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Wyoming: Laws & Legal Considerations
Download all of Wyoming as PDF PrintRainwater harvesting: unregulated at small residential scale
Wyoming has no statute specifically addressing residential rainwater harvesting, but small-scale rooftop-to-barrel collection is widely practiced without a permit.
| Rule | Wyoming |
|---|---|
| Source water | Rooftop or other catchment |
| Small-scale residential use | Widely practiced without a permit, though no specific statute explicitly authorizes it |
| Larger systems | May require a formal water appropriation permit through the State Engineer's Office if downstream water rights could be affected |
Where to find it: the Wyoming State Engineer’s Office administers water appropriation permits.
Water rights: the first state to constitutionalize prior appropriation
Wyoming didn’t just adopt prior appropriation, it was the first state to write the doctrine directly into its constitution, at statehood in 1890.
| Concept | How it works in Wyoming |
|---|---|
| Basic rule | 'First in time is first in right': the earliest-dated beneficial use holds priority during a shortage |
| Constitutional basis | Wyoming Constitution, Article 8, which declares the water of all natural streams, springs, lakes, and other still-water collections to be state property |
| Historical significance | Wyoming's 1890 constitutionalization of prior appropriation predates and influenced how several other Western states, including some covered elsewhere on this site, later structured their own water law |
Where to find it: the Wyoming State Engineer’s Office administers appropriation and adjudication.
Concealed carry: permitless at 21+, with a new 2026 permit option for 18-20 year-olds
Wyoming’s constitutional (permitless) carry standard remains set at 21, but a 2026 law opened a new path for younger adults.
| Standard | Detail |
|---|---|
| Permitless carry | 21+ only, for anyone legally eligible to possess a firearm |
| 18-20 year-olds | As of HB 96, effective July 1, 2026, may now apply for and hold a physical concealed carry permit, a path that didn't exist for this age group before |
A new option, not a lowered permitless age
Wyoming’s 2026 change doesn’t lower the permitless-carry age itself, it opens the previously 21+-only optional permit to 18-20 year-olds for the first time. That’s a narrower change than several other states’ recent age adjustments covered on this site (Idaho and West Virginia both lowered their actual permitless threshold), worth distinguishing carefully since the practical effect is different.
Sources
- Wyoming rainwater harvesting practice: LegalClarity
- Wyoming’s constitutional prior appropriation doctrine (1890): Wyoming Water Development Commission; Wyoming Legal Authority
- Wyoming’s 2026 concealed carry permit age change (HB 96): Wyoming News