Texas Concealed Carry

Texas is a Shall Issue State and issues Concealed Handgun Licenses to residents of Texas and non-residents.

Applicants can apply online, fill out the downloadable forms and mail them in. Some instructors may provide you with your forms. All forms should be mailed to:

Texas Department of Public Safety
Concealed Handgun – MSC 0245
PO Box 4087
Austin, TX 78773-0001

Once your application has been processed, you must schedule fingerprinting at an IdentoGO center.

Non-residents must also provide a proficiency certificate (TR 100) which you receive on completion of a handgun proficiency course approved by the department and taught by a certified instructor. For new licenses, the certificate must have been issued within two years. For renewal licenses, the certificate must have been issued within six months.

Non-residents also have to provide a color copy of their state-issued identification or driver’s license (Front and Back).

Texas’ concealed handgun licenses law went into effect in 1995, making them a Shall Issue state.

Texas Concealed Handgun Licenses are issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety. You can visit the Texas Concealed Handgun Licensing website here.

A person is eligible for a Texas Concealed Handgun Permit license if the person:

• is a legal resident of this state for the six-month period preceding the date of the application under this subchapter or is otherwise eligible for a license under Section 411.173(a);
• is at least 21 years of age; or at least 18 if you are a member or veteran of the US Armed Forces, Reserves or National Guard or was discharged under honorable conditions.
• has not been convicted of a felony;
• is not charged with the commission of a Class A or Class B misdemeanor or equivalent offense, or of an offense under Section 42.01, Penal Code, or equivalent offense, or of a felony under an information or indictment;
• is not a fugitive from justice for a felony or a Class A or Class B misdemeanor or equivalent offense;
• is not a chemically dependent person;
• is not incapable of exercising sound judgment with respect to the proper use and storage of a handgun;
• has not, in the five years preceding the date of application, been convicted of a Class A or Class B misdemeanor or equivalent offense or of an offense under Section 42.01, Penal Code, or equivalent offense;
• is fully qualified under applicable federal and state law to purchase a handgun;
  has not been finally determined to be delinquent in making a child support payment administered or collected by the attorney general;
• has not been finally determined to be delinquent in the payment of a tax or other money collected by the comptroller, the tax collector of a political subdivision of the state, or any agency or subdivision of the state;
• is not currently restricted under a court protective order or subject to a restraining order affecting the spousal relationship, other than a restraining order solely affecting property interests;
• has not, in the 10 years preceding the date of application, been adjudicated as having engaged in delinquent conduct violating a penal law of the grade of felony; and
• has not made any material misrepresentation, or failed to disclose any material fact, in an application submitted pursuant to Section 411.174.

The cost for an initial or renewal Texas Concealed Handgun Permit is $40. View the complete Texas Concealed Handgun License Fee Schedule for other discounted rates.

Initial Texas Concealed Handgun Licenses expire on the first birthday of the applicant, occurring after the fourth anniversary of the date it was issued.

A renewal license expires on the birthday of the applicant fives years after the date of expiration of the previous license.

A duplicate or modified license expires on the date the license that was duplicated would have expired.

The processing time for new Texas Concealed Handgun Licenses is within 60-180 days from the date they receive your application.

Texas accepts 43 other state permits or licenses. Texas has a specific list of states they have reciprocity with and will honor non-resident permits/licenses from those states. To see the most up-to-date reciprocity information visit our concealed carry reciprocity maps.

Also, only Rhode Island permits issued by the Attorney General are honored by Texas. Permits issued by Rhode Island Local Officials are not honored.

Yes. For Texas residents, the Texas Department of Public Safety will conduct a criminal history record check through their computerized criminal history system as well as possible additional searches of local official records. For non-resident applicants, the Texas Department of Public Safety will conduct a search through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

Yes. Having a Texas concealed carry license does exempt you from a National Instant Criminal System (NICS) check when purchasing a firearm according to the ATF Permanent Brady Permit Chart. There is a checkbox on the 4473 form that the FFL can check that states no NICS is required.

To renew your Texas Concealed Handgun License you must first complete a handgun proficiency course within 6 months preceding the date of application renewal for the first or second renewal and the date of application for renewal or the date of application for the preceding renewal, for a third or subsequent renewal, to ensure that the license holder is not required to complete the course more than once in any 10-year period.

You must then submit an application for renewal through their online renewal form or fill out the downloadable forms and mail them in. Some instructors may provide you with your forms. All forms should be mailed to:

Texas Department of Public Safety
Concealed Handgun – MSC 0245
PO Box 4087
Austin, TX 78773-0001

The cost of renewal licenses is $40.

If your place of residence changes, you must notify the Department of Public Safety within 30 days of the address change. You must provide them with the former and new addresses. You can then apply for a duplicate Texas concealed carry license for a cost of $25. You can request the address change through their online renewal form or fill out the downloadable forms and mail them in. All forms should be mailed to:

Texas Department of Public Safety
Concealed Handgun – MSC 0245
PO Box 4087
Austin, TX 78773-0001

If your license gets lost or stolen, you must notify the Department of Public Safety within 30 days of the address change. You must provide them with the former and new addresses. You can then apply for a duplicate license for a cost of $25. You can request the address change through their online renewal form or fill out the downloadable forms and mail them in. All forms should be mailed to:

Texas Department of Public Safety
Concealed Handgun – MSC 0245
PO Box 4087
Austin, TX 78773-0001

§46.035, Texas Penal Code prohibits the carrying of handguns and other weapons in certain places. These include but are not limited to:

• On the premises of a business that derives 51% or more of its income from the sale or service of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption
• On the premises where a high school, collegiate, or professional sporting or interscholastic event is taking place
• On the premises of a correctional facility
• On the premises of a hospital or nursing home (unless the licensee has written authorization)
• In an amusement park
• On the premises of a church, synagogue, or other places of worship
• At any meeting of a governmental entity

§46.02, Texas Penal Code and §46.03, Texas Penal Code also expressly prohibit handguns or weapons under other circumstances and from locations other than those listed above. For example, it is against Texas law to carry a concealed handgun if the person has the handgun in plain view, or if the person is engaged in criminal activity (other than a Class C traffic offense), or if prohibited from possessing a firearm or is a member of a criminal street gang. Some other areas where weapons are prohibited include the premises of polling places on the day of an election or during early voting, the premises of any government court, the premises of a racetrack, in a secured area of an airport, or within 1,000 feet of premises designated as a place of execution on the day a sentence of death is set to be imposed.

