Kansas Training Requirements for the Concealed Carry Handgun License

Kansas requires an 8-hour handgun safety and training course to obtain a Concealed Carry Handgun License (CCHL). Constitutional carriers do not need training, but training is recommended for legal preparedness.

If you carry concealed in Kansas at age 21 or older under permitless carry (K.S.A. 21-6302), the state does not require you to take any class. If you want a CCHL for reciprocity, the federal NICS exemption when buying firearms, or to qualify for a provisional license at age 18 to 20, you must complete the 8-hour course taught by an instructor certified by the Kansas Attorney General. Online training does not count. Hunter education does not count. The course must include live fire on the range.

The 8-Hour Course Is Set by Statute and Regulation

The training requirement comes from K.S.A. 75-7c04(b), which directs the Attorney General to adopt rules and regulations for an "eight-hour handgun safety and training course." The Attorney General has implemented those rules in K.A.R. 16-11-2 through 16-11-4. Together, the statute and regulations define what a Kansas CCHL course must cover, who can teach it, and how completion is documented.

By statute, the course must include all of the following (K.S.A. 75-7c04(b)(1)(A)):

• Safe storage of handguns
• Actual firing of handguns (live-fire range work)
• Instruction in Kansas laws governing the carrying of concealed handguns
• Instruction in Kansas law on the use of deadly force

The statute also requires that the course follow general guidelines compatible with the industry standard for basic civilian handgun training, that instructors meet AG qualifications, and that the course itself fall into one of two approved categories (K.S.A. 75-7c04(b)(1)(D)):

1. A handgun course certified or sponsored by the Kansas Attorney General, or
2. A handgun course certified or sponsored by the National Rifle Association or by a law enforcement agency, college, public or private institution, organization, or handgun training school, if the AG determines that course meets or exceeds the standards in the AG's regulations and is taught by an instructor certified by the AG or by the NRA (with the AG having determined that NRA's certification standards meet or exceed Kansas regulations).

Practical translation for a student: the easiest path is to find a trainer listed in the Attorney General's certified instructor directory and take their Kansas CCHL course. The AG's office maintains that directory by county on its website.

Who Has to Take It

You must complete the 8-hour course (or qualify for a narrow statutory exemption discussed below) if you want any of the following:

• A standard CCHL, available at age 21 or older
• A provisional CCHL, available at age 18 to 20

The age threshold for which license you can apply for is set by K.S.A. 75-7c04(a)(3): under 18 means no license, 18 to under 21 means a provisional license, and 21 or older means a standard license. The training requirement itself does not change between provisional and standard. The same 8-hour course covers both.

You do not need any state-mandated training to carry concealed in Kansas if you are 21 or older and not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm. Kansas became a permitless (constitutional) carry state on July 1, 2015. The training requirement attaches to the license, not to the act of carrying. That said, taking the course is still a good idea: it is the only structured exposure most carriers will get to Kansas use-of-force law before they need it, and many other states that recognize a Kansas CCHL will not honor permitless carry by Kansas residents.

What Counts as an "Approved" Course

The Attorney General's certified instructor directory is the simplest way to find a qualifying class. Any course taught by a directory-listed instructor as the Kansas CCHL course satisfies the statute. The AG's office is explicit that the course must be taught in person by an AG-certified individual. From the AG's own concealed carry FAQ:

The training course may be taken from any OAG-certified trainer in any county.

Courses that do not qualify, even if they are otherwise good training:

• Online or web-based concealed carry courses. The AG's office states this directly: "Kansas CCHL regulations do not allow online training to be accepted, even if that training allowed the person to obtain a non-Kansas CCHL."
• Hunter education. Not handgun-based.
• Any course without a live-fire qualification.
• Any course that does not cover self-defense law.

If you are paying for a Kansas-specific class, ask the instructor to confirm in writing that they are listed in the OAG certified instructor directory and that the class meets K.S.A. 75-7c04(b) and K.A.R. 16-11-2 through 16-11-4. If they cannot, walk away.

