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Washington is not a permitless concealed-carry state. To carry a pistol concealed, or to carry a loaded pistol in a vehicle, you need a Concealed...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
Washington is not a permitless concealed-carry state. To carry a pistol concealed, or to carry a loaded pistol in a vehicle, you need a Concealed Pistol License (CPL) issued under RCW 9.41.070. This page explains what training the law does and does not require, both for the CPL itself and for buying a firearm in Washington. The rules are changing: a major training requirement for the CPL takes effect May 1, 2027, and the firearm-purchase training requirement is already in force.
Under the version of RCW 9.41.070 in effect through April 30, 2027, Washington does not require any firearms course, safety class, or live-fire qualification as a condition of getting a CPL. The license is shall-issue. The chief of police of your municipality or the sheriff of your county must issue the license within 30 days of a complete application (up to 60 days if you do not have a valid permanent Washington driver's license or state ID card, or have not been a state resident for the previous 90 consecutive days), unless a statutory disqualifier applies.
The CPL is valid for five years from the date of issue (RCW 9.41.070(1)). The applicant must be at least 21 years old, must not be ineligible to possess a firearm under RCW 9.41.040 or 9.41.045 or prohibited under federal law, and must not fall under the other disqualifiers in RCW 9.41.070(1) (such as a revoked CPL, certain firearm-related court orders, being free on bond pending a felony, or an outstanding warrant). The issuing authority runs a background check through the national instant criminal background check system and state databases, and an original license requires a full set of fingerprints submitted to the Washington State Patrol (RCW 9.41.070(2)).
So, as a matter of current law, you can obtain a Washington CPL without taking any class.
This changes. Under 2025 c 370 (Substitute House Bill 1163), RCW 9.41.070 is amended effective May 1, 2027 to add a training prerequisite for the CPL. Beginning that date, an applicant who cannot produce a certificate of completion of a certified concealed carry firearms safety training program completed within the last five years, or proof of an exemption, is disqualified from a CPL (RCW 9.41.070(1)(h)).
Under the amended RCW 9.41.070(5)(a), the qualifying training must:
Applicants who qualify for an exemption under RCW 9.41.1132(5) are excused from the training requirement (RCW 9.41.070(5)(b)). The Washington State Patrol is directed by RCW 43.43.575 (also effective May 1, 2027) to set up the program that certifies these training courses and to develop the documentation used to prove completion or exemption.
If you are reading this before May 1, 2027, no CPL training is required yet. If you are planning a renewal or a new application around that date, confirm the current status with your issuing law enforcement agency, because the requirement is part of a package of 2025 changes that takes effect together.
Separate from the CPL, Washington already requires firearm safety training as a condition of purchasing a firearm. This requirement was enacted by 2023 c 161 (Substitute House Bill 1143) and took effect January 1, 2024.
Under RCW 9.41.090(1)(a) (the version in effect through April 30, 2027), a dealer may not deliver a firearm to a purchaser until the purchaser provides proof of completion of a recognized firearm safety training program within the last five years that complies with RCW 9.41.1132, or proof that the purchaser is exempt.
RCW 9.41.1132 sets the minimum content of that training. The program must include instruction on:
The training must be sponsored by a federal, state, county, or municipal law enforcement agency, a college or university, a nationally recognized organization that customarily offers firearms training, or a firearms training school whose instructors are certified by such an organization. Proof is a certification stating under penalty of perjury that the training met the minimum requirements (RCW 9.41.1132(2)).
The purchase training requirement does not apply to certain peace officers (general authority, limited authority, specially commissioned, and federal peace officers as defined in RCW 10.93.020 who have arrest powers and carry a firearm as a normal part of their duties), or to active-duty military, active National Guard members, and armed forces reservists who completed qualifying firearms training within the last five years (RCW 9.41.1132(4)).
Note that the current purchase-training standard does not require a live-fire range component. That live-fire element is added for the permit-to-purchase system that takes effect May 1, 2027, described below.
Independent of training, a licensed dealer may not deliver a firearm until all required background checks clear and ten business days have elapsed from the date the dealer requested the background check (RCW 9.41.092). This applies in addition to the training-proof requirement in RCW 9.41.090.
The 2025 legislation also creates a permit-to-purchase system. Effective May 1, 2027, RCW 9.41.121 establishes an application, processed through the Washington State Patrol firearms background check program, for a permit to purchase firearms. An applicant must submit a completed application, a full set of fingerprints, the application fee, and a certificate of completion of a certified firearms safety training program within the last five years (or proof of exemption) as provided in RCW 9.41.1132 (RCW 9.41.121(2)).
For the permit-to-purchase program, RCW 9.41.1132 (the version effective May 1, 2027) adds a live-fire shooting component to the required training topics: live-fire exercises on a firing range with a demonstration of safe handling and shooting proficiency (RCW 9.41.1132(1)(i)). A permit to purchase is valid for five years and, by its terms, does not authorize the holder to carry a concealed pistol (RCW 9.41.121(11) and (13)). The 2027 version of RCW 9.41.1132 also expands the list of exempt persons to include tribal police officers and certain licensed armed private investigators and armed security guards (RCW 9.41.1132(5)).
Retired and separated law enforcement officers who want to carry concealed nationwide under the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA, 18 U.S.C. 926C) need an annual firearms qualification. In Washington, the Criminal Justice Training Commission (WSCJTC) administers this qualification under the Washington State LEOSA statute, RCW 36.28A.090. (Active-duty officers carry under 18 U.S.C. 926B; the retired/separated provision is 18 U.S.C. 926C.)
Key points from the WSCJTC process:
Washington does have conditional concealed-carry reciprocity, but an out-of-state permit is never a substitute for the training a Washington CPL itself will require once the May 1, 2027 prerequisite is in effect.
Under RCW 9.41.073, a nonresident who holds a valid concealed pistol license or permit from another state may carry a concealed pistol in Washington without a Washington CPL, but only if all of these conditions are met:
The Washington Attorney General is required by RCW 9.41.073(2) to publish the official, current list of qualifying states, available at atg.wa.gov. As of the mid-2025 update, that list included roughly ten states, such as Idaho (enhanced permit only), Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana (enhanced permit only), North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Utah, several with permit-type restrictions. The list changes as other states amend their laws, so verify the current Attorney General list before relying on an out-of-state permit.
A nonresident whose permit comes from a state that is not on the qualifying list cannot carry concealed in Washington on that out-of-state license. Washington does, however, issue nonresident CPLs under RCW 9.41.070, and a nonresident may apply anywhere in the state (RCW 9.41.070(11)(c)). When the May 1, 2027 CPL training requirement is in effect, nonresident applicants will be subject to the same certified concealed carry training prerequisite as residents.
This page covers one part of our Washington concealed carry guide.
Read the complete Washington 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.