62.1-04-01 Definition of concealed.

A firearm or dangerous weapon is concealed if it is carried in such a manner as to not be discernible by the ordinary observation of a passerby. There is no requirement that there be absolute invisibility of the firearm or dangerous weapon, merely that it not be ordinarily discernible.  A firearm or dangerous weapon is considered concealed if it is not secured, and is worn under clothing or carried in a bundle that is held or carried by the individual, or transported in a vehicle under the individual's control or direction and available to the individual, including beneath the seat or in a glove compartment.  A firearm or dangerous weapon is not considered concealed if it is:
1.  Carried in a belt holster which is wholly or substantially visible or carried in a case designed for carrying a firearm or dangerous weapon and which is wholly or substantially visible;
2.  Locked in a closed trunk or luggage compartment of a motor vehicle;
3.  Carried in the field while lawfully engaged in hunting, trapping, or target shooting, whether visible or not;or
4.  Carried by any person permitted by law to possess a handgun unloaded and in a secure wrapper from the place of purchase to that person's home or place of business, or to a place of repair, or back from those locations. 5.  A bow and arrow, an unloaded rifle or shotgun, or an unloaded weapon that will expel, or is readily capable of expelling, a projectile by the action of a spring, compressed air, or compressed gas including any such weapon commonly referred to as a BB gun, air rifle, or CO2 gun, while carried in a motor vehicle.

Source:
S.L.  1985, ch.  683, s 6.

62.1-04-02 Carrying concealed firearms or dangerous weapons prohibited.

No person, other than a law enforcement officer, may carry any firearm or dangerous weapon concealed unless the person is licensed to do so or exempted pursuant to this chapter.  For purposes of this chapter, dangerous weapon does not mean a spray or aerosol containing CS (ortho-chlorobenzamalonitrile), CN (alpha-chloroacetophenone), or other irritating agent intended for use in the defense of a person.

Source:
S.L.  1985, ch.  683, s 6.

62.1-04-03 License to carry a firearm or dangerous weapon concealed.

1.  The chief of the bureau of criminal investigation shall issue a license to carry a firearm or dangerous weapon concealed upon review of an application submitted to the chief if the following criteria are met:
a.  The applicant has a valid reason for carrying the firearm or dangerous weapon concealed, including self-protection, protection of others, or work-related needs.
b.  The applicant is not a person specified in section 62.1-02-01.
c.  The applicant has the written approval for the issuance of such a license from the sheriff of the applicant's county of residence, and, if the city has one, the chief of police or a designee of the city in which the applicant resides.  The approval by the sheriff may not be given until the applicant has successfully completed a background investigation in that county and has attended a testing procedure conducted pursuant to rules adopted by the attorney general.  The testing procedure for approval of a concealed weapons license must include an open book test to be given from a manual that sets forth weapon safety rules and the deadly force law of North Dakota, including judicial decisions and attorney general opinions, and a proficiency test consisting of a course of fire to be designated by the criminal justice training and statistics division of the attorney general's office.  The purpose of the proficiency test is only to ensure a minimal level of competency in the loading and unloading of the firearm or dangerous weapon, use of safety devices and basic firearm or dangerous weapon functioning, and minimal accuracy.  A weapons instructor certified by the attorney general shall conduct the testing procedure.  The attorney general shall develop rules that ensure that this testing will be conducted periodically.  The local agency conducting the testing may assess a charge of up to fifty dollars for conducting this testing.  The testing procedure is not required for a renewal of a concealed weapons license.
d.  The applicant satisfactorily completes the bureau of criminal investigation application form and has successfully passed a background investigation or criminal records check conducted by that agency.
2.  The sheriff is required to process the application within thirty days after the completion of the testing portion unless the application is for renewal of a license and in such case the application must be processed within thirty days after its receipt by the sheriff, the chief of police is required to process the application within ten working days of its receipt by the agency, and the bureau of criminal investigation is required to process the application and make a determination within thirty days of receipt from the forwarding agency.
3.  The license fee for a concealed weapons license is twenty-five dollars. Ten dollars of this fee must be credited to the state general fund and fifteen dollars of this fee must be credited to the attorney general's operating fund up to a total of fifty thousand dollars each biennium.  Any collections from fifteen dollars of this fee in excess of the fifty thousand dollars credited to the attorney general's operating fund each biennium must be credited to the state general fund.  The license fee must be paid before the license is issued by the director of the bureau of criminal investigation.
4.  The chief of the bureau of criminal investigation shall prescribe the form of the application and license, which must include the name, address, description, a photograph, and the signature of the individual.  The application form must require sufficient information to properly conduct a background investigation and be accompanied by two sets of classifiable fingerprints.  The two sets of classifiable fingerprints are not required for a renewal of a concealed weapons license.  The license is valid for three years.  The license must be prepared in triplicate, and the original must be delivered to the licensee, the duplicate must be sent by mail, within seven days after issuance, to the sheriff of the county in which the applicant resides, and the triplicate must be preserved for six years by the chief.  In those cases in which the licensee resides in a city, an additional copy of the license must be made and sent by mail, within seven days after issuance, to the chief of police of the city in which the applicant resides.  The individual shall notify the chief of the bureau of criminal investigation of any change of address or any other material fact which would affect the restrictions on or the need for the license.
5.  The chief of the bureau of criminal investigation may deny an application or revoke or cancel such a license after it has been granted for any material misstatement by an applicant in an application for the license or any violation of this title.
6.  The applicant may appeal a denial or revocation of this license to the district court of the applicant's county of residence.
7.  The attorney general may adopt rules to carry out this title.

