Transporting a firearm through Florida - by car, plane, train, or boat - is governed by federal law primarily and Florida law secondarily. The federal...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
Transporting a firearm through Florida - by car, plane, train, or boat - is governed by federal law primarily and Florida law secondarily. The federal Firearm Owners' Protection Act (18 U.S.C. § 926A) gives interstate travelers a transport defense if the firearm is lawful at origin and destination, unloaded, inaccessible from the passenger compartment, and ammunition is separate. Florida's vehicle-carry rule under Fla. Stat. § 790.25(4) is more permissive - 18 or older, lawful possession, firearm "securely encased" or "otherwise not readily accessible for immediate use" - and applies to in-state transit. A person authorized to carry concealed under § 790.01(1) (a CWFL holder or a qualifying permitless carrier, which for a Florida resident now means 18 or older after Eubanks) may carry concealed on the person inside the private conveyance under § 790.25(4)(b)(2).
This section covers everything beyond the everyday vehicle baseline: federal interstate transit, commercial air, Amtrak, intercity bus, recreational boats and cruise ships, and the federal-facility traps. For the in-state vehicle rule, see VEHICLE_CARRY; for prohibited places generally, see PROHIBITED_PLACES; for on-person carry across state lines and out-of-state license recognition, see RECIPROCITY.
Three Florida statutes and one federal statute do most of the work.
The hard questions arise at three boundaries: state lines (§ 926A), security checkpoints (TSA and § 790.06(12)(a)14.), and the door of a common carrier (Amtrak, intercity bus, airline tariffs, cruise lines). Full in-state vehicle details live in VEHICLE_CARRY; the rest of this section assumes the traveler has cleared that baseline and is moving across a state line, into a federal facility, or onto a common carrier.
The federal Firearm Owners' Protection Act preempts state and local restrictions on a person moving a firearm between two states where possession is lawful. § 926A is the only protection a Florida traveler has when the route crosses a state where the CWFL is not honored or state law is hostile.
You qualify for § 926A if all of the following are true:
Practical notes. § 926A protects transport, not stopping - overnight stays or hotel layovers in a state where possession is unlawful fall outside the safe harbor (New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, D.C., and California have prosecuted travelers who deviated). § 926A requires lawful possession at both endpoints - a Florida CWFL holder driving to a Wyoming hunt is covered; a Florida resident driving to in-laws in New Jersey is not. § 926A does not preempt magazine, assault-weapon, or feature-restriction bans along the route - comply with the most restrictive state's hardware rules for the entire interstate leg. § 926A is a defense, not an authorization - keep a printout of § 926A, an itinerary showing both endpoints, and a copy of the CWFL or destination-state permit with the firearm.
A Florida CWFL holder driving from Jacksonville to upstate New York has two distinct regimes. From Jacksonville to the New York line, Florida law and reciprocity-state laws recognize the CWFL. Once into New York, the only lawful posture is § 926A. A non-resident transiting Florida between two other states needs no more than § 926A to cross; Florida's § 790.25(4) baseline is broadly permissive for any non-prohibited adult 18 or older who keeps the firearm securely encased. Florida's permitless carry under § 790.01(1)(b) does not travel.
Air travel with firearms is governed by federal aviation security law (49 C.F.R. parts 1540 and 1544) and TSA regulations. Florida reinforces federal law through § 790.06(12)(a)14., which makes it an offense (when committed by a license holder) to carry "inside the passenger terminal and sterile area of any airport." § 790.001(19) defines "sterile area" as the area where access is controlled by federally approved airport-security inspection. A § 790.06(12) violation is a second-degree misdemeanor under § 790.06(12)(d).
Three rules to internalize:
The statute contains an explicit carve-out for travelers checking firearms as baggage: "no person shall be prohibited from carrying any legal firearm into the terminal, which firearm is encased for shipment for purposes of checking such firearm as baggage to be lawfully transported on any aircraft." A CWFL holder bringing a properly cased firearm to the airline counter is not committing a § 790.06(12)(a)14. offense by walking through the non-sterile terminal to reach it. The carve-out does not authorize carry through TSA screening, in the sterile area, on a jet bridge, or aboard the aircraft.
Permitless carriers under § 790.01(1)(b) are not subject to § 790.06(12) at all - the prohibitions attach to "a license issued under this section" - but federal aviation security law applies to every passenger regardless of state-license status, and airport-operator rules and local ordinances may apply on top.
