A first-time Mississippi firearm permit costs $112.00 at the counter. A renewal costs $72.00, or $52.00 for a Mississippi resident aged 65 or older....
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
A first-time Mississippi firearm permit costs $112.00 at the counter. A renewal costs $72.00, or $52.00 for a Mississippi resident aged 65 or older. Those are the totals the Department of Public Safety charges, published on the DPS Firearm Permit Fees schedule and repeated in the DPS application instruction manuals.
The statute prints different numbers, and both sets are real. Miss. Code Ann. 45-9-101(5)(c) fixes a nonrefundable license fee of $80.00, then says separately that costs for processing the set of fingerprints "shall be borne by the applicant." DPS prices that second component at $32.00 and calls it the background check fee. The DPS instruction manual for the first-time application (IFP-APP-01) itemizes both and gives the total.
If a statute and a DPS price list disagree, that is why. Confirm the current numbers with DPS before you go.
| Transaction | Statutory license fee | DPS background check fee | DPS posted total |
|---|---|---|---|
| First-time permit | $80.00 | $32.00 | $112.00 |
| Renewal | $40.00 | $32.00 | $72.00 |
| Renewal, Mississippi resident aged 65 or older | $20.00 | $32.00 | $52.00 |
| Applicant who qualifies for a license fee waiver | waived | $32.00 | $32.00 |
The statutory column comes from Miss. Code Ann. 45-9-101(5)(c) for the application and Miss. Code Ann. 45-9-101(12)(a)(i) and (12)(a)(iii) for the two renewal figures. The DPS column comes from the Firearm Permit Fees schedule and the two instruction manuals, and IFP-APP-01 itemizes the first-time transaction. The fee schedule and IFP-APP-02 publish the renewal totals, and the DPS special designations page states that all first-time and renewal applicants pay the $32.00 background check fee, including waiver categories.
The two sides also differ on renewal fingerprints. Miss. Code Ann. 45-9-101(12)(a) lists a full set of fingerprints, administered by DPS or by the sheriff of the county of residence, among the items filed with the renewal form. The DPS FAQ answers that fingerprints are not required for renewals, and the DPS process page says you may be asked to come in to be printed at no additional charge. The $32.00 still applies to the renewal as a background check fee.
Miss. Code Ann. 45-9-101(5)(c) exempts four categories from the license fee at application: honorably retired law enforcement officers, disabled veterans, active duty members of the Armed Forces of the United States, and law enforcement officers employed with a law enforcement agency of a municipality, county or state at the time of application. Miss. Code Ann. 45-9-101(12)(a)(ii) repeats the same four categories for renewal, with the employed-officer category measured at the time of renewal.
The waiver reaches the license fee only. DPS states on its special designations page that the background check fee is still owed, and its instruction manual explains that the $32.00 is a fee required by the FBI, which conducts the check, rather than by the State of Mississippi. The DPS fee schedule accordingly prices first-time and renewal transactions for active duty military, active duty law enforcement, retired law enforcement, and disabled veterans at $32.00.
Two details cut against a quick reading of the statute:
Miss. Code Ann. 45-9-101(12)(c) sets a late fee of $15.00 for a licensee who fails to file the renewal on or before the expiration date. The DPS fee schedule carries the same figure for a permit expired less than six months, and the renewal instruction manual warns that leaving the late fee out delays the renewal.
The same subsection cuts the renewal off entirely at six months. No license is renewed six months or more after its expiration date, and the license is then permanently expired. The holder may reapply, but as a new applicant paying the subsection (5) fees, which is the first-time transaction, $112.00 for an applicant who does not qualify for a license fee waiver. The DPS fee schedule states the same rule.
The enhanced endorsement comes from Miss. Code Ann. 97-37-7(2), which extends carry authority for a person already licensed under Miss. Code Ann. 45-9-101 who has voluntarily completed an instructional course in the safe handling and use of firearms, or who qualifies through military or law enforcement training. 31 Miss. Code R. 1-15.1 directs DPS to recognize that training, maintain the certified instructor list, and affix a sticker to the permit.
Neither the statute nor the regulation sets a dollar figure for the endorsement. Miss. Code Ann. 97-37-7(2) prints no dollar amount at all, and the $100.00 permit fee and the $50.00 renewal fee elsewhere in Section 97-37-7 belong to subsection (1), the security guard permit covered below, not to the endorsement. The DPS fee schedule prices permits rather than endorsements. The one DPS charge tied to the endorsement is for adding it mid-term: DPS states that a current permit holder who wants the endorsement brings the documentation and the current permit, files no application, and pays a $15.00 duplicate fee. An applicant requesting the endorsement with a first-time application or with a renewal follows the application instructions and supplies the training documentation, and no separate endorsement charge is stated.
Miss. Code Ann. 45-9-101(10) lets a licensee whose license is lost or destroyed obtain a duplicate on payment of $15.00 to DPS plus a notarized statement that the license was lost or destroyed. The DPS fee schedule lists the duplicate permit at $15.00 and marks it in-person only.
Two failures in this area carry money penalties rather than criminal charges:
Miss. Code Ann. 97-37-7(1)(a) sets a nonrefundable permit fee of $100.00 for bank guards, company guards, watchmen, railroad special agents, and authorized representatives who are not sworn officers, along with agents and employees of a patrol service, a guard service, or a company that transports money, securities or other valuables. This is the security guard permit, not the enhanced endorsement. Under Miss. Code Ann. 97-37-7(1)(d)(i) the renewal fee is $50.00, honorably retired law enforcement officers are exempt from that renewal fee, and a holder who files late pays $15.00. Renewal is required every four years under Miss. Code Ann. 97-37-7(1)(d)(ii), and Miss. Code Ann. 97-37-7(1)(c) sets a $15.00 replacement fee for a lost or destroyed permit with a notarized statement.
