Florida Firearm Purchase and Concealed Weapon License Rules

Florida gun laws require anyone buying a firearm from a licensed dealer to be at least 21, pass a background check run by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and wait three days before taking delivery. The state issues concealed weapon and firearm licenses through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), bans open carry in public, and preempts every county and city from writing its own gun rules. What follows covers the purchase process, the license, where you can and cannot carry, renewals, reciprocity, and travel.

Who Can Buy a Firearm

You must be 21 to buy any firearm from a licensed dealer in Florida. A narrow exception lets active law enforcement officers, correctional officers, and military service members buy rifles and shotguns at 18.¹ There is no similar exception for handguns. Every buyer must present a valid state-issued photo ID so the dealer can verify identity, age, and residency before running the background check.

Private sales between individuals who are not licensed dealers remain legal under Florida law, and no state background check is required for those transactions. Gun shows are the exception: any sale at a gun show has to run through a licensed dealer who handles the background check. Federal prohibitions on selling to someone you know or have reason to believe is barred from possessing firearms apply regardless of where the sale happens.

Background Checks and the Three-Day Wait

Florida is a point-of-contact state, meaning licensed dealers call the FDLE directly rather than going through the FBI. The FDLE checks the Florida Crime Information Center and National Crime Information Center and returns one of three answers: approval, non-approval, or a conditional non-approval while the record is being researched.²

The background check is separate from the mandatory waiting period. Florida requires three days between the purchase and delivery of any firearm, excluding weekends and legal holidays, so the actual wait is often five calendar days or longer. The waiting period does not apply if you hold a valid concealed weapon license, if you trade in another firearm as part of the purchase, or, for rifles and shotguns, if you have a valid hunter safety course certificate.³ Delivering a firearm before the wait is up is a third-degree felony for the dealer, and obtaining one through fraud is a third-degree felony for the buyer.

Who Cannot Legally Possess a Firearm

Federal law creates categories of people who cannot possess firearms or ammunition in Florida or anywhere else. A Florida license does not override these bars. You are federally prohibited if any of the following applies:

You have a felony conviction, meaning any crime punishable by more than one year in prison, whether or not you served time.
You are a fugitive from justice.
You are an unlawful user of, or addicted to, a controlled substance.
You have been involuntarily committed to a mental institution or found mentally incompetent by a court.
You are in the country unlawfully.
You were dishonorably discharged from the military.
You have renounced U.S. citizenship.
You are subject to a domestic violence restraining order protecting an intimate partner or their child.
You have been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.

Being under indictment for a crime punishable by more than one year also bars you from receiving or transporting firearms while the case is pending.⁴

Straw Purchases

Buying a firearm for someone else who is the actual intended owner is a federal crime, even if that person could legally own it. Lying on the transfer paperwork about who the gun is for carries up to 15 years in federal prison. The penalty rises to 25 years if the buyer knows or has reason to believe the firearm will be used in a felony, terrorism offense, or drug trafficking.⁵

Concealed Weapon License Eligibility

FDACS issues Florida’s concealed weapon and firearm license, often shortened to CWL or CWFL. You must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien and at least 21. Active-duty military and honorably discharged veterans can apply at 18.⁶

Beyond the federal prohibitions, Florida adds its own disqualifiers. Two or more DUI convictions within the three years before your application create a presumption of chronic alcohol abuse. A misdemeanor conviction for a crime of violence blocks your application for three years after you finish probation or any court-imposed conditions, unless the record has been sealed or expunged. Any felony conviction is a permanent bar under both state and federal law.

Firearm Training

You have to demonstrate competence with a firearm before FDACS will issue a license. Qualifying options include a safety course taught by an instructor certified through the NRA, the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission, or FDACS itself; a hunter education course with a valid certificate; or military discharge papers showing firearms proficiency.⁷

Whichever path you take, the training must include live fire. The instructor has to personally observe you safely handling and discharging a real firearm with live ammunition. Classroom-only courses and simulator courses do not count. Qualifying courses typically run between $50 and $150, though pricing varies by provider.

