How to Apply for a Concealed Carry Permit in West Virginia

How to Apply for a West Virginia Concealed Handgun License

Where you file, and whether you need to file at all

West Virginia licenses concealed carry through county sheriffs. W. Va. Code § 61-7-4 tells a West Virginia resident or citizen who wants a resident license to "apply to the sheriff of his or her county for the license," and a resident or citizen of another state who wants a nonresident license to apply "to a sheriff of any county in this state." The State Police write the forms and keep the registry, but they do not take your application. Call the office you plan to file with before you drive there.

The license is optional. Under W. Va. Code § 61-7-7(c), a person who is at least 18, a United States citizen or legal resident, and not prohibited from possessing a firearm under W. Va. Code § 61-7-7 or under 18 U.S.C. 922(g) or (n) may carry a concealed deadly weapon without any license. The Attorney General's On The Mark guide, updated July 2026, ties that to HB 4106, effective June 12, 2026, and records that W. Va. Code § 61-7-3, the old crime of carrying concealed under 21 without a provisional license, was repealed by the same bill. The code portal now shows § 61-7-3 as "[Repealed.]" The Attorney General's FAQ names benefits an optional license still carries: it lets the holder lawfully carry a handgun in states that honor or recognize West Virginia licenses, and an optional license issued on or after June 4, 2014 qualifies as an alternative to a NICS background check when buying a firearm. See PERMIT_BASICS.

The standard license under W. Va. Code § 61-7-4 is for applicants 21 and older, resident or nonresident. The provisional license under W. Va. Code § 61-7-4a is for West Virginia residents at least 18 and less than 21. Both may be issued only for pistols and revolvers.

What the application has to contain

W. Va. Code § 61-7-4(b) requires "a complete application, as prepared by the Superintendent of the West Virginia State Police, in writing, duly verified, which sets forth only the following licensing requirements." The statute presents that list as the complete set of licensing requirements. The enumerated items are:

• Full name, date of birth, a description of your physical features, place of birth, and country of citizenship. A non-citizen adds any alien or admission number from the United States Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and any basis for an exception to 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(5)(B).
• That you are a bona fide United States citizen or legal resident, and either a resident of this state and of the county in which the application is made, or a resident of another state with a valid driver's license or other state-issued or federally issued photo identification showing the residence.
• That you are 21 or older.
• No addiction to or unlawful use of alcohol, a controlled substance, or a drug, shown within the three years before the application by residential or court-ordered treatment for alcoholism, alcohol detoxification, or drug treatment, or by two or more convictions for driving under the influence or driving while impaired.
• No felony conviction, unless it was expunged or set aside, your civil rights were restored, or you were unconditionally pardoned.
• No conviction for a misdemeanor crime of violence in the five years immediately preceding the application, other than the domestic offenses in the next item.
• No conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence as defined in 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(33), for a misdemeanor assault or battery under W. Va. Code § 61-2-28 or § 61-2-9(b) or § 61-2-9(c) with a qualifying domestic relationship, or for a similar offense elsewhere. No five-year window applies here.
• No felony indictment, no sentence of confinement, parole, probation, or other court-ordered supervision from any jurisdiction, and no emergency, temporary, or final domestic violence protective order against you.
• No adjudication of mental incompetence and no involuntary commitment, or a court order lifting the disability and restoring your firearm rights.
• That you are not prohibited by W. Va. Code § 61-7-7 or by federal law, including 18 U.S.C. 922(g) or (n).
• That you have qualified under the training minimums in subsection (e), waived for a renewal applicant who previously qualified.
• Your authorization for the sheriff or the sheriff's designee to investigate the application.

The Attorney General's guide reproduces that list and adds a Social Security number to the first item; the statute's own text does not list one. The State Police form also collects physical description details, a contact number, a photocopy of your identification, and a letter of explanation for certain yes answers.

The training certificate you attach

W. Va. Code § 61-7-4(e) requires a course "in handling and firing a handgun, which includes the actual live firing of ammunition by the applicant," and defines ammunition here to include training rounds such as marking rounds and simulated training loads. Four courses satisfy it: an official National Rifle Association handgun safety or training course; a course available to the general public offered by an official law-enforcement organization, community college, junior college, college, private or public institution or organization, or handgun training school using instructors certified by the institution; a course conducted by a handgun instructor certified by the state or by the NRA; and a course conducted by a branch of the United States military, reserve, or National Guard, or proof of other handgun qualification received while serving in one.

