A concealed handgun license holder or a qualifying adult may transport or have a loaded handgun in a motor vehicle under R.C. 2923.16. Anyone else,...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
A concealed handgun license holder or a qualifying adult may transport or have a loaded handgun in a motor vehicle under R.C. 2923.16. Anyone else, other than an active-duty member carrying military identification and firearms training documentation, must carry the firearm unloaded and stowed one of the ways division (C) lists. A rifle or shotgun rides unloaded either way. A driver stopped with a loaded handgun must disclose that fact to the officer when asked.
Ohio still issues a concealed handgun license through the county sheriff under R.C. 2923.125(D)(1). Under R.C. 2923.111(A)(2)(a), a person must be twenty-one years of age or older to meet the age element of that definition. The statute calls that class of person a qualifying adult. A qualifying adult is not required to obtain a concealed handgun license to carry a concealed handgun that is not a restricted firearm, under R.C. 2923.111(B)(1).
That right is the same right granted to a person issued a concealed handgun license, and it carries the same restrictions, under R.C. 2923.111(B)(3). A qualifying adult may carry anywhere in the state where a license holder may carry a concealed handgun, under R.C. 2923.111(B)(2). The unloaded-transport route in R.C. 2923.16(C) is open only to a person who may lawfully possess that firearm under applicable law of this state or the United States.
Under R.C. 2923.16(F)(5), divisions (B) and (C) do not apply to a concealed handgun license holder who transports or possesses a handgun in a motor vehicle. Under R.C. 2923.16(F)(5)(b), that exemption stops when the handgun is knowingly in a place described in division (B) of section 2923.126 of the Revised Code. Without that status, an unloaded firearm may be carried in a closed package, box, or case, or in a compartment that can be reached only by leaving the vehicle. R.C. 2923.16 names no glove box or console, and a glove box or console a driver can reach from the seat is not such a compartment.
Under R.C. 2923.16(B), a person outside that exemption may not knowingly transport or have a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle in such a manner that it is accessible to the operator or any passenger without leaving the vehicle. That reaches anyone who is neither a license holder nor an active-duty member with training documentation, and it reaches a qualifying adult whenever the handgun is not a non-restricted handgun concealed on the person or ready at hand, and it reaches any of them while knowingly in a place described in section 2923.126(B) of the Revised Code. A person under twenty-one, or one who may not lawfully possess the handgun, is never a qualifying adult and so cannot reach the exemption as a qualifying adult.
A person who is not within that exemption may transport or have a firearm in a motor vehicle only if the person may lawfully possess it under state or federal law, it is unloaded, and it is carried in one of the ways division (C) lists. A qualifying adult is treated as a license holder, and so falls outside division (C), only while carrying or having a handgun that is not a restricted firearm concealed on the person or ready at hand.
Division (C) lists four ways to carry that unloaded firearm: in a closed package, box, or case; in a compartment that can be reached only by leaving the vehicle; in plain sight secured in a rack or holder made for the purpose; or, if the firearm is at least twenty-four inches in overall length with a barrel of at least eighteen inches, in plain sight with the action open or the weapon stripped. Ohio requires no locked container. Under R.C. 2923.16(C), that route turns on lawful possession, an unloaded firearm, and a listed manner of carry, and not on why the firearm is being transported. The section does not ask the purpose of the trip or where it is going.
We found no Ohio statute that requires a handgun in a motor vehicle to be concealed, holstered, or kept out of plain sight, having read Ohio Revised Code 2923.16, the statute that would carry such a rule, on September 21, 2026.
A rifle or shotgun may not be loaded and accessible in a motor vehicle, because the license exemption in R.C. 2923.16(F)(5) reaches only a handgun. A long gun therefore rides unloaded and stowed one of the ways division (C) lists.
The disclosure duty is keyed to the officer's question, and it reaches the driver or an occupant of a motor vehicle stopped for a traffic stop or another law enforcement purpose with a loaded handgun in the vehicle. A qualifying adult is treated as a license holder for that duty only while carrying or having, concealed on the person or ready at hand, a handgun that is not a restricted firearm. A licensee, or a qualifying military member, must then disclose possession of the loaded handgun to the officer. Under R.C. 2923.16(E)(1), disclosure must come before or at the time the officer asks, unless the person already notified another officer during the same stop.
An active-duty member of the armed forces who carries a military identification card and documentation of firearms training may transport or have a loaded handgun in a motor vehicle on the same terms as a license holder. Under R.C. 2923.16(F)(5), a qualifying adult is deemed a license holder for that exemption, through section 2923.111(C)(1)(a) of the Revised Code, only while carrying or having, concealed on the person or ready at hand, a handgun that is not a restricted firearm.
Two hunting exceptions reach an all-purpose vehicle for a person holding a valid all-purpose vehicle permit: discharge from a stationary all-purpose vehicle during the open hunting season under (F)(3), and (F)(6), which lifts divisions (B) and (C) only if all of the following apply: the person holds the permit, is on or in an all-purpose vehicle or a motor vehicle during the open hunting season for a wild quadruped or game bird, and is on or in an all-purpose vehicle on private or publicly owned lands or in a motor vehicle parked on a road owned or administered by the division of wildlife. Boats are governed separately from R.C. 2923.16, by R.C. 1547.69, the vessel firearm statute: no person may knowingly transport or have a loaded firearm in a vessel in a manner that it is accessible to the operator or any passenger, and a firearm in a vessel must otherwise be unloaded and carried in a closed package, box, or case, or in plain sight with the action opened or the weapon stripped.