Applying, Fees, and Timeline

The application asks for personal details and residential history, along with sworn answers to questions about criminal history, mental health, and substance use. False answers are a criminal offense under Florida law.⁸ You also need a color passport-style photograph (taken within the last 30 days if you apply by mail; taken on-site at a tax collector’s office), a full set of fingerprints for FDLE and FBI review, and your training certificate showing the instructor’s name and certification number. Veterans using military service to satisfy the training requirement should attach a copy of the DD-214.

Most applicants go in person to a Florida tax collector’s office, which handles fingerprinting, photos, and document collection in a single appointment. Some FDACS regional offices accept walk-ins, and FDACS runs an online portal for applicants who already have digital fingerprints and documents.⁹

Fees for a new license: $55 license fee plus $42 for fingerprint processing. Tax collector offices add a convenience fee of up to $22, bringing the total to $119.¹⁰ Once FDACS has a complete application, it has 90 days to approve or deny. Missing information pauses the clock. Approved licenses arrive by mail and are valid for seven years.⁶

A denial arrives with a written notice explaining the reason and an Election of Rights form. Returning that form triggers a hearing before an administrative law judge under Florida’s Administrative Procedure Act.

Where You Cannot Carry With a License

A concealed weapon license is not blanket permission to carry everywhere. Florida law lists specific locations that remain off-limits even to license holders, and this is where license holders most commonly run into trouble. You may not carry in:

Law enforcement facilities, including police stations, sheriff’s offices, and highway patrol stations.
Jails, prisons, and any detention center.
Courthouses and courtrooms, though a judge may authorize specific individuals to carry in their own courtroom.
Polling places during elections.
Meetings of a county commission, city council, school board, or special district governing body, and any session of the Florida Legislature or its committees.
Elementary and secondary school buildings, administration buildings, and career centers.
College and university facilities. Registered students, employees, and faculty may carry a stun gun or similar nonlethal device that does not fire a projectile.
Any school, college, or professional athletic event not related to firearms.
The portion of an establishment with a liquor license that is primarily devoted to serving drinks for on-site consumption. The restaurant section of the same establishment is fine.
Airport passenger terminals and sterile areas. You may bring a properly cased firearm into the terminal for the purpose of checking it as luggage.
Any location where federal law bars firearms, such as federal courthouses and certain government buildings.

The statute also prohibits carry in any “place of nuisance” as defined under Florida law.⁶

Florida Bans Open Carry

Florida does not allow open carry of firearms or electronic weapons in public. Carrying a visible firearm outside the narrow exceptions in the statute is a second-degree misdemeanor. License holders get a small cushion: briefly and unintentionally exposing a concealed firearm, such as when a shirt rides up, is not a violation, unless the weapon is displayed in an angry or threatening way.¹¹

Renewing Your License

FDACS mails a renewal form about 95 days before your license expires. Renewal costs $57, plus up to $12 in convenience fees if you renew at a tax collector’s office. You do not repeat the training course. Instead, you sign a sworn statement affirming you still meet every eligibility requirement.¹²

Miss the expiration date and you have a 180-day grace period to renew with a $15 late fee. After 180 days, the license is dead and you must start over with a new application, fresh fingerprints, and a new training certificate. Carrying concealed during any gap in coverage, even with a pending renewal, exposes you to criminal charges.

Reciprocity With Other States

Florida has mutual recognition agreements with 37 states. Your Florida license lets you carry concealed in those states, and their licenses are honored in Florida. The list covers most of the South, Midwest, and Mountain West, including Texas, Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Arizona. Notable states not on the list include California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Hawaii, and Oregon.¹³

Reciprocity does not mean the rules match. When you carry in another state under your Florida license, that state’s carry laws control where you can bring a firearm, how it has to be stored in a vehicle, and whether you have to notify law enforcement during a traffic stop. Check the destination state’s restrictions before you travel.

