following:
- Full name;
- Full current address and addresses for the prior 5 years;
- The date and place of birth, height, weight, color of eyes, color of hair, sex and race;
- A record of previous issuances of, refusals to issue and revocations of a permit to carry concealed firearms, handguns or other concealed weapons by any issuing authority in the State or any other jurisdiction. The record of previous refusals alone does not constitute cause for refusal and the record of previous revocations alone constitutes cause for refusal only as provided in section 2005; and
- Answers to the following questions:
- Are you less than 18 years of age?
- Is there a formal charging instrument now pending against you in this State for a crime under the laws of this State that is punishable by imprisonment for a term of one year or more?
- Is there a formal charging instrument now pending against you in any federal court for a crime under the laws of the United States that is punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year?
- Is there a formal charging instrument now pending against you in another state for a crime that, under the laws of that state, is punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year?
- If your answer to the question in division (d) is “yes,” is that charged crime classified under the laws of that state as a misdemeanor punishable by a term of imprisonment of 2 years or less?
- Is there a formal charging instrument pending against you in another state for a crime punishable in that state by a term of imprisonment of 2 years or less and classified by that state as a misdemeanor, but that is substantially similar to a crime that under the laws of this State is punishable by imprisonment for a term of one year or more?
- Is there a formal charging instrument now pending against you under the laws of the United States, this State or any other state or the Passamaquoddy Tribe or Penobscot Nation in a proceeding in which the prosecuting authority has pleaded that you committed the crime with the use of a firearm against a person or with the use of a dangerous weapon as defined in Title 17-A, section 2, subsection 9, paragraph A?
- Is there a formal charging instrument now pending against you in this or any other jurisdiction for a juvenile offense that, if committed by an adult, would be a crime described in division (b), (c), (d) or (f) and involves bodily injury or threatened bodily injury against another person?
- Is there a formal charging instrument now pending against you in this or any other jurisdiction for a juvenile offense that, if committed by an adult, would be a crime described in division (g)?
- Is there a formal charging instrument now pending against you in this or any other jurisdiction for a juvenile offense that, if committed by an adult, would be a crime described in division (b), (c), (d) or (f), but does not involve bodily injury or threatened bodily injury against another person?
- Have you ever been convicted of committing or found not criminally responsible by reason of mental disease or defect [insanity] of committing a crime described in division (b), (c), (f) or (g)?
- Have you ever been convicted of committing or found not criminally responsible by reason of mental disease or defect [insanity] of committing a crime described in division (d)?
- If your answer to the question in division (l) is “yes,” was that crime classified under the laws of that state as a misdemeanor punishable by a term of imprisonment of 2 years or less?
- Have you ever been adjudicated as having committed a juvenile offense described in division (h) or (i)?
- Have you ever been adjudicated as having committed a juvenile offense described in division (j)?
- Are you currently subject to an order of a Maine court or an order of a court of the United States or another state, territory, commonwealth or tribe that restrains you from harassing, stalking or threatening your intimate partner, as defined in 18 United States Code, Section 921(a), or a child of your intimate partner, or from engaging in other conduct that would place your intimate partner in reasonable fear of bodily injury to that intimate partner or the child?
- Are you a fugitive from justice?
- Are you a drug abuser, drug addict or drug dependent person?
- Do you have a mental disorder that causes you to be potentially dangerous to yourself or others?
- Have you been adjudicated to be an incapacitated person pursuant to Title 18-A, Article 5 [Probate Code; Protection of persons under disability and their property], Parts 3 and 4 and not had that designation removed by an order under Title 18-A, section 5-307, subsection (b) [Termination of incapacity]?
- Have you been dishonorably discharged from the military forces within the past 5 years?
- Are you an illegal alien?
- Have you been convicted in a Maine court of a violation of Title 17-A, section 1057 [Possession of firearms in an establishment licensed for onpremises consumption of liquor] within the past 5 years?
- Have you been adjudicated in a Maine court within the past 5 years as having committed a juvenile offense involving conduct that, if committed by an adult, would be a violation of Title 17-A, section 1057 [Possession of firearms in an establishment licensed for on-premises consumption of liquor]?
- To your knowledge, have you been the subject of an investigation by any law enforcement agency within the past 5 years regarding the alleged abuse by you of family or household members?
- Have you been convicted in any jurisdiction within the past 5 years of 3 or more crimes punishable by a term of imprisonment of less than one year or of crimes classified under the laws of a state as a misdemeanor and punishable by a term of imprisonment of 2 years or less?
- Have you been adjudicated in any jurisdiction within the past 5 years to have committed 3 or more juvenile offenses described in division (o)?
