Florida HAS a Risk Protection Order (RPO) law - codified at Fla. Stat. § 790.401, enacted in March 2018 as part of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
Florida HAS a Risk Protection Order (RPO) law - codified at Fla. Stat. § 790.401, enacted in March 2018 as part of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act after the Parkland shooting. Florida is one of about 21 states with an ERPO/red-flag framework, and § 790.401 was the first ERPO statute passed by a Republican-controlled state legislature. ONLY a law enforcement officer or law enforcement agency may petition the court - family members, school officials, household members, mental-health professionals, and physicians cannot petition directly. That is a deliberate design choice and a sharp distinction from California, New York, Illinois, Hawaii, New Jersey, and the Washington-state and DC frameworks, which all permit family or household petitioners. The respondent must surrender all firearms, ammunition, and any concealed-weapon-or-firearm license (CWFL) issued under Fla. Stat. § 790.06 immediately upon service, with a compliance hearing scheduled no later than 3 business days after the order issues. A final RPO can run up to 12 months on a clear-and-convincing-evidence finding, and is renewable in 12-month increments.
This section walks instructors and CCW students through what § 790.401 does, how it interacts with the federal § 922(g) prohibitor framework, and the practical consequences for a Florida concealed-weapon-or-firearm-license (CWFL) holder.
If a Florida court issues either a temporary ex parte RPO or a final RPO against you, three things happen at the moment of issuance:
The order is also entered into the Florida Crime Information Center and the National Crime Information Center within 24 hours, which means it shows up on every NCIC query nationwide. Fla. Stat. § 790.401(10)(b). Possession or attempted purchase of a firearm or ammunition while the RPO is in effect - with knowledge of the order - is a third-degree felony under Fla. Stat. § 790.401(11)(b), punishable under §§ 775.082, 775.083, and 775.084 by up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
A final RPO that meets federal due-process standards may also independently invoke the federal prohibitor at 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), depending on the facts and the order's findings. The state-law surrender requirement does not depend on whether § 922(g)(8) is also triggered; the Florida order itself is enough.
This is Florida's signature design choice and the most important practical fact about § 790.401.
Under Fla. Stat. § 790.401(1)(a), a "petitioner" is defined as "a law enforcement officer or a law enforcement agency that petitions a court for a risk protection order under this section." Subsection (2)(a) repeats the rule operationally: "A petition for a risk protection order may be filed by a law enforcement officer or law enforcement agency." There is no provision for any other class of petitioner - not a family member, not a roommate, not a school principal, not a teacher, not a mental-health clinician, not a treating physician, not a coworker, and not the respondent's spouse or partner. Anyone who wants firearms removed from a person they believe to be dangerous must persuade a law enforcement agency to investigate and file the petition itself.
Subsection (2)(f) does require the petitioning officer to make a "good faith effort" to provide notice to a family or household member of the respondent and to any known third party who may be at risk of violence, and to include referrals to mental-health, domestic-violence, and counseling resources in that notice. But notice-after-filing is not the same as standing to file. Family members are notified; they do not petition.
Practical consequence: in Florida, the RPO process functionally runs through a local law enforcement intake. A concerned family member calls the local sheriff's office or police department; the responding agency investigates; if probable cause and supporting facts justify it, the agency files a petition supported by a sworn affidavit. The petition must allege that the respondent "poses a significant danger of causing personal injury to himself or herself or others" by having a firearm or ammunition, must be supported by an affidavit specifying "the specific statements, actions, or facts that give rise to a reasonable fear of significant dangerous acts by the respondent," and must identify the quantities, types, and locations of all firearms and ammunition the petitioner believes to be in the respondent's possession. Fla. Stat. § 790.401(2)(e). No filing fee, no service-of-process fee, and no bond is required of the petitioning agency. § 790.401(2)(h)-(i).
The petitioning law enforcement officer or agency may request a temporary ex parte RPO at the time of filing the petition, without notice to the respondent. The supporting petition must contain "detailed allegations based on personal knowledge that the respondent poses a significant danger of causing personal injury to himself or herself or others in the near future" by having a firearm or ammunition. Fla. Stat. § 790.401(4)(a). The court must hold the temporary-order hearing - in person or by telephone - on the day the petition is filed or on the next business day. § 790.401(4)(d).
