As of January 1, 2023, Alabama does not require a permit or license to carry a loaded handgun in any vehicle.

Previously, the state required a concealed carry license to carry a firearm in a vehicle, except on the possessor’s land or at his or her fixed place of business unless the person was permitted by law to possess a handgun and it was kept unloaded and stored in a locked compartment or container that was in or affixed securely to the vehicle and out of reach of the driver or any passengers.¹

While firearms are generally prohibited on K-12 school grounds, a person who is not prohibited from possessing a handgun may transport it in a vehicle on school premises if the firearm is unloaded and in a secure wrapper, and being transported from the place of purchase to the purchaser’s home or place of business, or to or from a place of repair or in moving from one place of abode or business to another.²

A public or private employer may not restrict or prohibit the transportation or storage of a lawfully possessed handgun or ammunition for that handgun in an employee’s privately owned motor vehicle while parked or operated in a public or private parking area; provided, that the employee satisfies all of the following conditions:

• The vehicle is operated or parked in a location where it is otherwise permitted to be.
• The handgun is either of the following:
  • In a vehicle attended by the employee, kept from ordinary observation within the person’s vehicle.
    
  • In a vehicle unattended by the employee, kept from ordinary observation and locked within a compartment, container, or in the interior of the person’s privately owned vehicle or in a compartment or container securely affixed to the motor vehicle.
• A public or private employer may not restrict or prohibit the transportation or storage of a lawfully possessed firearm legal for use for hunting in Alabama other than a pistol, or ammunition for that firearm, in an employee’s privately owned motor vehicle while parked or operated in a public or private parking area so long as:
  • The employee possesses a valid Alabama hunting license;
    
  • The weapon is unloaded at all times on the property;
    
  • It is during a season in which hunting is permitted by Alabama law or regulation;
    
  • The employee has never been convicted of any crime of violence as that term is defined and is not subject to a domestic violence protection order, as defined by state law; and
  • The firearm must be out of sight while the employee is attending the vehicle. If the employee is not attending the vehicle, the firearm must be kept out of sight and locked within a compartment, container, or in the interior of the vehicle, or in a compartment or container securely affixed to the vehicle.³

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1. Ala. Code § 13A-11-73.[↩]
2. Ala. Code § 13A-11-74.[↩]
3. Ala. Code § 13A-11-90(b).[↩]