Do You Need a Concealed Carry Permit in Florida?

No. As of July 1, 2023, you do not need a concealed carry permit in Florida to carry a concealed firearm or weapon, as long as you meet every eligibility requirement that applies to the state’s Concealed Weapon or Firearm License (CWFL). House Bill 543 removed the requirement to hold the physical license, but it left the underlying eligibility rules, prohibited locations, and criminal penalties fully in place.¹ Getting a CWFL is still worth considering for reasons that have nothing to do with Florida law itself, including a federal school-zone issue most permitless carriers never hear about.

Who Can Carry Without a Permit

Permitless carry is not open to everyone. You must meet every criterion that would qualify you for a CWFL under Florida Statute 790.06, except for the training course and application steps. The baseline rules: you must be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, and at least 21 years old.² Florida residency is not required, so visitors who meet the criteria can carry while in the state.

You are disqualified from carrying if any of the following apply to you:

A felony conviction, unless your civil and firearm rights have been formally restored.
A conviction for a misdemeanor crime of violence within the last three years.
A conviction for a controlled substance offense within the past three years, or a commitment for substance abuse treatment.
A court finding of mental incompetence, a finding that you are a danger to yourself or others, or involuntary commitment to a mental institution. Voluntary admission counts only if an examining physician certified you would have been involuntarily committed.
A physical condition that prevents you from safely handling a firearm.
Habitual alcohol or drug use that impairs your normal faculties, or two or more DUI convictions within the previous three years.
A current domestic violence injunction or injunction against repeat violence.

Nobody checks these things before you walk out the door. The rules are self-policing. If you turn out to be ineligible and get caught carrying, the penalties are serious.

What “Concealed” Covers

Florida’s concealed weapon definition is broader than guns. It includes dirks, metallic knuckles, billie clubs, tear gas guns, chemical weapons, and other deadly weapons carried in a way that hides them from ordinary sight. A concealed firearm is defined separately, as any firearm carried on or about a person in a way that conceals it from ordinary sight.³

One thing permitless carry did not change: open carry is still illegal in Florida. Openly carrying a firearm remains a second-degree misdemeanor, with narrow exceptions for self-defense sprays and nonlethal stun guns.⁴ The weapon has to actually be hidden to be legal.

Where You Still Cannot Carry

Permitless carry does not expand the list of places concealed weapons are banned. The restrictions apply the same whether you have a CWFL or not. Prohibited locations include:

Police stations, sheriff’s offices, and highway patrol stations.
Prisons, jails, and detention centers.
Courthouses and courtrooms.
Polling places during voting.
Meetings of any governing body, including legislative sessions.
Elementary and secondary schools, career centers, and college and university campuses.
The portion of any establishment primarily devoted to serving alcohol for on-premises consumption. A restaurant with a bar area and a dining area falls under the restriction in the bar section, not the whole building.
School, college, or professional sporting events not related to firearms.
The sterile area past airport security screening, plus any location where federal law prohibits firearms.

Carrying in any of these places is a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail, even if you are otherwise fully eligible to carry.²⁵

Penalties for Carrying Illegally

If you carry a concealed non-firearm weapon without meeting eligibility, it is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail.⁶⁵

The Federal School-Zone Trap

Here is the issue most people never hear about. Federal law makes it a crime to possess a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school, punishable by up to five years in federal prison. The federal Gun-Free School Zones Act contains an exception for people who hold a state-issued license, but only if the state requires law enforcement to verify the person’s eligibility before issuing it.⁷

Florida’s CWFL meets that exception because the state runs a fingerprint-based background check before issuing it. Permitless carry involves no prior government verification. A federal judge has determined the exception requires “some form of government verification” before carrying, which means permitless carry likely does not qualify.

In practice, if you carry without a CWFL and pass within 1,000 feet of any school, you could be violating federal law. In most urban and suburban areas, that 1,000-foot buffer is almost impossible to avoid during ordinary errands. CWFL holders do not run into this.

Carrying in Your Vehicle

You can carry a concealed firearm on your person inside your own vehicle without a CWFL, as long as you meet the eligibility criteria. Florida law also protects your right to keep a legally owned firearm locked inside your private vehicle in your employer’s parking lot. Your employer cannot prohibit it, fire you for it, refuse to hire you over it, or bar your vehicle from the lot because of it. A violation gives you a civil action for damages, court costs, and attorney fees.⁸

These parking lot protections do not apply to school property, correctional facilities, properties involved in national defense or aerospace, facilities that handle explosives or combustible materials, or properties where federal law prohibits firearms. They also do not cover vehicles owned or leased by the employer.⁸

Private Businesses with “No Guns” Signs

Florida has no specific firearms statute that makes it an offense to carry past a posted “no guns” sign at a private business. That does not mean you can ignore the sign. The business owner can ask you to leave, and if you refuse, you can be charged with trespassing. The charge comes from staying on private property after being told to leave, not from the firearm itself.

Police Encounters Without a License

Florida does not require you to volunteer unprompted that you are carrying. CWFL holders must carry valid identification and display it on request from a law enforcement officer, with a $25 noncriminal fine for failing to produce it.²

A permitless carrier has no license to display. A CWFL holder can quickly establish legal status by handing over the card. Without one, officers may spend longer sorting out whether you meet the eligibility criteria, especially if anything in the encounter touches on a disqualifying factor.

Reasons People Still Get the CWFL

Carrying without a permit is legal, but the license still delivers things permitless carry does not.

Reciprocity in Other States

A Florida CWFL is recognized by roughly 36 other states through reciprocity agreements. Permitless carry stops at the Florida border. If you travel, the license lets you carry legally in states that honor it; without it, you are subject to each state’s own laws, many of which still require a permit.

No Firearm Waiting Period

Florida imposes a mandatory three-day waiting period, excluding weekends and holidays, between purchasing a firearm from a licensed dealer and taking delivery. Some counties and cities have extended that to as long as five days. CWFL holders are exempt and can take delivery the same day.⁹

Federal School-Zone Compliance

The license satisfies the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act exception because Florida verifies your eligibility before issuing it.⁷ For many people, this is the single strongest reason to apply.

Simpler Police Interactions

Presenting a CWFL during a traffic stop immediately establishes that you have passed a background check and been vetted by the state. It removes ambiguity from the encounter.

How to Apply for a CWFL

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services runs the CWFL program. The application requires fingerprints, proof of firearms competency (such as completion of a safety course from a certified instructor or proof of military service), and a passport-style color photograph.² You can submit at a participating county tax collector’s office or by mail directly to the department. The license is valid for seven years.

1
Florida Senate. House of Representatives Staff Analysis – CS/HB 543 Concealed Carry of Weapons and Firearms Without a License
2
Florida Senate. Florida Code 790.06 – License to Carry Concealed Weapons or Firearms
3
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 790.001 – Definitions
4
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 790.053 – Open Carrying of Weapons
5
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 775.082 – Penalties Applicability of Sentencing Structures
6
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 790.01 – Carrying Concealed Weapons
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
8
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 790.251 – Protection of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms in Motor Vehicles
9
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 790.0655 – Purchase and Delivery of Firearms Mandatory Waiting Period