Order online, pick up at a licensed dealer in Philadelphia County. Philadelphia is the sixth-largest city in the country, a medicine, education and port city on the Delaware. City dealers run PICS alongside the federal check, and Philadelphia licences to carry come from the police rather than a sheriff.
Pick an FFL dealer near you that accepts shipped transfers and name it at checkout. We confirm their license and ship the firearm to them. Ammunition, optics and parts ship straight to your door where Pennsylvania law allows.
Lights, lasers, mounts and batteries are accessories and ship to your door; the rules below matter only when you order a pistol or rifle to put them on. Pennsylvania runs its own instant check, PICS, alongside the federal check, and dealers charge a small fee for it. The firearm ships to the Pennsylvania dealer you name at checkout. Handguns must always transfer through a dealer, and there is no waiting period and no purchase permit. Federal age limits apply: 21 for a handgun from a dealer, 18 for a long gun.
Dealers in these communities all work for Philadelphia-area buyers:
Pennsylvania requires a Licence to Carry Firearms to carry a handgun concealed or in a vehicle; open carry is lawful without one outside Philadelphia. Licences are issued by the Philadelphia County Sheriff to residents 21 and over and are honoured by a number of other states. Courthouses, schools and federal buildings remain off limits.
Pennsylvania's firearms deer season opens on the Saturday after Thanksgiving with Sunday hunting and runs about two weeks, with archery from early October. Semi-automatic rifles may not be used for big game; manually operated centerfire rifles, shotguns, muzzleloaders and handguns are legal. Antlerless licences are sold by Wildlife Management Unit.
Philadelphia is WMU 5D, an antlerless-heavy special regulations unit hunted mostly with archery and shotguns in the county parks' edges and the Bucks and Chester farmland beyond.
Open carry is not allowed in Philadelphia without a licence; the state game lands ranges in Chester and Montgomery counties are the nearest public places to zero a rifle light.
These ranges are run by or officially listed by a state wildlife agency, a state forest or a national forest. Most ask for a hunting licence, a range permit or a small day fee, and hours change with the season, so check the agency page before you go.
Source: State wildlife agency, state forest and U.S. Forest Service public range listings, September 2026. Distances are approximate; call or check the agency site before you drive out.
Yes. Order here, name a licensed FFL dealer in Upper Darby, Bensalem, Cheltenham, Philadelphia or anywhere in Philadelphia County, and we ship the firearm to them. You fill out ATF Form 4473 at their counter and they run the background check through PICS.
No. The dealer runs PICS and the federal check when you complete ATF Form 4473 and you leave once they clear.
No. Concealed carry and carrying in a vehicle need a Licence to Carry Firearms from the Philadelphia County Sheriff. Open carry is lawful outside Philadelphia.
No. Semi-automatic rifles are not legal for big game; a bolt-action, lever-action or pump rifle is.
A pistol light of 500 to 1,000 lumens with a broad beam, plus a handheld beside the bed. Anything brighter blinds you off your own walls.
Each dealer sets its own fee, commonly $20 to $75. Call before you order to confirm the price and that they accept firearms shipped from an online store.
General information, not legal advice. Rules current as of September 2026. See our buying guide and check with Philadelphia County Sheriff (Licence to Carry Firearms; Philadelphia applies to the police) or a local attorney about your own situation.