Training Requirements

New York is a licensed-carry state. A license issued under New York Penal Law 400.00 is required to possess or carry a handgun, and there is no permitless or constitutional carry. To get a concealed carry license, an applicant must complete a state-mandated firearms safety training course. This requirement took effect September 1, 2022 as part of the Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA), the law New York enacted after the Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen.

The training mandate is set out in Penal Law 400.00(19). It applies to applicants for a license to carry a concealed pistol or revolver, which the statute identifies as a license under paragraph (f) of subdivision two of section 400.00.

What the CCIA Changed

Bruen struck down New York's old "proper cause" standard, under which an applicant had to show a special need to carry. The CCIA removed that standard and replaced it with a set of enhanced eligibility requirements. For carry-license applicants these now include:

• A "good moral character" finding. Penal Law 400.00(1) defines good moral character to mean "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."
• An in-person interview with the licensing officer (Penal Law 400.00(1)(o)).
• Names and contact information for at least four character references (Penal Law 400.00(1)(o)(ii)).
• Completion of the 18-hour firearms safety training course described below (Penal Law 400.00(19)).

The CCIA also directed applicants to disclose a list of current and former social media accounts (Penal Law 400.00(1)(o)(iv)). That specific disclosure requirement was challenged in the Antonyuk litigation and has been enjoined, so it is not currently enforced. The training requirement itself was not enjoined and remains in effect. Treat the social-media item as paused and the training requirement as fully operative.

The Required Course: 16 + 2 Hours

Under Penal Law 400.00(19), before a carry license is issued or renewed the applicant must complete an in-person, live firearms safety course taught by a duly authorized instructor, using a curriculum approved by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) and the Superintendent of State Police. The statute sets two components:

• A minimum of 16 hours of in-person live classroom curriculum.
• A minimum of 2 hours of live-fire range training.

That is 18 hours total. The course must be in person. There is no online substitute for the required hours.

Classroom Topics (16 Hours)

Penal Law 400.00(19)(a) lists the topics the classroom curriculum must cover. It states the course "shall include but not be limited to" the following:

1. General firearm safety
2. Safe storage requirements and general secure storage best practices
3. State and federal gun laws
4. Situational awareness
5. Conflict de-escalation
6. Best practices when encountering law enforcement
7. The statutorily defined sensitive places in Penal Law 265.01-e(2) and the restrictions on possession in restricted places under Penal Law 265.01-d
8. Conflict management
9. Use of deadly force
10. Suicide prevention
11. The basic principles of marksmanship

The statute does not assign a fixed number of hours to each topic. It requires that the 16-hour curriculum cover all of these subjects.

Written Test

Penal Law 400.00(19) requires the applicant to "demonstrate proficiency by scoring a minimum of eighty percent correct answers on a written test" covering the classroom curriculum. An applicant must score at least 80 percent to pass.

Live-Fire Range Training (2 Hours)

The applicant must also complete at least 2 hours of live-fire range training (Penal Law 400.00(19)(b)) and demonstrate the proficiency level set by the rules and regulations that DCJS and the State Police promulgate for the live-fire portion. The statute delegates the specific live-fire standard to the DCJS and State Police Minimum Training Standards rather than fixing the marksmanship score in the statute itself.

The DCJS and State Police Minimum Training Standards describe the live-fire qualification an instructor administers, including drawing from concealment, loading and unloading, firearm condition checks, and firing a short course of fire at close range with a minimum hit standard. Because these operational details live in the standards document and not in the statute, confirm the current qualification course of fire, target, distance, and hit count with your authorized instructor or against the published DCJS standards before relying on a specific number.

Certificate of Completion

When the applicant demonstrates the required proficiency, the duly authorized instructor issues a certificate of completion in the applicant's name, endorsed and affirmed under the penalties of perjury (Penal Law 400.00(19)). This certificate is what the applicant submits to the licensing officer as proof of training.

Who Must Complete Training

The training requirement applies to concealed carry license applicants. The state's official guidance and the statute draw these lines:

Recertification with the State Police (for licenses issued outside the four expiring jurisdictions) does not by itself trigger the training course. Renewal in a jurisdiction where the license carries an expiration date (NYC, Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk) does.

Prior Training Credit and Law Enforcement / Military

Local licensing officers have discretion to decide whether some or all of the training requirement is satisfied for an applicant who completed a firearm safety course within the previous 5 years.

The requirement applies to all carry-license applicants, including retired law enforcement and former military. There is no automatic statutory exemption for them. A licensing officer may, however, treat the requirement as satisfied for an active or retired law enforcement officer or military member who received firearm training that exceeded the standards of the civilian course as part of their service (for example, the New York State Basic Course for Police Officers). This is a discretionary determination by the local licensing officer, not an automatic exemption.

