To carry a concealed handgun in Illinois, you need an Illinois Concealed Carry License (CCL) issued by the Illinois State Police. Getting one requires a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification card, 16 hours of certified training, a $150 fee, and a background check that takes 90 to 120 days. Illinois does not honor concealed carry permits from any other state, so residents and visitors alike have to work through the Illinois system.
Get a FOID Card First
You cannot apply for a concealed carry license until you hold a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) card. The FOID is the state’s baseline permit for owning or possessing any firearm or ammunition. It runs $10 and is issued by the Illinois State Police after its own background check, which screens for felony convictions, involuntary mental health commitments, active orders of protection, domestic battery convictions, dishonorable discharges, and recent drug-related issues, among other disqualifiers.1Illinois State Police. Firearm Owners Identification (FOID)
The two cards are linked. If your FOID is later revoked for any of those reasons, your CCL is revoked with it.
Who Qualifies
Section 25 of the Firearm Concealed Carry Act sets the eligibility rules. You must:
- Be at least 21 years old.
- Hold a valid FOID card and currently meet all FOID eligibility requirements.
- Have no violent misdemeanor convictions in the past five years.
- Have no more than one DUI conviction in the past five years. Two or more disqualify you.
- Have no pending arrest warrants and no pending prosecution for a disqualifying offense.
- Not have been in residential or court-ordered drug or alcohol treatment within the past five years.
- Complete the required firearms training.
Beyond those baseline items, the Illinois State Police must also decide you do not pose a danger to yourself or others. Local law enforcement can file an objection to your application, which sends the decision to the Concealed Carry Licensing Review Board.2Justia Law. Illinois Code 430 ILCS 66 – Firearm Concealed Carry Act
How to Apply, and How Long It Takes
Applications go through the Illinois State Police. You submit the application, proof of completed training, and a $150 fee. Fingerprints are optional but worth submitting: with prints, the ISP has 90 days to process the application; without them, the window is 120 days.3Illinois State Police. Concealed Carry License
During processing, the ISP runs federal and state background checks and notifies police in your home area. Any local objection routes the file to the Review Board, which then approves or denies the license.2Justia Law. Illinois Code 430 ILCS 66 – Firearm Concealed Carry Act
The 16-Hour Training Requirement
Illinois requires 16 hours of instruction from a state-certified firearms instructor before you can apply. The curriculum covers firearm safety, basic marksmanship, cleaning and handling a handgun, state and federal firearm law, and lawful interactions with police while carrying, and it includes live-fire range qualification.4Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 430 ILCS 66/75 – Firearms Training
Expect to pay roughly $225 to $350 for the full course, depending on the provider. Military veterans and active-duty service members get an eight-hour credit, so they only need the second half. Veterans document the credit with a DD-214 showing completion of basic training; active service members show a military ID.4Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 430 ILCS 66/75 – Firearms Training
Renewing the License
An Illinois CCL is valid for five years. The ISP sends a renewal reminder 180 days before expiration. Renewal takes a three-hour refresher course, a new background check, and the $150 renewal fee. You do not need to resubmit fingerprints.5Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 430 ILCS 66/50 – Renewal If you let the license lapse, you cannot legally carry until the renewal is processed, so start early.
Where You Cannot Carry
Even with a valid license, Illinois bars concealed firearms from a long list of places under Section 65 of the Concealed Carry Act. The main prohibited areas include:
- Any building, grounds, or parking area controlled by a public or private school, preschool, or childcare facility.
- Buildings controlled by the executive or legislative branch, local government offices, and courthouses.
- Any bus, train, or transit facility funded with public money.
- Hospitals and nursing homes.
- Jails, prisons, and detention facilities.
- Bars and similar establishments where alcohol sales make up more than 50 percent of gross receipts over the prior three months.
- Nuclear facilities, airports, and stadiums, among other listed locations.
