Castle Doctrine States 2025

Castle Doctrine

Stand Your Ground

Duty to Retreat

Other Self-Defense Laws

State	Self Defense Laws	Gun Ownership Rate	Gun Death Rate	Registered Gun Rate
Alabama	Stand Your Ground	52.8%	23.60	38.70
Alaska	Castle Doctrine	57.2%	23.50	38.50
Arizona	Castle Doctrine	36.4%	16.70	35.60
Arkansas	Castle Doctrine	51.8%	22.60	44.30
California	Stand Your Ground	16.3%	8.50	10.40
Colorado	Stand Your Ground	37.9%	15.40	25.70
Connecticut	Duty to Retreat	18.8%	6	20.80
Delaware	Duty to Retreat	38.7%	14.40	6.10
Florida	Stand Your Ground	28.8%	13.70	23.80
Georgia	Stand Your Ground	37.7%	17.70	28.20
Hawaii	Duty to Retreat	9.1%	3.40	6.40
Idaho	Stand Your Ground	57.8%	17.60	40.20
Illinois	Stand Your Ground	22.6%	14.10	11.40
Indiana	Castle Doctrine	42.4%	17.30	23.10
Iowa	Castle Doctrine	38.5%	11.20	17
Kansas	Stand Your Ground	42.3%	16.90	23.80
Kentucky	Stand Your Ground	52.5%	20.10	24.10
Louisiana	Stand Your Ground	52.3%	26.30	32.90
Maine	Duty to Retreat	47.7%	10.40	15.60
Maryland	Duty to Retreat	16.7%	13.50	22.10
Massachusetts	Duty to Retreat	9.9%	3.70	6.50
Michigan	Castle Doctrine	38.9%	14.60	10.90
Minnesota	Duty to Retreat	39.1%	8.90	22.70
Mississippi	Castle Doctrine	54.1%	28.60	27.40
Missouri	Castle Doctrine	52.8%	23.90	18.40
Montana	Castle Doctrine	65.7%	20.90	33.20
Nebraska	Duty to Retreat	39.2%	10.10	22
Nevada	Castle Doctrine	32.9%	17	37.90
New Hampshire	Castle Doctrine	46.3%	8.90	52.10
New Jersey	Duty to Retreat	8.9%	5	1.10
New Mexico	Stand Your Ground	35.9%	22.70	58.10
New York	Duty to Retreat	14.5%	5.30	4.60
North Carolina	Castle Doctrine	37.1%	16	21.10
North Dakota	Castle Doctrine	53.3%	13.80	40
Ohio	Castle Doctrine	41.9%	15.20	17.70
Oklahoma	Stand Your Ground	54.9%	20.70	25.90
Oregon	Stand Your Ground	41.4%	13	23
Pennsylvania	Stand Your Ground	40.2%	13.60	26.90
Rhode Island	Duty to Retreat	13.9%	5.10	4.50
South Carolina	Stand Your Ground	45.5%	22	23
South Dakota	Castle Doctrine	55.6%	13.60	72.20
Tennessee	Castle Doctrine	46.9%	21.30	21.70
Texas	Castle Doctrine	35.5%	14.20	34.10
Utah	Castle Doctrine	39.7%	13.60	3.40
Vermont	Stand Your Ground	50.3%	11.60	14.60
Virginia	Stand Your Ground	35.3%	13.40	49
Washington	Stand Your Ground	32.1%	10.90	1.20
West Virginia	Castle Doctrine	60.6%	18.10	92.80
Wisconsin	Duty to Retreat	47.1%	12.20	16.30
Wyoming	Castle Doctrine	60.7%	25.90	245.80

Displayed death rates are given per 100,000 residents
Displayed gun registration rates are given per 1,000 residents
Gun laws may change quickly. As such, listed categories should not be considered legally authoritative.

A castle doctrine is a self-defense law that states that a person’s home (sometimes also a place of work or vehicle) is a place that grants one protection and immunity from prosecution in certain circumstances to use force or deadly force to defend oneself against an intruder. There is no duty to retreat from the situation in one’s home (or workplace or vehicle if applicable) before using force, but there may be a duty to retreat in a public place.

The United States has two different self-defense laws. The “Stand Your Ground” Law states that there is no duty to retreat from the situation before using deadly force and is not limited to one’s home, place of work, or vehicle. The “Duty to Retreat” Law states that one cannot harm another in self-defense when it is possible to retreat from a threatening situation to a place of safety. In all duty-to-retreat states, the duty to retreat does not apply when the defender is in their own home. States may have both a Castle Doctrine and a Stand Your Ground variation, such as Iowa.

Forty-five states have some form of the castle doctrine. Castle doctrines can vary slightly from state to state, with some states narrowing their right to use deadly force against an intruder. For example, in some states, you must prove that an intruder was attempting to commit a felony. In other states, it is limited to only when a person is in his or her vehicle.

North Carolina has a broad version of the castle doctrine. It states that a person who “unlawfully and forcibly” enters one’s home, workplace, or car is presumed to intend violence and harm, and therefore it is easy to establish self-defense. Illinois’s version of the castle doctrine has more restrictions. The castle doctrine for Illinois does not include one’s workplace or vehicle. Additionally, one can only use deadly force if an intruder is committing a felony or enters the home in a “violent, riotous or tumultuous manner.”