Washington licenses concealed carry, and the document is the concealed pistol license, or CPL. RCW 9.41.050(1)(a) states the rule the license answers:...
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Washington licenses concealed carry, and the document is the concealed pistol license, or CPL. RCW 9.41.050(1)(a) states the rule the license answers: except in the person's place of abode or fixed place of business, a person shall not carry a pistol concealed on his or her person without a license to carry a concealed pistol. RCW 9.41.060 lists the people and situations that fall outside RCW 9.41.050 entirely, so a license is not the only lawful route. See Concealed Carry. RCW 9.41.070 is the issuing statute, and it reaches pistols. RCW 9.41.010 defines a pistol as any firearm with a barrel less than 16 inches in length, or that is designed to be held and fired by the use of a single hand.
Washington's RCW prints a superseding version of several chapter 9.41 statutes alongside the version in force. Every current-law statement here comes from the version in force today, which for RCW 9.41.070 is the half headed as effective until May 1, 2027. The superseding version is already enacted, is covered separately below, and is not law today.
Under RCW 9.41.070(1), the chief of police of a municipality or the sheriff of a county shall, within thirty days after the filing of an application, issue a license to carry a pistol concealed on the person within this state. The deadline stretches to sixty days for an applicant who does not have a valid permanent Washington driver's license or Washington state identification card, or who has not been a resident of the state for the previous consecutive ninety days. The same subsection bars the issuing authority from refusing to accept completed applications during regular business hours.
RCW 9.41.070(13) sets where you file. A resident of a municipality applies to that municipality or to the county, a resident of an unincorporated area applies to the county, and a nonresident may apply anywhere in the state. That last route is a real nonresident path to the same license.
RCW 9.41.070(11) keeps local practice inside the statute: a political subdivision may not modify the requirements of the section or the chapter, and may not ask an applicant to voluntarily submit information the section does not require. RCW 9.41.070(10) allows the chief of police of the municipality or the sheriff of the county of the applicant's residence to issue a temporary emergency license for good cause while review under subsection (1) is pending. It does not exempt the holder from any records check requirement, and it must be easily distinguishable from a regular license.
The application calls for a full set of fingerprints, identifying information, and a signed waiver of confidentiality covering mental health and health care records, with added requirements under RCW 9.41.173 for a noncitizen applicant. See Application Process. RCW 9.41.070 also fixes the fee schedule and bars any other state or local branch or unit of government from adding charges for issuance. See Fees and Costs.
RCW 9.41.070(1) issues the license for five years from date of issue, for the purposes of protection or while engaged in business, sport, or while traveling. Renewal timing, the department of licensing renewal notice, and the military renewal extensions are covered under Renewal Process.
RCW 9.41.070(1) is written as a duty with a closed list of exceptions: the applicant's constitutional right to bear arms shall not be denied, unless the applicant
Read the qualifiers closely. The bond and recognizance ground runs only to a felony. The warrant ground runs to a felony or a misdemeanor. The forfeiture ground is limited to RCW 9.41.098(1)(e), which covers a firearm possessed by a person who is in any place in which a concealed pistol license is required and who is under the influence of any drug or of intoxicating liquor as defined in chapter 46.61 RCW, and it lapses one year after the order. Twenty-one is the age floor, stated without a younger tier.
Two further rules sit alongside that list. RCW 9.41.070(1) provides that no person convicted of a felony may have the right to possess firearms restored or the privilege to carry a concealed pistol restored unless the attorney general has granted relief from disabilities under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 925(c), or RCW 9.41.040(3) or (4) applies. RCW 9.41.070(2)(b) then directs the issuing authority to deny a permit to anyone found to be prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal or state law, which backstops the enumerated grounds.
RCW 9.41.070(2)(a) runs the eligibility check through the national instant criminal background check system, the Washington state patrol electronic database, the health care authority electronic database, and other agencies or resources as appropriate. RCW 9.41.070(2)(c) applies that check, and the denial rule in (2)(b), whether the applicant is applying for a new license or renewing one. RCW 9.41.070(2)(d) adds a further step for an original license only: the background check must be conducted through the Washington state patrol criminal identification section and must include a national check from the federal bureau of investigation through the submission of fingerprints.
The license removes concealed carry of a pistol from the prohibition in RCW 9.41.050(1)(a), and it unlocks the loaded vehicle rule. Under RCW 9.41.050(2)(a) a person shall not carry or place a loaded pistol in any vehicle unless the person has a license to carry a concealed pistol and one of three conditions holds: the pistol is on the licensee's person, the licensee is within the vehicle at all times that the pistol is there, or the licensee is away from the vehicle and the pistol is locked within the vehicle and concealed from view from outside the vehicle.
RCW 9.41.050(3)(a) is not a licensee rule and applies whether or not you hold a CPL. A person at least eighteen years of age in possession of an unloaded pistol may not leave it in a vehicle unless it is locked within the vehicle and concealed from view from outside. RCW 9.41.050(4) adds that nothing in the section permits possession of firearms illegal to possess under state or federal law.
RCW 9.41.050(1)(b) requires a licensee to keep the license in immediate possession whenever the section requires one, and to display it on demand to any police officer or to any other person when and if required by law.
RCW 9.41.098(1)(a) adds a collateral benefit. Where a firearm is found concealed on a person not authorized under RCW 9.41.060 or RCW 9.41.070 to carry a concealed pistol, it is an absolute defense to forfeiture that the person possessed a valid Washington concealed pistol license within the preceding two years and has not become ineligible in the interim. Past due and current renewal fees must be paid before the firearm is returned.
