Ohio Concealed Carry Permit Fees and Costs

Fees and costs

If you apply for a concealed handgun license, the sheriff charges a fee set by state law. An applicant who has lived in Ohio for five or more years pays $67. A newer resident, or a nonresident who works in Ohio, pays $67 plus the actual FBI background-check cost. Renewal for a resident of five or more years costs $50. Some applicants pay no license fee at all.

Who pays these fees

These fees are the ones a sheriff collects on a new or renewal application for a concealed handgun license. The amount depends on how long you have lived in Ohio, or whether you live elsewhere and work here. Certain service members, veterans and retired officers are exempt from the license fee.

The fee rule

Under R.C. 2923.125(B)(1)(a)(i), an applicant who has been an Ohio resident for five or more years pays a $67 nonrefundable license fee. Under R.C. 2923.125(B)(1)(a)(ii), a resident of less than five years, or a nonresident employed in Ohio, pays $67 plus the actual cost of an FBI background check.

Renewal follows the same split. Under R.C. 2923.125(F)(4)(a), a renewal applicant who has been a resident for five or more years pays a $50 nonrefundable renewal fee. Under R.C. 2923.125(F)(4)(b), a renewal applicant resident less than five years, or a nonresident employed in Ohio, pays $50 plus the actual FBI background-check cost.

If your license is lost or destroyed, R.C. 2923.125(E) lets you get a duplicate from the issuing sheriff for $15.

Who is exempt from the license fee

A sheriff waives the license fee for these applicants, subject to the annual limit on waived military payments:

• An active or reserve member of the armed forces of the United States.
• A person who retired from or was honorably discharged from military service in the active or reserve armed forces of the United States.
• A retired peace officer.
• A retired person described in division (B)(1)(b) of section 109.77 of the Revised Code.
• A retired federal law enforcement officer who was authorized under federal law to carry a firearm on duty.

Under R.C. 2923.125(B)(1)(c), the waiver covers both initial and renewal applications, but not a retired officer or person who retired as the result of a mental disability.

Fee table

What training changes

Training changes whether a sheriff can issue the license at all. Under R.C. 2923.125(D)(1)(l), an applicant must submit a competency certification and a certification of having read the safety pamphlet before a license can issue. Under R.C. 2923.125(G)(1), that course must include at least eight hours of training in the safe handling and use of a firearm. Under R.C. 2923.125(G)(1)(e), the course must include live-fire training.

Common questions

Is the license fee refundable?

No. A resident of five or more years pays a $67 nonrefundable license fee. The $50 renewal fee for that resident is also nonrefundable.

Why would a newer resident pay more than a long-time resident?

A resident of less than five years pays $67 plus the actual cost of an FBI background check. The FBI check is the added cost.

What does it cost to replace a lost license?

You pay the issuing sheriff $15 and submit an affidavit stating the license was lost or destroyed.

When can I renew and pay the renewal fee?

Under R.C. 2923.125(F)(1)(a), you may renew at any time before your license expires, with no early-filing limit.

Do honorably discharged veterans pay the license fee?

Under R.C. 2923.125(B)(1)(c), a sheriff waives the license fee for a person honorably discharged from the active or reserve armed forces of the United States. Once a sheriff is informed that the payments waived reached one million five hundred thousand dollars in a year, the sheriff stops waiving the license fee for military applicants for the rest of that year.

Where does my fee go?

Under R.C. 2923.125(B)(1)(d), the sheriff deposits license fees into the sheriff's concealed handgun license issuance fund, and the county distributes them as state law directs.