A Virginia Concealed Handgun Permit is valid for five years. Va. Code 18.2-308.02(A) (resident); Va. Code 18.2-308.06(A) (nonresident). Renewal of a...
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A Virginia Concealed Handgun Permit is valid for five years. Va. Code 18.2-308.02(A) (resident); Va. Code 18.2-308.06(A) (nonresident). Renewal of a resident permit is governed by Va. Code 18.2-308.010. Renewal is mail-eligible, does not require a personal court appearance, and does not require any retraining or re-demonstration of competence. The same disqualifiers and the same fee structure that apply to an initial application apply to a renewal. Va. Code 18.2-308.010(A)(1).
For nonresident permits, renewal is administered by the Virginia Department of State Police under Va. Code 18.2-308.06. The State Police describe the nonresident renewal as identical to the original nonresident application with the exception that proof of competence with a handgun is not required again, but new photographs and new fingerprint impressions are required. Virginia State Police, Nonresident Concealed Handgun Permits page (Permit Renewal).
Both resident and nonresident Virginia concealed handgun permits are issued for a term of five years. Va. Code 18.2-308.02(A) (resident); Va. Code 18.2-308.06(A) (nonresident). There is no shorter or longer permit class. The expiration date is printed on the face of the permit. Va. Code 18.2-308.04(E) (resident permit contents); Va. Code 18.2-308.06(D) (nonresident permit contents).
If a new five-year permit is issued while an existing permit remains valid, the new permit becomes effective on the expiration date of the existing permit, provided that the application is received by the court at least 90 days but no more than 180 days prior to the expiration of the existing permit. Va. Code 18.2-308.010(A)(2).
In practical terms this means three things:
For nonresident permits, the Virginia State Police suggest submitting the renewal package at least two months before the existing permit expires. Virginia State Police, Nonresident Concealed Handgun Permits page (Permit Renewal).
Persons who previously have been issued a Virginia CHP under this article are not required to appear in person to apply for a new five-year permit. Va. Code 18.2-308.010(A)(1). The renewal application, including a photocopy of the applicant's valid photo identification, may be submitted via the United States mail to the issuing circuit court. Va. Code 18.2-308.010(A)(1).
This mail-in option applies to renewal applications. An initial applicant must still demonstrate competence with a handgun in person under Va. Code 18.2-308.02(B).
A renewal applicant does not have to provide new proof of training or a new demonstration of competence. The competency rule in Va. Code 18.2-308.02(B) is explicit: "no applicant shall be required to submit to any additional demonstration of competence, nor shall any proof of demonstrated competence expire." This is a flat statutory rule, not a court-by-court discretion. The in-person competency showing in Va. Code 18.2-308.02(B) is satisfied once and does not have to be repeated at renewal.
For nonresident permits, the same result follows as a matter of agency practice: the State Police describe the renewal process as identical to the original permit process with the exception of proof of competence with a handgun. Virginia State Police, Nonresident Concealed Handgun Permits page (Permit Renewal). New photographs and new fingerprints are still required for a nonresident renewal.
A renewal is processed under the same statutory framework as an initial application. Va. Code 18.2-308.010(A)(1) directs that renewals proceed "upon application as provided in § 18.2-308.02," which triggers the Va. Code 18.2-308.04 processing rules. Under Va. Code 18.2-308.04(B), the court consults with the sheriff or police department of the county or city and receives a report from the Central Criminal Records Exchange (CCRE) before issuing the permit. The court must then issue the new permit within 45 days of receipt of the completed application unless the applicant is disqualified. Va. Code 18.2-308.04(C).
Disqualification is measured against the same Va. Code 18.2-308.09 list that applies to initial applicants. Va. Code 18.2-308.010(A)(1) ("unless it is found that the applicant is subject to any of the disqualifications set forth in § 18.2-308.09"). Recent misdemeanors, a recent DUI or public-drunkenness conviction, a pending felony charge, a protective order, and the other Va. Code 18.2-308.09 grounds will be picked up by the renewal background check just as they would on a first-time application.
For nonresident renewals, the State Police separately run a state and national criminal history check using the new fingerprint card the applicant must submit with the renewal package. Va. Code 18.2-308.06(A); Virginia State Police, Nonresident Concealed Handgun Permits page.
The same fees that apply to an initial application apply to a renewal. Va. Code 18.2-308.03(A); Virginia State Police, Resident Concealed Handgun Permits page (Permit Renewal: "The same fees and time constraints apply in the instance of renewal."). For residents the breakdown is:
The total assessed for processing an application shall not exceed $50, paid in one sum to the person who receives the application. Va. Code 18.2-308.03(A).
