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Md. Code, Public Safety § 5-205

This is the official text of Md. Code, Public Safety § 5-205, part of Maryland’s Code, Public Safety — governs police, fire, and emergency services.

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§5–205.

Official statutory text

(a) This subtitle does not apply to a rifle or shotgun that is an antique firearm as defined in § 4–201 of the Criminal Law Article.

(b) A person may not possess a rifle or shotgun if the person:

(1) has been convicted of a disqualifying crime as defined in § 5–101 of this title;

(2) has been convicted of a violation classified as a crime under common law and received a term of imprisonment of more than 2 years;

(3) is a fugitive from justice;

(4) is a habitual drunkard as defined in § 5–101 of this title;

(5) is addicted to a controlled dangerous substance or is a habitual user as defined in § 5–101 of this title;

(6) suffers from a mental disorder as defined in § 10–101(i)(2) of the Health – General Article and has a history of violent behavior against the person or another;

(7) has been found incompetent to stand trial under § 3–106 of the Criminal Procedure Article;

(8) has been found not criminally responsible under § 3–110 of the Criminal Procedure Article;

(9) has been voluntarily admitted for more than 30 consecutive days to a facility as defined in § 10–101 of the Health – General Article;

(10) has been involuntarily committed to a facility as defined in § 10–101 of the Health – General Article;

(11) is under the protection of a guardian appointed by a court under § 13–201(c) or § 13–705 of the Estates and Trusts Article, except for cases in which the appointment of a guardian is solely a result of a physical disability;

(12) except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, is a respondent against whom:

(i) a current non ex parte civil protective order has been entered under § 4–506 of the Family Law Article; or

(ii) an order for protection, as defined in § 4–508.1 of the Family Law Article, has been issued by a court of another state or a Native American tribe and is in effect; or

(13) if under the age of 30 years at the time of possession, has been adjudicated delinquent by a juvenile court for an act that would be a disqualifying crime if committed by an adult.

(c) This section does not apply to:

(1) a person transporting a rifle or shotgun if the person is carrying a civil protective order requiring the surrender of the rifle or shotgun and:

(i) the rifle or shotgun is unloaded;

(ii) the person has notified the law enforcement unit, barracks, or station that the rifle or shotgun is being transported in accordance with the civil protective order; and

(iii) the person transports the rifle or shotgun directly to the law enforcement unit, barracks, or station; or

(2) the carrying or transporting of a rifle or shotgun by a person who is carrying a court order requiring the surrender of the rifle or shotgun, if:

(i) the rifle or shotgun is unloaded;

(ii) the person has notified a law enforcement unit, barracks, or station that the rifle or shotgun is being transported in accordance with the order; and

(iii) the person transports the rifle or shotgun directly to a State or local law enforcement agency or a federally licensed firearms dealer.

(d) A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or a fine not exceeding $1,000 or both.

(e) A person who is disqualified from owning a rifle or shotgun under subsection (b)(6), (7), (8), (9), (10), or (11) of this section may seek relief from the disqualification in accordance with § 5–133.3 of this title.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.