Carrying a Concealed Firearm in Florida: Eligibility, Locations, and Penalties

In Florida, carrying a concealed firearm is legal without a permit for anyone who is at least 21 and meets the eligibility criteria the state uses for its Concealed Weapon or Firearm License. That change took effect on July 1, 2023. The permit itself still exists and still has uses, but it is no longer required. What has not changed is the consequence of carrying while ineligible: it remains a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison, which makes the eligibility rules the heart of the law.

Who Can Legally Carry Concealed

Florida Statutes 790.01 authorizes concealed carry for anyone who either holds a Concealed Weapon or Firearm License or satisfies the same eligibility requirements the license demands.¹ You do not have to apply. You just have to qualify.

Those requirements, drawn from Florida Statutes 790.06(2), are:

You are at least 21. Active-duty military and honorably discharged veterans may carry at 18.
You are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien.
You have no felony conviction, in Florida or elsewhere, unless your civil rights and firearm authority have been restored.
You have no controlled-substance conviction within the past three years.
You are not a chronic or habitual user of alcohol or controlled substances to the point of impairing your normal faculties.
You are not subject to an active injunction for domestic violence or repeat violence.
You have not been adjudicated incapacitated or involuntarily committed to a mental institution without later restoration of rights.
You are not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm under any Florida or federal law.²

If you carry without a license, you must have valid identification on you and present it to any law enforcement officer who asks.³ In a prosecution for unlawful concealed carry, the state has to prove both that you lacked a license and that you were ineligible for one.¹

Where You Cannot Carry

Eligibility is only half the picture. Florida bars concealed firearms from specific locations whether you hold a license or are carrying under the permitless rule. Violating the location rule is a second-degree misdemeanor.²

Under Florida Statutes 790.06(12), prohibited places include:

Police stations, sheriff’s offices, and highway patrol stations.
Courthouses, jails, and prisons. A judge may authorize carry inside his or her own courtroom.
Meetings of a county commission, school board, city council, special district, or the state Legislature.
Polling places.
Elementary and secondary school buildings, administration buildings, and career centers.
College and university facilities, though students, employees, and faculty may carry defensive stun guns there.
School, college, or professional athletic events not related to firearms.
The portion of any establishment licensed to serve alcohol for on-premises consumption that is primarily devoted to that purpose.
Airport passenger terminals and sterile areas. You may still bring a legal, encased firearm into the terminal to check it as luggage.
Any location where federal law prohibits firearms.

Private property owners can also prohibit firearms on their premises. If an owner or manager asks you to leave because you are armed and you refuse, you can face trespassing charges. Florida law does, however, prevent employers from banning firearms locked out of sight in employees’ vehicles in workplace parking lots.

Federal Buildings

Federal rules apply on top of Florida’s list. Under 18 U.S.C. § 930, possessing a firearm inside any federal building where federal employees regularly work is a federal crime punishable by up to one year in prison; inside a federal courthouse the maximum rises to two years.⁴ That covers post offices and their parking lots, VA hospitals, Social Security offices, federal courthouses, and military installations. A Florida permit, or Florida’s permitless carry rule, gives you no cover on federal property.

Penalties for Carrying While Ineligible or in the Wrong Place

Carrying a concealed firearm without a license and without meeting the eligibility criteria is a third-degree felony. Maximum exposure is five years in prison, five years of probation, and a $5,000 fine.¹ A concealed weapon other than a firearm, such as a knife or club, carried by an ineligible person is a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

A felony conviction has a compounding effect. It makes you permanently barred from possessing firearms under both state and federal law unless your rights are later restored, and it affects employment, housing, and lending.

Carrying a concealed firearm in a prohibited location is a lesser charge: a second-degree misdemeanor, up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.² Intoxication or repeat violations can change how a prosecutor treats it.

Separately, anyone convicted of a felony in any jurisdiction is barred from owning or possessing a firearm, ammunition, or electric weapon in Florida. A violation is a second-degree felony carrying up to 15 years in prison, and up to life if a gang-related enhancement applies.⁵ The prohibition lifts only if civil rights and firearm authority have been restored through the Office of Executive Clemency or the record has been expunged.

