Is It Legal to Carry a Gun in Your Car in Wyoming? (2026)
Short answer: Yes. Wyoming has been a constitutional-carry state since 2011, and it’s one of the cleanest states in the country for vehicle carry. An eligible adult can keep a loaded handgun in their vehicle — openly or concealed — with no permit required. A holstered handgun sitting in plain view is legal. Here’s the detail for 2026.
Do you need a permit to carry a gun in your car in Wyoming?
No. Under Wyo. Stat. §6-8-104, a person who is legally allowed to possess a firearm may carry a concealed weapon without a permit. Open carry has never required a permit in Wyoming. There is no separate Wyoming statute requiring you to unload or case a handgun in a private vehicle.
One detail worth knowing if you’re passing through: Wyoming’s original 2011 constitutional carry covered Wyoming residents only. That changed in 2021 — permitless carry now extends to any U.S. resident who can lawfully possess a firearm.
So in practice: loaded or unloaded, open or concealed, on your person or in the console — all legal for an eligible carrier.
Wyoming still issues concealed firearm permits through DCI, primarily for reciprocity when you drive into other states and for the federal NICS exemption on purchases. Given how much interstate driving Wyoming residents do, a permit is worth having even though you don’t need one at home.
Loaded or unloaded? Open or concealed?
Wyoming does not require the handgun to be unloaded, and it does not force you to choose concealed or open in your vehicle — both are legal. You can keep a loaded handgun:
- holstered in plain view (including in a cup holder holster),
- concealed on your person, or
- in the console, glovebox, or elsewhere in the vehicle.
That “open carry is fine” point is what makes Wyoming such a natural fit for a vehicle holster — you’re never fighting a concealment requirement.
What about drivers 18 to 20?
This is the one genuinely unsettled question in Wyoming right now, so read it carefully.
HB 96 (2026) — House Enrolled Act 27 — was signed on March 7, 2026 and took effect July 1, 2026. It lowered the age in §6-8-104(b)(ii) from 21 to 18, and repealed the old sheriff-recommendation path that 18-to-20-year-olds previously had to use.
What’s clear: the concealed carry permit age in Wyoming is now 18.
What isn’t: whether that flows through to permitless carry. The permitless exception at §6-8-104(a)(iv) doesn’t state its own age — it cross-references the permit qualifications in subsection (b), which is what HB 96 amended. Read literally, the permitless age dropped to 18 as well. But contemporaneous Wyoming reporting stated the opposite — that 18-to-20-year-olds would still need a permit — and no Wyoming court, Attorney General opinion, or DCI guidance has resolved it.
Practical advice if you’re 18 to 20: get the permit. You’re now eligible for one, it removes the ambiguity entirely, and the downside of being wrong is steep — a first violation of §6-8-104(a) is a misdemeanor and a second is a felony. Note also that non-residents cannot obtain a Wyoming permit, so an 18-to-20-year-old from out of state has no way to resolve the question in their favor.
Open carry has no statutory minimum age in Wyoming and is unaffected by any of this. Federal law still limits handgun purchases from licensed dealers to 21 and over.
Who can’t carry in a vehicle
Constitutional carry only protects people who can lawfully possess a firearm. It does not extend to prohibited persons — for example, those with a disqualifying felony conviction, an active protection order, or another state or federal disqualifier.
Intoxication deserves its own note in Wyoming. Wyo. Stat. §23-3-307(a) provides that no person shall carry a firearm with a cartridge in it while intoxicated. It sits in the game-and-fish title and is captioned as a hunting provision, but the operative sentence isn’t limited to hunting and there’s no carve-out for permit holders. Treat it as a general rule.
Where you still can’t take it
Permitless carry doesn’t override location limits. Wyoming still restricts firearms in courtrooms and courthouses, secured federal facilities, bars (§6-8-104(t)(vii)), and other posted or statutorily restricted locations.
Wyoming did narrow several gun-free zones with 2025 HB 172 — but the change was not uniform, and the distinction matters for a driver. Government meetings, airports, and public buildings opened up to everyone. Schools and public college campuses opened up to Wyoming permit holders only. So a permitless carrier who parks at a public K-12 school still has a problem, and the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act exemption is likewise keyed to a state license. If you do school pickup, that’s another reason to carry the permit.
Carrying in your car gets you there; it doesn’t get you inside a prohibited place.
The practical problem: where do you keep it while driving?
Wyoming makes the legal side easy. The practical side is universal — and if you’re covering I-80 or two-tracking out to a lease, you’re in the seat for hours. Sit down, buckle up, and a hip holster gets pinned under the belt and slow to reach. The usual fallback — dropping the gun in the console or door pocket — leaves it unholstered, trigger exposed, and sliding around on every washboard road in the county.
A cup holder holster keeps the firearm holstered, secured, and within reach in your cup holder. Because Wyoming allows open carry, a holstered handgun in plain view is fully legal — no concealment gymnastics required. No drilling, and it moves from the ranch truck to the daily driver in seconds.
The Cupolster by Vets Tactical — veteran-owned, made in the USA, featured on Surviving Mann — is built specifically for vehicle carry. Find the Cupolster that fits your handgun →
Traveling outside Wyoming?
Cross into Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, or South Dakota and the rules change — Colorado in particular is not Wyoming. Our free 50-State Gun Laws Guide gives you every state’s carry rules in one PDF. Worth having before a long haul.
Frequently asked questions
Can I carry a loaded handgun in my car in Wyoming without a permit? Yes — under constitutional carry, an eligible adult who can lawfully possess a firearm may carry a loaded handgun in a vehicle, openly or concealed, with no permit.
Does the gun have to be concealed in Wyoming? No. Open carry is legal, so a holstered handgun in plain view — like one in a cup holder holster — is allowed.
Do I still need a Wyoming concealed firearm permit? Not to carry in-state. Most Wyoming drivers get one anyway for reciprocity, since you’re never far from a state line.
Can an 18-year-old carry in a vehicle in Wyoming? Open carry, yes — there’s no statutory minimum age. Concealed is less certain. HB 96 lowered the concealed carry permit age to 18 effective July 1, 2026, but whether that also lowered the permitless age is unresolved, and Wyoming press reporting at the time said it did not. If you’re 18 to 20, get the permit — you’re eligible now, and it removes the question.
Disclaimer: This article is general educational information, not legal advice. Laws change and circumstances vary. Confirm the current Wyoming statutes (including Wyo. Stat. §6-8-104 and §23-3-307) and consult an attorney for your specific situation. The permitless-carry age question described above is genuinely unresolved as of publication — if you are 18 to 20, do not rely on this article alone.
Vets Tactical — veteran-owned, patent-pending, made in the USA.