Online Concealed Carry Renewal Coming to Florida

In an announcement, this past week Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam stated that a new ruling will allow Florida concealed weapon licenses to be renewed online.

“My goal is to make applying for or renewing a Florida concealed weapon license as convenient as possible, and this new online feature gives license holders another option when renewing,” he was quoted in a press release, last Wednesday.

In Florida, there are currently more than 1.6 million active concealed weapon licenses, and of those, over 204,000 will expire in 2017. So it is certainly a good time for this ruling to be on the books.

Marion Hammer, the executive director of Unified Sportsmen of Florida and former president of the National Rifle Association said she had consulted with the Florida Department of Agriculture regarding this decision.

“We felt strongly that something needed to happen,” she said, “and we are delighted to hear [Putnam’s] announcement today.”

Hammer says that online license renewal is a step forward in modernizing gun ownership.

“Today, we have online banking, and many other things that can be done over the Internet,” she said. “This is simply another convenience, so gun owners don’t have to go through an extensive mailing process or travel to an office in person.”

License holders can still renew a concealed weapons license through the mail, as well as at 41 Tax Collectors Offices across the state or at one of the Department of Agriculture’s eight regional offices in Doral, Fort Walton, Jacksonville, North Port, Orlando, Tallahassee, Tampa and West Palm Beach.

“When you have 1.6 million people needing to renew a license every seven years, there may not be enough time in the day for everyone to get it done,” Putnam said. “Now, more office personnel will be available to assist those who need help in person.”