Private property owners can also ban firearms by posting signage that meets state specifications. If the sign is up, you have to comply.6Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 430 ILCS 66/65 – Prohibited Areas
The Parking Lot Exception
If you drive to a prohibited location, you can keep your firearm in the parking area as long as it stays out of plain view in a locked vehicle or a locked container. A locked glove compartment, console, or trunk qualifies. You may briefly step out of the vehicle to move the firearm to the trunk, but nothing beyond that. Nuclear energy facilities and certain properties designated under paragraphs (22) and (23) of the statute are not covered by even this vehicle exception.6Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 430 ILCS 66/65 – Prohibited Areas
What to Say During a Traffic Stop
Illinois does not require you to volunteer that you are carrying. If an officer asks, though, you must disclose that you have a firearm, say where it is, and let the officer secure it for the duration of the stop. Passengers who hold a CCL or are otherwise lawfully carrying follow the same rule.7Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 430 ILCS 66/10 – Issuance of Licenses
The statutory phrase is “upon request.” Silence before the question is not a violation. Refusing to answer once asked, or refusing to let the officer secure the weapon, is.
Magazine Capacity Limits
The Protect Illinois Communities Act, effective January 2023, restricts magazine capacity. You cannot buy, sell, or possess a magazine that holds more than 15 rounds for a handgun or more than 10 rounds for a long gun.8Illinois State Police. Protect Illinois Communities Act, Regulation on Assault Weapons If you legally owned a higher-capacity magazine before January 11, 2023, you can keep it, but you may only possess it in your home, at a licensed shooting range, at a licensed dealer’s premises, or while traveling between those places.
Penalties for Carrying Without a License
How Illinois charges an unlicensed carry depends heavily on the condition of the firearm when police find it. Two statutes do most of the work.
Under 720 ILCS 5/24-1, carrying a concealed firearm on your person or in a vehicle without a valid license is a Class A misdemeanor on a first offense, punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $1,500. A second or subsequent conviction is a Class 3 felony carrying two to five years in prison.9Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 720 ILCS 5/24-1 – Unlawful Possession of Weapons
If the firearm is uncased, loaded, and immediately accessible, the charge escalates to aggravated unlawful use of a weapon under 720 ILCS 5/24-1.6. A first offense is a Class 4 felony, one to three years in prison. Prosecutors reach for this statute often in concealed-carry cases, because the “loaded and accessible” threshold is easy to meet during a traffic stop.10Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 720 ILCS 5/24-1.6 – Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon
License holders who break the rules of the Concealed Carry Act itself, such as carrying into a prohibited location, face a separate penalty structure under 430 ILCS 66/70. A first violation is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $1,500, and a mandatory $150 fee to the Mental Health Reporting Fund. A second or subsequent violation becomes a Class A misdemeanor with up to a year in jail. Carrying while impaired by alcohol or drugs, measured against Illinois’s DUI standard, can lead to a six-month license suspension on a second offense and permanent revocation on a third.11Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 430 ILCS 66/70 – Violations
Out-of-State Permits Don’t Work Here
Illinois does not recognize concealed carry licenses issued by any other state. To carry legally in Illinois as a non-resident, you need an Illinois non-resident CCL, and those are only available to residents of states the ISP has found to have “substantially similar” firearm laws. The process mirrors the resident application, including the full 16-hour training course, but the fee is $300 rather than $150. Because non-residents do not have a FOID card, the ISP requires documentation proving you would meet FOID eligibility standards if you lived in Illinois.12Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 430 ILCS 66/40 – Non-Resident License Applications
There is one narrow exception for visitors passing through. If you hold a valid concealed carry permit from your home state, you may transport a concealed firearm inside your vehicle in Illinois as long as the gun stays in the vehicle. If you leave the vehicle unattended, the firearm has to be locked and out of plain view, on the same storage rules that apply to Illinois licensees at prohibited locations.12Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 430 ILCS 66/40 – Non-Resident License Applications