Authorized Instructors

The course must be taught by a "duly authorized instructor." Penal Law 265.00(19) defines that term. It includes a duly commissioned officer of the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard or of the New York National Guard; a qualified adult U.S. citizen holding an instructor certificate in small arms practice from the U.S. Army, Navy, or Marine Corps, the state Adjutant General, DCJS, or the National Rifle Association; a person designated by the Department of Environmental Conservation as its agent for instruction in responsible hunting practices; and a New York State 4-H certified shooting sports instructor. The classroom and live-fire curriculum used must be the curriculum approved by DCJS and the State Police.

Cost and Locations

The state does not set or cap pricing. Training costs and locations are set by the individual instructor. The required course must be conducted in person.

Westchester County Certificate

Westchester County has a longstanding firearms safety course requirement that is separate from the statewide CCIA training. Under Penal Law 400.00(1)(l) and Penal Law 400.00(4-c), a Westchester applicant must, at the time of application, submit a certificate of successful completion of a firearms safety course and test, issued in the applicant's name and endorsed and affirmed under the penalties of perjury by a duly authorized instructor. The licensing officer also provides each applicant a copy of the safety course booklet.

Recertification and Renewal Periods

Penal Law 400.00(10) governs how long a license lasts and how it is recertified or renewed:

• Concealed carry licenses (paragraph (f) licenses) are recertified or renewed every 3 years (Penal Law 400.00(10)(d)). The CCIA shortened this from the prior 5-year cycle.
• In New York City and in Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties, a carry license carries an expiration date and is renewed every 3 years.
• Outside those jurisdictions, a license generally does not expire but the holder must recertify to the Division of State Police on the applicable cycle. Failure to recertify acts as a revocation of the license (Penal Law 400.00(10)(b)).
• Premises licenses follow the general recertification schedule and were not shortened by the CCIA. The state's guidance describes premises recertification as every 5 years.

Recertification is an information-update filing (current name, date of birth, address, and the make, model, caliber, and serial number of firearms possessed). It is not the same as the training course, and recertifying with the State Police does not require retaking the firearms safety training.

Why Training Matters Beyond the License

A carry license is what makes possession and carry of a handgun lawful in New York. Carrying or possessing a handgun without the required license is a crime. Depending on the conduct, it can be charged as criminal possession of a firearm under Penal Law 265.01-b or as a higher degree of criminal possession of a weapon. The classroom curriculum is built around the rules that keep a licensed carrier out of trouble: the sensitive-location ban in Penal Law 265.01-e, the restricted-location (private property) default in Penal Law 265.01-d, and New York's use-of-force law, which imposes a duty to retreat outside the home before using deadly force (Penal Law 35.15) and recognizes a Castle exception inside the dwelling. New York has no stand-your-ground rule. Note also that New York City administers its own separate, stricter handgun licensing under the NYC Administrative Code and the Rules of the City of New York, in addition to the statewide requirements described here.

Key Statutes

• New York Penal Law 400.00(19) - concealed carry firearms safety training course (16-hour classroom + 2-hour live-fire, 80 percent written test, certificate of completion).
• New York Penal Law 400.00(1) - eligibility, including the good moral character definition.
• New York Penal Law 400.00(1)(o) - in-person interview, four character references, and the (enjoined) social media disclosure.
• New York Penal Law 400.00(1)(l) and 400.00(4-c) - Westchester County firearms safety course certificate.
• New York Penal Law 400.00(10) and 400.00(10)(d) - license expiration, recertification, and renewal periods.
• New York Penal Law 265.00(19) - definition of "duly authorized instructor."
• New York Penal Law 265.01-e and 265.01-d - sensitive and restricted locations, which the curriculum must cover.

Recent Changes

• September 1, 2022: The 18-hour firearms safety training course (16-hour classroom plus 2-hour live-fire) became mandatory for new concealed carry license applicants and for renewals in NYC, Westchester, Nassau, and Suffolk counties (Penal Law 400.00(19)).
• September 1, 2022: The carry-license recertification and renewal period was shortened to 3 years (Penal Law 400.00(10)(d)).
• Ongoing: The CCIA was challenged in Antonyuk v. James / Antonyuk v. Hochul. The Second Circuit largely upheld the law, the training requirement remains in force, and the social media disclosure item has been enjoined. Litigation over various CCIA provisions has continued, so verify the current status of any disputed provision before relying on it.