Georgia Pepper Spray and Stun Gun Laws (2026)

Georgia has no dedicated statute regulating civilian possession, purchase, or carry of pepper spray, and a separate state preemption statute generally bars any county, city, school district, or other local authority from regulating either device, with a narrow exception letting a local government regulate its own employees' or volunteers' carrying of one. Stun guns and tasers are treated differently: several Georgia statutes fold them into the state's "firearm" definition for specific purposes, including an enhanced sentence for possessing one during certain crimes and a ban in school safety zones (with a carve-out for adults and enrolled students on public college and university campuses), without creating a general purchase license or carry permit requirement for either device.

Jurisdiction scope: This page covers Georgia state law only, principally O.C.G.A. Sections 16-11-106, 16-11-127.1, and 16-11-173. It does not cover Georgia's firearm weapons carry license statute (Section 16-11-129) in detail. Local ordinances are addressed below: Georgia state law preempts them.

Is pepper spray legal to carry in Georgia?

Georgia has no statute that specifically regulates civilian possession, purchase, or carry of pepper spray or chemical spray. Georgia's weapons chapter, Title 16, Chapter 11, Article 4, covers firearms, knives, and other carry restrictions; its Part 2 "dangerous weapon" definition (O.C.G.A. Section 16-11-121) is narrowly scoped to military-style ordnance such as rocket launchers, mortars, and hand grenades, and its Part 3 general carry-license "weapon" definition (O.C.G.A. Section 16-11-125.1) covers only a knife or handgun. Neither part, nor any other section of Article 4, names a chemical or pepper spray. A separate Georgia statute, O.C.G.A. Section 16-10-33, makes it a crime to remove or attempt to remove chemical spray from an on-duty peace officer or corrections employee, but that is an officer-protection offense, not a civilian possession restriction.

Using pepper spray to injure someone remains covered by Georgia's general assault and battery statutes regardless of whether possessing the spray itself is separately restricted. Because a state preemption statute, O.C.G.A. Section 16-11-173, bars any county, city, or school district from adding its own weapons regulation (see below), no local ordinance can fill this gap either.

Are stun guns and tasers legal to carry in Georgia?

Legal to possess, with no general license required, but the term "stun gun or taser" is folded into Georgia's "firearm" definition in several sections for specific purposes rather than governed by its own possession statute. O.C.G.A. Section 16-11-106(a) provides: "For the purposes of this Code section, the term 'firearm' shall include stun guns and tasers. A stun gun or taser is any device that is powered by electrical charging units such as batteries and emits an electrical charge in excess of 20,000 volts or is otherwise capable of incapacitating a person by an electrical charge." Section 16-11-106(b) then makes it a separate offense to have one on or within arm's reach during the commission of, or the attempt to commit, a listed felony crime against another person, an unlawful building or vehicle entry, a building or vehicle theft, or a drug-trafficking offense; the predicate crime must itself be a felony. A conviction carries a 5-year sentence consecutive to the underlying crime's sentence, 10 years on a second or subsequent conviction, and Section 16-11-106(d) bars reducing that sentence to a misdemeanor.

Georgia repeats the same "stun gun or taser" inclusion in its "firearm" definition in several other sections. O.C.G.A. Section 16-11-133 uses it for a 15-year consecutive sentence (life imprisonment on a second conviction) when a person with specified prior convictions, including armed robbery, kidnapping, or rape, possesses one during certain felonies. O.C.G.A. Section 16-5-44.1 (hijacking a motor vehicle) and O.C.G.A. Section 16-10-33 (removing a weapon from an officer) use the identical definition, and O.C.G.A. Section 20-2-751's school-discipline "hazardous object" definition also names a stun gun or taser. Outside these offense-specific reclassifications, Georgia has no general purchase license, carry permit, or age minimum for owning a stun gun or taser.

Georgia's school safety zone rule

O.C.G.A. Section 16-11-127.1 bars carrying a weapon within a school safety zone, at a school function, or on a school bus, and its "weapon" definition names "any stun gun or taser as defined in subsection (a) of Code Section 16-11-106" alongside firearms, knives, clubs, and other listed items. A school safety zone includes property owned or leased by a public or private elementary or secondary school and, separately, by a public or private technical school, vocational school, college, or university.

