In Minnesota is it legal to have gun hidden under clothing or does it have to be visible
Executive summary
Minnesota law requires a Permit to Carry for public possession of a handgun, and that permit covers both concealed and open carry — the statute and state guidance do not require a handgun to be visible, nor do they mandate concealment; instead, the permit authorizes carrying a handgun on the person or in a vehicle whether concealed or not [1] [2] [3]. Minnesota is a “shall‑issue” state for permits (limited sheriff discretion) and is not a permitless or “constitutional carry” state, though law enforcement and certain qualified officers operate under federal exceptions [3] [4] [5].
1. What the statute says about concealment versus visibility
The Minnesota Citizens’ Personal Protection Act — codified at Minnesota Statute §624.714 — frames the legal regime as a permit to carry a pistol, not as a law that only contemplates concealed carry; the statute and official revisor text treat the permit as authorizing possession of a handgun in public without language requiring that it be hidden or, conversely, must be in plain sight [1]. Legal summaries and state guidance echo that the permit allows carrying a handgun either openly or concealed, and Minnesota’s administrative materials describe the permit as covering having a handgun “in their clothes or on their person, in a motor vehicle” [2] [3].
2. How state agencies and independent groups describe it
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety/BCA materials and county permit Q&A characterize the scheme as a permit to carry rather than a strict concealed‑only scheme, and several legal guides and advocacy organizations note that a permit enables both open and concealed carry subject to location restrictions and statutory prohibitions [6] [7] [2]. Independent explainers (NRA‑ILA, ConcealedCarry.com, USCCA) consistently report Minnesota as a shall‑issue permit state where the permit holder may carry openly or concealed, and they highlight training, residency and disqualification requirements tied to the permit process [5] [8] [9].
3. Exceptions, limits and common misunderstandings
There are important limits: federal property, certain state‑specified locations (schools, some government buildings), private property where the owner has legally posted restrictions, and individuals prohibited under state or federal law cannot obtain or keep a permit [10] [1] [2]. Some online summaries and commentators phrase Minnesota’s law as not specifying concealment — which can be read as flexibility — but that should not be taken to mean there are no location or conduct restrictions tied to carrying; courts have also weighed in on sign‑posting and denial authorities in particular contexts [10] [1].
4. Who can carry without a Minnesota permit
Qualified federal, state, and retired law enforcement officers are subject to separate federal rules (LEOSA) that may allow concealed carry across jurisdictions regardless of state permitting, and Minnesota guidance references these federal exceptions for qualified officers [5] [7]. The statutory framework otherwise requires a valid Minnesota permit (or an out‑of‑state permit recognized under reciprocity rules) to lawfully carry a handgun in public, whether visible or hidden [1] [4].
5. Practical takeaway and areas of ongoing change
The practical legal takeaway: Minnesota does not mandate that a carried handgun be visible or hidden — a valid Permit to Carry lets a person lawfully carry open or concealed — but permit eligibility, location restrictions, and federal exceptions must be checked before assuming a given carry posture is lawful [3] [2] [1]. Reporting and advocacy sources vary in emphasis (some stress that Minnesota is not a “concealed‑only” state, others focus on permit requirements), so the clearest guidance for a particular circumstance is the statutory text and current county sheriff practice under §624.714 and associated administrative materials [1] [7]. This analysis relies on the statutes and the cited state and nonprofit summarizations; if questions remain about a specific locale or property, those specifics are not covered here and should be checked against the cited sources and local law enforcement guidance [1] [6].