Florida Concealed Carry Law: Permitless Carry, Limits, and Licensing

Since July 1, 2023, Florida concealed carry law lets most adults 21 and older carry a concealed firearm without a permit, as long as they meet the same eligibility rules the state used to require for a license.¹ The permit is optional. Everything else — who can carry, where carry is banned, and how the firearm must be handled — is still enforceable, and the penalties for getting it wrong have not softened.

Who Can Carry Without a Permit

You are authorized to carry a concealed weapon or firearm in Florida if you satisfy the same eligibility criteria the state uses for its concealed weapon license.² You do not have to be a Florida resident. Any U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident who is at least 21 and not otherwise disqualified can carry concealed in the state without applying for anything.

The disqualifying conditions matter, because carrying while ineligible is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.³ You are barred from carrying if you:

Have a felony conviction, or were adjudicated delinquent for an offense that would be a felony if committed by an adult
Are subject to a domestic violence injunction or a repeat violence injunction⁴
Were convicted of a controlled substance offense within the past three years, or have been committed for substance abuse treatment⁵
Have two or more DUI convictions, or have been deemed a habitual offender under state alcohol-related statutes
Have been committed to a mental institution or adjudicated as mentally incapacitated
Are a prohibited person under federal law, including anyone restricted by 18 U.S.C. 922⁶

In a prosecution, the state has to prove both that the person was unlicensed and that they were ineligible for a license.² That burden is a courtroom defense, not a shield against arrest. If you are unsure whether something in your history disqualifies you, resolve the question before you carry.

Open Carry Is Still Illegal

Permitless carry in Florida applies only to concealed firearms. Openly carrying a firearm or electric weapon remains a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail.⁷ Visitors from states where open carry is legal are the most common casualties of this rule. If your firearm is visible on your person in public, you are committing a crime, even if you meet every eligibility requirement.

One narrow exception exists. If you are lawfully carrying concealed and the firearm is briefly and unintentionally exposed to view, that momentary visibility is not a violation unless you display the firearm in an angry or threatening manner.⁷ A shirt riding up over a holstered pistol will not land you in handcuffs. Deliberately showing the firearm will.

Where You Cannot Carry Concealed

Even under permitless carry, Florida bans concealed weapons in a specific list of places. Violating any of them is a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.⁸ The prohibited locations under Section 790.06(12)(a) are:⁵

Any elementary or secondary school building or administration building. College and university facilities are off-limits unless you are a registered student, employee, or faculty member carrying a nonlethal stun gun designed for self-defense.
Courthouses, courtrooms, polling places, meetings of local governing bodies, and legislative sessions or committee meetings.
Police stations, sheriff’s offices, highway patrol stations, jails, and prisons.
Any portion of an establishment primarily devoted to serving alcohol for on-premises consumption. The dining room of a restaurant that also serves drinks is fine; the bar area is not.
The inside of any airport passenger terminal and the sterile area of any airport. Parking areas and roadways are fine, and firearms in checked luggage follow TSA rules.
Any school, college, or professional sporting event not related to firearms, and any career center.
Locations declared as nuisances under Florida law, and any place where carry is banned by federal law.

The school restriction catches parents most often. If you carry into a school building at drop-off or pick-up, you are violating the statute. Storing the firearm securely in your vehicle is the usual workaround, and the vehicle rules below cover how to do that lawfully.

Firearms in Your Vehicle

Separate from permitless carry, Florida has long allowed anyone 18 or older to keep a concealed firearm in a private vehicle without any license, provided the firearm is “securely encased” or not readily accessible for immediate use.⁹ This provision protects drivers who are too young for permitless carry as well.

Securely encased has a statutory definition. The firearm must be in a glove compartment (locked or not), snapped into a holster, in a gun case of any kind (including a zippered case), or in a closed box or container requiring a lid to open.¹⁰ A handgun tucked loose under the driver’s seat does not qualify, and that mistake is one of the most common paths to a carrying concealed charge. If you are 21 or older and meet every permitless carry criterion, you can also carry on your person in the vehicle.

Traffic Stops and What You Must Tell an Officer

Florida has no duty-to-inform statute. You are not legally required to volunteer that you are carrying when an officer stops you. You are, however, required to carry valid identification whenever you have a concealed weapon on you, and you must produce it if a law enforcement officer asks.¹¹ License holders must also display the license. Failing to carry or produce ID is a noncriminal violation carrying a $25 fine.

Volunteering the information is often the wiser move even without a legal duty. If your firearm shares a glove compartment with your registration and insurance, reaching for those documents without warning can escalate a routine stop quickly. Telling the officer before you reach is self-preservation.

