← New Mexico firearms laws›Transporting Firearms
New Mexico Transporting Firearms Laws (2026)
Permitted: You may keep a loaded handgun, even concealed, in your private vehicle for lawful protection if you are not prohibited from having firearms.
You may keep a loaded handgun, even concealed, in your private vehicle for lawful protection if you are not prohibited from having firearms. No license is needed for that. Once you step out, carrying it concealed on your person needs a license New Mexico accepts. People under 19 generally cannot possess a handgun.
General legal information, not legal advice — verify important decisions with a licensed attorney.
Transporting Firearms in states bordering New Mexico
The same rule in each neighboring state LawLert has verified, from that state’s own official source.
- ArizonaConditional
At 21 or older, if you may lawfully possess a handgun, you may carry it loaded in your vehicle, openly or concealed, with no permit. …
Verified Oct 12, 2026 · Source: azleg.gov · Full Arizona rule →
- ColoradoConditional
Anyone who may lawfully possess a handgun may carry it in a private vehicle for a legal use, including self-defense, without a permit; it is not treated as concealed carry. …
Verified Oct 12, 2026 · Source: cbi.colorado.gov · Full Colorado rule →
- OklahomaConditional
At 21 or older, or 18 to 20 with military service, you may transport a handgun in a vehicle loaded or unloaded, concealed or open, if you may legally own a firearm. At 18 to 20 without military service, the firearm must be unloaded. If an officer demands it during a stop or arrest, you must say you have a firearm in the vehicle (citation up to $100).
Verified Oct 12, 2026 · Source: oklahoma.gov · Full Oklahoma rule →
- TexasPermitted
In Texas, someone who is not engaged in criminal activity and not prohibited may carry a handgun in their own motor vehicle without a permit — concealed, or openly in a holster if they are 21 or older.
Verified May 31, 2026 · Source: guides.sll.texas.gov · Full Texas rule →
- UtahPermitted
At 21 or older you may carry a loaded or unloaded handgun in a vehicle you lawfully possess, or one whose lawful possessor consents, without a permit, openly or concealed. A rifle or shotgun in a vehicle must be unloaded unless you hold a permit. At 18 to 20 without a permit, any firearm in a vehicle must be carried openly: a handgun may be loaded, but a rifle or shotgun must be unloaded.
Verified Oct 12, 2026 · Source: bci.utah.gov · Full Utah rule →
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