What you hand over is a photocopy of the completion certificate, an instructor affidavit, or any document showing completion. It must carry the instructor name and signature and the "NRA or state instructor identification number, if applicable." The statute sets no recency limit on the course. TRAINING_REQUIREMENTS covers the course.

Notarize it, and take the oath seriously

Every application must be notarized by a notary public (W. Va. Code § 61-7-4(f)). The State Police form carries a notary block and an oath that the information is true and correct.

Falsifying any portion of the application is false swearing under W. Va. Code § 61-5-2, which grades false swearing as a misdemeanor. The penalty is in W. Va. Code § 61-5-3: a fine of not more than $1,000 and, in the court's discretion, jail for not more than one year. A person convicted is also adjudged forever incapable of holding any office of honor, trust, or profit in this state, or of serving as a juror.

What you pay, and to whom

For a standard license the whole fee goes to the sheriff at the time of application: $50 resident, $100 nonresident (W. Va. Code § 61-7-4(a)). No second application-stage payment appears in § 61-7-4. The sheriff then splits it between the State Treasury, a concealed weapons license administration fund the sheriff runs, and, for a nonresident license, the Courthouse Facilities Improvement Fund under W. Va. Code § 29-26-6 (W. Va. Code § 61-7-4(d)). Amounts, the exemptions in W. Va. Code § 61-7-4(q) and § 61-7-6, and the training tax credit in § 61-7-4(s) belong to FEES_COSTS.

The agency materials in circulation do not match the statute on this. The Attorney General's FAQ answers the cost question with $75 to the sheriff at application plus $25 before issuance, while the same booklet reprints § 61-7-4(a) with the $50 and $100 figures; that is a conflict over the amount. The instruction page attached to State Police form 44A describes $25 at application and another $25 on approval, with the sheriff forwarding $25 to the State Police within 30 days; those two payments total the same $50 the statute sets for a resident, staged differently. Treat the statute as controlling and ask your sheriff what to tender.

The background investigation

For initial and renewal applications alike, the sheriff runs "a nationwide criminal background check consisting of inquiries of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, the West Virginia criminal history record responses, and the National Interstate Identification Index," and reviews the results to verify the application is true and correct (W. Va. Code § 61-7-4(c)). The sheriff may not issue unless NICS has been checked and does not show that your receipt or possession of a firearm would violate W. Va. Code § 61-7-7 or 18 U.S.C. 922(g) or (n).

This is a records check. Neither § 61-7-4 nor § 61-7-4a calls for fingerprints. The State Police forms carry a sheriff-only block with checkboxes labeled III Check and WV Criminal Record Check, a state identification number, and a NICS Transaction Number, and the form instructions say an application will be returned without that number.

The 45-day decision, and how to challenge a denial

W. Va. Code § 61-7-4(g) is the shall-issue command: the sheriff "shall issue a license" unless the application is incomplete, contains statements that are materially false or incorrect, or the applicant otherwise does not meet the requirements of the section. The same subsection sets the clock. The sheriff "shall issue, reissue, or deny the license within 45 days after the application is filed if all required background checks authorized by this section are completed." The clock is conditioned on the checks finishing, so it is not a flat guarantee of a card in 45 days.

If the sheriff denies, the specific reasons must be stated (W. Va. Code § 61-7-4(k)). You may then petition the circuit court of the county where you applied, within 30 days of the denial. The court decides whether you are entitled to a license under the criteria in the section and issues findings of fact and conclusions of law. If the order upholds the denial, you may appeal under the Rules of Appellate Procedure of the Supreme Court of Appeals. If it does not, you may be entitled to reasonable costs and attorney's fees payable by the sheriff's office that denied you. Talk to a West Virginia lawyer before filing.

After approval: the card, the term, and the record

Each license carries your full name and address and a space for your signature in pen and ink, and the issuing sheriff signs it and attaches a seal. Every new licensee also gets a wallet-sized duplicate card that counts as a license, and duplicate cards issued on or after July 1, 2017 are uniform across all 55 counties in size, appearance, and information and carry a photograph (W. Va. Code § 61-7-4(i)). The sheriff immediately sends the State Police a certified copy of the approved application, and the Superintendent keeps the registry (W. Va. Code § 61-7-4(n)).

A newly issued or renewed license runs five years from your most recent birthday, subject to revocation for cause. A license in effect when the 2019 amendments took effect runs until your birthday in the fifth year from issuance or five years from issuance, whichever is later (W. Va. Code § 61-7-4(h)). Renewals go back to the sheriff, with the training requirement waived if you previously qualified; see RENEWAL_PROCESS.

