Can You Conceal Carry in Florida Without a Permit?

Yes. Since July 1, 2023, you can carry concealed in Florida without a permit, provided you meet every eligibility standard the state uses for its Concealed Weapon or Firearm License (CWFL). The law waives the training course and the application fee, nothing else. Open carry is still illegal, a long list of places remain off-limits, and you have to keep a government-issued photo ID on you whenever you’re armed.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 790.01 – Carrying of Concealed Weapons or Concealed Firearms

“Concealed” means hidden from the ordinary sight of another person. A pistol under a shirt or in a bag qualifies. A pistol visible in a hip holster does not, and open carry of firearms in public remains a second-degree misdemeanor, with narrow exceptions for activities like hunting, fishing, and camping.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 790.053 – Open Carrying of Weapons The law applies equally to Florida residents and to visitors from other states who meet the criteria.

Who Qualifies to Carry Without a Permit

You need to satisfy every eligibility rule that a CWFL applicant would under Section 790.06. All of the following have to be true:

  • You are a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident alien.
  • You are at least 21 years old. Active-duty service members and honorably discharged veterans can carry at 18.3Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Eligibility Requirements for a Florida Concealed Weapon License
  • You have not been convicted of a felony that makes you ineligible to possess a firearm.
  • You have not been convicted of a controlled-substance offense within the past three years.
  • You do not have a physical condition that prevents you from safely handling a firearm.
  • You have not been adjudicated incapacitated, unless a court restored your capacity at least five years ago.
  • You have not been committed to a mental institution, unless a licensed psychiatrist certifies you have been free of disability for at least five years.
  • You are not currently subject to a restraining order for domestic violence or repeat violence.
  • No other Florida or federal law bars you from possessing a firearm.4Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 790.06 – License to Carry Concealed Weapon or Concealed Firearm

Miss any one of these and permitless carry does not cover you. Possessing a concealed firearm anyway can be charged as a felony.

The ID Requirement

You must carry a valid government-issued photo ID on your person whenever you are armed, and produce it if a law enforcement officer asks.5Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Permitless Carry in Florida There is no license to show anymore, so the ID is what officers use to run their checks. Leaving the house armed without one puts you out of compliance even if everything else about your carry is legal.

Concealed Weapon vs. Concealed Firearm

Florida draws a hard line between these two categories, and the penalties are very different. A “concealed firearm” is any firearm hidden from ordinary sight. A “concealed weapon” is a separate list of items: dirks, metallic knuckles, billies, tear gas guns, chemical weapons or devices, and other deadly weapons carried out of ordinary sight.6Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 790.001 – Definitions

Carrying a concealed weapon without meeting eligibility is a first-degree misdemeanor. Carrying a concealed firearm without meeting eligibility is a third-degree felony. Same rule, same conduct, felony instead of misdemeanor because the item in your waistband is a handgun rather than a knife.

Where You Cannot Carry

Even if you check every eligibility box, Section 790.06(12) puts a long list of locations off-limits:

  • Any elementary school, secondary school, career center, or college and university facility. Registered students, employees, and faculty at a college or university may carry only a nonlethal stun gun designed for defensive purposes.
  • Any courthouse, police station, sheriff’s office, highway patrol station, jail or detention facility, and polling place.
  • Any meeting of a county governing body, school board, city commission, special district, or the Florida Legislature.
  • Any school, college, or professional athletic event not related to firearms.
  • Any portion of an establishment primarily devoted to serving alcoholic beverages for on-site consumption. In a restaurant with a bar area, the bar section is off-limits; the dining room usually is not.
  • The inside of any passenger terminal and sterile area at an airport. A properly encased firearm you’re checking as baggage is fine.4Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 790.06 – License to Carry Concealed Weapon or Concealed Firearm

Carrying in any of these places is a second-degree misdemeanor whether or not you otherwise qualify.

Private Property and “No Firearms” Signs

A “No Firearms” sign on a private business is not, by itself, backed by criminal penalty in Florida. Walking past one while carrying concealed is not a crime. What matters is what happens if the owner or manager asks you to leave. Refusing to leave while armed with a firearm is armed trespass in a structure, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.7Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 810.08 – Trespass in Structure or Conveyance If a business asks you to leave because you’re armed, leave.

Carrying in Your Vehicle

Florida has long allowed a lawfully owned firearm inside a private vehicle. The Preservation and Protection of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms in Motor Vehicles Act blocks any employer, public or private, from banning employees, customers, or invitees from keeping a legal firearm locked inside or locked to a private vehicle in a parking lot.8Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 790.251 – Preservation and Protection of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms in Motor Vehicles Your employer cannot fire you for having a firearm locked in your car in the company lot as long as it stays out of sight and the vehicle is locked.

Under permitless carry, if you meet eligibility you can also carry a concealed firearm on your person inside the vehicle without a license. The firearm has to stay concealed. Setting a handgun on the dashboard while driving would violate the open-carry ban.

Traffic Stops and Police Encounters

Florida does not impose a duty to inform. You do not have to volunteer during a traffic stop that you are carrying. You do have to produce your photo ID if the officer asks.5Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Permitless Carry in Florida

If you hold a CWFL and choose to disclose, Florida law requires you to show both your ID and your license when the officer asks. Whether or not the law compels it, telling the officer calmly where the firearm is and letting them direct what happens next is the approach most agencies recommend.

Reasons You Might Still Want the License

Permitless carry did not make the CWFL obsolete. Two reasons to get one:

Reciprocity. Florida has mutual recognition agreements with many other states, so a valid Florida CWFL lets you carry concealed in those states too.9Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Concealed Weapon License Reciprocity Without the license, you’re only covered in other states that independently allow permitless carry. Cross into a state that requires a permit while carrying, and you can be charged even if you were fully legal on the Florida side of the line.

Waiting-period exemption. Florida imposes a mandatory three-day waiting period, excluding weekends and holidays, between buying and receiving a firearm. A valid CWFL exempts you from that wait.10Florida House of Representatives. Florida Statutes 790.0655 – Purchase and Delivery of Firearms; Mandatory Waiting Period; Exceptions; Penalties Simply qualifying for permitless carry does not. You need the license in hand.

A new CWFL, including fingerprinting and processing, runs around $119 for residents and out-of-state applicants alike. You will also need to complete a firearms competency course, which permitless carry waives but the CWFL application still requires.

Penalties for Getting It Wrong

What you’re charged with depends on what you were carrying and where.

The felony jump between a concealed knife and a concealed handgun catches people off guard. A felony conviction carries lasting consequences of its own: loss of voting rights, loss of firearm rights, and lasting difficulty finding work.

If you are already prohibited from possessing a firearm because of a prior felony, a domestic violence injunction, or a mental health commitment, carrying concealed compounds the problem. You face the unlawful-carry charge on top of any possession charge, and prosecutors rarely treat that combination lightly.