Florida Carry Laws

Prohibited Places - Where You Cannot Carry

Florida: A private 'no firearms' sign is not itself a crime to pass, but if you are warned to depart and refuse while carrying, armed trespass under 810.08 is a third-degree FELONY; bars and the other 790.06(12) locations are off-limits by statute regardless of signs.

WHERE CARRY IS PROHIBITED - FLORIDA

Florida allows permitless concealed carry (F.S. 790.01, since July 1, 2023), but the locations listed in F.S. 790.06(12) remain off-limits whether you carry with or without a license.

FLORIDA PROHIBITED LOCATIONS (F.S. 790.06(12))
- Any police, sheriff, or highway patrol station
- Any detention facility, prison, or jail
- Any courthouse or courtroom (judges excepted)
- Any polling place
- Any meeting of the governing body of a county, public school district, municipality, or special district; any meeting of the Legislature or its committees
- Any school, college, or professional athletic event not related to firearms
- Any elementary or secondary school facility or administration building
- Any career center
- Any portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises which is primarily devoted to that purpose (the bar area)
- Any college or university facility (limited exceptions for certain students, employees, and faculty)
- The passenger terminal and sterile area of any airport (firearms may be carried encased for shipment as lawful checked baggage)

Federal law separately prohibits firearms in federal buildings, courthouses, and post offices, and restricts carry on military bases and past airport security checkpoints.

SIGNS
'No Firearms' signs on private property in Florida do not carry criminal force of law for otherwise-lawful carry, but you must leave if asked; refusing can be trespass.

Violating F.S. 790.06(12) is a second-degree misdemeanor (first-degree if openly carried).

Red Flag Law - ERPO in Effect

Florida: An Extreme Risk Protection Order (red flag) law is in effect (Fla. Stat. 790.401).

RED FLAG / EXTREME RISK LAW
Florida

Florida: An Extreme Risk Protection Order (red flag) law is in effect (Fla. Stat. 790.401).

Authority: Fla. Stat. 790.401 (risk protection orders, enacted 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas Act) — petitions by law enforcement ONLY; final orders up to 12 months.

Constitutional Carry + Open Carry

Florida allows permitless concealed AND open carry for adults 21+ (open carry via court ruling Sept 2025). Prohibited in courthouses, schools, government buildings. Private property owners may prohibit.

CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY + OPEN CARRY
Florida

Florida allows permitless concealed AND open carry for adults 21+ (open carry via court ruling Sept 2025). Prohibited in courthouses, schools, government buildings. Private property owners may prohibit.

Authority: Fla. Stat. § 790.01(1)(b) (permitless concealed carry, ch. 2023-18 eff. July 1, 2023); McDaniels v. State, No. 1D2023-0533 (Fla. 1st DCA Sept. 10, 2025) (declaring § 790.053, the open-carry ban, unconstitutional); § 790.053 remains on the statute books unrepealed.

Duty to Inform - Display ID on Demand

Florida: No duty to volunteer that you are carrying; anyone carrying concealed — licensed (§ 790.06(1)(c)) or under 2023 permitless carry (§ 790.013(1)) — must carry valid identification and display it upon a law enforcement officer's demand ($25 noncriminal violation); no statute requires verbally announcing you are armed or answering questions.

DUTY TO INFORM LAW ENFORCEMENT
FLORIDA

Florida: No duty to volunteer that you are carrying; anyone carrying concealed — licensed (§ 790.06(1)(c)) or under 2023 permitless carry (§ 790.013(1)) — must carry valid identification and display it upon a law enforcement officer's demand ($25 noncriminal violation); no statute requires verbally announcing you are armed or answering questions.

Authority: Fla. Stat. § 790.06(1)(c) (licensees) and § 790.013(1) (permitless carriers, created by ch. 2023-18) — official Florida Legislature site.

No Magazine Capacity Limit

Florida has no state-level magazine capacity restrictions. Standard and extended magazines are legal.

NO MAGAZINE CAPACITY LIMIT
Florida

Florida has no state-level magazine capacity restrictions. Standard and extended magazines are legal.

Authority: Exhaustive search of Fla. Stat. ch. 790 (Weapons and Firearms) - no magazine-capacity provision exists; Giffords Law Center state page concurs.

No-Carry Signs - Not Criminal to Ignore

Florida: Signs do not have force of law. However, if asked to leave and you refuse, trespass charges may apply.

"NO FIREARMS" SIGN LAWS - FLORIDA

"No firearms" signs at private businesses are not given independent force of law by Florida's firearms statutes - walking past one is not, by itself, a weapons crime for a person otherwise carrying lawfully. However, if the owner or an authorized person tells you to leave (or to remove the firearm) and you remain, you can be prosecuted for trespass - and trespass while armed with a firearm is a THIRD-DEGREE FELONY (F.S. 810.08(2)(c) for structures/conveyances; F.S. 810.09(2)(c) for other property). On land that is not a structure, notice against entering can be given by posting or fencing itself under F.S. 810.09, without any verbal warning. If asked to leave while carrying, comply immediately.

Stand Your Ground - No Duty to Retreat

Florida: Stand Your Ground state. No duty to retreat before using force in self-defense anywhere you have a legal right to be.

SELF-DEFENSE LAW — FLORIDA

Stand Your Ground: YES. Under F.S. 776.012(2), a person who uses or threatens deadly force to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm, or the imminent commission of a forcible felony, 'does not have a duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground' — but only if the person is NOT engaged in criminal activity and is in a place where he or she has a right to be. Non-deadly force in lawful self-defense likewise carries no duty to retreat (F.S. 776.012(1)).

CASTLE DOCTRINE: YES. F.S. 776.013 creates a presumption of reasonable fear of imminent peril when someone unlawfully and forcefully enters a dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle, and there is no duty to retreat there.

LIMITS: Self-defense protection does not apply to an initial aggressor except as provided in F.S. 776.041, and force must respond to a reasonably perceived imminent threat. Florida also provides criminal and civil immunity procedures for justified force (F.S. 776.032). Self-defense cases are highly fact-specific; every use of force may be investigated.

Vehicle Carry - Permitless at 21+; 18+ Must Keep Handgun Securely Encased

Florida: Since July 2023 a person who satisfies the concealed-carry license criteria (21+, not prohibited) may carry a loaded concealed handgun on their person in a vehicle with no permit (Fla. Stat. 790.01(1)); anyone 18+ may keep a loaded handgun in the vehicle if it is securely encased (snapped holster, gun case, closed box, or glove compartment) or otherwise not readily accessible — but may not carry it on their person (790.25(4)(a)); long guns may be carried anywhere in a private vehicle for lawful use (790.25(4)(b)1).

VEHICLE CARRY - PERMITLESS AT 21+; 18+ MUST KEEP HANDGUN SECURELY ENCASED
Florida

Florida: Since July 2023 a person who satisfies the concealed-carry license criteria (21+, not prohibited) may carry a loaded concealed handgun on their person in a vehicle with no permit (Fla. Stat. 790.01(1)); anyone 18+ may keep a loaded handgun in the vehicle if it is securely encased (snapped holster, gun case, closed box, or glove compartment) or otherwise not readily accessible — but may not carry it on their person (790.25(4)(a)); long guns may be carried anywhere in a private vehicle for lawful use (790.25(4)(b)1).

Authority: Fla. Stat. 790.01(1) (permitless concealed carry, HB 543 2023); Fla. Stat. 790.25(4) (possession in private conveyance; renumbered from former (5)).