Out-of-State Training: The "Equal to or Greater Than" Test

Kansas does accept out-of-state training, but only if the AG determines it was equal to or greater than what Kansas requires. The standard is in K.S.A. 75-7c04(c)(2)(A):

"Equal to or greater than" means the applicant's prior training meets or exceeds the training established in this section by having required, at a minimum, the applicant to: (i) Receive instruction on the laws of self-defense; and (ii) demonstrate training and competency in the safe handling, storage and actual firing of handguns.

Two practical rules follow from that text.

First, the prior training must have been used to obtain a non-Kansas concealed carry license or permit that is currently valid (or, except for residency, would be in good standing). Marksmanship practice, classes taken later for personal development, or a permit you let expire do not count. The training the AG reviews is the training that supported your foreign permit.

Second, the foreign training must include both legal instruction (self-defense law) and live fire ("actual firing of handguns"). States whose CCW course is purely classroom, or which issue permits with no training requirement at all, will not satisfy the Kansas standard. The AG keeps internal information on which states' courses pass the test, and applicants whose course is unfamiliar to the Concealed Carry Licensing Unit (CCLU) can expect longer review and may be asked to submit the course syllabus.

How to apply for the out-of-state credit:

1. Attach a copy of your valid non-Kansas CCHL to your Kansas application.
2. Attach documentation of the course content used to obtain that non-Kansas CCHL (certificate, syllabus, instructor letter, course outline showing self-defense law and live-fire qualification).
3. Sign a certification that you successfully completed the non-Kansas training course.

The CCLU reviews each application case by case. If your prior training does not pass, you must take the Kansas 8-hour course before the CCLU will process your application.

Statutory Exemptions From the Training Requirement

K.S.A. 75-7c05 carves out two specific groups who may skip the 8-hour course entirely. They still have to clear the criminal-history records check.

Retired Law Enforcement Officers (K.S.A. 75-7c05(h))

A retired LEO is exempt from the 8-hour course if both of the following are true:

• The applicant was certified by the Kansas Commission on Peace Officer's Standards and Training (KS-CPOST), or by a similar body in another jurisdiction, not more than eight years prior to submitting the CCHL application.
• The applicant provides a letter from the head of the retiring agency (or that person's designee) attesting that the applicant retired in good standing for reasons other than mental instability and has a non-forfeitable right to retirement benefits.

The eight-year window is measured from your last LEO certification, not from your retirement date. If you retired more than eight years ago, this exemption does not apply.

Current Corrections, Parole, and BOP Officers (K.S.A. 75-7c05(i))

A current Kansas Department of Corrections officer, Kansas parole officer, or Federal Bureau of Prisons corrections officer is exempt from the 8-hour course if the agency issued the applicant a certificate of firearms training within the year preceding the application. If your most recent agency firearms qualification is older than 12 months, this exemption does not apply and you have to take the Kansas course.

Active-Duty Military: Generally No Exemption

Standard military training does not satisfy K.S.A. 75-7c04(b). The AG accepts military police training in some cases (because MP curricula typically include the legal and live-fire elements Kansas requires), but standard military firearms qualification does not. Active-duty military and dependents stationed in Kansas who want a Kansas CCHL must either take the 8-hour course or qualify under the out-of-state credit rules above using a valid non-Kansas CCHL they hold.

Current Law Enforcement Officers: Bypass Under the Equal-to-or-Greater-Than Pathway

A current sworn LEO does not need a Kansas CCHL to carry concealed in Kansas under K.S.A. 75-7c10's law-enforcement exception. If a current LEO does want a CCHL (typically for off-duty out-of-state reciprocity), the LEO's prior handgun training can be used as a bypass for the 8-hour course under the K.S.A. 75-7c04(c) equal-to-or-greater-than pathway, provided the LEO's training meets the (c)(2)(A) requirements (instruction on self-defense law plus demonstrated competency in safe handling, storage, and actual firing of handguns). The Attorney General's CCHL FAQ confirms this bypass.

Course Completion: How You Prove You Took It

K.S.A. 75-7c04(b)(3) lists what the AG will accept as evidence of satisfactory completion of an approved course:

• A completion certificate in the form provided by AG regulation, or
• An affidavit from the instructor, school, club, organization, or group that conducted the course, attesting that the applicant completed it, or
• Evidence of completion of a course in another jurisdiction that the AG has determined to be equal to or greater than the Kansas standard, or
• A determination by the AG under K.S.A. 75-7c04(c) (typically the case-by-case review of out-of-state training).