Risk Protection Orders

Florida’s risk protection order law, sometimes called a red flag law, lets a law enforcement officer or agency petition a court to temporarily remove firearms from someone who poses a significant danger to themselves or others. Only law enforcement can file. Family members and civilians cannot petition directly, though they can report concerns to law enforcement.

A court can issue a temporary order without advance notice to the person involved. After a full hearing, if the court finds clear and convincing evidence of danger, it can issue an order lasting up to 12 months and requiring the person to surrender all firearms, ammunition, and any concealed weapon license. The court can extend the order in 12-month increments.¹⁴ Possessing a firearm while subject to a risk protection order is a third-degree felony.

State Preemption of Local Gun Laws

Florida has one of the strongest state preemption laws in the country. The Legislature has claimed exclusive authority over firearm regulation, so no city or county can pass its own gun ordinances. Any local ordinance that conflicts with state law is automatically void.¹⁵ A local official who knowingly and willfully enacts or enforces a firearms ordinance in violation of preemption faces a personal civil fine of up to $5,000, and public funds cannot be used to reimburse that penalty. The rules described here apply the same way in every Florida county and municipality.

Suppressors and Other NFA Items

Suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and other items regulated under the National Firearms Act are legal to possess in Florida, but require federal registration through the ATF. As of January 1, 2026, the $200 federal excise tax has been eliminated for suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and similar regulated items. Machine guns and destructive devices still carry the $200 tax.

Eliminating the tax did not eliminate the paperwork. You still file ATF Form 4 for a transfer, submit fingerprints and a passport photo, and pass a background check.¹⁶

Traveling With a Firearm

Driving Through Other States

Federal law provides “safe passage” protection for anyone legally transporting a firearm from one place where they can lawfully possess it to another. The firearm must be unloaded and stored where neither it nor any ammunition is directly accessible from the passenger compartment. If your vehicle has no separate trunk, the firearm and ammunition must be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or center console.¹⁷ The protection overrides state and local laws along your route, but it only covers transit. Overnight stops or significant deviations from your route can put you outside the protection, at least in the view of some states.

Flying

TSA allows firearms in checked baggage only. The firearm must be unloaded, locked in a hard-sided case, and declared to the airline at the ticket counter, with only you holding the key or combination. Ammunition also has to go in checked baggage, packed in its original box or a container specifically made for it. Loaded magazines do not count as ammunition containers unless they completely enclose the rounds.¹⁸

TSA treats a firearm as loaded if a live round is in the chamber, cylinder, or an inserted magazine, and also if the gun and loose ammunition are both accessible in the same bag. Individual airlines set their own quantity limits on ammunition and may charge fees for firearm transport, so confirm your carrier’s rules before you get to the airport.

1
Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Requirements to Purchase a Firearm
2
Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Firearm Purchase Program
3
Florida Senate. Florida Code 790.0655 – Purchase and Delivery of Firearms; Mandatory Waiting Period
4
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Identify Prohibited Persons
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 932 – Straw Purchasing of Firearms
6
Florida Senate. Florida Code 790.06 – License to Carry Concealed Weapon or Concealed Firearm
7
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 790.06 – License to Carry Concealed Weapon or Concealed Firearm
8
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 837.06 – False Official Statements
9
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Applying for a Concealed Weapon License
10
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Concealed Weapon or Firearm License Fee Schedule
11
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 790.053 – Open Carrying of Weapons
12
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Renew Your Concealed Weapon License
13
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Concealed Weapon License Reciprocity
14
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 790.401 – Risk Protection Orders
15
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 790.33 – Field of Regulation of Firearms and Ammunition Preempted
16
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Current Processing Times
17
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 926A – Interstate Transportation of Firearms
18
Transportation Security Administration. Transporting Firearms and Ammunition