Fee waiver for qualifying retirees. Under Va. Code 18.2-308.03(B), no fee is charged for the issuance of a permit to a person who has retired from service in one of the categories the statute enumerates, including a Commonwealth magistrate, an ABC Authority special agent, a State Police or Department of Wildlife Resources officer, or a sheriff or local police officer who completed 15 years of service or reached age 55, and certain federal law-enforcement officers who completed 15 years of service or reached age 55. The statute does not separately state whether the waiver applies to renewals, but its terms turn on retirement status rather than whether the application is initial or a renewal.
Nonresident fee. The Department of State Police may charge a fee not to exceed $100 for a nonresident application, including a renewal. Va. Code 18.2-308.06(C). These fees are deposited in a special account to offset the cost of administering the nonresident program.
The circuit court that receives the application must promptly notify the applicant if the application is incomplete or if the fee submitted is incorrect. Va. Code 18.2-308.010(A)(1).
The 45-day issuance deadline in Va. Code 18.2-308.04(C) governs renewal applications the same way it governs initial applications. If the court has not issued the permit or determined that the applicant is disqualified within 45 days of the date of receipt noted on the application, the clerk must certify on the application that the 45-day period has expired and mail or send by electronic mail a copy of the certified application to the applicant within five business days. Va. Code 18.2-308.05.
The certified application then serves as a de facto permit that expires 90 days after issuance and is recognized as a valid concealed handgun permit when presented with a valid government-issued photo identification, until the court either issues a five-year permit or finds the applicant to be disqualified. Va. Code 18.2-308.05. If the applicant is later found to be disqualified after the de facto permit issues, the applicant must surrender the de facto permit to the court, and the disqualification is deemed a denial of the permit and a revocation of the de facto permit. Va. Code 18.2-308.05.
This de facto permit mechanism is the practical safety net for renewal applicants who file within the 90-to-180-day window but whose court does not turn the application around before the existing permit expires.
If the clerk has an electronic system for the issuance of concealed handgun permits, that system has the capability of sending electronic notices to permit holders, and the permit holder requested electronic notice on the application form, the clerk that issued the permit shall notify the permit holder by electronic mail at least 90 days prior to the permit expiration date that the permit will expire. Va. Code 18.2-308.010(C).
Failure of the clerk to send the notice, or failure of the permit holder to receive it, does not extend the validity of the existing permit beyond its expiration date. Va. Code 18.2-308.010(C). The duty to track the expiration date and to file in the 90-to-180-day window stays with the permit holder.
Virginia law treats a CHP that has passed its printed expiration date as an expired permit, not a renewable one. The renewal mechanism in Va. Code 18.2-308.010(A)(1) addresses "persons who previously have held a concealed handgun permit" being issued "a new five-year permit," not extension of an expired permit. The statute imposes no grace period that authorizes carry on an expired permit. Carrying a concealed handgun without a valid permit triggers the prohibition in Va. Code 18.2-308(A).
The practical consequences of letting a CHP lapse:
There is no statutory cutoff after which a previously held permit no longer counts as a prior holding for purposes of Va. Code 18.2-308.010(A)(1). The text refers to persons who "previously have held" a permit without a temporal limit. Even so, the longer the lapse, the higher the risk that local-court practice will require you to file as if you were a new applicant. Confirm with the issuing circuit court before relying on the renewal track after a long lapse.
The mail-in renewal option in Va. Code 18.2-308.010(A)(1) is built around the permit holder's existing relationship with a circuit court. Under Va. Code 18.2-308.02(A), the proper court for an application is the circuit court of the county or city in which the applicant resides. If you have moved within Virginia since the original permit was issued, the renewal interacts with the change-of-address rule:
For an applicant who has moved outside Virginia, the resident renewal track in Va. Code 18.2-308.010 is no longer available. A former Virginia resident who has moved out of state may apply for a nonresident permit under Va. Code 18.2-308.06, but that is a fresh nonresident application (new photos, new fingerprints, and the up-to-$100 State Police fee), not a renewal of the resident permit.
Renewal of a nonresident CHP is administered by the Virginia Department of State Police under Va. Code 18.2-308.06. The State Police describe the process on the Nonresident Concealed Handgun Permits page.
A nonresident permittee who is later found by the Department of State Police to be disqualified must return the permit after being notified, and the permit is revoked. Va. Code 18.2-308.06(A).
If the permit holder is a member of the Virginia National Guard, the Armed Forces of the United States, or the Armed Forces Reserves of the United States, and the five-year permit expires during an active-duty military deployment outside the permittee's county or city of residence, the permit remains valid for 90 days after the end date of the deployment. Va. Code 18.2-308.010(B).
To establish proof of continued validity, the deployed permittee must carry, and display on request of a law-enforcement officer, a copy of the deployment orders or other documentation from the permittee's commanding officer that orders the permittee to travel outside the county or city of residence and that indicates the start and end dates of the deployment. Va. Code 18.2-308.010(B); Va. Code 18.2-308.01(A).
