Free Concealed Carry License for Veterans in Ohio

On 1 August, 2018, Governor Kasich of Ohio abstained from his last chance to veto SB 81.  SB 81 requires sheriffs in Ohio to accept application for concealed handgun licenses from current and former military members, without a fee.  From legiscan.com:

To amend section 2923.125 of the Revised Code to waive the concealed carry license fee for active members of the armed forces and retired and honorably discharged veterans, to accept military experience with firearms as proof of competency with firearms regardless of when the applicant for a license acquired the experience, to permit a licensee to renew a concealed handgun license at any time before the expiration of the license, and to require the Attorney General to monitor the number of license fees waived and cap the total amount allowed to be waived at $1.5 million.

SB 81 was popular in the legislature. It passed the House 81-7. It passed the Senate 31-2. Those numbers are far beyond the 60% of votes necessary to override a veto by the Governor.


The fee for a concealed carry license in Ohio is $67 for residents of five years and more; $67 and the cost of a background check for residents of less than five years. The only non-residents who will be accepted are those who work in Ohio. In addition, veterans will not be required to take additional training to obtain the Ohio concealed carry permit.

The total amount to be waived is capped at $1.5 million per year. That translates to 22,388 veterans to be allowed free concealed carry permits in Ohio each year. The veterans have to be on active duty or have left the service with an honorable discharge.  A DD214 form is considered sufficient proof of service.

The Sheriffs are required to report to the Attorney General of Ohio, each time a license is issued to veterans. The Attorney General is responsible to inform sheriffs when the total amount of fees waived has reached $1.5 million.

 If, as expected, the numbers of fees waived are made available to the public, the percentage of people who are issued concealed carry permits who are veterans will be available.  It is expected that veterans make up a disproportionate number of people with carry permits. There are about 20 million veterans in the United States, or about seven percent of the U.S. adult population.

In 2017, Ohio had 623,000 active concealed carry permits. Ohio passed its shall issue concealed carry law in 2004. Ohio issued 158,000 new and renewed licenses in 2016.  In 2017, Ohio issued 131,000 new and renewed licenses.

An effective date has not been assigned to SB 81 as of the time of this writing.

©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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