Do I need a permit to carry a gun in Florida?

In September 2025, in McDaniels v. State, the First District Court of Appeal struck down Florida's ban on openly carrying a firearm; the statute's words have not been changed, but the Attorney General told law enforcement the decision binds Florida's trial courts and that his office would not file any motion against it, and his office's opinion is that law-abiding adults may now carry openly or concealed in most places.

Openly or concealed, carrying is not allowed in police, sheriff or highway patrol stations, jails and prisons, courthouses and courtrooms, polling places, meetings of a government body or the Legislature, school, college or professional athletic events, school and school administration buildings, the drinking area of a bar, college and university buildings, an airport's passenger terminal and secure area, or anywhere federal law forbids it, and a private owner may still bar guns on their property.

The concealed weapon license, issued for 7 years to applicants 21 or older, still matters: a license holder skips the waiting period to buy a gun. A new resident's carry license from another state is honored for 90 days after moving here. Buying any firearm has a waiting period of 3 days, not counting weekends and legal holidays, or until the background check is done, whichever is later; it does not apply to a license holder, a trade-in, or a rifle or shotgun bought by someone with a hunter safety card or Florida hunting license. No one under 21 may buy a firearm, except a law enforcement or corrections officer or a service member buying a rifle or shotgun. Florida keeps no registry of privately owned guns; keeping one is a felony under state law.

Moving through other states, federal rules let you carry a firearm that is unloaded and not reachable from the passenger compartment; in a vehicle with no trunk, it goes in a locked container other than the glove box or console.

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