This rule extends the validity of an existing resident CHP that would otherwise expire mid-deployment. After the 90-day post-deployment window, the permit holder still needs a renewed CHP to continue carrying.
A renewal denial is treated procedurally the same as a denial of an initial application. Va. Code 18.2-308.010(A)(3) directs that any order denying issuance of the new permit shall be in accordance with subsection A of Va. Code 18.2-308.08. Only a circuit court judge may deny issuance. The denial order must state the basis for the denial, including, if applicable, the Va. Code 18.2-308.09 reason that is the basis of the denial, and the clerk must give written notice of the applicant's right to an ore tenus hearing and the requirements for perfecting an appeal. Va. Code 18.2-308.08(A).
On the applicant's request within 21 days, the court places the matter on the docket for an ore tenus hearing. The applicant may be represented by counsel (counsel is not appointed) and the rules of evidence apply. Va. Code 18.2-308.08(B).
Any person denied a permit by the circuit court may appeal to the Court of Appeals. The notice of appeal and opening brief must be filed within 60 days of the expiration of the time for requesting an ore tenus hearing or, if a hearing is requested, within 60 days of the entry of the final order of the circuit court. Va. Code 18.2-308.08(C). The decision of the Court of Appeals is final. If the denial is reversed on appeal, taxable costs incurred by the applicant are paid by the Commonwealth. Va. Code 18.2-308.08(C).
Two scenarios deserve separate flagging:
Pending charges. Va. Code 18.2-308.013(B) authorizes the court before which a felony charge, or a charge for an offense listed in subdivision 14 or 15 of Va. Code 18.2-308.09, is pending, or the court that issued the permit, to suspend the permit. A pending felony at the time of renewal is itself a disqualifier under Va. Code 18.2-308.09(17) and is a basis for denial under Va. Code 18.2-308.04. Filing a renewal while a disqualifying charge is pending should be expected to result in denial.
Convictions for disqualifying offenses. Under Va. Code 18.2-308.013(A), a person convicted of an offense that would disqualify the person under Va. Code 18.2-308.09, or who violates Va. Code 18.2-308.02(C) (materially false statement on the application), forfeits the permit and must surrender it to the court. The CCRE notifies the issuing court of the conviction; the court revokes the permit and notifies the State Police and the permit holder. A revoked permit cannot be renewed until the underlying disqualifier no longer applies (for example, until the relevant three-year, five-year, or 16-year lookback in Va. Code 18.2-308.09 has run).
| Item | Authority | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Permit term | Va. Code 18.2-308.02(A); 18.2-308.06(A) | 5 years |
| Renewal window (resident) | Va. Code 18.2-308.010(A)(2) | 90 to 180 days before expiration |
| Suggested nonresident filing | VSP Nonresident page | At least 2 months before expiration |
| Mail-in renewal (resident) | Va. Code 18.2-308.010(A)(1) | Permitted; no in-person appearance |
| Retraining required | Va. Code 18.2-308.02(B) | None; proof of competence does not expire |
| Nonresident retraining required | VSP Nonresident page | None; new photos and prints required |
| Background re-check | Va. Code 18.2-308.04, 18.2-308.09 | Yes; same disqualifiers as initial |
| Resident fee cap | Va. Code 18.2-308.03(A) | $50 ($10 clerk + up to $35 LE + up to $5 State Police) |
| Nonresident fee cap | Va. Code 18.2-308.06(C) | Up to $100 |
| Retiree fee waiver | Va. Code 18.2-308.03(B) | Yes for listed retirees |
| 45-day issuance deadline | Va. Code 18.2-308.04(C) | Applies to renewals |
| De facto permit if deadline missed | Va. Code 18.2-308.05 | Certified application; expires 90 days after issuance |
| Expiration notice from clerk | Va. Code 18.2-308.010(C) | At least 90 days before expiration if elected and supported |
| Deployed military extension | Va. Code 18.2-308.010(B) | Valid 90 days after deployment end date |
| Lapsed permit carry | Va. Code 18.2-308(A) | No carry on expired permit; Class 1 misdemeanor (first offense) |
| Denial appeal | Va. Code 18.2-308.010(A)(3), 18.2-308.08 | Ore tenus hearing on request within 21 days; Court of Appeals within 60 days |
| Change of address replacement | Va. Code 18.2-308.011(A) | $10 total (up to $5 clerk + up to $5 State Police) |
If you are advising students: file the resident renewal between 180 and 90 days before expiration, by mail, with a photocopy of your valid photo ID and up to $50, no training required. The new five-year permit slots in on the day the old one expires. If you miss the window and the permit lapses, do not carry on the expired permit; file the renewal and wait for the new permit to issue. Nonresident renewal is the same idea, filed with the Virginia State Police Firearms Transaction Center, with new photos and new fingerprints and up to $100.
This page covers one part of our Virginia concealed carry guide.
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