Yes, you may carry a concealed handgun in Ohio without a concealed handgun license if you are a qualifying adult and the handgun is not a restricted...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
Yes, you may carry a concealed handgun in Ohio without a concealed handgun license if you are a qualifying adult and the handgun is not a restricted firearm. A qualifying adult must be 21 or older. Carrying without a license gives you the same right a license holder has and subjects you to the same restrictions. The county sheriff still issues the license to a person who wants one.
This page is the short orientation. Each rule named below has its own page, where the conditions and the exceptions are set out in full.
Ohio's statute uses the term "qualifying adult" for the person who may carry a concealed handgun without a license, in R.C. 2923.111(A)(2). A qualifying adult must be 21 or older, under R.C. 2923.111(A)(2)(a), and the constitutional carry page sets out that authority. An applicant for the concealed handgun license must also be at least 21, under R.C. 2923.125(D)(1)(b), and the permit basics page covers the rest of who may hold one.
Ohio does not require residency for the license, and a nonresident employed in Ohio may apply, under R.C. 2923.125(B). A licensee who is on active duty in the armed forces, or in service with the Peace Corps, VISTA, or the foreign service, is exempt from the license requirements for the period of that duty or service and for six months after it, under R.C. 2923.125(F)(1)(b).
A qualifying adult is not required to obtain a concealed handgun license to carry a concealed handgun that is not a restricted firearm, under R.C. 2923.111(B)(1). A qualifying adult may carry anywhere in Ohio that a person issued a license may carry, under R.C. 2923.111(B)(2). The right the statute grants a qualifying adult is the same right granted to a person who has been issued a license, and the qualifying adult is subject to the same restrictions, under R.C. 2923.111(B)(3).
A valid concealed handgun license does not authorize carrying a concealed handgun into any of the eight kinds of place R.C. 2923.126(B) lists, among them police and sheriff stations, detention facilities, secured airport terminal areas, places of worship that do not post or permit otherwise, and any place where federal law prohibits carrying handguns; the school safety zone, courthouse and D-permit entries reach a licensee only where the carry would violate R.C. 2923.122, R.C. 2923.123 or R.C. 2923.121, and under R.C. 2923.121(B)(1)(e) a licensee who is not consuming beer or intoxicating liquor and is not under the influence of alcohol or a drug of abuse does not violate R.C. 2923.121. The prohibited places page gives each place with its exceptions.
If you choose to apply, these rules govern the concealed handgun license.
| Rule | What the statute says | Citation | Fact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Issuing standard | The sheriff shall issue the license once the applicant meets all the listed criteria | R.C. 2923.125(D)(1) | |
| License term | Expires 5 years after the date of issuance | R.C. 2923.125(D)(2)(a) | |
| Fee, Ohio resident of five or more years | $67, nonrefundable | R.C. 2923.125(B)(1)(a)(i) | |
| Fee, resident of under five years or nonresident employed in Ohio | $67 plus the actual cost of an FBI background check | R.C. 2923.125(B)(1)(a)(ii) |
The fees and costs page covers the rest of what the license costs, and the application process page covers the filing itself.
Ohio recognizes a valid concealed handgun license issued by another license-issuing state for a person who is not a resident of Ohio and is temporarily in Ohio, whether or not that state has entered a reciprocity agreement with the attorney general, under R.C. 109.69(B)(3). The reciprocity page has the rest.
Training and the license change two concrete things for you: what you have to certify to the sheriff before you get a license, and how long the license you get is good for. On the first, to receive a concealed handgun license you must submit a competency certification and a certification that you read the pamphlet on firearms safety, under R.C. 2923.125(D)(1)(l). The course behind that competency certification must include at least 8 hours of training in the safe handling and use of a firearm, under R.C. 2923.125(G)(1). On the second, the license those hours lead to expires 5 years after the date of issuance, under R.C. 2923.125(D)(2)(a). The training requirements page sets out what a qualifying course contains, and the renewal process page covers renewing the license.
The Ohio statutes in this guide come from the Ohio Revised Code. Citations to it use the prefix R.C. in prose. Ohio's own carry statute supplies the term "qualifying adult" for the person who may carry without a license.
Federal law supplies a second vocabulary that an Ohio carrier runs into. 18 U.S.C. 921(a) of the federal Gun Control Act defines 37 terms used throughout the federal firearms statutes, among them firearm, handgun, machinegun, school zone, antique firearm and misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. Those are federal definitions, not Ohio ones, and the Ohio statutes keep their own.
No, not if you are a qualifying adult carrying a handgun that is not a restricted firearm, under R.C. 2923.111(B)(1). The permit basics page covers who may hold the license instead.
No. A qualifying adult may carry anywhere in Ohio that a person issued a license may carry, under R.C. 2923.111(B)(2). Carrying outside Ohio is a different question, and the reciprocity page is where it is answered.
An applicant who has been a resident of Ohio for five or more years pays a nonrefundable fee of $67, under R.C. 2923.125(B)(1)(a)(i). A license expires 5 years after the date of issuance, under R.C. 2923.125(D)(2)(a).
Yes, if you are not a resident of Ohio, you are temporarily in Ohio, and your license was issued by another license-issuing state, under R.C. 109.69(B)(3).
The sheriff shall issue the license if all the listed statutory criteria apply to the applicant, under R.C. 2923.125(D)(1). The application process page covers what the applicant has to file.
This page covers one part of our Ohio concealed carry guide.
Read the complete Ohio 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.