New York is a licensed-carry state. You cannot lawfully possess or carry a handgun without a pistol or revolver license issued under Penal Law 400.00, and...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
New York is a licensed-carry state. You cannot lawfully possess or carry a handgun without a pistol or revolver license issued under Penal Law 400.00, and that license does not last forever. Depending on where it was issued, you either renew it (the license expires and you reapply) or recertify it (the license stays in force but you must periodically confirm your information with the New York State Police). Failing to keep a license current can turn lawful possession into a crime, so the dates matter.
New York handles continued validity two ways, depending on the issuing jurisdiction.
The official New York State guidance states the same split: licenses issued by New York City or Westchester, Nassau, and Suffolk counties expire and must be renewed; licenses issued elsewhere do not expire but must be recertified with the State Police.
| License type | Cycle | Statutory basis |
|---|---|---|
| Concealed carry ("have and carry," Penal Law 400.00(2)(f)) | Every 3 years | Penal Law 400.00(10)(d) |
| Premises license ("have and possess," home or business) | Every 5 years recertification | Penal Law 400.00(10)(b) |
| Semiautomatic rifle license | Every 5 years recertification | Penal Law 400.00(10)(c) |
Two points on the 3-year carry cycle:
The State Police confirm a recertification completes the requirement of "subsection 10(b) of section 400.00 of the penal law" and assign your next recertification date when you finish.
Recertification with the New York State Police is done online only; the State Police no longer accept paper forms from in-state residents (out-of-state residents who lack a New York State driver license or non-driver ID must use the paper form).
You will need your name, address, date of birth, New York State driver license or non-driver ID number, and an inventory of the pistols and revolvers covered by your license. Most of this is on your county-issued license. The recertification form requires you to affirm that you are not prohibited from possessing firearms (Penal Law 400.00(10)(b)). A person whose license is suspended cannot recertify, because that person cannot make that affirmation.
There is no fee for recertification, though existing county fees for new applications and amendments still apply. Recertifying does not produce a new physical license; you must still carry your county-issued pistol or revolver license on your person while carrying a handgun (Penal Law 400.00(8)).
It is the license holder's responsibility to recertify on time whether or not the State Police mail a reminder.
Failure to recertify acts as a revocation of the license (Penal Law 400.00(10)(b)). This is the single most important consequence in this section: an unrecertified license is treated as revoked, and possessing or carrying a handgun without a valid license is a crime under Article 265 (for example, criminal possession of a firearm under Penal Law 265.01-b, a class E felony, or criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree under Penal Law 265.01, a class A misdemeanor).
A short grace window exists for renewals. A license that has not been revoked or cancelled remains in full force for 30 days beyond its stated expiration date, and filing a timely renewal application extends the term until the licensing officer acts on it (Penal Law 400.00(10)(a)). Separately, possessing a handgun within the one-year period after the stated expiration date of an otherwise valid, never-cancelled, never-revoked license is punishable only as a class A misdemeanor under Penal Law 400.00, rather than as a felony under Article 265 (Penal Law 400.00(17)). Do not rely on these windows as a substitute for recertifying or renewing on time.
A denial, non-renewal, non-recertification, or revocation must be issued in writing with the reasons stated, and you may request a hearing before the state appeals board within 90 days of receiving that notice (Penal Law 400.00(4-a)).
The CCIA created an 18-hour firearm safety training requirement for concealed carry licenses: a minimum of 16 hours of in-person classroom instruction plus a minimum of 2 hours of live-fire range training, taught by an authorized instructor using a curriculum approved by the Division of Criminal Justice Services and the State Police (Penal Law 400.00(19)). The applicant must score at least 80 percent on a written test and meet the live-fire proficiency standard, after which the instructor issues a certificate of completion.
Whether this training applies when you renew or recertify depends on which process you are in:
Local licensing officers have discretion to credit some or all of the training for applicants who completed a comparable firearm safety course in the previous five years, and may satisfy the requirement for active or retired military and law enforcement who received equivalent training in the course of their service.
The 400.00(19) curriculum must cover general firearm safety; safe storage requirements and secure storage best practices; state and federal gun laws; situational awareness; conflict de-escalation; best practices when encountering law enforcement; the sensitive locations defined in Penal Law 265.01-e and the restricted-location rules in Penal Law 265.01-d; conflict management; the use of deadly force (New York imposes a duty to retreat outside the home before using deadly physical force under Penal Law 35.15(2)); suicide prevention; and the basic principles of marksmanship, in addition to the live-fire component.
A pistol or revolver license is not transferable and is tied to you and to the firearms it lists (Penal Law 400.00(6)). Keep it accurate:
New York City administers its own, stricter handgun licensing through the NYPD License Division, governed by the New York City Administrative Code (Section 10-131) and the Rules of the City of New York (Title 38). A license issued elsewhere in the state is generally not valid within New York City absent a special permit or one of the narrow transport exceptions in Penal Law 400.00(6). If your license was issued by the NYPD, follow the City's renewal process and deadlines rather than the State Police recertification system.
The renewal, recertification, and training rules above come from the Concealed Carry Improvement Act, enacted after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down New York's old "proper cause" standard in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022). The CCIA replaced "proper cause" with enhanced eligibility requirements, including the "good moral character" standard, which Penal Law 400.00(1)(b) defines as "having the essential character, temperament and judgement necessary to be entrusted with a weapon and to use it only in a manner that does not endanger oneself or others," along with an in-person interview, character references, and the 18-hour training.
The CCIA was challenged in Antonyuk v. James / Antonyuk v. Hochul. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit largely upheld the law, including the licensing eligibility and training framework, while some applications were narrowed or enjoined. Notably, the State Police are not currently enforcing the restricted-location default in Penal Law 265.01-d as applied to private property that is held open to the public, due to a court ruling. The renewal, recertification, and training-at-renewal provisions described here remain operative. Because this area is actively litigated, confirm current enforcement with the New York State Police or your county licensing officer before relying on any single rule.
This page covers one part of our New York concealed carry guide.
Read the complete New York 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.