02/18/2026
How should you interact with LE during a traffic stop when you're carrying your concealed pistol? The Ohio Revised Code lays out some pretty specific instructions as to how we are required to behave. I'll lay them out in layman's terms with some of my thoughts/opinions, followed by the actual verbiage from the state. Please be sure to read both, don't just take my word for it!
1. If a LEO asks you if you have a concealed carry permit, are carrying a weapon, etc. you are required to answer honestly. I typically tell them before they ask anyways. Also, keep in mind that your carry permit is linked to your driver's license and license plates, so the LEO likely knows whether you have a carry permit before he approaches your vehicle.
2. Keep your hands in plain sight from the time you're pulled over until the conclusion of the traffic stop. A great place to keep your hands is on the steering wheel. It keeps them in plain sight and gives them something to do so they're not drifting.
3. Unless you are complying with a lawful order, do not reach for, touch, unholster, etc. your concealed firearm! This seems like common sense, but when the LEO asks where the firearm is a common tendency is to show them by gesturing towards it, lifting our cover garment, etc. That's a great way to get a gun pointed at you or worse, so don't do it. I think giving those hands something to do in gripping the steering wheel can help prevent this natural tendency to show with our hands. Think out how you would verbally describe where your firearm is before you find yourself in this situation. "Officer, I have an Ohio concealed carry permit and I am carrying a loaded pistol in my waistband in front of my right hip." In this same vein, I recommend that when the LEO asks you for your driver's license, insurance, and registration, you tell them where those items are before reaching for them.
4. You must comply with the LEO's lawful orders for the duration of the traffic stop. Orders to keep your hands in plain sight are specifically mentioned, but this includes all other lawful orders as well.
"(B) No person who has been issued a concealed handgun license shall do any of the following:
(1) If the person is stopped for a law enforcement purpose and is carrying a concealed handgun, before or at the time a law enforcement officer asks if the person is carrying a concealed handgun, knowingly fail to disclose that the person then is carrying a concealed handgun, provided that it is not a violation of this division if the person fails to disclose that fact to an officer during the stop and the person already has notified another officer of that fact during the same stop;
(2) If the person is stopped for a law enforcement purpose and is carrying a concealed handgun, knowingly fail to keep the person's hands in plain sight at any time after any law enforcement officer begins approaching the person while stopped and before the law enforcement officer leaves, unless the failure is pursuant to and in accordance with directions given by a law enforcement officer;
(3) If the person is stopped for a law enforcement purpose, if the person is carrying a concealed handgun, and if the person is approached by any law enforcement officer while stopped, knowingly remove or attempt to remove the loaded handgun from the holster, pocket, or other place in which the person is carrying it, knowingly grasp or hold the loaded handgun, or knowingly have contact with the loaded handgun by touching it with the person's hands or fingers at any time after the law enforcement officer begins approaching and before the law enforcement officer leaves, unless the person removes, attempts to remove, grasps, holds, or has contact with the loaded handgun pursuant to and in accordance with directions given by the law enforcement officer;
(4) If the person is stopped for a law enforcement purpose and is carrying a concealed handgun, knowingly disregard or fail to comply with any lawful order of any law enforcement officer given while the person is stopped, including, but not limited to, a specific order to the person to keep the person's hands in plain sight."
Having said all of this, I have yet to have a negative experience with law enforcement while concealed carrying. I've interacted with LE during traffic stops, checkpoints, and fender benders in OH, WV, VA, NC, and WY while carrying. Most of them just take a look at the permit and ask where the gun is. Some don't even do that. I would imagine that may be different in or near a large city, but it hasn't been my experience in the places I've visited and lived, YMMV.
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