{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-21-21-1289.25","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 21, § 21-1289.25","heading":"Physical or deadly force","body":"PHYSICAL OR DEADLY FORCE\n\nA. The Legislature hereby recognizes that the citizens of the\n\nState of Oklahoma have a right to expect absolute safety within\n\ntheir own homes, places of business, occupied premises, or places of\n\nworship and have the right to establish policies regarding the\n\npossession of weapons on property pursuant to the provisions of\n\nSection 1290.22 of this title.\n\nB. A person, regardless of official capacity or lack of\n\nofficial capacity, within a place of worship or a person, an owner,\n\nmanager or employee of a business is presumed to have held a\n\nreasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily harm to\n\nhimself or herself or another when using defensive force that is\n\nintended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm to another\n\nif:\n\n1. a. The person against whom the defensive force was used\n\nwas in the process of unlawfully and forcefully\n\nentering, or had unlawfully and forcibly entered, a\n\ndwelling, residence, occupied vehicle, place of\n\nbusiness, occupied premises, or place of worship, or\n\nif that person had removed or was attempting to remove\n\nanother against the will of that person from the\n\ndwelling, residence, occupied vehicle, place of\n\nbusiness, occupied premises, or place of worship.\n\nb. The person who uses defensive force knew or had reason\n\nto believe that an unlawful and forcible entry or\n\nunlawful and forcible act on the occupied premises was\n\noccurring or had occurred; or\n\n2. The person who uses defensive force knew or had a reasonable\n\nbelief that the person against whom the defensive force was used\n\nentered or was attempting to enter into a dwelling, residence,\n\noccupied vehicle, place of business, occupied premises, or place of\n\nworship for the purpose of committing a forcible felony, as defined\n\nin Section 733 of this title, and that the defensive force was\n\nnecessary to prevent the commission of the forcible felony.\n\nC. The presumption set forth in subsection B of this section\n\ndoes not apply if:\n\n1. The person against whom the defensive force is used has the\n\nright to be in or is a lawful resident of the dwelling, residence,\n\nor vehicle, such as an owner, lessee, or titleholder, and there is\n\nnot a protective order from domestic violence in effect or a written\n\npretrial supervision order of no contact against that person;\n\n2. The person or persons sought to be removed are children or\n\ngrandchildren, or are otherwise in the lawful custody or under the\n\nlawful guardianship of, the person against whom the defensive force\n\nis used; or\n\n3. The person who uses defensive force is engaged in an\n\nunlawful activity or is using the dwelling, residence, occupied\n\nvehicle, place of business or place of worship to further an\n\nunlawful activity.\n\nD. A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who\n\nis attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has\n\nno duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and\n\nmeet force with force, including deadly force, if he or she\n\nreasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or\n\ngreat bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the\n\ncommission of a forcible felony.\n\nE. A person who unlawfully and by force enters or attempts to\n\nenter the dwelling, residence, occupied vehicle of another person,\n\nplace of business, occupied premises, or place of worship is\n\npresumed to be doing so with the intent to commit an unlawful act\n\ninvolving force or violence.\n\nF. A person who uses defensive force, as permitted pursuant to\n\nthe provisions of subsections A, B, D and E of this section, is\n\njustified in using such defensive force and is immune from and shall\n\nnot be subject to criminal prosecution and civil action for the use\n\nof such defensive force. As used in this subsection, the term\n\n\"criminal prosecution\" includes charging or prosecuting the\n\ndefendant.\nhe provisions of subsections A, B, D and E of this section, is\n\njustified in using such defensive force and is immune from and shall\n\nnot be subject to criminal prosecution and civil action for the use\n\nof such defensive force. As used in this subsection, the term\n\n\"criminal prosecution\" includes charging or prosecuting the\n\ndefendant.\n\nG. A law enforcement agency may use standard procedures for\n\ninvestigating the use of defensive force, but the law enforcement\n\nagency may not arrest the person for using defensive force unless it\n\ndetermines that there is probable cause that the defensive force\n\nthat was used was unlawful.\n\nH. The court shall award reasonable attorney fees, court costs,\n\ncompensation for loss of income, and all expenses incurred by the\n\ndefendant in defense of any civil action brought by a plaintiff if\n\nthe court finds that the defendant is immune from and not subject to\n\nprosecution as provided in subsection F of this section.