Firearms travel as checked baggage only:
Common mistakes. A handgun in carry-on at the X-ray belt is the most common TSA violation nationwide, and Florida airports - MIA, FLL, MCO, TPA, JAX, PBI, RSW - appear at or near the top of TSA's annual firearm-discovery list every year. A forgotten round in a coat pocket or range bag is the second most common. Treating an antique firearm as exempt is a third: § 790.001 does not control 49 C.F.R. compliance.
Amtrak. Amtrak permits unloaded firearms in checked baggage on trains with checked-baggage service, including the Silver Star and Silver Meteor connecting Florida to the Northeast Corridor. The traveler must give at least 24 hours' advance notice at booking, declare at station check-in, and pack unloaded in a locked hard-sided container. Ammunition up to 11 pounds may travel in the same or a separate locked container. Amtrak bars firearms on trains without checked-baggage service; Brightline is private and currently bars firearms aboard.
Intercity bus. Carrier policy controls. Greyhound permits unloaded firearms in checked baggage with declaration, locked hard-sided, ammunition separate. Megabus and FlixBus bar firearms entirely.
Charter and rental vehicles. A rented car is a "private conveyance" for § 790.25(4) purposes; the rental agreement does not change Florida law. A non-prohibited adult 18 or older may transport a securely encased handgun in a rental the same as in a personal car; a CWFL holder or qualifying permitless carrier may carry concealed on the person under § 790.25(4)(b)(2). Some rental companies prohibit firearms by contract; that is a contract issue, not a criminal one.
Recreational boats and personal watercraft. § 790.25(2)(l) authorizes carry by "a person traveling in a public conveyance when the weapon or firearm is securely encased and not in the person's manual possession," and § 790.25(2)(h) covers "a person engaged in fishing, camping, or lawful hunting." § 790.25(4)'s private-conveyance rule, read with the § 790.25(3) liberal-construction mandate, extends to recreational vessels: a non-prohibited adult 18+ may possess a handgun aboard a personal boat if it is securely encased or not readily accessible. A CWFL holder or qualifying permitless carrier may carry concealed on the person aboard. Federal admiralty rules and Coast Guard regulations apply on federal waterways and beyond the three-mile line; foreign port rules apply on arrival.
Cruise ships. The cruise line's policy controls aboard the vessel, even when departing from a Florida port. Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, MSC, Disney, and the other major lines sailing from PortMiami, Port Everglades, Port Canaveral, Port Tampa Bay, and JAXPORT all prohibit firearms on board. Even CWFL holders may not bring a firearm aboard. CBP and foreign-port firearm laws apply on arrival in Bahamas, Mexico, or Caribbean ports of call. The "securely encased in the trunk" posture under § 790.25(4) protects the drive to and from the terminal; the firearm cannot follow you onto the ship.
18 U.S.C. § 930 prohibits firearm possession in federal facilities, regardless of state license:
The 1,000-foot Gun-Free School Zone Act, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q), exempts holders of state licenses (Florida CWFL). Permitless carriers under § 790.01(1)(b) lack the exemption and must route around K-12 school zones when carrying outside a personal vehicle. § 790.115 imposes a parallel state-law school-grounds prohibition; an authorized concealed carrier under § 790.01(1) who violates it commits a second-degree misdemeanor under § 790.115(2)(e), reduced from the third-degree felony grade that applies to other carriers.
Florida does not impose a "secure wrapper" or "unloaded and cased" rule for in-state long-gun transport. A hunter or shooter driving to a Florida range or hunting lease with rifles, shotguns, and a personal handgun is on the in-state private-conveyance baseline. The handgun follows § 790.25(4); long guns are protected by § 790.25(4)(b)(1) for lawful uses, and § 790.25(2)(h) and (2)(j) reinforce the lawful-use status of carry to and from fishing, camping, lawful hunting, target practice, and similar activities.
A Florida-licensed hunter driving to an out-of-state hunt is on a § 926A interstate trip the moment the route crosses a state line. For hunts in Georgia, Alabama, the Carolinas, Tennessee, or Mississippi, most of those states also recognize the Florida CWFL by reciprocity. For New England hunts routing through New York or New Jersey, the most restrictive state's hardware rules apply during transit.
Florida recognizes the licenses of states with a written reciprocity agreement (FDACS Division of Licensing maintains the current list). A non-resident holding a recognized license is in the same posture as a Florida CWFL holder for on-person carry.