That ban carries a specific exception for stun guns and tasers on public postsecondary campuses. Section 16-11-127.1(c)(19) exempts "any person who is 18 years of age or older or currently enrolled in classes on the campus in question and carrying, possessing, or having under such person's control an electroshock weapon" while on property owned or leased by a public technical school, vocational school, college, or university, provided that any use of the device is in defense of self or others. No comparable exception exists for a K-12 school safety zone: an electroshock weapon carried there falls under the general ban, subject only to the other listed exceptions. One of those, Section 16-11-127.1(c)(7), covers a "lawful weapons carrier" who picks up or drops off a student within a school safety zone, at a school function, or on a bus or other transportation furnished by a school, or who has a weapon legally kept within a vehicle parked or in transit through a designated school safety zone. "Lawful weapons carrier," added to Section 16-11-125.1(2.1) by the 2022 SB 319 school-safety act, means "any person who is licensed or eligible for a license pursuant to Code Section 16-11-129 and who is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing a weapon or long gun," along with an out-of-state resident who would otherwise qualify but for residency and a person licensed to carry a weapon in another state; that 2022 amendment broadened Section 16-11-127.1(c)(7)'s earlier text, which had required the person to actually hold a Georgia license. Pepper spray is not named in Section 16-11-127.1's "weapon" definition, consistent with the absence of a dedicated pepper spray statute elsewhere in Georgia law.

State preemption of local regulation

O.C.G.A. Section 16-11-173 declares that "the regulation of firearms and other weapons is properly an issue of general, state-wide concern" and, in subsection (b)(1), "except as provided in subsection (c) of this Code section," bars any county, municipal corporation, school district, or other political subdivision or authority of the state, other than the General Assembly, from regulating "in any manner" the "possession, ownership, transport, carrying, transfer, sale, purchase, licensing, or registration of firearms or other weapons." For purposes of this section, "weapon" is defined as "any device designed or intended to be used, or capable of being used, for offense or defense, including but not limited to firearms, bladed devices, clubs, electric stun devices, and defense sprays." Because both pepper spray ("defense sprays") and stun guns ("electric stun devices") are named in this definition, no Georgia city, county, or school district may adopt its own general possession, purchase, or carry rule for the public reaching either device.

Subsection (c) is the exception subsection (b)(1) points to, and it is narrow: it lets a county or municipal corporation "regulate the transport, carrying, or possession of firearms" (which by (f)'s definition includes an electric stun device or defense spray) "by employees of the local unit of government, or by unpaid volunteers of such local unit of government, in the course of their employment or volunteer functions," while leaving a sheriff or police chief solely responsible for regulating their own department's employees, and a district attorney or solicitor-general solely responsible for regulating county employees under their supervision, so long as those regulations comply with state and federal law. That exception reaches only a local government's own workforce; it gives a county or municipality no authority to regulate possession, purchase, or carry of either device by the general public. A person aggrieved by a local government's violation of Section 16-11-173 may sue for actual damages or $100, whichever is greater, plus attorney's fees and expenses of litigation.

Federal law: what it does and does not reach

No federal statute regulates a civilian's purchase or possession of pepper spray or a stun gun. Federal law matters in three places.

Federal buildings. Under 18 U.S.C. § 930(a), whoever knowingly possesses or causes to be present "a firearm or other dangerous weapon in a Federal facility (other than a Federal court facility)" faces a fine, imprisonment of up to 1 year, or both. Subsection (e) sets up to 2 years for a federal court facility, and subsection (b) up to 5 years where the weapon is intended to be used in a crime. Section 930(g)(2) defines the term:

The term "dangerous weapon" means a weapon, device, instrument, material, or substance, animate or inanimate, that is used for, or is readily capable of, causing death or serious bodily injury, except that such term does not include a pocket knife with a blade of less than 2½ inches in length.