Private Property and No-Weapons Signs

Florida does not give “No Weapons” signs on private businesses the automatic force of law that some states do. A posted sign, on its own, does not make your concealed carry a criminal offense. The situation changes the moment a property owner or employee asks you to leave and you refuse. Remaining armed on the premises after being told to leave is armed trespass, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.¹² Treat posted businesses the way you would any private property owner’s wishes; the consequences of staying are far worse than walking out.

Improper Display of a Firearm

Concealed means concealed. Displaying a firearm in a rude, careless, angry, or threatening manner in front of others is improper exhibition of a dangerous weapon, a first-degree misdemeanor carrying up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.¹³ The charge does not require proof that you meant to threaten anyone. What matters is what a reasonable bystander would perceive.

This is the line between a lawful self-defense display and a criminal one. Drawing a firearm because you genuinely fear imminent harm is covered by the self-defense statutes. Flashing a weapon during a road rage incident or heated argument is improper exhibition, and prosecutors pursue those cases.

Self-Defense and Stand Your Ground

Florida’s Stand Your Ground provisions sit in a separate part of the code from concealed carry but come up constantly for anyone who carries. Under Section 776.012, you are justified in using deadly force if you reasonably believe it is necessary to prevent imminent death, great bodily harm, or a forcible felony, and you have no duty to retreat as long as you are not engaged in criminal activity and are somewhere you have a right to be.¹⁴ For non-deadly force, the threshold is lower: a reasonable belief that force is necessary to defend against another person’s imminent unlawful force, again with no duty to retreat.

If a court finds your use of force was justified, you are immune from both criminal prosecution and civil suits arising from the incident, and the court will award attorney’s fees, court costs, and compensation for lost income tied to any civil action.¹⁵ Officers can still investigate. They cannot arrest you unless they develop probable cause that the force was unlawful.

Should You Still Get a Concealed Weapon License

Permitless carry made the Concealed Weapon or Firearm License optional inside Florida. The license still matters if you leave the state. Florida’s permitless status does not follow you across state lines, and many states that recognize a Florida license extend no recognition at all to permitless carriers. Without the physical license, you can be breaking another state’s law the moment you cross the border with a concealed firearm.

Florida also recognizes concealed carry licenses from states that honor Florida’s own, letting visitors with valid out-of-state permits carry here.¹⁶ Reciprocity only works when the other state honors Florida permits in return. If you travel often, keeping an active license opens legal concealed carry in a large number of other states. Check each destination’s rules before you go; reciprocity agreements change, and some states impose restrictions Florida does not.

How to Apply, What It Costs, and When to Renew

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) handles applications. You can apply in person at an FDACS regional office or at a participating county tax collector’s office.¹⁷ In-person applications are usually the most efficient path because staff handle fingerprints and the photograph on-site.

Bring proof of firearms competency. Acceptable documentation includes certificates from hunter safety courses, NRA firearms safety programs, law enforcement training, or proof of honorable military discharge, among others.¹⁸ Also bring a government-issued photo ID, certified court documents for any prior arrests, and, if you were born outside the United States, official documentation of citizenship or lawful permanent resident status.

The nonrefundable state license fee runs up to $55, plus a $42 fingerprint processing fee, for a base cost of $97.⁵ Tax collector offices may add a convenience fee of up to $22 for new applications, bringing the total to $119. Credit card payments may carry an additional vendor surcharge.

FDACS has 90 days from receipt of a complete application to issue or deny the license.¹⁹ Once issued, the license is valid statewide for seven years. Renewal is cheaper: up to $45 for the state fee, plus up to $12 in convenience fees at a tax collector’s office. Non-Florida residents renewing pay the $42 fingerprint processing fee again. Renewal follows the same in-person procedure as the initial application.

1
Florida Senate. House Bill 543
2
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 790.01 – Carrying of Concealed Weapons or Concealed Firearms
3
Florida Senate. Florida Code 775.082 – Penalties
4
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Disqualifying Conditions
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The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 790.06 – License to Carry Concealed Weapon or Concealed Firearm
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
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The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 790.053 – Open Carrying of Weapons
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The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 775.083 – Fines
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Florida Senate. Florida Code 790.25 – Lawful Ownership, Possession, and Use of Firearms and Other Weapons
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The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 790.001 – Definitions
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Florida Senate. Florida Code 790.06 – License to Carry Concealed Weapon or Concealed Firearm
12
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 810.08 – Trespass in Structure or Conveyance
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The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 790.10 – Improper Exhibition of Dangerous Weapons or Firearms
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The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 776.012 – Use or Threatened Use of Force in Defense of Person
15
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 776.032 – Immunity From Criminal Prosecution and Civil Action for Justifiable Use or Threatened Use of Force
16
Florida Senate. Florida Code 790.015 – Nonresidents Who Are United States Citizens and Hold a Concealed Weapons License in Another State, Reciprocity
17
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Applying for a Concealed Weapon License
18
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Acceptable Firearms Training Documentation
19
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Processing Time FAQ