For a non-license-holder who is not a Florida resident, carry in Florida is governed by Fla. Stat. § 790.015, and its terms are not the same as a resident's. § 790.015(1) requires the nonresident to be a U.S. resident 21 years of age or older and then either to satisfy the CWFL criteria in § 790.06(2)(a)-(f) and (i)-(n), (3), and (10) or to have a license issued in the state of residence in immediate possession. That age requirement is written into § 790.015(1) itself rather than incorporated from § 790.06(2)(b), so Eubanks v. State, No. 4D2025-1698 (Fla. 4th DCA, June 17, 2026), which struck § 790.06(2)(b) as to 18- to 20-year-olds and lowered the Florida resident floor to 18, did not lower it for visitors. The only exception is § 790.015(4), for a servicemember as defined in § 250.01 or a veteran discharged under honorable conditions. Whether § 790.01(1)(b) independently reaches a nonresident at 18, notwithstanding § 790.015(1), is unresolved: § 790.015 is the statute the Legislature wrote for nonresidents, and no court has addressed whether the Eubanks reasoning extends to it. Section 790.015(1) is the only clearly supported path for a nonresident carrying on the person, and it requires 21. For an 18- to 20-year-old visitor the safe route is the § 790.25(4) encasement path, which has always applied at 18 to residents and visitors alike, or § 926A configuration during the Florida leg. Full reciprocity details are in RECIPROCITY.
| Conduct | Citation | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| CWFL holder carrying in passenger terminal or sterile area (outside baggage-check carve-out) | Fla. Stat. § 790.06(12)(a)14., (12)(d) | Second-degree misdemeanor |
| Carry on school grounds by authorized concealed carrier under § 790.01(1) | Fla. Stat. § 790.115(2)(e) | Second-degree misdemeanor |
| Carry on school grounds by other person | Fla. Stat. § 790.115(2) | Third-degree felony |
| Possession in a federal facility | 18 U.S.C. § 930 | Federal misdemeanor or felony |
| Firearm through TSA passenger screening | 49 C.F.R. parts 1540, 1544 | Federal civil penalty plus airport-jurisdiction exposure |
| Interstate transport while prohibited under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) or (n) | 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), (n) | Federal felony |
| GFSZA violation by non-CWFL carrier within 1,000 feet of a school | 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) | Federal misdemeanor |
| Open carry of a firearm by a qualifying adult | Fla. Stat. § 790.053 (held unconstitutional in McDaniels) | No longer enforceable |
Two lines catch most non-prohibited Florida travelers: accidental TSA checkpoint violations and accidental USPS-property violations. Both are avoidable with a one-minute pre-trip check.
| Statute | Subject |
|---|---|
| Fla. Stat. § 790.001(14), (15), (19) | Definitions of "readily accessible," "securely encased," and "sterile area" |
| Fla. Stat. § 790.01(1)(a), (b) | License-based and permitless concealed carry authority |
| Fla. Stat. § 790.013 | Carry-ID rule for permitless carriers |
| Fla. Stat. § 790.053 | Open carry (former ban held unconstitutional in McDaniels) |
| Fla. Stat. § 790.06(12)(a)14. | Airport passenger terminal and sterile area prohibition with baggage-check carve-out |
| Fla. Stat. § 790.06(12)(a)15. | Catchall for places where carrying is prohibited by federal law |
| Fla. Stat. § 790.06(12)(b), (d) | Vehicle carry preserved; second-degree misdemeanor penalty for § 790.06(12) violation |
| Fla. Stat. § 790.115 | School grounds firearm prohibition; reduced grade for authorized concealed carrier |
| Fla. Stat. § 790.25(2)(h), (l), (m) | Lawful uses: fishing/camping/hunting, public-conveyance carry, place-of-purchase transport |
| Fla. Stat. § 790.25(3), (4) | Liberal construction; possession in private conveyance |
| Fla. Stat. § 790.251 | Workplace parking lot protection (2008 Act); § 790.251(7) exceptions |
| 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), (n), (q) | Federal prohibited persons; indictment transport bar; Gun-Free School Zones Act |
| 18 U.S.C. § 926A | FOPA interstate transport safe harbor |
| 18 U.S.C. § 930 | Federal facility firearm prohibition |
| 49 C.F.R. parts 1540, 1544 | TSA aviation security regulations |
| 39 C.F.R. § 232.1 | USPS conduct on postal property |
This page covers one part of our Florida concealed carry guide.
Read the complete Florida guideBrowse local instructors offering state-approved training in your area. Book online, complete your training, and get one step closer to your concealed carry permit.