Florida Ammo Laws: Age, Prohibited Persons, and Illegal Types

Florida ammunition laws let most adults buy standard rounds without a permit or background check, but the state bans several specific projectile types, enforces federal age limits at licensed dealers, and prohibits possession entirely for people with felony convictions or qualifying protective orders. The rules sit mostly in Chapter 790 of the Florida Statutes, and local governments cannot add anything on top.

How Old You Have To Be

Florida itself does not set a minimum age for buying ammunition. Federal law controls that at the counter: a federally licensed dealer cannot sell handgun ammunition to anyone under 21 or rifle and shotgun ammunition to anyone under 18.

In practice, many Florida retailers apply a flat 21-and-over policy for all ammunition, partly because a round like .22 LR works in both handguns and rifles, which makes the handgun-versus-long-gun line ambiguous at the register. State law carves out an exception for law enforcement officers, correctional officers, and active servicemembers buying rifle or shotgun ammunition.¹

Note the boundary: Florida’s requirement that a buyer be at least 21 to purchase a firearm from a licensed dealer, under Florida Statute 790.065(13), applies to firearm purchases, not ammunition.¹

No Background Check for Ammunition

Neither Florida nor federal law requires a background check to buy ammunition. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System runs only when a licensed dealer transfers a firearm. A person who is legally prohibited from possessing ammunition can still walk into a store and buy it; the system relies on that person knowing they cannot legally possess it, and on enforcement after the fact.²

Federal law also does not require ammunition sellers to hold a federal firearms license, keep records of ammunition transactions, or verify a buyer’s identity. Ammunition regulation differs sharply from firearm regulation on this point.

Who Cannot Possess Ammunition in Florida

Florida treats ammunition possession as a separate offense from firearm possession. You do not need to have a gun to be charged.

Convicted Felons

Under Florida Statute 790.23, anyone convicted of a felony cannot own or possess ammunition. The ban covers ammunition in the home, in a vehicle, or anywhere else within the person’s control, and it is permanent unless civil rights have been restored through the state clemency process. A violation is a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.³⁴

Juvenile Offenders

Someone found to have committed a delinquent act that would be a felony if committed by an adult cannot possess ammunition until age 24. This applies to adjudications in Florida or any other state, and carries the same second-degree felony penalties.³

People Under Protective Injunctions

Florida Statute 790.233 bars ammunition possession for anyone subject to a final injunction for domestic violence, stalking, or cyberstalking. The ban starts when the order is finalized and lasts as long as the injunction. Violation is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail.⁵

Federal Prohibited Persons

Federal law under 18 U.S.C. 922(g) adds its own list of people who cannot possess ammunition anywhere in the United States, and these restrictions apply in Florida on top of state law:

Anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment
Fugitives from justice
Current users of or those addicted to a controlled substance
People adjudicated as mentally defective or committed to a mental institution
People unlawfully in the United States or admitted under a nonimmigrant visa
People discharged from the military under dishonorable conditions
Former U.S. citizens who have renounced their citizenship
People subject to a qualifying protective order involving an intimate partner or that partner’s child
People convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence

The federal list is broader than Florida’s. Someone who clears the state restrictions could still be federally prohibited, particularly for current drug use, a dishonorable discharge, or a domestic violence misdemeanor conviction.⁶

Ammunition Types That Are Illegal

Florida Statute 790.31 bans five categories of projectiles. Manufacturing, selling, or delivering any of them is a third-degree felony, and so is possessing them loaded in a firearm with knowledge of what they are, with penalties up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.⁷

Armor-piercing bullets, defined under Florida law as a bullet with a steel inner core (or core of equivalent hardness) and a truncated cone shape, designed for use in a handgun
Exploding bullets, meaning any bullet designed to detonate or break apart through an explosive or deflagrant substance contained within or attached to the projectile
Dragon’s breath shotgun shells, which contain pyrophoric misch metal designed to throw a flame
Bolo shells, which expel two or more metal balls connected by solid metal wire
Flechette shells, which expel fin-stabilized metal wire or solid dart-type projectiles instead of conventional shot

The armor-piercing definition is narrower than many people assume. Florida’s statute requires both the hard core and the truncated cone handgun design. Rifle ammunition with steel-core components, including some surplus military rounds, does not automatically fall under the ban unless it meets the full definition.