The standard for issuing a temporary ex parte RPO is "reasonable cause to believe" the respondent poses a significant danger of injury in the near future. Fla. Stat. § 790.401(4)(c). That is a meaningfully lower bar than the clear-and-convincing-evidence standard required for a final order - which makes sense, because the temporary order is short-lived and is granted without the respondent present. The temporary order ends at the hearing on the final RPO, which must be held no later than 14 days after the temporary order is issued. § 790.401(3)(a), § 790.401(4)(f).
The temporary ex parte order must include a description of the firearm-and-ammunition surrender requirements, the date and time of the upcoming final hearing, and the statutory warning text directing the respondent to surrender immediately to the local law enforcement agency all firearms, all ammunition, and any CWFL. § 790.401(4)(e).
Within 14 days of the petition (or of the temporary ex parte order), the court must conduct a noticed evidentiary hearing on whether to issue a final RPO. Fla. Stat. § 790.401(3)(a). At the final hearing the burden is on the petitioning law enforcement agency to prove, by clear and convincing evidence, that the respondent poses a significant danger of causing personal injury to himself or herself or others by having a firearm or ammunition in his or her custody or control. Fla. Stat. § 790.401(3)(b).
Subsection (3)(c) gives the court a non-exclusive 15-factor list of "relevant evidence" it may consider. Among the factors:
If the court finds clear and convincing evidence, the court "must issue a risk protection order for a period that it deems appropriate, up to and including but not exceeding 12 months." Fla. Stat. § 790.401(3)(b). The order must contain the grounds, the issue and end dates, any required mental-health or chemical-dependency evaluation, the surrender requirements, and the statutory warning text directing the respondent to surrender all firearms, ammunition, and any § 790.06 CWFL immediately to local law enforcement. § 790.401(3)(g).
The rules of evidence apply as they do in domestic-violence injunction proceedings under Fla. Stat. § 741.30. The court may also order a mental-health or chemical-dependency evaluation. § 790.401(3)(e)-(f).
When an RPO - temporary or final - issues, the respondent must surrender:
Fla. Stat. § 790.401(7)(a). The serving officer must request immediate surrender at the time of service and must take possession of any firearms, ammunition, and the CWFL surrendered. § 790.401(7)(b). If the respondent was present at the hearing rather than served separately, the respondent must deliver all firearms, ammunition, and the CWFL "in a safe manner" to the local law enforcement agency immediately after the hearing.
If a respondent does not voluntarily surrender, the statute authorizes a search-warrant route. A law enforcement officer may seek a search warrant - notwithstanding the general search-warrant grounds in §§ 933.02 and 933.18 - to search for firearms or ammunition the officer has probable cause to believe were not surrendered. § 790.401(7)(b). And on the sworn statement or testimony of any person alleging that the respondent has failed to surrender, the court must determine whether probable cause exists and, if so, must issue a warrant authorizing a search and seizure of the firearms or ammunition. § 790.401(7)(d).
The serving officer must issue a receipt at the time of surrender identifying every firearm, the quantity and type of ammunition, and the CWFL surrendered, and must file the original receipt with the court within 72 hours. Fla. Stat. § 790.401(7)(c).
A separate compliance hearing is built into the statute: upon the issuance of an RPO, the court "shall order a new hearing date and require the respondent to appear no later than 3 business days after the issuance of the order" to confirm compliance with the surrender order. Fla. Stat. § 790.401(7)(f). The court can cancel the compliance hearing only if the respondent has demonstrably surrendered everything required. This is a backstop against silent non-compliance.
The respondent does retain a transfer option. Under Fla. Stat. § 790.401(9), a respondent may elect to transfer the surrendered firearms and ammunition to a third party who: (a) is currently eligible to own or possess firearms and ammunition under federal and state law (confirmed by background check); (b) attests to storing them so the respondent has no access or control until the RPO is vacated or ends; and (c) attests not to transfer them back until the RPO is vacated or ends. The local law enforcement agency must verify all three before releasing the property to the third party.