Source:
S.L.  1985, ch.  683, s 6;
1987, ch.  532, s 7;
1991, ch.  710, s 1;
1995, ch.  25, s 8.

62.1-04-04 Producing license on demand.

Every person while carrying a concealed firearm or dangerous weapon for which a license to carry concealed is required, shall have on one's person the license and shall give it to any law enforcement officer for an inspection upon demand by the officer.  The failure of any person to give the license to the officer is prima facie evidence that the person is illegally carrying a firearm or dangerous weapon concealed.

Source:
S.L.  1985, ch.  683, s 6.

62.1-04-05 Penalty.

Any person who violates this chapter is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.

Source:
S.L.  1985, ch.  683, s 6.

62.1-01-01 General definitions.

As used in this title, unless the context otherwise requires:
1.  "Dangerous weapon" includes any switchblade or gravity knife, machete, scimitar, stiletto, sword, dagger, or knife with a blade of five inches [12.7 centimeters] or more; any throwing star, nunchaku, or other martial arts weapon; any billy, blackjack, sap, bludgeon, cudgel, metal knuckles, or sand club; any slungshot; any bow and arrow, crossbow, or spear; any stun gun; any weapon that will expel, or is readily capable of expelling, a projectile by the action of a spring, compressed air, or compressed gas including any such weapon, loaded or unloaded, commonly referred to as a BB gun, air rifle, or CO2 gun;
and any projector of a bomb or any object containing or capable of producing and emitting any noxious liquid, gas, or substance.
2.  "Direct supervision of an adult" means that an adult is present in such close proximity so as to be capable of observing and directing the actions of the individual supervised.
3.  "Firearm" or "weapon" means any device which will expel, or is readily capable of expelling, a projectile by the action of an explosive and includes any such device, loaded or unloaded, commonly referred to as a pistol, revolver, rifle, gun, machine gun, shotgun, bazooka, or cannon.
4.  "Gaming site" means any room or premises licensed by the attorney general or by a city or county governing body to conduct legal gaming operations.
5.  "Government building" means a building which is owned, possessed, or used by or leased to the state of North Dakota, or any of its political subdivisions.
6.  "Handgun" means any firearm that is not designed to be fired from the shoulder, which has a barrel less than sixteen inches [40.64 centimeters] long, and which is capable of firing, by the energy of an explosive in a fixed metallic cartridge, an exposed projectile through a rifled bore.  The term includes the Thompson contender forty-five caliber single-shot center- fire with a pistol grip or similar firearm, if in compliance with the National Firearms Act [26 U.S.C.  5801-5872].
7.  "Law enforcement officer" means a public servant authorized by law or by a government agency or branch to enforce the law and to conduct or engage in investigations or prosecutions for violations of law.
8.  "Machine gun, submachine gun, or fully automatic rifle" means a firearm, mechanism, or instrument not requiring that the trigger be pressed for each shot, and having a reservoir, belt, or other means of storing and carrying ammunition which can be loaded into the firearm, mechanism, or instrument and fired therefrom at a rate of five or more shots to the second.
9.  "Plain view" means the handgun is placed in such a location or carried in such a position as to be easily discernible by the ordinary observation of a passerby.  In a motor vehicle, this includes being placed on the seat, dashboard, or in a gunrack as long as the handgun is not covered or is in any other way concealed from view.
10.  "Rifle" means any firearm designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and using the energy of the explosive in a fixed metallic cartridge to fire only a single projectile through a rifled bore for each pull of the trigger.
11.  "Secured" means the firearm is closed into the trunk or nonpassenger part of the vehicle;
placed into a closed and secure carrying device; rendered inoperative by the use of a trigger, hammer, cylinder, slide, or barrel-locking device that renders the firearm incapable of firing until the device is unlocked and removed; or so disassembled or disabled as to be rendered incapable of firing.
12.  "Short-barreled rifle" means a rifle having one or more barrels less than sixteen inches [40.64 centimeters] in length and any firearm made from a rifle, whether by alteration, modification, or otherwise, if the firearm, as modified, has an overall length of less than twenty-six inches [66.04 centimeters].
13.  "Short-barreled shotgun" means a shotgun having one or more barrels less than eighteen inches [45.72 centimeters] in length and any firearm made from a shotgun, whether by alteration, modification, or otherwise, if the firearm, as modified, has an overall length of less than twenty-six inches [66.04 centimeters].
14.  "Shotgun" means a firearm designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired with one hand below or behind and one hand in front of the breach, which uses the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth or a rifled bore either a number of ball shot or a single projectile for each single pull of the trigger.
15.  "Silencer" means any device for or attached to any firearm which will silence or deaden the sound or natural report of the firearm when it is discharged.
16.  "Unloaded" means the chamber of the firearm does not contain a loaded shell.  If the firearm is a revolver, then none of the chambers in the cylinder may contain a loaded shell.  Handguns with a removable magazine or clip must have the magazine or clip removed from the firearm if the magazine or clip contains any loaded shells.

Source:
S.L.  1985, ch.  683, s 3;
1987, ch.  532, s 6;
1995, ch.  602, s 1.