Hollow Points and Standard Rounds Are Legal

Hollow-point ammunition is legal to buy, possess, and carry in Florida. This is one of the most common misconceptions in state firearms law, probably because New Jersey restricts it. Florida does not. Jacketed hollow points are the standard self-defense round carried by law enforcement across the state. Full metal jacket, soft point, and other conventional loads are all legal as well. If a round is not on the Section 790.31 list above, you can buy it.

Buying Ammunition Online

Florida does not restrict online ammunition purchases. You can order from an online retailer and have ammunition shipped directly to your home. No transfer through a licensed dealer is required, and federal law imposes no such requirement either.

The practical limits come from the shipping carriers. UPS, for example, ships ammunition classified as “Limited Quantity” only by ground service within the contiguous 48 states, caps packages at 66 pounds, and limits ammunition to 50 caliber or smaller for rifle and pistol cartridges or 8 gauge or smaller for shotgun shells. UPS will not ship ammunition internationally or in the same package as a firearm.⁸

Online retailers generally verify the buyer’s age before completing a sale. Florida buyers face no additional state-level hurdles beyond the standard federal age rules.

Lead Shot Is Banned for Waterfowl Hunting

Hunters face one ammunition restriction that goes beyond the general rules: you cannot use or even possess lead shot while hunting ducks, geese, swans, or coots. This is a federal requirement in place nationwide since 1991, enforced in Florida by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.⁹

Approved alternatives include steel, bismuth-tin, tungsten-based composites, and other non-toxic shot types approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Steel is the most widely available and affordable option. The non-toxic requirement applies only to waterfowl and coots; other game birds and upland species can still be hunted with traditional lead shot.¹⁰

Cities and Counties Cannot Add Their Own Rules

Florida’s preemption statute, Section 790.33, claims exclusive state authority over the regulation of firearms and ammunition, covering purchase, sale, taxation, storage, and transportation. No city, county, or local agency can enact its own ammunition restrictions. Any local rule that tries to do so is void from the moment it is adopted. The ammunition rules in Jacksonville are the same as the ones in Miami, Tampa, and every small town in between.¹¹

Storage Around Minors

Florida Statute 790.174 requires anyone storing a loaded firearm on property they control to keep it locked or otherwise secured if they know or should know that a minor under 16 could gain access to it. If a minor accesses an unsecured loaded firearm and displays or possesses it in public or in a threatening manner, the person who failed to store it properly commits a second-degree misdemeanor. The statute focuses on loaded firearms rather than loose ammunition stored on its own, but a firearm stored with ammunition readily accessible falls within its scope.¹²

1
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 790.065 – Sale and Delivery of Firearms
2
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Firearms Checks (NICS)
3
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 790.23 – Felons and Delinquents; Possession of Firearms, Ammunition, or Electric Weapons or Devices Unlawful
4
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 775.082 – Penalties
5
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 790.233 – Possession of Firearm or Ammunition Prohibited When Person Is Subject to an Injunction Against Committing Acts of Domestic Violence, Stalking, or Cyberstalking
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
7
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 790.31 – Armor-Piercing or Exploding Ammunition or Dragons Breath Shotgun Shells, Bolo Shells, or Flechette Shells Prohibited
8
UPS. How To Ship Ammunition
9
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Migratory Bird Hunting Regulations
10
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Nontoxic Shot Regulations for Hunting Waterfowl and Coots in the US
11
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 790.33 – Field of Regulation of Firearms and Ammunition Preempted
12
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 790.174 – Safe Storage of Firearms Required