As far as we can tell, you are not required to notify the Department of Public Safety of an arrest or conviction. But they will suspend your license if the license holder:

1. is charged with the commission of a Class A or Class B misdemeanor or equivalent offense, or of an offense under Section 42.01, Penal Code, or equivalent offense, or of a felony under an information or indictment;
2. fails to notify the department of a change of address, name, or status as required by Section 411.181;
3. commits an act of family violence and is the subject of an active protective order rendered under Title 4, Family Code; or
4. is arrested for an offense involving family violence or an offense under Section 42.072, Penal Code, and is the subject of an order for emergency protection issued under Article 17.292, Code of Criminal Procedure.

If your license is suspended, you will get a notice in the mail about the suspension. You must then surrender the license within ten days of receiving the notice unless it has already been surrendered or seized as evidence or request a hearing from the department.

From what we can tell, you are allowed to keep your Texas Concealed Handgun License if you move out of state as long as you submit a change of address to them within 30 days of the move. See details about how to change your address above.

Texas does not allow you to transfer another state’s concealed carry permit or license to Texas. You must apply for a new Texas Concealed Handgun License.

It seems that yes, Resident Aliens can apply for a Texas concealed carry license. In the form Notice – Non-Immigrant – Visa they list the required documents that need to be submitted along with the application if the applicant is born out of the country.

Anyone traveling in Texas can carry a loaded handgun in their vehicle but it must be concealed, and the person cannot be engaged in criminal activity. Loaded long guns may be carried anywhere in the vehicle.

Texas is a state with castle law. You can find the Texas Code at Penal Code Sec. 9.32 which can be broken down as follows:

(a) A person is justified in using deadly force against another:

(1) if the actor would be justified in using force against the other under Section 9.31; and (2) when and to the degree, the actor reasonably believes the deadly force is immediately necessary: (A) to protect the actor against the other’s use or attempted use of unlawful deadly force; or (B) to prevent the other’s imminent commission of aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated robbery. (b) The actor’s belief under Subsection (a)(2) that the deadly force was immediately necessary as described by that subdivision is presumed to be reasonable if the actor: (1) knew or had reason to believe that the person against whom the deadly force was used: (A) unlawfully and with force entered, or was attempting to enter unlawfully and with force, the actor’s occupied habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment; (B) unlawfully and with force removed or was attempting to remove unlawfully and with force, the actor from the actor’s habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment; or (C) was committing or attempting to commit an offense described by Subsection (a)(2)(B); (2) did not provoke the person against whom the force was used; and (3) was not otherwise engaged in criminal activity, other than a Class C misdemeanor that is a violation of a law or ordinance regulating traffic at the time the force was used. (c) A person who has a right to be present at the location where the deadly force is used, who has not provoked the person against whom the deadly force is used, and who is not engaged in criminal activity at the time the deadly force is used is not required to retreat before using deadly force as described by this section. (d) For purposes of Subsection (a)(2), in determining whether an actor described by Subsection (c) reasonably believed that the use of deadly force was necessary, a finder of fact may not consider whether the actor failed to retreat.

You must not consume alcoholic liquor, beer, or wine while carrying a concealed weapon. Texas Penal Code §46.035 states it is unlawful for an intoxicated individual to carry a concealed handgun. The Penal Code defines “intoxicated” as not having the normal use of mental or physical faculties by reason of the introduction of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, a dangerous drug, a combination of two or more of those substances, or any other substance in the body.

If you have a concealed handgun license, you may not carry in a place of business that derives 51% or more of its income from the sale or service of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption. USA Carry always recommends never to carry a firearm while drinking alcohol.

Yes, No Gun signs have the force of law. Private property owners may exclude license holders from carrying concealed handguns on their property by providing notice as provided in Section 30.06, Texas Penal Code. If you wish to prohibit license holders from carrying concealed handguns on your property, Section 30.06, Texas Penal Code requires you to post specific signage. The sign must be in both English and Spanish, must include the specific language described by law, must appear in contrasting colors with block letters at least one inch in height, and be displayed in a conspicuous manner clearly visible to the public.

DPS does not furnish or sell these signs. You may print or purchase the signs from your local printing company. See Section 30.06, Texas Penal Code, for the exact required language.

Yes, you can be exempt from the training requirements for a Texas Concealed Handgun License if you are currently servicing in or are honorably discharged from the:

• Army
• Navy
• Air Force
• Coast Guard
• Marine Corps of the United States
• Auxiliary Service or a reserve unit of one of the branches listed above.
• Texas military forces

State Parks: Yes
State Forests: Yes
National Forests: Yes
WMA’s: Yes
Road Side Rest Areas: Yes

• Texas Concealed Handgun License Website
• Texas Concealed Handgun License Online Application
• Texas Concealed Handgun License Downloadable Forms
• Texas Concealed Carry Laws
• Texas Firearms Forums