Firearms in a Vehicle

Florida Statutes 790.25(4) opens a separate path for people who do not meet the concealed carry criteria. Anyone 18 or older who lawfully possesses a handgun may keep it inside a private vehicle so long as the firearm is “securely encased” or otherwise not readily accessible for immediate use.⁶

Securely encased is defined broadly. Any of these qualifies:

A glove compartment, locked or not.
A snapped holster.
A gun case, locked or not.
A zippered gun case.
A closed box or container that requires a lid or cover to be opened.

A firearm shoved under the seat or dropped into an open console does not meet the standard. There has to be a physical barrier between you and the gun.

If you already qualify for concealed carry, you may carry loaded on your person inside the vehicle with no special storage requirement. The securely-encased rule is what matters for 18-to-20-year-olds and others who do not meet the full concealed carry eligibility criteria.

Self-Defense and Improper Display

Florida’s Stand Your Ground law removes any duty to retreat before using force. 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, provided you are not engaged in criminal activity and are somewhere you have a right to be.⁷ Carrying a firearm does not expand that standard. The threat still has to be imminent and your response proportional.

Short of a justified use of force, displaying a firearm in a rude, careless, angry, or threatening way is a first-degree misdemeanor under Florida Statutes 790.10, up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.⁸ Road-rage incidents and heated arguments with neighbors are where this charge most often lands. The line between defensive display and brandishing is where most carriers get into legal trouble.

Why Many Carriers Still Get the License

Permitless carry only protects you inside Florida. A Florida Concealed Weapon or Firearm License is currently recognized in 37 states through reciprocity.⁹ Reciprocity does not override the host state’s own rules. Some reciprocal states cap magazine capacity or require you to tell police you are armed during any encounter, and those rules apply to you while you are there.

A license also lets you skip Florida’s three-day waiting period on firearm purchases, so you take delivery the same day. In a law enforcement stop, presenting a license is immediate proof you have cleared a background check.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services issues the license. Florida is a shall-issue state, so FDACS must approve any applicant who meets every statutory requirement, including proof of firearm competency.² The initial license fee is $55, renewal is $45, and the license is valid for seven years. If a license lapses, there is a 180-day grace period for renewal with a $15 late fee; after that, you have to start a new application from scratch.¹⁰ While your license is expired, you can still carry under the permitless carry rule if you remain eligible, but reciprocity and the purchase waiting-period benefit disappear.

Nonresidents visiting Florida may carry concealed if they hold a valid concealed carry license from their home state, or if they meet the same eligibility criteria Florida uses for permitless carry.¹¹ All the same location restrictions apply.

If You Are Stopped by Police

Florida does not require you to volunteer that you are carrying when an officer approaches. If an officer asks whether you are armed, you must answer truthfully; lying can become its own charge. If you are carrying without a license, remember the ID requirement: you must have identification on you and show it when asked.

Practically, telling an officer early and calmly that you are armed tends to defuse the encounter. Keep your hands visible, do not reach toward the firearm, and let the officer direct how the situation is handled.

Local Ordinances Cannot Add to the Rules

Florida preempts the entire field of firearms regulation. No city or county may enact its own gun ordinance on top of state law, and any existing local rule on the purchase, sale, possession, storage, or transportation of firearms is void.¹² A local official who knowingly violates preemption faces a personal civil fine of up to $5,000, possible removal from office by the Governor, and the local government cannot pay the defense. The rules in this article apply uniformly across Florida; you do not have to adjust from one county or city to the next.

1
Justia Law. Florida Statutes 790.01 – Carrying of Concealed Weapons or Concealed Firearms
2
Justia Law. Florida Statutes 790.06 – License to Carry Concealed Weapon or Firearm
3
Florida Senate. House Bill 543 (2023)
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 930 – Possession of Firearms and Dangerous Weapons in Federal Facilities
5
Justia Law. Florida Statutes 790.23 – Felons and Delinquents; Possession of Firearms, Ammunition, or Electric Weapons or Devices Unlawful
6
Florida Senate. 2025 Florida Statutes Chapter 790
7
Justia Law. Florida Statutes 776.012 – Use or Threatened Use of Force in Defense of Person
8
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 790.10 – Improper Exhibition of Dangerous Weapons or Firearms
9
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Concealed Weapon License Reciprocity
10
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Renew Your Concealed Weapon License
11
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 790.015 – Nonresidents; Reciprocity
12
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 790.33 – Field of Regulation of Firearms and Ammunition Preempted