Illinois Visitor Guide

Illinois Does Not Honor Your New York License and Will Not Issue You One. With Your NY License You May Keep a Loaded Handgun Concealed in Your Car, but It Must Stay in the Car.

At a glance (checked Nov 1, 2026):

• Can a New Yorker get a permit? No. Illinois gives non-resident licenses only to residents of Arkansas, Idaho, Mississippi, Nevada, Texas and Virginia

• Does Illinois honor a NY license? No. Illinois does not honor any other state's license. The one exception is carrying in your own car (next line)

• Permitless carry for visitors? No

• Carry in a car without an Illinois license? Yes, with your home-state NY carry license: loaded and concealed, and the gun must stay in the car. A Florida, Utah or other non-resident permit does not count for this. No FOID card is needed

• Magazine limit: Handgun magazines over 15 rounds and long-gun magazines over 10 rounds are banned (upheld by the federal appeals court on July 9, 2026)

• Duty to inform: If an officer asks during a stop: say you have a gun, show your NY license, and say where the gun is

• Illinois concealed carry licenses are issued by the Illinois State Police. A non-resident may apply only if their home state has gun laws Illinois calls "substantially similar."

• The State Police: "Currently, Arkansas, Idaho, Mississippi, Nevada, Texas, Virginia have been determined to have laws ... substantially similar ... and, therefore, may apply." For more information click here

• New York is not on the list, so a New York resident cannot apply.

• A non-resident permit from one of those states does not help. Illinois looks at the state where you live.

• None. The State Police: "Illinois does not recognize concealed carry licenses from other states."

• The car exception: "a resident from another state who has a valid concealed carry license from their home state may carry a concealed firearm within a vehicle while traveling through Illinois." For more information click here

• For a New Yorker, the home-state license is your NY State or NYC carry license. A NY or NYC premises license is not a carry license.

• Your Florida, Utah, Arizona, Pennsylvania or Connecticut non-resident permit is not from your home state, so it does not give you the car exception.

With your NY carry license (the car exception, 430 ILCS 66/40(e)):

• You may carry a loaded, concealed handgun inside your vehicle if: you are not barred from guns under federal law; you may carry in public in New York, as shown by your NY carry license; and you do not hold an Illinois license. For more information click here

• The gun must stay in the car. You may not carry it into a gas station, a store, a restaurant or a hotel.

• Leaving the car: store the gun in the locked car or in a locked container in the car. The State Police add "out of plain view"; a glove box or console that fully closes, or the trunk, counts as a case. For more information click here

• No FOID card is needed: Illinois law exempts "nonresidents who are currently licensed or registered to possess a firearm in their resident state." For more information click here

Without a NY carry license:

• The State Police say a non-resident's gun must be broken down so it cannot fire, or not immediately accessible, or unloaded and in a case, firearm box or other container. Non-residents with unloaded, cased guns do not need a FOID card. The simplest choice: unloaded, in a locked case, in the trunk. For more information click here

Overnight: taking the gun from the car into a hotel is outside the car exception. Bring it in unloaded and in a closed case.

Most New Yorkers driving through Illinois will use the car exception above. Federal safe passage is the backup for anyone without a NY carry license.

• Federal law (18 U.S.C. § 926A, part of the Firearm Owners Protection Act) protects a traveler who drives through a state, as long as you are going from a place where you may legally have the gun to another place where you may legally have it.

• The gun must be unloaded. The gun and the ammunition must not be reachable from the passenger area: put them in the trunk. In a car with no trunk (SUV, van), lock them in a container that is not the glove box or the console.

• Federal safe passage covers the gun. It does not clearly cover magazines that Illinois bans. Bring magazines of 15 rounds or less.

• It protects travel, not a visit. The law does not say how long a stop may be. Keep stops short (gas, food, restroom) and do not take the gun out of the case. For more information click here

Illinois has a long list of off-limits places for its own license holders. Many include their parking lots:

• Schools, pre-schools and child care facilities (buildings, grounds and parking).

• Colleges and universities, including parking areas and sidewalks.

• Hospitals, mental health facilities and nursing homes.

• Public transit (buses and trains paid for with public funds) and transit facilities.

• Courthouses, and buildings run by state or local government.

• Jails and prisons.

• Bars and restaurants where more than half of sales are alcohol.

• Public parks, playgrounds and athletic areas run by a town or park district, and Cook County Forest Preserve land.

• Stadiums, arenas and sporting events; amusement parks; zoos and museums; public libraries; airports; casinos and racetracks.

• Public gatherings or special events that need a local permit.

• Nuclear facilities: no gun even stored in the car.

• Private property posted with the state's no-guns sign. For more information click here

Illinois license holders may leave a gun locked in the car in most of these parking lots. The law does not clearly say the same for a visitor using the car exception. If you can, do not drive into these lots with the gun.

• Duty to inform: during a stop, if the officer asks, you must say you have a concealed gun and show your NY license. If asked, say where the gun is and let the officer secure it for the stop. Passengers carrying under the car exception must do the same. For more information click here

• Magazine limit (Protect Illinois Communities Act): buying or having magazines that hold more than 15 rounds for a handgun or more than 10 rounds for a long gun is illegal, with narrow exceptions for magazines owned in Illinois before January 10, 2023. Bring magazines of 15 rounds or less. For more information click here

• Court status: the federal appeals court upheld the law on July 9, 2026 (Barnett v. Raoul). The challengers asked the U.S. Supreme Court for more time to appeal in September 2026. Separately, the Supreme Court will hear a challenge to Cook County's assault weapons ban on December 2, 2026, with a decision expected by summer 2027. The law is in force today. For more information click here

• Cook County and Chicago have their own assault weapon and magazine rules. Check them before you go (see the unconfirmed note below).

• The same law also bans many semi-automatic rifles and some pistols with certain features (720 ILCS 5/24-1.9). Check before you bring anything other than an ordinary handgun.

Every state has different laws pertaining to carrying, restrictions etc. It is your responsibility to know these laws and be familiar with them before visiting that state.

This guide summarizes the state's published instructions as of November 1, 2026 and is not legal advice. Fees, forms and rules change; always check the official page before you travel. Tips from others' experience come from users on the chats; they are personal experiences, not official rules.

Checked November 1, 2026.

• Illinois State Police, Concealed Carry License (non-resident applications; list of "substantially similar" states). For more information click here

• Illinois State Police, Transporting Your Firearm (no other state's license honored; car exception; non-resident transport; FOID). For more information click here

• Illinois General Assembly, 430 ILCS 66/40 (non-resident applications and the car exception). For more information click here

• Illinois General Assembly, 430 ILCS 66/10 (duty to inform during a stop). For more information click here

• Illinois General Assembly, 430 ILCS 66/65 (prohibited places). For more information click here

• Illinois General Assembly, 430 ILCS 65/2 (FOID exemptions for non-residents). For more information click here

• Illinois General Assembly, 720 ILCS 5/24-1.10 (large capacity magazines). For more information click here

• Illinois Attorney General, October 28, 2026 news release (U.S. Supreme Court assault weapons case). For more information click here

• United States Code, 18 U.S.C. § 926A (federal safe passage). For more information click here