- To your knowledge, have you engaged within the past 5 years in reckless or negligent conduct that has been the subject of an investigation by a governmental entity?
- Have you been convicted in a Maine court within the past 5 years of any Title 17-A, chapter 45 drug crime?
- Have you been adjudicated in a Maine court within the past 5 years as having committed a juvenile offense involving conduct that, if committed by an adult, would have been a violation of Title 17-A, chapter 45 [Criminal Code, Drugs]?
- Have you been adjudged in a Maine court to have committed the civil violation of possession of a useable amount of marijuana, butyl nitrite or isobutyl nitrite in violation of Title 22, section 2383 within the past 5 years?
- Have you been adjudicated in a Maine court within the past 5 years as having committed the juvenile crime defined in Title 15, section 3103, subsection 1, paragraph B of possession of a useable amount of marijuana, as provided in Title 22, section 2383?; and
- Does the following:
- At the request of the issuing authority, takes whatever action is required by law to allow the issuing authority to obtain from the Department of Health and Human Services, limited to records of patient committals to Riverview Psychiatric Center and Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center, the courts, law enforcement agencies and the military information relevant to the following:
- The ascertainment of whether the information supplied on the application or any documents made a part of the application is true and correct;
- The ascertainment of whether each of the additional requirements of this section has been met; and
- Section 2005;
- If a photograph is an integral part of the permit to carry concealed handguns adopted by an issuing authority, submits to being photographed for that purpose;
- If it becomes necessary to resolve any questions as to identity, submits to having fingerprints taken by the issuing authority;
- Submits an application fee along with the written application to the proper issuing authority pursuant to the following schedule:
- Resident of a municipality or unorganized territory, $35 for an original application and $20 for a renewal, except that a person who paid $60 for a concealed firearms permit or renewal during 1991 or 1992 is entitled to a credit toward renewal fees in an amount equal to $30 for a person who paid $60 for an original application and $45 for a person who paid $60 for a permit renewal. The credit is valid until fully utilized; and
- Nonresident, $60 for an original or renewal application; and
- Demonstrates to the issuing authority a knowledge of handgun safety. The applicant may fully satisfy this requirement by submitting to the issuing authority, through documentation in accordance with this subparagraph, proof that the applicant has within 5 years prior to the date of application completed a course that included handgun safety offered by or under the supervision of a federal, state, county or municipal law enforcement agency or a firearms instructor certified by a private firearms association recognized as knowledgeable in matters of handgun safety by the issuing authority or by the state in which the course was taken. A course completion certificate or other document, or a photocopy, is sufficient if it recites or otherwise demonstrates that the course meets all of the requirements of this subparagraph.
- At the request of the issuing authority, takes whatever action is required by law to allow the issuing authority to obtain from the Department of Health and Human Services, limited to records of patient committals to Riverview Psychiatric Center and Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center, the courts, law enforcement agencies and the military information relevant to the following:
As an alternative way of fully satisfying this requirement, an applicant may personally demonstrate knowledge of handgun safety to an issuing authority, if the issuing authority is willing to evaluate an applicant’s personal demonstration of such knowledge. The issuing authority is not required to offer this 2nd option.
The demonstration of knowledge of handgun safety to the issuing authority may not be required of any applicant who holds a valid state permit to carry a concealed firearm as of April 15, 1990 or of any applicant who was or is in any of the Armed Forces of the United States and has received at least basic firearms training.
Changelog
10/16/2015 – Format updated along with all information.
To view a state’s concealed carry permit information click on the state. The state’s color represents whether a state is Shall Issue, May Issue, Constitutional Carry or Right Denied (We explain each state’s status here).
Shall Issue to Residents Only:
Alabama, California, Colorado, Georgia, Guam, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Wyoming
Shall Issue to Residents and Non-Residents:
Arkansas, District of Columbia, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin
May Issue to Residents Only:
Delaware, Virgin Islands
May Issue to Residents and Non-Residents:
Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York
Constitutional Carry and Shall Issue to Residents Only:
Alaska, West Virginia
Constitutional Carry and Shall Issue to Residents and Non-Residents:
Arizona, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire
Constitutional Carry and Does Not Issue Permits:
Vermont
Right Denied:
American Samoa, N. Mariana Islands
We keep the information on this page as up to date as possible, but due to changing laws it is your responsibility to verify all information. The information on this page is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice concerning any particular issue or problem. Use of and access to this Website, emails or any of the links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship between i156 LLC and the user or browser. The opinions expressed at or through this site are the opinions of the individual author and may not reflect the opinions of i156 LLC.