In a school safety zone, a licensee, an active-duty service member with military identification and qualifying training documentation, or a qualifying adult treated as a licensee while carrying a non-restricted handgun concealed on the person or ready at hand may possess a handgun in only these situations:
Improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle is graded by division in R.C. 2923.16(I). Discharging a firearm from the vehicle under (A) and having a loaded firearm accessible without leaving the vehicle under (B) are felonies of the fourth degree. A violation of the unloaded-transport conditions in division (C) is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. A loaded handgun while under the influence under (D) is a felony of the fifth degree, or a felony of the fourth degree if the loaded handgun is concealed on the person.
Failing to disclose the loaded handgun in violation of division (E)(1) or (E)(2) is a misdemeanor of the second degree. Neither nondisclosure offence suspends the license, because the suspension reaches the stop-conduct offences instead. Under R.C. 2923.16(I), a violation of (E)(4) is a felony of the fifth degree, and a violation of (E)(3) or (E)(5) is a misdemeanor of the first degree, or a felony of the fifth degree on a prior conviction, with the license suspended under section 2923.128 of the Revised Code. If a person surrenders a firearm during a stop, the officer files no charge and makes no arrest, the person is not otherwise prohibited from possessing it, and the firearm is not contraband, R.C. 2923.16(J) requires the officer to return it at the termination of the stop.
| Situation | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Loaded handgun in the vehicle | Divisions (B) and (C) do not apply to a license holder, an active-duty member with training documentation, or a qualifying adult while the handgun is concealed on the person or ready at hand and is not a restricted firearm | R.C. 2923.16 |
| Carrying without that status | Unloaded, in a closed package, box, or case, or in a compartment reachable only by leaving the vehicle; glove box and console are unnamed | R.C. 2923.16 |
| Rifle or shotgun | Must be unloaded; the license exemption covers only a handgun | R.C. 2923.16 |
| Who may use division (C) | Only a person who may lawfully possess the firearm under state or federal law | R.C. 2923.16(C) |
| Which vehicles | Motor vehicle as Ohio Revised Code 4511.01 defines it; boats under Ohio Revised Code 1547.69 separately; all-purpose vehicles only in the hunting exceptions of (F)(3) and (F)(6) | Ohio Revised Code 2923.16 |
Under R.C. 2923.16(F)(5), holding a concealed handgun license means divisions (B) and (C) do not apply to you when you transport or possess a handgun in a motor vehicle. Under R.C. 2923.16(F)(5), a qualifying adult reaches that same vehicle exemption, through section 2923.111(C)(1)(a) of the Revised Code, only while the handgun is concealed on the person or ready at hand and is not a restricted firearm. Under R.C. 2923.111(B)(2), a qualifying adult may carry anywhere in the state where a license holder may carry a concealed handgun. Under R.C. 2923.125(D)(1)(l), an applicant must submit a competency certification and a certification of having read the safety pamphlet before a license can issue. Under R.C. 2923.125(G)(1), that course must include at least 8 hours of training in the safe handling and use of a firearm.
R.C. 2923.16 names no glove box or console, and a glove box or console the driver can reach from the seat is not a compartment reachable only by leaving the vehicle. A license holder or a qualifying adult may have a loaded handgun in the vehicle under the exemption in R.C. 2923.16. Anyone relying on division (C) must be able to lawfully possess the firearm under state or federal law.
The duty applies to the driver or an occupant of a vehicle stopped for a traffic stop or another law enforcement purpose while a loaded handgun is in the vehicle. You must disclose before or at the time the officer asks, unless you already notified another officer during the same stop. Failure to disclose under (E)(1) or (E)(2) is a misdemeanor of the second degree.
A rifle or shotgun may not be loaded and accessible in a motor vehicle, and the license exemption reaches only a handgun. The section's all-purpose vehicle provisions are the hunting exceptions in (F)(3) and (F)(6) for a person holding a valid all-purpose vehicle permit.
Ohio Revised Code 2923.16 governs a motor vehicle as Ohio Revised Code 4511.01 defines it. Boats are governed separately from R.C. 2923.16, by R.C. 1547.69, the vessel firearm statute, which bars a loaded firearm accessible to the operator or any passenger in a vessel and otherwise requires the firearm to be unloaded and carried in a closed package, box, or case, or in plain sight with the action opened or the weapon stripped. Aircraft and snowmobiles are not named in R.C. 2923.16.
If the officer does not charge you with a violation of this section or arrest you for any offense, you are not otherwise prohibited from possessing the firearm, and the firearm is not contraband, the officer must return it at the termination of the stop under R.C. 2923.16(J).
Under R.C. 2923.122(D), a concealed handgun license holder may leave the handgun in a motor vehicle if the handgun does not leave the vehicle and the person locks the vehicle on exiting it. A qualifying adult is treated as a license holder for that exception while carrying or having a non-restricted handgun concealed on the person or ready at hand.
Under R.C. 2923.16(C), the unloaded-transport route turns on lawful possession, an unloaded firearm, and a listed manner of carry, and not on why the firearm is being transported. A locked container is not one of the listed ways, and none of the four requires a lock.
This page covers one part of our Ohio concealed carry guide.
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