The CWFL itself is administratively suspended by DACS upon receipt of the order from the issuing court. Fla. Stat. § 790.401(10)(c). DACS may reinstate the suspended license only after the order is vacated or ends and only after confirming the person is currently eligible to hold a CWFL under § 790.06. § 790.401(8)(b).
A final RPO is not permanent. The statute builds in three pathways for ending or extending it.
Under Fla. Stat. § 790.401(6)(a), the respondent may submit one written request for a hearing to vacate after the order is issued, and may submit one additional vacatur request after every extension. The vacatur hearing must be held no sooner than 14 days and no later than 30 days after the request is served on the petitioner. The burden of proof on a vacatur motion sits on the respondent: the respondent must prove, by clear and convincing evidence, that the respondent does not pose a significant danger of causing personal injury to self or others by having a firearm or ammunition. § 790.401(6)(a)(2). If the respondent meets that burden, the court must vacate the order, and the law enforcement agency holding any firearms, ammunition, or the CWFL must be notified of the vacatur. § 790.401(6)(a)(3)-(4).
If the petitioning law enforcement agency takes no action, a final RPO ends at the date set by the court (no later than 12 months from issuance). The court must notify the petitioner at least 30 days before expiration. Fla. Stat. § 790.401(6)(b). If the order expires without a renewal motion, the order ends and the surrendered property must be returned, subject to a clean background-check confirmation. § 790.401(8)(a).
The petitioning law enforcement agency may, by motion, request an extension of an RPO at any time within 30 days before the end of the order. Fla. Stat. § 790.401(6)(c). Upon receipt of the motion, the court must hold a hearing within 14 days, and the respondent must be personally served. The court must extend the order if it again finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that the original issuance criteria continue to be met - although an uncontested motion supported by an affidavit stating no material change in circumstances may be granted on the affidavit alone. Each extension may run up to 12 months and is itself renewable.
When an RPO is vacated or ends without extension, the law enforcement agency holding the firearms, ammunition, and the CWFL must return the property to the respondent - but only after (1) confirming through a background check that the respondent is currently eligible to own or possess firearms and ammunition under federal and state law, and (2) confirming with the court that the order has been vacated or has ended. Fla. Stat. § 790.401(8)(a). The agency must also provide notice to the respondent's family or household members before returning firearms or ammunition. § 790.401(8)(c). If the property remains unclaimed for one year after vacatur, it is disposed of under the agency's general firearms-disposal policy. § 790.401(8)(d).
A Florida RPO does not automatically trigger every federal firearm prohibitor, but the interaction matters in two specific channels.
18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8) - protective orders. A final RPO entered after notice and hearing may qualify as a federal § 922(g)(8) prohibitor if the order: (i) was issued after a hearing of which the respondent received actual notice and at which the respondent had an opportunity to participate; (ii) restrains the respondent from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child of the respondent or intimate partner, OR (after the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act amendments) a "current or recent former dating partner"; and (iii) includes a finding that the respondent represents a credible threat to the physical safety of the protected person OR explicitly prohibits the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force. The statutory analysis is fact-specific. Many Florida RPOs will not satisfy § 922(g)(8) because the order does not arise out of an intimate-partner relationship - the petitioner is law enforcement, not a family member. RPOs that arise out of stalking or domestic-violence predicates and that include the required findings are more likely to qualify.
18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(4) - adjudicated mental defective / committed to a mental institution. An RPO standing alone is not a § 922(g)(4) trigger. Section 922(g)(4) requires either an adjudication that the person is a "mental defective" (a formal court finding of dangerousness to self or others, or incompetence to manage one's own affairs, due to mental illness) or an actual commitment to a mental institution. An RPO finding of "significant danger" by clear and convincing evidence is dangerousness-adjacent, and a thoughtful argument can be made that an RPO with a sufficiently formal finding could qualify, but ATF and federal courts have not consistently treated RPOs as § 922(g)(4) predicates. Section 790.401(3)(f) does authorize the court to order a mental-health evaluation as part of the RPO, and a separate Baker Act civil-commitment proceeding under Florida law can independently produce a § 922(g)(4) prohibition.
