This section is a catch-all for North Carolina concealed handgun permit (CHP) reference items that do not have a dedicated home in the other sections of...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
This section is a catch-all for North Carolina concealed handgun permit (CHP) reference items that do not have a dedicated home in the other sections of this guide. It quotes the operative statutory text from Article 54B of Chapter 14 of the North Carolina General Statutes and from the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA) provisions at 18 U.S.C. sections 926B and 926C. For permit eligibility, application, fees, renewal, training, prohibited places, reciprocity, and self-defense law, see the sibling sections cross-referenced at the bottom of this page.
North Carolina is not a permitless concealed-carry state. A CHP issued by the sheriff under G.S. 14-415.11 is required to carry a concealed handgun, and carrying a concealed weapon without that authority is an offense under G.S. 14-269. Open carry is generally lawful without a permit. See Concealed Carry and Open Carry for the full treatment.
North Carolina's CHP statute conditions issuance on lawful U.S. status and a 30-day in-state residency floor.
G.S. 14-415.12(a)(1) provides:
"The applicant is a citizen of the United States or has been lawfully admitted for permanent residence as defined in 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(20), and has been a resident of the State 30 days or longer immediately preceding the filing of the application."
The application is filed with the sheriff of the county of residence. G.S. 14-415.13(a) provides:
"A person shall apply to the sheriff of the county in which the person resides to obtain a concealed handgun permit."
For the full eligibility framework, the disqualifier list, and the application package contents, see Permit Basics and Application Process.
G.S. 14-415.12(a)(2) sets the minimum age:
"The applicant is 21 years of age or older."
This is a CHP-issuance criterion. It does not by itself address federal handgun-purchase age rules (separately governed by 18 U.S.C. § 922) or the open-carry age framework (covered in Open Carry).
A point of frequent confusion: North Carolina used to require a separate pistol purchase permit, issued by the sheriff, to buy or receive a handgun. That requirement no longer exists. Session Law 2023-8 (Senate Bill 41) repealed it. Part II, Section 2(a) of that act provides:
"G.S. 14-402 through G.S. 14-405 and G.S. 14-407.1 are repealed."
The repeal took effect when the act became law in 2023 and applies to pistols sold, given away, transferred, purchased, or received on or after that date. A federally licensed dealer still runs a National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) check at the point of sale, but no state-issued purchase permit is required to buy a handgun.
The pistol purchase permit and the concealed handgun permit were always two different documents. The CHP under G.S. 14-415.11 is separate and is still required to carry a concealed handgun. Do not treat the 2023 repeal as changing the concealed-carry permit requirement.
A duplicate-permit fee is fixed by statute. G.S. 14-415.19(a) lists, among the fee items:
"Duplicate permit fee $15.00"
This is the fee to obtain a replacement permit (for example, after loss, destruction, or an address change). For the full fee schedule (application, renewal, fingerprint processing, and the retired sworn law enforcement officer rate), see Fees and Costs.
LEOSA is a federal statute that authorizes qualified active and qualified retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed firearms across state lines, notwithstanding most state law. It is not a North Carolina statute. North Carolina recognizes it: G.S. 14-415.25 ("Exemption from permit requirement") provides that officers "authorized by federal law to carry a concealed handgun pursuant to section 926B or 926C of Title 18 of the United States Code, who are in compliance with the requirements of those sections, are exempt from obtaining the permit described in G.S. 14-415.11." The operative federal text follows.
The core authorization at 18 U.S.C. § 926B(a) provides:
"Notwithstanding any other provision of the law of any State or any political subdivision thereof, an individual who is a qualified law enforcement officer and who is carrying the identification required by subsection (d) may carry a concealed firearm that has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, subject to subsection (b)."
The statute preserves two categories of state restriction. 18 U.S.C. § 926B(b) provides:
"This section shall not be construed to supersede or limit the laws of any State that (1) permit private persons or entities to prohibit or restrict the possession of concealed firearms on their property; or (2) prohibit or restrict the possession of firearms on any State or local government property, installation, building, base, or park."