The definition names neither device. Whether a particular spray or stun gun is "readily capable of" causing serious bodily injury is a question of fact the statute does not answer. Subsection (d)(3) exempts "the lawful carrying of firearms or other dangerous weapons in a Federal facility incident to hunting or other lawful purposes," and subsection (h) requires notice of the ban to be posted at each public entrance. A "Federal facility" is "a building or part thereof owned or leased by the Federal Government, where Federal employees are regularly present for the purpose of performing their official duties."

Air travel. The Transportation Security Administration's screening rules, which are agency policy rather than statute, bar both devices from carry-on bags. One 4 fl. oz. (118 ml) container of mace or pepper spray is permitted in checked baggage if it has a safety mechanism to prevent accidental discharge, and sprays containing more than 2 percent by mass of tear gas (CS or CN) are prohibited in checked baggage. Tasers, stun guns and other electro-shock weapons may travel in checked baggage only if transported so the device cannot discharge accidentally. Airlines may set stricter rules.

National parks. National Park Service regulations prohibit possessing, carrying or using a "weapon" in a park area except as the regulations provide (36 CFR 2.4(b)(1)). 36 CFR 1.4 defines "weapon" to include an "irritant gas device" and any "weapon the possession of which is prohibited under the laws of the State in which the park area or portion thereof is located."

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about Georgia's pepper spray and stun gun laws as of September 2026. It is not legal advice. Consult a lawyer licensed in Georgia for advice about a specific situation.

For a state-by-state comparison, see pepper spray and stun gun laws by state. Georgia's self-defense statutes are covered separately on the Georgia self-defense laws page.

Statutes cited reflect their in-force version as of 2026-09-18. Last updated: 2026-09-18.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is pepper spray legal to carry in Georgia?

Yes. Georgia's weapons chapter and firearm-carry licensing provisions contain no section that regulates civilian possession, purchase, or carry of pepper spray. A state preemption statute, O.C.G.A. Section 16-11-173, also bars any Georgia city, county, or school district from adopting its own restriction. General assault and battery law still applies to misusing it.

Do you need a permit to carry a stun gun or taser in Georgia?

No. Georgia has no general license requirement for owning a stun gun or taser. Several sections, including O.C.G.A. Section 16-11-106(a) and Section 16-11-133, fold stun guns and tasers into Georgia's 'firearm' definition only for the purpose of enhanced sentences when one is possessed during certain crimes, and Section 16-11-127.1 bars carrying one in a school safety zone; none of these creates a standalone purchase or carry license.

What happens if you use a stun gun during a crime in Georgia?

O.C.G.A. Section 16-11-106 treats a stun gun or taser as a 'firearm' for purposes of that section, making it a separate offense to have one on or within arm's reach during the commission of, or attempt to commit, a listed felony against a person, a building or vehicle theft, or a drug-trafficking offense. Conviction adds a consecutive 5-year sentence (10 years on a second or subsequent conviction) to the sentence for the underlying crime, and the sentence cannot be reduced to a misdemeanor. O.C.G.A. Section 16-11-133 adds a separate 15-year consecutive enhancement, or life imprisonment on a second conviction, for a person with specified prior convictions such as armed robbery or kidnapping.

Are stun guns allowed on Georgia school grounds?

It depends on the campus. O.C.G.A. Section 16-11-127.1's school safety zone ban defines 'weapon' to include stun guns and tasers by name, and a K-12 school safety zone has no exception for them. On a public technical school, vocational school, college, or university campus, however, Section 16-11-127.1(c)(19) exempts a person 18 or older, or a currently enrolled student, who carries an electroshock weapon for self-defense.

Can a Georgia city or county pass its own pepper spray or stun gun ordinance?

Not for a general public rule. O.C.G.A. Section 16-11-173(b)(1) preempts counties, municipalities, school districts, and other local authorities from regulating the possession, purchase, sale, carrying, or registration of a weapon in any manner, and defines 'weapon' for this section to include 'electric stun devices, and defense sprays' by name. Subsection (c) carves out one narrow exception: a county or municipality may regulate how its own employees or unpaid volunteers carry one in the course of their local-government duties, but that authority does not extend to the general public. A person harmed by a violating local ordinance may sue for damages and attorney's fees.