Key Takeaways
- Maine stopped recognizing concealed carry permits from Arkansas, Indiana, South Dakota, and Tennessee without explanation.
- The Maine State Police reciprocity page no longer lists these four states despite Maine’s law requiring recognition of permits from states that honor its permit.
- Maine’s recognition law remains unchanged, and all four states still honor Maine’s permit, raising questions about this sudden change.
- Not having a recognized permit in Maine affects interactions with law enforcement and carrying rights in state parks.
- Updates to the concealed carry permit reciprocity maps reflect this change, and travelers should check the maps before carrying in Maine.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
AUGUSTA, ME — Maine has stopped honoring concealed carry permits from Arkansas, Indiana, South Dakota, and Tennessee, four states it historically recognized and four states that still honor Maine’s permit. No explanation has been offered.
My friends at Concealed Carry Inc caught this first, and their article is what tipped me off. The Maine State Police reciprocity page, which is built on research from the Maine Attorney General’s Office, no longer lists the four states.
Maine’s recognition law, 25 M.R.S. § 2001-A(2)(F), does not leave room for this. Maine honors a permit from any state that honors Maine’s permit. There is no formal agreement to sign and no paperwork for the other state to file. Some states will not recognize another state’s permit until both sides have signed a written reciprocity agreement. Maine is not one of them. If your state recognizes a Maine permit, Maine recognizes yours, agreement or not. I lay out the rest of the state’s rules in my Maine concealed carry guide.
Arkansas, Indiana, South Dakota, and Tennessee each honor every state’s permit, Maine’s included. That is the only condition Maine’s law sets, and all four meet it. The statute did not change. The four states did not change. The list did, and nobody has said why.
Maine is a permitless carry state, so some readers will ask why any of this matters. It matters because a recognized permit still does things in Maine that permitless carry does not. Without an honored permit you have to declare your firearm to law enforcement on official contact. With one, you do not. Permit holders can carry in state parks. Carriers relying only on permitless carry cannot. Then there is the school zone question on top of that. Knowing what your permit does and does not do in the state you are driving into is the travel mindset I would bring to any trip, and it beats assuming permitless carry covers everything.
More from USA Carry:
I have updated the USA Carry concealed carry permit reciprocity maps to reflect the change. If you hold a permit from one of these four states and plan to carry in Maine, check the map before you go and plan around permitless carry rules until the State Police list changes again.
I will continue tracking this. I have reached out to the Maine State Police Weapons and Professional Licensing Unit for a statement, and I will update this article and the maps if and when I hear back.
