Long Gun Eligibility Certificate in Connecticut: Requirements

To get a Connecticut Long Gun Eligibility Certificate, you apply to the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection, complete an approved firearms safety course, submit to fingerprinting, pay a $35 fee, and pass state and federal background checks. The certificate is required before you can purchase or receive most rifles and shotguns in the state, and it is valid for five years.¹²

Who Qualifies

You must be at least 18. Both Connecticut residents and out-of-state residents may apply if they meet the other legal criteria.³⁴

A felony conviction is a permanent bar, as is any misdemeanor designated a family violence crime. Convictions in the past 20 years for stalking in the second degree, unlawful restraint in the second degree, certain drug possession offenses committed on or after October 1, 2015, and serious juvenile offenses also disqualify you.³

Mental health history matters. You are ineligible if a probate court ordered you confined to a psychiatric hospital within the last 60 months, if you were voluntarily admitted or committed under an emergency certificate for psychiatric treatment within the last six months, or if you were discharged in the last 20 years after being found not guilty of a crime by reason of mental disease or defect.³

You also cannot be in the United States illegally, and you cannot be subject to a risk protection order or a restraining or protective order issued in a case involving the use or threatened use of physical force.³

What You Submit and What It Costs

Applications go to the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection on the prescribed form, with a full description of yourself. You submit to fingerprinting or another approved method of positive identification, and the issued certificate carries a full-face photograph of you.⁵

The certificate fee is $35. State law also authorizes separate fees for the state and national criminal history records checks that run during review.²⁶

The Safety Course Requirement

You must complete an approved firearms safety and use course before a certificate can issue. For applications filed on or after July 1, 2024, the course must have been completed within the two years before you apply. Instruction must cover state laws on safe storage, lawful use of firearms, and lawful carrying in public.³

What the Background Check Covers

The Commissioner runs state and national criminal history record checks to identify any disqualifying convictions.⁵

The Commissioner also queries the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services to check for the recent psychiatric commitments or admissions that would disqualify you. That inquiry is limited to your commitment or admission status.⁷

Reviewers verify whether you are subject to any active risk protection orders or firearms seizure orders as well.³

Decision Timeline and Denials

Once the FBI national criminal history check comes back, the Commissioner has 60 days to approve or deny. A denial must come with a written notice stating the specific reason.⁵

You can appeal a denial to the Board of Firearms Permit Examiners within 90 days of the notice. If the Board finds no just and proper cause for the refusal, it orders the certificate issued, and the state has ten days to comply.⁸

Renewal

A certificate is valid for five years, and each renewal runs another five years. Renewal costs $35.²

The state must send you a renewal notice and form at least 90 days before your certificate expires. If you miss the expiration date, the certificate remains valid for a 90-day grace period, though the grace period does not apply to certificates that have been revoked or have a pending revocation.²

Renewal triggers a fresh eligibility review, including a check for recent mental health commitments or admissions. If your renewal is denied, you have the same 90-day right of appeal to the Board of Firearms Permit Examiners.⁷⁸

1
Justia. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-37a
2
Justia. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-37r
3
Justia. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-37p
4
CT.gov. Firearms and Permit Related Forms and Information
5
Justia. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-37q
6
Justia. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-17a
7
Justia. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-38b
8
Justia. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-32b