The qualifying criteria for "qualified law enforcement officer" are defined at 18 U.S.C. § 926B(c):
"As used in this section, the term 'qualified law enforcement officer' means an employee of a governmental agency who (1) is authorized by law to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, investigation, or prosecution of, or the incarceration of any person for, any violation of law, and has statutory powers of arrest or apprehension under section 807(b) of title 10, United States Code (article 7(b) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice); (2) is authorized by the agency to carry a firearm; (3) is not the subject of any disciplinary action by the agency which could result in suspension or loss of police powers; (4) meets standards, if any, established by the agency which require the employee to regularly qualify in the use of a firearm; (5) is not under the influence of alcohol or another intoxicating or hallucinatory drug or substance; and (6) is not prohibited by Federal law from receiving a firearm."
The core authorization at 18 U.S.C. § 926C(a) provides:
"Notwithstanding any other provision of the law of any State or any political subdivision thereof, an individual who is a qualified retired law enforcement officer and who is carrying the identification required by subsection (d) may carry a concealed firearm that has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, subject to subsection (b)."
The qualifying criteria for "qualified retired law enforcement officer" are defined at 18 U.S.C. § 926C(c):
"As used in this section, the term 'qualified retired law enforcement officer' means an individual who (1) separated from service in good standing from service with a public agency as a law enforcement officer; (2) before such separation, was authorized by law to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, investigation, or prosecution of, or the incarceration of any person for, any violation of law, and had statutory powers of arrest or apprehension under section 807(b) of title 10, United States Code (article 7(b) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice); (3)(A) before such separation, served as a law enforcement officer for an aggregate of 10 years or more; or (B) separated from service with such agency, after completing any applicable probationary period of such service, due to a service-connected disability, as determined by such agency; (4) during the most recent 12-month period, has met, at the expense of the individual, the standards for qualification in firearms training for active law enforcement officers, as determined by the former agency of the individual, the State in which the individual resides or, if the State has not established such standards, either a law enforcement agency within the State in which the individual resides or the standards used by a certified firearms instructor that is qualified to conduct a firearms qualification test for active duty officers within that State; (5)(A) has not been officially found by a qualified medical professional employed by the agency to be unqualified for reasons relating to mental health and as a result of this finding will not be issued the photographic identification as described in subsection (d)(1); or (B) has not entered into an agreement with the agency from which the individual is separating from service in which that individual acknowledges he or she is not qualified under this section for reasons relating to mental health and for those reasons will not receive or accept the photographic identification as described in subsection (d)(1); (6) is not under the influence of alcohol or another intoxicating or hallucinatory drug or substance; and (7) is not prohibited by Federal law from receiving a firearm."
LEOSA preserves the same private-property and state-or-local-government-property carve-outs at 18 U.S.C. § 926C(b) that apply under section 926B(b).
LEOSA is a federal authorization that runs parallel to, and is not preempted by, the North Carolina CHP scheme. A qualifying active or retired officer who satisfies the federal criteria and carries the required photographic identification under section 926B(d) or section 926C(d) may carry concealed in North Carolina without a North Carolina CHP. The state restrictions preserved by sections 926B(b) and 926C(b) (private property and state-or-local government property) remain in force. North Carolina codifies the exemption from its own permit requirement at G.S. 14-415.25.
The 30-day residency floor at G.S. 14-415.12(a)(1) is measured from the date the application is filed with the sheriff under G.S. 14-415.13(a). The 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(20) reference incorporates the federal definition of "lawfully admitted for permanent residence." Non-resident applicants are not eligible for the North Carolina CHP itself. For out-of-state permit recognition see Reciprocity.
The duplicate-permit fee at G.S. 14-415.19(a) is administered through the issuing sheriff's office. For the address-change procedure see Permit Basics.
This section deliberately does not restate content covered in sibling sections. For:
For any topic raised by a student that does not appear here or in a sibling section, confirm the current text of the operative North Carolina General Statute or federal statute before relying on this guide. The statutory excerpts above are quoted from the cited sources, but statutory text is amended from session to session. An instructor preparing curriculum should re-verify against the current codification.
This page covers one part of our North Carolina concealed carry guide.
Read the complete North Carolina 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.