Any point in renewing Florida CCW?

[walther]

So I’ve had my Florida CCW, even before Illinois had CCW‘s. As an out of state CCW holder, it gave me access in Florida and other states, and even when Illinois CCW was available it gave me access to other states that did not reciprocate with Illinois. So now I was just notified that it’s going to expire in several months and I can renew it but have to go through the hassle of fingerprints all over again, fees, etc. Now that Florida has constitutional carry there’s really no point in it for Florida and I’m not sure that out of state Florida CCW gives you much more than Illinois CCW these day so I’m just thinking of letting it lapse.  Anyone else in the same boat? What’s your thoughts?

[byxlaw]

Same story here. FL license gives 2 "extra" states (NM, DE) which I am not planning to visit anyway. My "same boat" is at the dock for now, but likely will let it sink.

Edited January 6, 2026 at 02:46 AM by byxlaw

[hgcrane]

I have a Florida CWP, and I own a place in Polk County, Florida.  My CWP isn't due for renewal until 2028.  I think the biggest part of renewing is the fingerprints.  It's hard to find Illinois LE who does ink prints any longer, and I believe Florida doesn't accept livescans from anywhere except Florida LE, meaning you have to visit a Sheriff's or other LE office in Florida to get your prints taken, if they will even do it for nonresidents.  If I still own my place in Florida in 2028, I'll probably renew, only because getting prints taken won't be such a hassle.  (And I'll get to visit Grady Judd.)

[soundguy]

Florida was my first.

I wanted a Katherine Harris but got a Charles Bronson.

 

It's been quite some time since I renewed, because of the difficult fingerprint requirement.

At least in Illinois your prints live forever, if you chose to get them.

 

Cheers,

Tim

 

 

[jpearson]

I renewed mine this year .

 

I have had it for over 20 years now and I am just unwilling to let it go .

 

It was a first step and means more to me than the Illinois permit . 

 

No good reason to keep it beyond I want to 

[Jeffrey]

I think PA was my first only because it was so easy.  Then came FL and UT and IIRC Maine and NH?  I'm down to IL only today.  The states I generally visit will either allow the IL permission slip or have gone Constitutional like they all should.  We pay enough in taxes for the taxes we already pay.  I'm not giving more than they tell me I'm obligated to.

[Molly B.]

On 1/6/2026 at 7:55 AM, jpearson said:

I renewed mine this year .

 

I have had it for over 20 years now and I am just unwilling to let it go .

 

It was a first step and means more to me than the Illinois permit . 

 

No good reason to keep it beyond I want to 

Kind of in the same camp here.  It was my first conceal carry license and was one of the inspirations that encouraged my efforts to fight for carry here in Illinois.

Don't know if I'll be able to find a fingerprints source though.

[Jeffrey]

On 1/6/2026 at 10:09 AM, Molly B. said:

Kind of in the same camp here.  It was my first conceal carry license and was one of the inspirations that encouraged my efforts to fight for carry here in Illinois.

Don't know if I'll be able to find a fingerprints source though.

Thank you for fighting for us!  We've got lots to do but have come a very long way.

[RedWrangler]

I'm in the quintessential small town 'Merca, and they looked at me a little funny but happily moved some chairs to get access to the ink roller....  

 

I'm going to renew FL "just because" I have no faith whatsoever in the legislative process - what they giveth, they can taketh away (or some judge can) at a later date.

 

Perhaps I'm jaded living in Illinois under Democrat rule?

[Smallbore]

I too am questioning wisdom to renew FL especially since I now fly no longer wanting to drive.

[Tip]

Renewed mine a year or two ago - “just because” - when it comes up again in 5 or 6 years who knows. Hoping that by then law abiding citizens won’t need permission slips anywhere….. not holding my breath though…

[John Q Public]

Florida is permit-less carry. 

[ilphil]

i decided to let my Florida permit expire. I went ahead and renewed Utah because it was my 1st permit back in 2005 and much easier and cheaper to renew than FL. Plus, it gives me a couple states that IL doesn't. Going thru NM isn't very likely at this stage of my life, so it's no great loss.

[Dan The Man]

I renewed mine for bragging rights. I gat guns in east Dundee does prints for Florida 

[lilguy]

Renewed mine this year, got finger printed at local police department. 

[walther]

On 1/7/2026 at 11:44 PM, Dan The Man said:

I renewed mine for bragging rights. I gat guns in east Dundee does prints for Florida 

Good to know that it can be done at gat guns. I’m in the southwest suburbs so a bit far for me. if anyone knows of a place in the southwest suburbs that’ll do the prints I may renew. I’ve got some more time to think about it now.

[walther]

On 1/6/2026 at 7:55 AM, jpearson said:

I renewed mine this year .

 

I have had it for over 20 years now and I am just unwilling to let it go .

 

It was a first step and means more to me than the Illinois permit . 

 

No good reason to keep it beyond I want to 

Yeah, that’s kind of how I feel about it also. Hate to let it go even though I don’t really need it for any practical purposes. It’s just too bad they make it so difficult with the fingerprints each time.

[walther]

On 1/6/2026 at 10:09 AM, Molly B. said:

Kind of in the same camp here.  It was my first conceal carry license and was one of the inspirations that encouraged my efforts to fight for carry here in Illinois.

Don't know if I'll be able to find a fingerprints source though.

I think last time I did it it was at the Warrenville Police Department. Not sure if they still do it anymore.

[John Q Public]

I'm not sure how Gat, does them as they need to be done by a Law enforcement agency or County Jail etc. To the OP question, no, I wouldn't do FL or Utah, and in fact, I stopped doing them because I felt it wasn't worth it for my students. If someone really wants them, I can still do it, but I see no real reason to do so. 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 8, 2026 at 06:25 PM by John Q Public

[John Q Public]

No answers?

[Dan The Man]

On 1/8/2026 at 12:23 PM, John Q Public said:

I'm not sure how Gat, does them as they need to be done by a Law enforcement agency or County Jail etc. To the OP question, no, I wouldn't do FL or Utah, and in fact, I stopped doing them because I felt it wasn't worth it for my students. If someone really wants them, I can still do it, but I see no real reason to do so. 

 

 

 

 

Safe Side LLC does a lot of classes at gat guns email Safe Side. Some of their instructors are Kane county sheriffs. 

[John Q Public]

I see what they did there, but that is not compliant, unless they did the fingerprints at the address stamped on that paper. Florida requires, not only law enforcement, but a LE location, if they are doing these at Gat and just stamping them with their dept address, this is not correct according to the dept. Frankly, I don't care one bit, but this is what I was told by them. We have several LEOs here and asked them the same question and they said, Yes, as long as it was done at the actual address of the LEA.

Edited January 12, 2026 at 08:34 PM by John Q Public

[lilguy]

Ask a local police department. I don’t live in Barrington but they did it. They added me to their day log and I paid a fee. 

[walther]

On 2/7/2026 at 1:22 PM, lilguy said:

Ask a local police department. I don’t live in Barrington but they did it. They added me to their day log and I paid a fee. 

Thx. I did end up renewing. The only thing that was holding me back was the PIA of getting the prints done but I ended up just calling a few local departments.
 

My advice to anyone wanting to renew is to call ahead first. Some departments have a policy against it, which kind of boggles my mind. The one I went to was more than helpful.