\n\nI. The provisions of this section and the provisions of the\n\nOklahoma Self-Defense Act shall not be construed to require any\n\nperson using a weapon pursuant to the provisions of this section to\n\nbe licensed in any manner.\n\nJ. A person pointing a weapon at a perpetrator in self-defense\n\nor in order to thwart, stop or deter a forcible felony or attempted\n\nforcible felony shall not be deemed guilty of committing a criminal\n\nact.\n\nK. 1. The defensive display of a firearm or other deadly\n\nweapon by a person is justified when and to the extent a reasonable\n\nperson believes that physical force is immediately necessary to\n\nprotect himself, herself, or another person against the use or\n\nattempted use of unlawful physical or deadly force by a person,\n\npremises owner or controller in self-defense, or in defense of real\n\nor private property, located on any premises, owned, rented, leased,\n\nor occupied by permission of the premises owner or controller,\n\nwhether or not a person is in possession of a valid handgun license\n\nissued pursuant to the provisions of the Oklahoma Self-Defense Act,\n\nand shall not be deemed a criminal act.\n\n2. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to a\n\nperson who:\n\na. intentionally provokes another person to use or\n\nattempt to use unlawful physical or deadly force, or\n\nb. uses a firearm during the commission of an unlawful\n\nact involving force or violence.\n\n3. The provisions of this subsection do not require the\n\ndefensive display of a firearm or any other deadly weapon before the\n\nuse of defensive force or the threat of defensive force by a person\n\nwho is justified in the use or threatened use of defensive force.\n\n4. For purposes of this subsection, \"defensive display of a\n\nfirearm\" includes, but is not limited to:\n\na. verbally informing another person that the person\n\npossesses or has available a firearm or any other\n\ndeadly weapon,\n\nb. exposing or displaying a firearm or any other deadly\n\nweapon in a manner that a reasonable person would\n\nunderstand was meant to protect the person against the\n\nuse or attempted use by another of unlawful physical\n\nor deadly force, or\n\nc. placing the hand of the person on a firearm or any\n\nother deadly weapon while the firearm is contained in\n\na pocket, purse, holster, sling scabbard, case or\n\nother means of containment or transport.\n\nL. As used in this section:\n\n1. \"Defensive force\" includes, but shall not be limited to,\n\npointing a weapon at a perpetrator in self-defense or in order to\n\nthwart, stop or deter a forcible felony or attempted forcible\n\nfelony;\n\n2. \"Dwelling\" means a building or conveyance of any kind,\n\nincluding any attached porch, whether the building or conveyance is\n\ntemporary or permanent, mobile or immobile, which has a roof over\n\nit, including a tent, and is designed to be occupied by people;\n\n3. \"Occupied premises\" means any premises occupied by an owner,\nto\n\nthwart, stop or deter a forcible felony or attempted forcible\n\nfelony;\n\n2. \"Dwelling\" means a building or conveyance of any kind,\n\nincluding any attached porch, whether the building or conveyance is\n\ntemporary or permanent, mobile or immobile, which has a roof over\n\nit, including a tent, and is designed to be occupied by people;\n\n3. \"Occupied premises\" means any premises occupied by an owner,\n\ntenant, lessee, business, place of worship, liquor store, guest or\n\nauthorized user of the premises, including their agents;\n\n4. \"Place of worship\" means:\n\na. any permanent building, structure, facility or office\n\nspace owned, leased, rented or borrowed, on a full-\n\ntime basis, when used for worship services, activities\n\nand business of the congregation, which may include,\n\nbut not be limited to, churches, temples, synagogues\n\nand mosques, and\n\nb. any permanent building, structure, facility or office\n\nspace owned, leased, rented or borrowed for use on a\n\ntemporary basis, when used for worship services,\n\nactivities and business of the congregation including,\n\nbut not limited to, churches, temples, synagogues and\n\nmosques;\n\n5. \"Residence\" means a dwelling in which a person resides\n\neither temporarily or permanently or is visiting as an invited\n\nguest; and\n\n6. \"Vehicle\" means a conveyance of any kind, whether or not\n\nmotorized, which is designed to transport people or property.","path":["OK Code","Title 21"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os21.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"41ef469d6da8836cde4c591fbe695b3d69c0b120f12a2a32a0624dfe8325dd45","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-21-21-1289.24e","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-21-21-1289.26"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}