If the license is lost or destroyed, you may get a duplicate or substitute for $5 by filing a notarized statement with the sheriff (W. Va. Code § 61-7-4(l)). If an applicant or licensee relocates from the address given in the application, written notice is due within 20 days and the sheriff issues a corrected license for a fee not to exceed $5, carrying the original expiration date and good for the rest of the five-year term unless the sheriff finds the person no longer eligible. W. Va. Code § 61-7-4(m) covers resident moves in state and out of state, and nonresident moves to a new out-of-state address or into West Virginia. A resident who moves out of state gets a nonresident license, and renewing it after expiration requires the nonresident fee. The State Police publish a change notification form for this.

Under W. Va. Code § 61-7-5 a license "shall be deemed revoked" once the holder cannot meet the criteria for initial licensure, and the holder must immediately surrender it to the issuing sheriff; the sheriff must also deny or revoke on finding any licensing requirement violated (W. Va. Code § 61-7-4(o)). Your application file is confidential and may go to a law-enforcement agency or officer only to verify a license, to assist a criminal investigation or prosecution, or for other lawful law-enforcement purposes. Violating that is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $200 for each offense (W. Va. Code § 61-7-4(r)).

The provisional application for ages 18 to 20

Since § 61-7-7(c) lets a qualifying 18-year-old carry concealed without a license, the provisional license is optional in the same way the standard license is. W. Va. Code § 61-7-4a otherwise tracks § 61-7-4 closely. The differences are the part worth reading:

1. Who may apply. At least 18 and less than 21, and "a bona fide resident of this state and of the county in which the application is made" with a valid driver's license or other state-issued photo identification showing the residence. There is no nonresident provisional license.
2. Fees in two stages. $15 to the sheriff at application, and another $15 "before any approved license is issued or is effective," which the sheriff forwards to the State Police Superintendent within 30 days (W. Va. Code § 61-7-4a(a), (c), (g)).
3. A wider military training option. Item four on the provisional list is "any proof of current or former service in the United States armed forces, armed forces reserves or National Guard," where the standard license takes a course conducted by a branch or proof of other handgun qualification received while serving. Provisional proof must include instructor information and proof of instructor certification, including the NRA instructor certification number where applicable (W. Va. Code § 61-7-4a(d)).
4. No renewal training waiver. The provisional list of certifications carries no proviso waiving training for a prior qualifier, and no such proviso would have work to do: a provisional license expires at 21 rather than renewing.
5. A different notary cross-reference. Section 61-7-4a(e) points to W. Va. Code § 29-4-1 et seq. while § 61-7-4(f) points to § 39-4-1 et seq., the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts. Both require a notary; the cross-references differ.
6. The card says so. A provisional card must be readily distinguishable and must state "NOT NICS EXEMPT," with statutory text explaining that it confers the same carry rights as a § 61-7-4 license but does not satisfy 18 U.S.C. 922(t)(3), so a NICS check runs before a dealer purchase (W. Va. Code § 61-7-4a(h)).
7. It expires at 21. The provisional license is valid until the licensee turns 21 unless sooner revoked. Moving to another county in state keeps it alive on the same 20-day notice and $5 corrected card; § 61-7-4a has no counterpart for a move out of state.

The 45-day clock, the shall-issue language, the notarization, the false-swearing exposure, the background check, the denial appeal, the $5 replacement, and the confidentiality misdemeanor all carry over into § 61-7-4a. The 45-day clock is worded a little differently: § 61-7-4a(f) runs it "once all required background checks authorized by this section are completed", where § 61-7-4(g) says "if". The State Police provisional form is numbered 44C.

Reading the agency materials against the statute

The Attorney General's guide and the State Police forms are useful, and they are not the law. Beyond the fee conflict above, two things to watch. The guide's FAQ describes W. Va. Code § 61-7-6 as setting out "additional exemptions from the state's licensing requirements," while § 61-7-6 as printed in the same booklet is titled "Exemptions from licensing fees" and covers judicial officers, prosecutors, and their investigators, who still must apply and meet every licensure and training requirement. And form 44A is built around a West Virginia resident holding West Virginia photo identification, though § 61-7-4 plainly contemplates nonresident applicants. A nonresident should ask the chosen sheriff which form and which identification that office takes.

Key statutes