§ 18.2-308.02. Application for a concealed handgun permit; Virginia

Code of Virginia

Title 18.2. Crimes and Offenses Generally

Chapter 7. Crimes Involving Health and Safety

Article 6.1. Concealed Weapons and Concealed Handgun Permits

§ 18.2-308.02. Application for a concealed handgun permit;

Virginia resident or domiciliary

A. Any person 21 years of age or older may apply in writing to the clerk of the circuit court of the

county or city in which he resides, or if he is a member of the United States Armed Forces and

stationed outside the Commonwealth, the county or city in which he is domiciled, for a five-year

permit to carry a concealed handgun. There shall be no requirement regarding the length of time

an applicant has been a resident or domiciliary of the county or city. The application shall be on a

form prescribed by the Department of State Police, in consultation with the Supreme Court,

requiring only that information necessary to determine eligibility for the permit. Additionally,

the application shall request but not require that the applicant provide an email or other

electronic address where a notice of permit expiration can be sent pursuant to subsection C of §

18.2-308.010. The applicant shall present one valid form of photo identification issued by a

governmental agency of the Commonwealth or by the U.S. Department of Defense or U.S. State

Department (passport). No information or documentation other than that which is allowed on

the application in accordance with this section may be requested or required by the clerk or the

court.

B. The court shall require proof that the applicant has demonstrated competence with a handgun

in person and the applicant may demonstrate such competence by one of the following, but no

applicant shall be required to submit to any additional demonstration of competence, nor shall

any proof of demonstrated competence expire:

1. Completing any hunter education or hunter safety course approved by the Department of

Wildlife Resources or a similar agency of another state;

2. Completing any National Rifle Association or United States Concealed Carry Association

firearms safety or training course;

3. Completing any firearms safety or training course or class available to the general public

offered by a law-enforcement agency, institution of higher education, or private or public

institution or organization or firearms training school utilizing instructors certified by the

National Rifle Association, the United States Concealed Carry Association, or the Department of

Criminal Justice Services;

4. Completing any law-enforcement firearms safety or training course or class offered for security

guards, investigators, special deputies, or any division or subdivision of law enforcement or

security enforcement;

5. Presenting evidence of equivalent experience with a firearm through participation in

organized shooting competition or current military service or proof of an honorable discharge

from any branch of the armed services;

6. Obtaining or previously having held a license to carry a firearm in the Commonwealth or a

locality thereof, unless such license has been revoked for cause;

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7. Completing any in-person firearms training or safety course or class conducted by a state-

certified, National Rifle Association-certified, or United States Concealed Carry Association-

certified firearms instructor;

8. Completing any governmental police agency firearms training course and qualifying to carry a

firearm in the course of normal police duties; or

9. Completing any other firearms training that the court deems adequate.

A photocopy of a certificate of completion of any of the courses or classes; an affidavit from the

instructor, school, club, organization, or group that conducted or taught such course or class

attesting to the completion of the course or class by the applicant; or a copy of any document

that shows completion of the course or class or evidences participation in firearms competition

shall constitute evidence of qualification under this subsection.

C. The making of a materially false statement in an application under this article shall constitute

perjury, punishable as provided in § 18.2-434.

D. The clerk of court shall withhold from public disclosure the applicant's name and any other

information contained in a permit application or any order issuing a concealed handgun permit,

except that such information shall not be withheld from any law-enforcement officer acting in

the performance of his official duties or from the applicant with respect to his own information.

The prohibition on public disclosure of information under this subsection shall not apply to any

reference to the issuance of a concealed handgun permit in any order book before July 1, 2008;

however, any other concealed handgun records maintained by the clerk shall be withheld from

public disclosure.

E. An application is deemed complete when all information required to be furnished by the

applicant, including the fee for a concealed handgun permit as set forth in § 18.2-308.03, is

delivered to and received by the clerk of court before or concomitant with the conduct of a state

or national criminal history records check.

F. For purposes of this section, a member of the United States Armed Forces is domiciled in the

county or city where such member claims his home of record with the United States Armed

Forces.

2013, cc. 659, 746;2014, cc. 16, 401, 549;2017, cc. 99, 237;2019, c. 624;2020, cc. 390, 958, 1130;

2023, cc. 93, 94.

The chapters of the acts of assembly referenced in the historical citation at the end of this

section(s) may not constitute a comprehensive list of such chapters and may exclude chapters

whose provisions have expired.

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