The certified Kansas instructor will sign a completion form or affidavit at the end of the class. You attach a copy of that form to your CCHL application when you submit it to the sheriff in your county of residence.

Order of operations matters. As a general rule the 8-hour training class must be completed before you submit your CCHL application. The CCLU's stated procedure is that the sheriff will not forward an application to the AG without the completion form attached. The narrow exception is for applicants whose prior out-of-state training was reviewed and found insufficient: those applicants can apply under K.S.A. 75-7c03 and then take the Kansas course, but the application will not be processed until the Kansas training is complete.

Course Cost and Logistics

Kansas does not set a fee for the 8-hour CCHL course. Each AG-certified instructor sets their own price. As a working number, expect roughly $100, though courses range from less to substantially more depending on location, ammunition, and class size. The applicant pays for the course (K.S.A. 75-7c04(b)(3)).

The AG charges instructors, not students, for certification. A person who wants to be certified by the AG to teach the CCHL course submits an application and a fee not to exceed $150 (K.S.A. 75-7c04(b)(2)). That cost is borne by the instructor as a business expense and is not part of what a student pays for the class.

How Long the Training "Lasts"

There is no statutory expiration on a Kansas CCHL training certificate, and Kansas does not require renewal training. The Attorney General's FAQ states it directly: "There is no expiration for an approved training course or requirement for retraining."

That has two consequences for students.

First, you can complete the 8-hour course years before you apply and the certificate will still be valid for a Kansas CCHL application. The AG's office encourages prompt application after training, but the law does not invalidate older certificates.

Second, when you renew your CCHL, you do not retake the course. Kansas renewal does not impose a re-training requirement comparable to what some other states demand. (See PERMIT_BASICS for the renewal procedure itself.)

Becoming a Kansas CCHL Instructor

If you teach firearms classes and want to teach the Kansas CCHL course as a certified instructor:

1. Submit an instructor application to the Office of the Attorney General in the form the AG requires.
2. Pay the instructor application fee, which K.S.A. 75-7c04(b)(2) caps at $150.
3. Complete instructor orientation through the AG's Concealed Carry Licensing Unit. The AG posts upcoming instructor orientation registration on the Instructor Resources page.
4. Teach the curriculum specified in K.A.R. 16-11-2 through 16-11-4, including all four statutory subjects: safe storage, actual firing, Kansas concealed-carry law, and Kansas use-of-deadly-force law.
5. Issue a completion form or affidavit to each student who satisfactorily finishes the course; the form must be in the format prescribed by AG regulation.

NRA-certified instructors who teach a Kansas CCHL course must still meet the AG's standards for that specific course. NRA certification alone does not make a generic NRA Basic Pistol class qualifying training under K.S.A. 75-7c04(b). The AG's office vets the course content, not just the instructor's underlying credentials.

The AG also publishes a Concealed Carry Instructor Guide and an Instructor Application Form on the Instructor Resources page. Both should be your starting point if you plan to seek certification.

Common Mistakes Students Make

Three patterns come up repeatedly in CCLU correspondence and explain most application delays:

• Taking an online "Kansas concealed carry" course. These do not meet the statute and do not qualify, even if they advertise themselves as such. The AG will reject them on its face.
• Submitting a foreign permit's training certificate without documentation of course content. A bare certificate that says "John Smith completed XYZ State CCW class" does not let the CCLU confirm the course covered self-defense law and live fire. Attach the syllabus or instructor letter.
• Assuming military or law enforcement training automatically qualifies. Outside the narrow statutory exemptions in K.S.A. 75-7c05(h) and (i), you have to take the 8-hour Kansas course like everyone else. Even active-duty MPs are reviewed case by case.

Key Statutes and Regulations

The CCLU answers training-eligibility questions directly at (785) 291-3765. If your prior training is borderline under the equal-to-or-greater-than test, call before you pay for an application: the unit will tell you whether your foreign certificate is likely to clear before you commit the fees.