Before you spend anythingAre you eligible?
Florida charges the application fee whether or not it issues the licence, and it does not refund it if you turn out to be ineligible. 18 questions, drawn from the state’s own criteria, will tell you which of them — if any — stands in your way.
Your answers never leave this page. There is no account, no submission and no record. The check runs inside your browser, we never see what you answered, and closing the tab erases it.
Answer as the person who would be applying — yourself, or somebody you are checking for.
Question 1 of about 18
F.S. 790.06(2)(b)
Are you 21 years of age or older?
FDACS publishes one exception: a servicemember or veteran may apply from 18. The next question only appears if you answer no.
The step-by-step version of this check needs JavaScript. Here is every question it asks, and what each answer means.
Are you 21 years of age or older?
FDACS publishes one exception: a servicemember or veteran may apply from 18. The next question only appears if you answer no.
If no: Under 21 the licence is only available to servicemembers and veterans, so the next question decides it.
F.S. 790.06(2)(b)
Are you an active-duty servicemember, or a veteran?
FDACS asks for a copy of your credential or your DD-214 with the application.
If no: Florida issues the licence at 21, and earlier only to servicemembers and veterans. Nothing else on this page changes that.
F.S. 790.06(2)(b)
Do you live in the United States?
You do not have to live in Florida. Active-duty military stationed abroad count as residing in the United States.
If no: The licence is issued to residents of the United States. Living in Florida is not required; living in the country is.
F.S. 790.06(2)(a)
Are you a United States citizen?
Answer no if you hold a permanent resident card. The next question only appears then.
If no: Permanent resident aliens may hold the licence, so the next question decides it.
F.S. 790.06(2)(a)
Are you a lawful permanent resident of the United States?
A valid permanent resident card has to go in with the application.
If no: The licence is issued to citizens and to permanent resident aliens. A visa or another lawful status is not one of the two.
F.S. 790.06(2)(a)
Have you ever renounced your United States citizenship?
This is a formal renunciation before a consular officer, not a change of residence.
If yes: Renunciation is a federal firearms bar as well as a licensing one, so it needs a lawyer rather than a form.
18 U.S.C. 922(g)(7)
Are you applying for a lawful means to carry for self-defence?
The state asks this outright. It is a condition of issue, not a formality.
If no: Florida issues the licence to people who want a legal means to carry for lawful self-defence. That is what the statute asks for.
F.S. 790.06(2)(g)
Can you handle a firearm safely?
The test is a physical infirmity that prevents safe handling — not age, and not inexperience.
If no: A physical infirmity that prevents safe handling bars the licence. It does not bar you from owning a firearm, and it does not bar you from a class.
F.S. 790.06(2)(c)
Do you already hold a firearms training certificate?
Florida wants documented proficiency, and the certificate is uploaded with the application.
If no: This is the only requirement on the state’s list you can settle this week. Our concealed carry course is built around what Florida asks for, including the live fire, and you leave with the certificate the application wants.
F.S. 790.06(2)(h)
Have you been convicted of a felony?
Any felony, in any state or federal court.
If yes: A felony conviction only stops the licence if your rights were never restored.
F.S. 790.06(2)(d), 790.23
Have your civil and firearm rights been restored by the convicting authority?
Both rights, and by the authority that convicted you. A restoration of civil rights alone is not enough.
If no: Without restoration a felony conviction bars firearm possession under state and federal law, so this is a question for a lawyer and not for a form.
F.S. 790.23, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1)
Has adjudication been withheld, or a sentence suspended, on a felony or a misdemeanor crime of violence?
Withheld adjudication is not a conviction, and the state still asks about it.
If yes: Three years clear of probation, or an expunction, settles this one.
F.S. 790.06(2)(k), (2)(l)
Have three years passed since you finished probation and every other condition the court set — or has the record been expunged?
The clock runs from the last condition fulfilled, not from the date of the offence.
If no: The three years have to be complete before the state will issue. This one clears with time rather than with paperwork.
F.S. 790.06(2)(k), (2)(l)
Have you been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of violence in the last three years?
Domestic violence has its own question below, because it is treated differently.
If yes: Florida wants three clear years after a misdemeanor crime of violence before it will issue.
