                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

APPLICATION FOR A CONCEALED HANDGUN PERMIT; VIRGINIA RESIDENT OR DOMICILIARY (§
18.2-308.02)

A. Any person 21 years of age or older may apply in writing to the clerk of the
circuit court of the county or city in which he resides, or if he is a member of
the United States Armed Forces and stationed outside the Commonwealth, the
county or city in which he is domiciled, for a five-year permit to carry a
concealed handgun. There shall be no requirement regarding the length of time an
applicant has been a resident or domiciliary of the county or city. The
application shall be on a form prescribed by the Department of State Police, in
consultation with the Supreme Court, requiring only that information necessary
to determine eligibility for the permit. Additionally, the application shall
request but not require that the applicant provide an email or other electronic
address where a notice of permit expiration can be sent pursuant to subsection C
of &#xA7; 18.2-308.010. The applicant shall present one valid form of photo
identification issued by a governmental agency of the Commonwealth or by the
U.S. Department of Defense or U.S. State Department (passport). No information
or documentation other than that which is allowed on the application in
accordance with this section may be requested or required by the clerk or the
court.

B. The court shall require proof that the applicant has demonstrated competence
with a handgun in person and the applicant may demonstrate such competence by
one of the following, but no applicant shall be required to submit to any
additional demonstration of competence, nor shall any proof of demonstrated
competence expire:

   1. Completing any hunter education or hunter safety course approved by the
   Department of Wildlife Resources or a similar agency of another state;

   2. Completing any National Rifle Association or United States Concealed Carry
   Association firearms safety or training course;

   3. Completing any firearms safety or training course or class available to the
   general public offered by a law-enforcement agency, institution of higher
   education, or private or public institution or organization or firearms
   training school utilizing instructors certified by the National Rifle
   Association, the United States Concealed Carry Association, or the Department
   of Criminal Justice Services;

   4. Completing any law-enforcement firearms safety or training course or class
   offered for security guards, investigators, special deputies, or any division
   or subdivision of law enforcement or security enforcement;

   5. Presenting evidence of equivalent experience with a firearm through
   participation in organized shooting competition or current military service or
   proof of an honorable discharge from any branch of the armed services;

   6. Obtaining or previously having held a license to carry a firearm in the
   Commonwealth or a locality thereof, unless such license has been revoked for
   cause;

   7. Completing any in-person firearms training or safety course or class
   conducted by a state-certified, National Rifle Association-certified, or
   United States Concealed Carry Association-certified firearms instructor;

   8. Completing any governmental police agency firearms training course and
   qualifying to carry a firearm in the course of normal police duties; or

   9. Completing any other firearms training that the court deems adequate.
   				A photocopy of a certificate of completion of any of the courses or
   classes; an affidavit from the instructor, school, club, organization, or
   group that conducted or taught such course or class attesting to the
   completion of the course or class by the applicant; or a copy of any document
   that shows completion of the course or class or evidences participation in
   firearms competition shall constitute evidence of qualification under this
   subsection.

C. The making of a materially false statement in an application under this
article shall constitute perjury, punishable as provided in &#xA7; 18.2-434.

D. The clerk of court shall withhold from public disclosure the
applicant&#8217;s name and any other information contained in a permit
application or any order issuing a concealed handgun permit, except that such
information shall not be withheld from any law-enforcement officer acting in the
performance of his official duties or from the applicant with respect to his own
information. The prohibition on public disclosure of information under this
subsection shall not apply to any reference to the issuance of a concealed
handgun permit in any order book before July 1, 2008; however, any other
concealed handgun records maintained by the clerk shall be withheld from public
disclosure.

E. An application is deemed complete when all information required to be
furnished by the applicant, including the fee for a concealed handgun permit as
set forth in &#xA7; 18.2-308.03, is delivered to and received by the clerk of
court before or concomitant with the conduct of a state or national criminal
history records check.

F. For purposes of this section, a member of the United States Armed Forces is
domiciled in the county or city where such member claims his home of record with
the United States Armed Forces.

HISTORY: 2013, cc. 659, 746; 2014, cc. 16, 401, 549; 2017, cc. 99, 237; 2019, c.
624; 2020, cc. 390, 958, 1130; 2023, cc. 93, 94.