The DPS security guard page itemizes the counter prices the same way it does for firearm permits: the original permit runs $132.00 ($100.00 permit fee plus the $32.00 fingerprint and background check), renewal runs $82.00 ($50.00 renewal fee plus the $32.00 check), and a retired law enforcement officer renewal runs $32.00 ($0.00 renewal fee plus the $32.00 check).
Under Miss. Code Ann. 97-37-7(1)(d)(iii) a security guard permit cannot be renewed six months or more after its expiration date and is then permanently expired, and the holder may reapply for an original permit, which the DPS security guard page prices at the $132.00 original total.
An ordinary Mississippi firearm permit carries no training requirement. Only the enhanced endorsement does, and for civilians the DPS instructions describe an 8-hour course of instruction from an instructor certified by the Department of Public Safety, with the signed completion certificate attached to the application. Current and former members of the armed forces and honorably retired law enforcement officers may substitute their own training by filing the notarized Military or Retired Law Enforcement Enhanced Carry Affidavit (IFP-AFF-03).
No state source sets a price for that course; the instructor sets it. What the state controls is the content floor: 31 Miss. Code R. 1-15.1 states that the memorandum of understanding with each instructor carries a requirement of at least one hour of legal training on concealed carry, justifiable homicide, and other pertinent law, and that the instructor attests to classroom space and to gun range access. Confirm the current memorandum terms with DPS. When comparing quotes, ask each instructor what the price covers. DPS publishes the current certified instructor list grouped by region, statewide plus northern, central and southern Mississippi and instructors in Alabama, Louisiana and Tennessee, with a separate map showing the county breakdown by region.
If you teach, the cost on your side of the counter is the instructor application, the memorandum of understanding, and an orientation appointment. DPS states that each instructor applicant pays $32.00 for a background check, payable by cash, credit card, debit card, or cashier's check.
Payment is due at the time of application.
DPS warns that a returned check is assessed a fee, without stating the amount, and that a personal check may delay processing.
Miss. Code Ann. 45-9-101(5)(c) describes the license fee as nonrefundable. DPS says the same thing about the counter totals in both instruction manuals: all fees for the first-time application are non-refundable, and the $72.00 and $52.00 renewal totals are non-refundable. A denial does not return your payment.
What you get instead is process. Under Miss. Code Ann. 45-9-101(6)(c)(ii) a denial must come in writing and state the ground for it. Miss. Code Ann. 45-9-101(7) gives you thirty days to appeal to the Commissioner of Public Safety, requires the Commissioner to rule within thirty days, and treats a failure to rule inside that window as sustaining the denial. You then have ten days after the decision to petition the circuit or county court of your residence. The statute sets no fee for that administrative appeal, and the DPS Firearm Permit Division can confirm current charges.
Miss. Code Ann. 45-9-101(24) says a license is not required to carry a loaded or unloaded pistol or revolver on the person in a sheath, belt holster or shoulder holster, or in a purse, handbag, satchel, similar bag, briefcase or fully enclosed case, provided the carrier is not engaged in criminal activity beyond a misdemeanor traffic offense, is not otherwise prohibited from possessing a pistol or revolver under state or federal law, and is not in a location prohibited under subsection (13). That route costs nothing and carries none of the permit's benefits. Read the permitless carry section of this guide before choosing it, along with the text of subsection (13) itself.
Miss. Code Ann. 45-9-101(16) sends every fee DPS collects under the permit statute into a special fund in the State Treasury for implementing and administering the section, with the year-end balance certified to the Legislature. Miss. Code Ann. 45-9-101(17) sends funds received by a sheriff or police chief under the section into the county or municipal general fund, budgeted back to that office.
| Item | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| First-time permit, counter total | $112.00 | DPS fee schedule and IFP-APP-01 instructions |
| Statutory license fee, application | $80.00 | Miss. Code Ann. 45-9-101(5)(c) |
| Background check fee, first-time and renewal | $32.00 | DPS special designations page |
| Renewal, counter total | $72.00 | DPS fee schedule and IFP-APP-02 instructions |
| Statutory renewal fee | $40.00 | Miss. Code Ann. 45-9-101(12)(a)(i) |
| Renewal at 65 or older, counter total | $52.00 | DPS fee schedule and IFP-APP-02 instructions |
| Statutory renewal fee, Mississippi resident aged 65 or older | $20.00 | Miss. Code Ann. 45-9-101(12)(a)(iii) |
| Waived category, first-time or renewal | $32.00 | DPS fee schedule |
| Late renewal, expired less than six months | $15.00 | Miss. Code Ann. 45-9-101(12)(c) |
| Expired six months or more | Reapply and pay the first-time fees | Miss. Code Ann. 45-9-101(12)(c) |
| Duplicate permit, lost or destroyed | $15.00 | Miss. Code Ann. 45-9-101(10) |
| Adding the enhanced endorsement to a current permit | $15.00 duplicate fee | DPS enhanced endorsed permit page |
| Enhanced carry course | Set by the instructor | 31 Miss. Code R. 1-15.1 sets the content, not the price |
| Security guard permit, original | $132.00 | DPS security guard page |
| Security guard permit, renewal | $82.00 | DPS security guard page |
| Carrying without the license and ID on demand | $25.00 noncriminal violation | Miss. Code Ann. 45-9-101(1)(b) |
| Failing to report an address change or a lost permit in thirty days | $25.00 noncriminal violation | Miss. Code Ann. 45-9-101(9) |
Both DPS applications require notarized forms, and the fee schedule prices permits rather than notarial acts, so budget for the notary separately.
This page covers one part of our Mississippi concealed carry guide.
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