Michigan CPL holders
Michigan Gun Law Quiz: Could You Pass?
Twelve questions about the situations Michigan gun owners actually run into: traffic stops, places you can't carry, carrying after a drink, and driving through other states. Most CPL holders miss at least a few. Each answer shows the law it comes from.
Question 1 of 12
You have your CPL and you're carrying a concealed pistol when an officer pulls you over in Michigan. When do you have to tell the officer?
The answer key
Already took the quiz, or just want the answers? Here they are, with the statute behind each one.
1.You have your CPL and you're carrying a concealed pistol when an officer pulls you over in Michigan. When do you have to tell the officer?
Answer: Immediately, when you're stopped
Michigan requires a CPL holder who is carrying concealed to immediately disclose it when stopped by a peace officer, whether the pistol is on your person or in your vehicle.
2.What's the penalty for a first failure to disclose at a stop?
Answer: A $500 fine and a 6-month CPL suspension
A first offense is a state civil infraction with a $500 fine and a 6-month suspension of your CPL. A second within 3 years is a $1,000 fine and revocation.
3.While you're carrying concealed, what does Michigan require you to have on you?
Answer: Your CPL and your driver's license or state ID
You must have your CPL and your state-issued driver's license or ID card with you at all times while carrying, and show both to an officer who asks. Not having them is a $100 civil infraction.
4.You had drinks with dinner and your blood alcohol is 0.04, half the 0.08 driving limit. Can you carry concealed?
Answer: No. Carrying at 0.02 or more is an infraction with a $100 fine and a 1-year CPL suspension
Carrying concealed with a blood alcohol content of 0.02 or more (but under 0.08) is a $100 civil infraction and a 1-year CPL suspension, with stiffer penalties above that. The law does let you transport the pistol in a locked trunk.
5.Hospitals are on Michigan's list of places a CPL holder can't carry. What about the hospital's parking lot?
Answer: Not covered. The statute says "premises" doesn't include parking areas
The statute says "premises" doesn't include the parking areas of the listed places. A property owner's own policies are a separate question.
6.You have your CPL and you're dropping your child off at school. Can you carry while you're on school property?
Answer: Yes, while you stay in your vehicle dropping off or picking up your student
Schools are on the list, but a parent or legal guardian of a student can carry while in a vehicle on school property when dropping the student off or picking them up. Getting out and walking in isn't covered.
7.Can you carry concealed at your church with a Michigan CPL?
Answer: Only if the church's presiding official or officials permit it
Places of worship are on the list unless the presiding official or officials permit carrying on that property. That decision belongs to the congregation's leadership.
8.A bar makes most of its money selling drinks by the glass. You're not drinking. Can you carry concealed inside?
Answer: No, unless you own the bar or work there
Bars and taverns whose primary source of income is liquor sold by the glass and consumed on the premises are on the list, whether or not you're drinking. The exception is for the owner or an employee.
9.You stop at a Social Security office to drop off paperwork. Does your CPL let you carry inside?
Answer: No. Federal law bars firearms in federal facilities, and a state license doesn't change that
Under 18 U.S.C. § 930, knowingly having a firearm in a federal facility (a building where federal employees regularly work) is a federal crime, apart from narrow exceptions. A state license isn't one of them.
10.You're driving through a state that doesn't honor your CPL. Your unloaded pistol is in the trunk and a loaded magazine is in the console. Are you inside the federal safe-passage rule?
Answer: No. Ammunition must be out of reach too, and a loaded magazine holds ammunition
Federal safe passage requires that neither the firearm nor any ammunition be readily accessible from the passenger compartment. A loaded magazine in the console fails that condition.
11.Your SUV has no trunk. Under federal safe passage, where can the unloaded pistol go?
Answer: A locked container that isn't the glove compartment or console
In a vehicle without a separate compartment, the firearm or ammunition has to be in a locked container, and the statute specifically excludes the glove compartment and console.
12.You're carrying loaded in another state that honors your Michigan CPL, and the road passes within 1,000 feet of a school. Does the federal school-zone exception for license holders cover you?
Answer: No. That exception covers a license issued by the state the school is in
The federal licensed exception covers a license from "the State in which the school zone is located." A Michigan CPL is a Michigan license. A separate exception covers a firearm that's unloaded and in a locked container.
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Last reviewed: November 2026
Educational information only. Not legal advice. Firearm laws change, and requirements vary by state, county and issuing authority. Verify current requirements with the issuing authority before you apply.