The bottom line for a CCW student: the Florida state-law prohibition under § 790.401 is the immediate and certain consequence of an RPO. Federal § 922(g) overlays may also attach, but they are case-specific and depend on the order's findings and the underlying conduct.
Two felony provisions backstop the statute.
False statements under oath. A person who makes a false statement under oath in an RPO hearing on a material matter - that he or she does not believe to be true - commits a third-degree felony. Fla. Stat. § 790.401(11)(a). This applies symmetrically: a petitioner who lies in an affidavit, and a respondent who lies at a vacatur hearing, are both exposed.
Possession in violation of the order. A person who has in his or her custody or control a firearm or any ammunition, or who purchases, possesses, or receives a firearm or any ammunition, with knowledge that he or she is prohibited by the order, commits a third-degree felony. Fla. Stat. § 790.401(11)(b). Maximum penalty: 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine under §§ 775.082, 775.083, and 775.084. The federal § 922(g)(8) overlay (where applicable) carries an independent maximum of 15 years in prison.
For an instructor teaching § 790.06 CWFL students or a Floridian carrying under the post-July-2023 permitless-carry framework, several practical points follow from § 790.401:
Standing distinction matters. A student worried about a family member being "red-flagged" by a vindictive ex-spouse should know that a Florida RPO can only be initiated by law enforcement, not by the ex directly. The ex may complain to the agency, but the agency has independent investigative discretion and prosecutorial-style judgment about whether to file. This is materially different from California, New York, Illinois, and Hawaii.
Surrender is immediate, not conditional. The order takes effect on issuance, not after appeal. The serving officer requests immediate surrender at the time of service, and the compliance hearing is set for 3 business days out. There is no "pending review" exception.
All firearms, all ammunition, and the CWFL go. Not just the firearm allegedly used in the precipitating incident. Not just handguns. Every firearm and every round of ammunition the respondent owns. Plus the § 790.06 license.
The transfer option is real but narrow. A respondent can transfer surrendered firearms to an eligible third party, but the third party must be background-check-clean, must attest to keeping them away from the respondent, and must attest not to return them until the order ends. § 790.401(9). The agency verifies all three. This is the right answer for a respondent with a meaningful collection or with firearms held in trust for family.
The order shows up on NCIC nationwide. Within 24 hours of issuance, the order is entered into the Florida Crime Information Center and the National Crime Information Center, and the CWFL is suspended by DACS. Any traffic stop, NICS check, or background query in any state will surface the order. § 790.401(10)(b)-(c).
The respondent gets one bite at vacatur per order term. Under § 790.401(6)(a), the respondent may file one written vacatur request per order term and one per extension. The respondent bears the clear-and-convincing-evidence burden. The hearing is held within 14-30 days of service.
Compliance hearings are real. The 3-business-day compliance hearing under § 790.401(7)(f) is a built-in enforcement check. A respondent who does not surrender risks a probable-cause finding and a search warrant under § 790.401(7)(d).
For most CWFL students, an RPO will never be relevant. For the small fraction whose family situations or mental-health history put them within the statute's reach, the statute's procedures, timelines, burdens of proof, and federal § 922(g) overlays should be discussed in plain language - not glossed over with "you'll lose your gun rights." Students who have been the subject of a prior RPO that was vacated should also be reminded that vacatur restores the state-law right to possess and the eligibility to hold a CWFL, but does not automatically clear federal § 922(g)(8) status if the order met those federal due-process criteria; a separate analysis is required.
<!-- federal-context-block:added-2026-05-20 -->United States v. Rahimi (2024). In United States v. Rahimi, 602 U.S. ___ (2024), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal firearm prohibition at 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8) for persons subject to a qualifying domestic-violence restraining order, holding the federal disability survives the historical-tradition test of N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022). Rahimi is the controlling SCOTUS authority on the constitutionality of federal firearm disabilities tied to domestic-violence findings; it bears on any state-level red-flag / ERPO analysis to the extent those frameworks borrow federal § 922(g)(8) prohibitor mechanics.
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.