West Virginia

West Virginia's license statutes cover only CONCEALED carry: W. Va. Code §61-7-7(c) lets a person who is at least 18, a U.S. citizen or legal resident, and not prohibited from possessing a firearm carry concealed without a license, and the Attorney General's handbook states that the concealed-carry laws have no impact on the right to carry openly. The former under-21 carry offense in §61-7-3 was repealed by HB 4106 (effective June 12, 2026), and §61-7-8(a) still bars a person under 18 who is not married or emancipated from possessing or carrying a deadly weapon, with exceptions. Place restrictions (courts, schools, the State Capitol Complex and others) and §61-7-11 (carrying or brandishing a weapon in a way that causes or threatens a breach of the peace) still apply.

West Virginia has no statute prohibiting firearms in places of worship; carry there is a property-owner decision.

West Virginia is a permitless-carry state (W. Va. Code §61-7-7(c)), and Article 7 of Chapter 61, the firearms article, has no rule on carrying in establishments that serve alcohol; its alcohol provisions concern license eligibility and the prohibited-person category for habitual addiction to alcohol (§61-7-7(a)(2)). The Attorney General's handbook lists where firearms are forbidden or restricted — federal property, property whose owner prohibits firearms (§61-7-14), the State Capitol Complex, jails and detention facilities, courts, schools, and municipal buildings by ordinance — and bars and restaurants are not among them. An owner or operator can prohibit carry on its own premises under §61-7-14(b). Because the statute is silent on the question and an owner can prohibit carry on its own premises, this is marked conditional.

West Virginia has statewide permitless carry under W. Va. Code §61-7-7(c): since June 12, 2026 (HB 4106) it covers any U.S. citizen or legal resident at least 18 who is not prohibited from possessing a firearm, and the age was 21 before that. An optional license (§61-7-4) remains available. No boat or vessel provision appears in Article 7 of Chapter 61, the firearms article, and none was found elsewhere in West Virginia carry law.

Several government sites are restricted. W. Va. Code §61-7-11a(g) bans firearms 'on the premises of a court of law, including family courts' for everyone, with no concealed-carry exception; only law enforcement acting in an official capacity and a person exempted by court order can override it. §61-6-19(b)(1) makes it unlawful to bring any deadly weapon onto the State Capitol Complex, with no license exception; the exceptions are a firearm kept in a locked vehicle out of normal view and law enforcement acting in an official capacity. §61-5-8(c) makes it a felony to take a weapon onto the grounds of a jail, juvenile facility or state or federal correctional facility unless authorized by law or by those supervising the facility. A municipality may prohibit or regulate weapons by ordinance in municipally owned or operated buildings, which §8-12-5a(b)(3) defines to include a city hall; it must post a clear statement at each entrance (§8-12-5a(e)), and a person who leaves or relinquishes the weapon when asked, and was otherwise lawfully in possession, has an absolute defense to a violation of the ordinance (§8-12-5a(d)). Separately, §61-7-14(b) lets an owner or other person in control of real property prohibit carry on it (§8-12-5a(g) excludes municipalities from that provision); the statute does not expressly address state- or county-owned buildings, although it defines 'person' to include any entity that may acquire title to real property. The Attorney General's handbook also lists federal government properties, and other places where federal law prohibits firearms, as restricted, and names no category of state or county building beyond the courts, jails, Capitol Complex and public schools.

The Campus Self-Defense Act (2023 W.Va. Acts, effective July 1, 2024) requires PUBLIC institutions of higher education to allow holders of a valid WV (or reciprocal) concealed-carry license to carry a concealed pistol/revolver on campus, subject to 12 statutory exceptions (certain athletic facilities, daycare, disciplinary hearings, specified labs, etc.). Open carry and permitless carry are not covered, and private institutions are outside the Act.

W. Va. Code §61-7-14(b) lets an owner, lessee or other person in control of real property prohibit carrying a firearm or deadly weapon on it, and a natural person who refuses a request to relinquish the weapon or leave commits a misdemeanor (§61-7-14(c)). The statute has no sign or posting provision, and, apart from the school-premises proviso in §61-7-14(c), the section itself imposes no restriction absent an owner's prohibition. An owner cannot prohibit a customer, employee or invitee from keeping a lawfully possessed, out-of-view firearm locked inside or locked to a motor vehicle in a parking lot (§61-7-14(d)(1)).

No WV statute requires advance owner consent; general trespass law (W. Va. Code 61-3B-3) requires notice before presence becomes unlawful (opt-out default). Constitutional-carry state.

No West Virginia source I found lists airports among restricted locations (usacarry.com's list: primary/secondary schools, school buses, courthouses, and places where federal law prohibits firearms). No statute or second source addresses airports specifically.

West Virginia has statewide permitless carry: W. Va. Code §61-7-7(c) lets any person at least 18 years old who is a U.S. citizen or legal resident, and who is not prohibited under that section or 18 U.S.C. §922(g) or (n), carry a concealed deadly weapon without a license, which covers vehicle carry for ordinary self-defense. HB 4106 (2026 Acts ch. 75, effective June 12, 2026) lowered the age from 21 to 18 and repealed the under-21 carry offense in §61-7-3; the optional provisional license for ages 18-20 in §61-7-4a remains in the code.

No West Virginia statute prohibits firearms in hospitals.

West Virginia is permitless-carry (W. Va. Code §61-7-7(c)), and no statute specific to highway rest areas appears in Article 7 of Chapter 61. Under §61-7-14(b) an owner or person in control of property may prohibit carry on it, but §61-7-14(d)(1) bars that owner from prohibiting a customer, employee or invitee from keeping a lawfully possessed, out-of-view firearm locked inside or locked to a motor vehicle in a parking lot; the statute does not say whether a public rest area is covered.

