Local residents who may have lost their statewide concealed weapon license and still want one may replace it for $27 at the office of the Flagler County Tax Collector’s Office Flagler Beach Branch. For out of state residents, the replacement fee is $99.
Until recently, replacement licenses were available only through the Department of Agriculture in Tallahassee, where residents could apply for a replacement by mail, making it cumbersome and time-consuming.
The new allowance further expands the authority of local tax collectors to issue concealed-weapon licenses. Flagler County Tax Collector Shelly Edmonson said licenses were previously issued only by the Tallahassee office. In 2014, Tax Collector Offices were given authority to take applications, fingerprint the applicants and send the information securely to the department for final determination of eligibility.
The initial application for a concealed weapon license, including fingerprinting, costs $119 for residents, less for law enforcement, and just $12 for active judges (some of whom do, in fact, pack).
Tax Collector Offices were also given authority to issue renewals. There are currently more than 2.4 million concealed weapon licenses in Florida, and the department processed more than 100,000 applications for new licenses last fiscal year. To date, FDACS has partnered with fifty-six Tax Collectors to provide concealed weapon license services.
“I am pleased to be able to offer this service to all Florida residents,” Edmonson said. The Flagler Beach office is at 2525 Moody Boulevard (State Road 100), in what used to be the Babcock shopping center.
Subsequent to legislation passed in 2023, Florida eliminated the requirement for a concealed weapon permit, or license, for people buying guns. That went in effect on July 1, 2023. But applications for licenses continue to be brisk, Edmonson said, because Florida residents want to have that permit in hand when they travel. While Florida allows the permit-less carrying of weapons by anyone 21 or over from any of the 50 states, only 11 states have that reciprocity, while 26 states have certain restrictions.
To acquire a license, holders must still fulfill other requirements such as attending a training class. “People are still getting them, they’re still renewing, but those numbers have decreased,” Edmonson said. As of Dec. 31, There were 18,498 concealed weapon license holders in Flagler County, which has a population of about 130,000. There were 2.6 million licenses in the state. For comparison’s sake, there were 17,216 issued licenses in Flagler County in July 2021.
Don’t waste time mailing your application. Stop by the Tax Collector Flagler Beach Branch Office and apply in person. For more information, visit the Tax Collector’s website.
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