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Concealed Permit:
Shall Issue to Residents and Non-Residents.

Example Resident Permit:


Issuing Authority:
Concealed Weapon Permits, which cover all legally possessed weapons, are issued by the Department of Public Safety. (Nunchaku and NFA firearms that are not legally registered are prohibited weapons.)

Concealed Weapon Permit Unit
P.O. Box 6488
Phoenix AZ 85005

Phone (602) 256-6280
Fax (602) 223-2928

NICS/Background Check:
Yes. The Arizona CWP qualifies for the NICS exemption from a background check for firearm purchases from licensed dealers in Arizona. (Arizona does not restrict private transfers of firearms so long as they do not involve prohibited possessors.)

Permit Valid For:
Permit valid for five (5) years.

Processing Time:

Cost:
$60

Requirements:
1. Permits are issued to US citizens and Permanent Resident Aliens who have completed a DPS-approved training course, of at least eight hours, conducted within the State of Arizona. There is a one-time training exemption for honorably retired law-enforcement officers, whose duties required carrying a firearm and who served a minimum of ten years. Applicants must also be at least 21 years of age, not be under indictment for or ever convicted of a felony; never have been adjudicated incompetent or committed to a mental institution and not be a prohibited possessor of a firearm under Arizona or federal law.
2. Application packets are provided by approved training organizations at course time and contain the application form, fingerprint card and envelope for submission. Certification of completion of the training is provided by the instructor, on the back of the application form. Applicants seeking the LEO training exemption can request a packet from the CWPU.
3. Applicants born outside the US or its territories must furnish a copy of one of the following:
a. Certificate of Naturalization
b. Resident Alien Card
c. Record of Birth Abroad
d. Record of Birth to Armed Forces Personnel
e. US Passport
4. The Arizona CWP does not contain a photograph so the holder must carry a government-issued photo ID, along with the CWP, when carrying concealed.
5. Training is no longer required for renewal of a CWP. Effective December 31, 2007, fingerprints will no longer be required for renewals and the renewal fee will accordingly be dropped to $43.00 on that date. Renewal packets are mailed to permittees, who are required to notify the CWPU of any changes in name, address or phone number within ten days, on forms that can be downloaded from the CWPU website. A renewal application can be submitted in a five-month window, from 90 days prior to expiration to 60 days following expiration. The latter 60-day period is not a grace period to carry on an expired permit; it is merely an additional period in which one can renew a permit without having to repeat the mandated training.

Required Documents:

Renewal Information:

Change of Name or Address:

Lost, Stolen, or Damaged Permits:

Informing Law Enforcement of Carry:
Arizona does not require that a permittee volunteer to LEO’s that he is carrying concealed but does require that the CWP be presented on request, if carrying concealed.

Automobile carry:
While ARS §13-3102.F provides very specific exemptions to the charge of Misconduct with a Weapon for “a weapon or weapons carried in a case, holster, scabbard, pack or luggage that is carried within a means of transportation or within a storage compartment, map pocket, trunk or glove compartment of a means of transportation,” case law has muddied the waters in that applicable rulings require that firearms carried without a CWP be carried in a manner that reasonably places others on notice that the person is armed. Many of Arizona’s LEO’s believe that a handgun carried within a vehicle without a CWP, under the wording of ARS §13-3102.F, must be carried in a holster or case (“two-step rule,” in that two steps are required to access the weapon).

Places off-limits when carrying:
In addition to federal restrictions (federal buildings, national parks, national monuments administered by the National Park Service), Arizona law prohibits firearms in commercial establishments licensed to serve alcohol for on-premises consumption; public schools, colleges and universities; polling places on election day; nuclear or hydroelectric generating facilities; detention facilities. You may park in a school parking lot with a firearm so long as the firearm has been unloaded before your enter the parking lot and the firearm is secured out of sight and the vehicle locked if you exit the vehicle. You may carry a firearm into a school if you do so for use in a program that has been approved by the school, such as a firearm-safety training course. Owners and managers of private property can prohibit the carry of firearms even if the property is not posted and the request is made orally upon discovery that you are carrying. While not all public entities comply, by law, if a public entity bans weapons in its facilities, other than where they are prohibited by state law, it is required to furnish secure, readily retrievable, on-site storage for your weapon(s).

There are 21 Indian reservations in Arizona. If you are otherwise carrying lawfully, you may carry on federal and state highways that cross reservations. If you are not an American Indian, a reservation cannot prosecute you for carrying a firearm if your carry is legal in the surrounding county. However, if your firearm should be confiscated, it is up to the tribe if it wishes to provide you a means to seek its return; you cannot sue a tribe unless it consents to be sued. A privately conducted 2005 survey of 20 of the 21 reservations asked if they honored the Arizona CWP:
1. Ak-Chin Yes
2. Cocopah No
3. Colorado River Yes
4. Fort McDowell Yavapai Yes
5. Fort Mojave No
6. Fort Yuma-Quechan Yes
7. Gila River No
8. Havasupai No
9. Hopi Yes
10. Haulapai No
11. Kaibab-Paiute No
12. Navajo Yes
13. Pascua Yaqui No
14. Salt River Pima-Maricopa No
15. San Carlos Apache Yes
16. Tohono O’odham Yes
17. Tonto Apache No
18. White Mountain Apache Yes
19. Yavapai Prescott No
20. Yavapai Apache No

Note that tribal governments may change, that open carry is likely to be viewed as provocative if you are not engaged in a licensed hunt and that many tribes don’t allow their own members to carry deadly weapons.

Alcohol and Drugs:

Deadly Force / Castle Doctrine:
Arizona is a Castle Doctrine state and has a stand-your-ground law.

Open Carry:
Unrestricted under state law in most public areas and generally accepted.

Localities with Varying Laws:

Forms & Links:
Arizona Department of Public Safety - Concealed Weapons Permit Unit
Arizona Revised Statutes
The Administrative Rules regarding Concealed Weapon Permits
NRA-ILA: Arizona Gun Laws