The license does not open every location. See Prohibited Places.
| Conduct | Grading |
|---|---|
| Carrying a pistol concealed on the person without a CPL, outside your abode or fixed place of business, RCW 9.41.050(1)(a) | Misdemeanor. RCW 9.41.810 grades any violation of chapter 9.41 RCW as a misdemeanor except as otherwise provided |
| Failing to keep the license in immediate possession or to display it when required, RCW 9.41.050(1)(b) | Class 1 civil infraction under chapter 7.80 RCW. RCW 7.80.120(1)(a) sets the maximum and default at $250, not counting statutory assessments |
| Carrying or placing a loaded pistol in a vehicle without a CPL, or outside the three conditions, RCW 9.41.050(2)(a) | Misdemeanor under RCW 9.41.050(2)(b) |
| Leaving an unloaded pistol in a vehicle unlocked or in view, by a person at least eighteen, RCW 9.41.050(3)(a) | Misdemeanor under RCW 9.41.050(3)(b) |
| Knowingly false statement about citizenship or identity on a CPL application, RCW 9.41.070(12) | False swearing under RCW 9A.72.040, a gross misdemeanor. RCW 9A.20.021(2) allows up to three hundred sixty-four days in county jail, a fine up to five thousand dollars, or both. The license is revoked and the person is permanently ineligible |
Chapter 9.41 RCW attaches no jail term or fine figure to its own misdemeanors. RCW 9.92.030 supplies the default where no punishment is prescribed by statute: up to ninety days in county jail, a fine of up to one thousand dollars, or both.
Nothing in the current RCW 9.41.070 conditions issuance on a course, a range qualification, or a certificate. Subsection (1) frames refusal as an exception to a duty to issue and then enumerates the grounds, and training is not among them.
Training does have a role on the purchase side rather than the carry side. See below.
A superseding version of RCW 9.41.070 takes effect May 1, 2027. The training condition in it comes from 2025 c 370 s 9, and the version as printed also carries 2026 c 36 s 11. That version adds a disqualifier for an applicant who has failed to produce a certificate of completion from a certified concealed carry firearms safety training program within the last five years, or proof of exemption, and a subsection (5)(a) requiring that the program include "live-fire shooting exercises on a firing range that include a demonstration by the applicant of the safe handling of, and shooting proficiency with, firearms, including a minimum of 50 rounds of ammunition firing training at a firing range under the supervision of an instructor." RCW 43.43.575, which directs the Washington state patrol to certify those programs, takes effect the same day.
2025 c 370 also creates a permit to purchase at RCW 9.41.121, effective the same day. Washington has no permit to purchase requirement today.
A training rule does exist on the purchase side, serving a different transaction. RCW 9.41.1132 requires a person applying for the purchase or transfer of a firearm to show proof of completion of a recognized firearms safety training program within the last five years covering eight enumerated topics. Its exemptions at subsection (4) reach certain peace officers and certain military members, each on the terms the subsection sets out, and holding a CPL is not among them. See Training Requirements.
The CPL is a carry credential. Current RCW 9.41.090(1) bars a dealer from delivering a firearm until three things are true: the purchaser shows proof of completion of a recognized firearm safety training program within the last five years complying with RCW 9.41.1132, or proof of exemption; the Washington state patrol firearms background check program notifies the dealer that the purchaser is eligible under state and federal law; and RCW 9.41.092 is satisfied. RCW 9.41.092 requires that the results of all required background checks are known, that the purchaser is not prohibited and has no voluntary waiver of firearm rights currently in effect, and that ten business days have elapsed from the date the licensed dealer requested the background check.
Neither section carves out a licensee. A CPL holder faces the same dealer background check and the same ten business days.
RCW 9.41.075(1) requires a law enforcement agency to revoke the license immediately upon any of the following: discovery that the licensee was ineligible under RCW 9.41.070 when applying for the license or a renewal; conviction, a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity, or commitment for mental health treatment, on grounds that make a person ineligible under RCW 9.41.040 to possess a firearm; conviction for a third violation of chapter 9.41 RCW within five calendar years; an order that the licensee forfeit a firearm under RCW 9.41.098(1)(d); or receipt of an order to surrender and prohibit weapons or an extreme risk protection order against the licensee, other than an ex parte temporary protection order.
Forfeiture revocations escalate. Under RCW 9.41.075(3) a first forfeiture under RCW 9.41.098(1)(d) revokes for one year, a second for two years, and a third or subsequent for five years, and the person may not reapply until the revocation period ends.
RCW 9.41.075(2) adds a disposal duty. Unless the person may lawfully possess a pistol without a license, an ineligible person to whom a CPL was issued must lawfully transfer ownership of any pistol acquired while licensed within 14 days of revocation, and where the agency finds the person bought a pistol while licensed, the agency requires satisfactory evidence of that transfer within 15 days of the revocation. Under RCW 9.41.075(4) the agency notifies the department of licensing in writing and the department records the revocation. A revoked license is itself a ground for refusing a new application.
RCW 9.41.0975(2) allows an application to a court of competent jurisdiction for a writ of mandamus directing an issuing agency to issue a concealed pistol license wrongfully refused, or directing that erroneous information behind the refusal be corrected. File in the county where the license application was made or in Thurston county. The court must provide an expedited hearing, and a person granted the writ is awarded reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. RCW 9.41.0975(1) gives the state, local governmental entities, public and private agencies, and their employees, all acting in good faith, immunity for failing to issue a license to an eligible person, so the writ is the remedy rather than damages.
RCW 9.41.073(1) recognizes another state's license only if that state gives effect to a Washington CPL, does not issue concealed pistol licenses to persons under twenty-one, and requires mandatory fingerprint-based background checks of criminal and mental health history for all applicants. It applies only while the holder is not a Washington resident. See Reciprocity.
This page covers one part of our Washington concealed carry guide.
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