W. Va. Code § 61-7-4 (concealed weapons license statute), reviewed directly via code.wvlegislature.gov: contains licensing, application, and background-check provisions but no requirement to disclose firearm possession to a law enforcement officer during a stop.

W. Va. Code § 61-7-4 expressly provides for both a "state resident license" and a "nonresident license" to carry a concealed deadly weapon, applied for through a county sheriff.

W. Va. Code §61-7-11a(b)(1) bans firearms on any school bus or in/on a public primary or secondary education building; no exception exists for concealed carry permit holders — only unloaded firearms in locked vehicles, unloaded firearms in transport, and board-approved educational displays are excepted. West Virginia is permitless-carry, which doesn't affect this school-specific ban.

W. Va. Code §61-7-14(b) lets an owner, lessee or other person in control of real property prohibit carrying a firearm or deadly weapon on it, and §61-7-14(c) makes it a misdemeanor (fine up to $1,000 and/or up to six months in jail) for a natural person who is asked to temporarily relinquish the weapon, or to leave, to refuse. The statute has no sign or posting provision, and the offense is refusing a request, not carrying past a sign; the Attorney General's handbook 'On The Mark' (July 2024) says it is not a crime to carry onto such property and that nothing requires it to be posted. Neither the statute nor the handbook says whether a posted sign can itself serve as that request or as notice under the general trespass statutes (§61-3B-2, §61-3B-3). An owner cannot prohibit a customer, employee or invitee from keeping a lawfully possessed, out-of-view firearm locked inside or locked to a motor vehicle in a parking lot (§61-7-14(d)(1)).

W. Va. Code §8-12-5a(a): no municipality may, by ordinance or otherwise, limit the right to purchase, possess, transfer, own, carry, transport, sell or store a deadly weapon, firearm, pepper spray or ammunition. Exceptions: a municipality may prohibit or regulate weapons in municipally owned or operated buildings (§8-12-5a(c)(1)); may prohibit open or not-lawfully-concealed carry in municipally owned recreation facilities, though not by a concealed handgun license holder who securely stores the firearm out of view and access to others (§8-12-5a(c)(2)); and, as a proviso to the bar on regulating other municipal property, may prohibit persons who do not have a valid concealed handgun license from carrying or possessing a firearm on municipally owned or operated property (§8-12-5a(c)(4)), which by its terms reaches a person carrying without a license. A person may keep a lawfully possessed firearm out of view in a locked vehicle in municipal public parking facilities (§8-12-5a(c)(3)), and the section does not authorize restricting lawfully possessed firearms on public streets and sidewalks (§8-12-5a(h)(1)). A municipality that restricts a building or recreation facility must post a clear statement at each entrance (§8-12-5a(e)). Municipal zoning of the commercial use of real estate is preserved, but may not treat firearms businesses more restrictively than other retail (§8-12-5a(h)(2)). County commissions are likewise barred from limiting the right to purchase, possess, carry, transport, sell or store a revolver, pistol, rifle or shotgun or ammunition (§7-1-3(a)).

West Virginia has no dedicated Article 7 statute barring concealed carry at a polling place, per a specific secondary-source review of WV prohibited-places law — but 'many polling places are located in school buildings, which independently triggers the W. Va. Code § 61-7-11a prohibition' on firearms on school premises. So the answer depends entirely on whether the specific polling site is a school (very common) or another type of venue.

No state-level magazine capacity restriction found.

No state ERPO/red flag law. West Virginia enacted a (largely symbolic, no local ERPOs had existed) law in 2021 preempting local governments from adopting extreme risk protection orders.

No additional state restriction beyond the federal NFA process. West Virginia's weapons statutes are silent on suppressors and SBR/SBS specifically, meaning no state-law prohibition exists beyond federal NFA compliance. Machine gun possession (W. Va. Code § 61-7-9) is unlawful only for a person who has NOT fully complied with applicable federal statutes/regulations — federal NFA registration alone satisfies WV law, with no separate state license layered on top. Pre-1986 transferable machine guns are legal if federally registered.

Stand Your Ground by statute: W. Va. Code § 55-7-22(c) (2008) — no duty to retreat.

No West Virginia statute requires background checks on private firearm transfers. Confirmed via absence from Giffords' UBC list.

No West Virginia statute restricts suppressor possession — West Virginia Code Chapter 61, Article 7 (Dangerous Weapons) separately addresses only machine guns (§61-7-9) — so a federally-registered suppressor faces no added state condition.

W. Va. Code §61-7-9 requires only that the owner have 'fully complied with applicable federal statutes and all applicable rules and regulations of the secretary of the treasury' — no separate state permit or registration; violation without such compliance is a misdemeanor.

Not addressed by W. Va. Code Chapter 61, Article 7; secondary legal sources agree West Virginia does not separately restrict short-barreled rifles beyond ordinary federal NFA compliance.

Not addressed by W. Va. Code Chapter 61, Article 7; secondary legal sources agree West Virginia does not separately restrict short-barreled shotguns beyond ordinary federal NFA compliance.

West Virginia's dangerous-weapons chapter (Ch. 61, Art. 7) does not separately restrict destructive devices or AOWs beyond ordinary federal NFA compliance; §61-7-16 additionally bars a local CLEO from refusing NFA transfer certification based on a generalized objection, which supports rather than burdens lawful transfers.