F.S. 790.06(2)(l)
Have you ever been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence?
There is no time limit on this one under federal law.
If yes: A misdemeanor crime of domestic violence is a lifetime federal firearms bar with no three-year clock, so it needs a lawyer rather than a form.
18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9)
Is there an injunction in force against you for domestic violence, or for repeat violence?
Currently in force. An expired injunction is not this question.
If yes: An injunction in force is a federal possession bar for as long as it stands, not only a licensing one.
F.S. 790.06(2)(m), 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(8)
Have you been convicted under controlled substance laws, or arrested more than once for such an offence?
Multiple arrests count here even without a conviction.
If yes: The state looks for three clear years since a controlled substance conviction, and treats repeated arrests as its own question.
F.S. 790.06(2)(e)
Do you have a record of drug or alcohol abuse?
The statute reaches chronic and habitual use that impairs your faculties, and a commitment for substance abuse.
If yes: A record of drug or alcohol abuse bars the licence. It is not a federal firearms bar on its own, and a class is still open to you.
F.S. 790.06(2)(f), Ch. 397
Have you had two or more DUI convictions in the last three years?
Two is the number the statute uses, and the window is three years.
If yes: Two DUI convictions inside three years raise the statutory presumption of chronic use, which bars the licence and nothing else.
F.S. 790.06(2)(f)
Have you been committed to a mental institution, or adjudged incapacitated or mentally defective?
A court adjudication or a commitment. Voluntary treatment on its own is not this question.
If yes: Florida provides for relief from this one, so the next question decides it.
F.S. 790.06(2)(i), (2)(j)
Has a court since granted you relief from that adjudication or commitment?
Florida Statute 790.065(2)(a)4. sets out how relief is granted and what it restores.
If no: Without relief this is a federal possession bar as well as a licensing one, so it needs a lawyer rather than a form.
F.S. 790.065(2)(a)4., 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(4)
Were you discharged from the armed forces under dishonorable conditions?
A dishonorable discharge specifically, not a general or an other-than-honorable one.
If yes: A dishonorable discharge is a federal firearms bar, so it needs a lawyer rather than a form.
18 U.S.C. 922(g)(6)
Are you a fugitive from justice?
An outstanding warrant, or having left a state to avoid prosecution or testimony.
If yes: Fugitive status is a federal firearms bar for as long as it stands, not only a licensing one.
18 U.S.C. 922(g)(2)
Only the state decides
Everything above is a self-check against the criteria the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services publishes. It is not a determination and nothing on this page binds the state. FDACS runs its own version of the same questionnaire, and it is worth five minutes of your time before you file.
The state’s preliminary eligibility questionnaire(opens in a new tab)
FDACS eligibility requirements(opens in a new tab)
The state licensing portal, where you apply(opens in a new tab)
The 13 reasons Florida gives for refusing a licence
- The physical inability to handle a firearm safely.
- A felony conviction, unless civil and firearm rights have been restored by the convicting authority.
- Adjudication withheld or sentence suspended on a felony or misdemeanor crime of violence, unless three years have elapsed since probation or other conditions set by the court were fulfilled.
- A conviction for a misdemeanor crime of violence in the last three years.
- A conviction for violation of controlled substance laws, or multiple arrests for such offenses.
- A record of drug or alcohol abuse.
- Two or more DUI convictions within the previous three years.
- Being committed to a mental institution, or adjudged incompetent or mentally defective.
- Failing to provide proof of proficiency with a firearm.
- A domestic violence injunction, or an injunction against repeat violence, currently in force.
- Renouncement of U.S. citizenship.
- A dishonorable discharge from the armed forces.
- Being a fugitive from justice.
Published by FDACS. Reproduced word for word, because a paraphrase that reads better is a paraphrase that can be wrong.
One of them you can fix this week
Twelve of the state’s 13 reasons are somebody’s history. The last one is Failing to provide proof of proficiency with a firearm — the only item on the list that is a decision rather than a record. Our concealed carry course is built around exactly what Florida asks for, live fire included, and you leave with the certificate the application wants uploaded.
$120 per student · 1.5 hrs · your date and time