Application for a Concealed Handgun Permit
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 or she resides, or if he is a member of the United States armed forces, the county or city in which he is domiciled, for a five-year permit to carry a concealed handgun. There is no requirement as to the length of time an applicant for a Concealed Handgun Permit must have been a resident or domiciliary of the county or city where he or she resides.
The application may be obtained from the circuit court, sheriff’s office, or police department. The form (SP-248 Application for Concealed Handgun Permit) also may be downloaded and/or printed from this web site. This form can be viewed, downloaded and/or printed by visiting the
Virginia State Police Forms page.
The court shall require proof that the applicant has demonstrated competence with a handgun 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:
- Completing any hunter education or hunter safety course approved by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries or a similar agency of another state;
- Completing any National Rifle Association firearms safety or training course;
[*]Completing any firearms safety or training course or class available to the general public offered by a law-enforcement agency, junior college, college, or private or public institution or organization or firearms training school utilizing instructors certified by the National Rifle Association or the Department of Criminal Justice Services;
[*]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;
[*]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;
[*]Obtaining or previously having held a license to carry a firearm in this Commonwealth or a locality thereof, unless such license has been revoked for cause;
[*]Completing any firearms training or safety course or class conducted by a state-certified or National Rifle Association-certified firearms instructor;
[*]Completing any governmental police agency firearms training course and qualifying to carry a firearm in the course of normal police duties; or
[*]Completing any other firearms training which the court deems adequate.
