Florida - FL Gun Laws

No state permit is required to buy any firearm, but Florida has a genuinely unusual age rule: you must be 21 to buy a rifle or shotgun from a dealer, not the federal-standard 18, a law passed in 2018 after the Parkland shooting and upheld en banc by the full 11th Circuit. Handguns have always required 21 under federal law. Every dealer purchase runs through the standard background check, and there's no additional state waiting period.

This 21-for-long-guns rule has been a recurring legislative fight, bills to lower it back to 18 have passed Florida House committees multiple years running but haven't been signed into law as of this writing, worth checking for updates.

Private firearm sales between eligible Florida residents don't require a background check, dealer, or state system, just a private transaction between two people legally allowed to own firearms. Selling to someone you know isn't eligible is still a crime. There's a statewide minimum age of 21 for private transfers of any firearm, stricter than the federal 18-for-long-guns baseline.

On top of federal disqualifiers, Florida bars possession for anyone who:

- Has a felony conviction (with a formal process to petition for restoration of rights after a set period, not automatic)

- Is subject to certain domestic violence injunctions

- Has been adjudicated mentally incompetent or committed involuntarily

- Falls under the standard federal categories (unlawful drug user, dishonorable discharge, illegal immigration status, renounced citizenship, fugitive, etc.)

Florida also has a risk protection order law (its version of a red flag law), allowing law enforcement to petition a court to temporarily remove firearms from someone found to pose a significant danger.

This one is genuinely in flux. Florida's open carry ban was ruled unconstitutional by a state appeals court in September 2025 (McDaniels v. State), and the Attorney General directed law enforcement statewide not to enforce it afterward. As of this writing, open carry is being treated as lawful for anyone who can legally possess a firearm. But the ban itself is still printed in the Florida Statutes, it hasn't been repealed by the legislature, just struck down and non-enforced. If you're risk-averse, keep it concealed until this fully settles; if you're going to open carry, know that the legal ground here shifted very recently and could shift again.

Permitless concealed carry has been legal since July 1, 2023, for anyone 21 or older who can legally possess a firearm, no license, no training, no application required. An optional Concealed Weapon License (CWL) is still available and useful for reciprocity when traveling to other states, since a lot of states don't recognize Florida's permitless status the way they'd recognize an actual license.

Florida allows a firearm to be carried in a private vehicle without any license, securely encased or otherwise not readily accessible, if you're not otherwise prohibited from possessing it. "Securely encased" is broadly interpreted, a snapped holster, glove box, or console counts, it doesn't have to be a locked container. With a Concealed Weapon License, you can carry on your person in the vehicle without those restrictions.

Even with permitless carry, Florida law keeps firearms out of: schools and school administration buildings, career centers, athletic events not related to firearms, courthouses, polling places, meetings of government bodies, and any place where firearms are specifically prohibited by law (federal buildings, certain airports past security). Some of these restrictions carve out exceptions for people with a Concealed Weapon License that don't apply to permitless carriers, so if you plan to carry near any of these gray areas regularly, getting the CWL closes those gaps.

Florida is stricter than federal law here: you must be 21 to buy a rifle or shotgun from a dealer (not 18), on top of the already-federal 21 minimum for handguns. This 2018 law survived a full 11th Circuit en banc challenge. Minors can still receive long guns as gifts and use firearms under supervision for hunting or approved shooting sports, the restriction is specifically on dealer purchases.

None. Florida has no magazine capacity limit and no assault weapons ban, state or local, and local governments are preempted from creating one (see State Preemption below).

Florida passed one of the country's original Stand Your Ground laws in 2005, and it's still one of the strongest. There is no duty to retreat if you're legally present and not engaged in criminal activity, whether at home, in your vehicle, or in public (Sec. 776.012, 776.013).

On top of the criminal-law protection, Florida provides civil immunity for justified use of force, if you're found to have acted in lawful self-defense, you're also protected from a civil lawsuit over it, and courts can require the person who sued you to pay your attorney's fees (Sec. 776.032).

Florida has strong state preemption (Sec. 790.33), and it has real teeth: local officials who knowingly and willfully violate it can be personally fined up to $5,000 and removed from office by the Governor. Cities and counties cannot pass their own firearm ordinances stricter than state law. Unlike states with weak or no preemption, you don't need to check city-by-city rules anywhere in Florida.

- Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Concealed Weapon License program: fdacs.gov/Consumer-Resources/Concealed-Weapon-License

- Florida Statutes (full text): leg.state.fl.us/statutes

- Your local Sheriff's Office: for general firearms questions and CWL application assistance

- ATF: for federal NFA questions, Florida does not add state restrictions on suppressors beyond the standard federal process