Arizona Concealed Carry Permit: Eligibility, Training, and Limits

A concealed carry permit in Arizona is issued by the Department of Public Safety under A.R.S. § 13-3112. To get one you need to be at least 21 (or 19 with qualifying military service), pass a state and federal background check, submit fingerprints, show proof of firearms training, and pay a $60 fee. Processing takes roughly 75 days. Arizona allows permitless concealed carry for adults, so the permit is optional, but it unlocks reciprocity with more than 35 other states, legal carry in restaurants that serve alcohol, an exception to the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act, and faster purchases at licensed firearms dealers.

Why Bother When Arizona Allows Permitless Carry

Constitutional carry has been the law here since 2010, which is why a lot of people skip the paperwork. The permit still earns its keep in four situations.

Reciprocity across state lines. An Arizona permit is honored in over 35 other states. Drive into Nevada, Utah, Colorado, or Texas without one and your right to carry stops at the border.
Restaurants with liquor licenses. Arizona law generally prohibits concealed carry in establishments that serve alcohol. Permit holders are exempt, as long as they don’t drink while carrying.
Federal school zones. The Gun-Free School Zones Act makes it a crime to possess a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school. A state-issued permit creates an exception, which matters more than people realize once you map a 1,000-foot radius around every school in your area.
Faster firearm purchases. The permit qualifies as an alternative to the federal NICS check at licensed dealers, so the counter transaction moves faster.¹

If you never leave the state, never eat where alcohol is served, and don’t live near a school, you may not need one. Most people hit at least one of those regularly.

Who Qualifies

You must be at least 21, or at least 19 if you’re currently serving in the military or were honorably discharged (or discharged under general honorable conditions).² You must be an Arizona resident or a U.S. citizen, and you cannot be unlawfully present in the country. If you were born outside the U.S. or its territories, you’ll need to submit proof of citizenship or lawful status.³

Several categories of applicant are disqualified outright. You cannot get a permit if you have a felony conviction and your firearm rights have not been restored, are under indictment for a felony, have been adjudicated mentally incompetent or committed to a mental institution, are on probation for a domestic violence conviction, are subject to a restraining order protecting an intimate partner or their child, or received a dishonorable discharge from the military.⁴ DPS verifies all of this through state and national databases before issuing anything.

If an application is denied, you get a written notice with the specific statutory reason, and you can appeal through a hearing if you believe the records DPS relied on were wrong, for example a conviction that was later set aside or a record that belongs to someone else.

Training You Can Use to Qualify

Arizona requires proof of firearms competence, but there’s no mandated hour count or state-approved curriculum.² A.R.S. § 13-3112(N) lists several ways to satisfy it:

A completion certificate from any firearms safety course, hunter education course, or NRA-sanctioned program.
An affidavit from the instructor or organization that conducted the training.
A DD-214 showing honorable discharge or general discharge under honorable conditions.
A current or expired concealed carry permit from Arizona or any other state.

A pistol course certificate from five years ago still works. So does the discharge paperwork sitting in your file cabinet. What won’t work is a verbal claim of experience. You need a document to attach.

How to Apply

DPS accepts applications two ways. Online is faster: fill out the form through the DPS Public Services Portal, pay by credit card, then book an appointment at a FieldPrint kiosk for electronic fingerprints.³ Once prints are submitted electronically, processing begins.

Paper applications are downloadable from the DPS site or available by request from the Concealed Weapons Permit Unit. You’ll need two completed fingerprint cards, which means a trip to a local law enforcement agency or a private fingerprinting service. Mail the packet to DPS at PO Box 6488, Phoenix, AZ 85005 with a $60 money order, cashier’s check, or certified check. No personal checks, no cash.⁵

The form asks the usual personal identifiers plus detailed questions about criminal and mental health history. You have to disclose every prior arrest, including those that didn’t lead to a conviction. Every answer is sworn under penalty of perjury, so a careless omission can create its own problem on top of the underlying issue.

How Long It Takes

DPS has 60 days by statute to complete background and qualification checks after receiving a complete application. If you clear, the department then has 15 working days to print and mail the permit.² That totals about 75 days. DPS asks applicants to wait out the full window before calling to check status.

Places the Permit Still Won’t Cover You

The permit is not a universal pass. A.R.S. § 13-3102 keeps several locations off-limits even for permit holders:

Public and private K-12 school grounds, school buses, and school events. The one exception is an unloaded firearm locked in your vehicle on school property.⁶
Polling places on election day.
Nuclear and hydroelectric generating stations.
Government buildings and public events once the operator or sponsor asks you to remove the weapon. Refusing is a criminal weapons offense, not just a trespass question.

Private businesses can post “no firearms” signs. Outside of establishments that serve alcohol, those signs don’t carry the force of law in Arizona on their own; if asked to leave and you refuse, the charge is trespass rather than a weapons offense. Inside an establishment serving alcohol, the signage carries more legal weight, though permit holders are specifically exempted from the general prohibition on carrying in those venues as long as they aren’t drinking.

What to Do During a Traffic Stop

Arizona does not require you to volunteer that you’re carrying. If the officer asks, you must answer truthfully. Lying is itself misconduct involving weapons under A.R.S. § 13-3102.⁶ Many permit holders just hand the permit over with their license at the start. Keep your hands visible. Don’t reach for anything until the officer tells you to.

Keeping the Permit Current

The permit is valid for five years from the date of issuance. You can renew as early as 90 days before expiration, and DPS allows a 60-day grace period after expiration to still renew. Renewal costs $43.⁷

Miss the 60-day grace window and the renewal option is gone. You start over as a new applicant, which means the full $60 fee, fresh training documentation, and a 75-day wait. Set a calendar reminder; the difference between day 60 and day 61 is real money and a lot of time without a valid permit.

Move within Arizona, and you have 10 days to notify DPS of the new address.⁸ Name changes and errors on an issued permit are handled through the Profile Change Request Form on the DPS website. Lost, stolen, or damaged permits can be replaced through the DPS online portal.⁹

1
ATF. Brady Permit Chart
2
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3112 – Concealed Weapons Qualification Application Permit to Carry
3
Arizona Department of Public Safety. Concealed Weapons and Permits
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
5
Arizona Department of Public Safety. Concealed Weapons Permit New Application Packet Instructions
6
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3102 – Misconduct Involving Weapons Defenses Classification
7
Arizona Department of Public Safety. Concealed Weapons Permit Renewal Application Packet Instructions
8
Arizona Secretary of State. Arizona Administrative Code Title 13 Chapter 9
9
Arizona Department of Public Safety. Arizona Department of Public Safety Online CCW Application