Open Carry in Florida

Statute: except as otherwise provided by law, it is unlawful to openly carry a firearm on or about one's person (second-degree misdemeanor); a person authorized to carry concealed may briefly and openly display a firearm unless it is displayed in an angry or threatening manner not in self-defense. Court status: in McDaniels v. State, 419 So. 3d 1180 (Fla. 1st DCA 2025), the First District Court of Appeal held Florida's open carry law unconstitutional under the Second Amendment, as described by the Fourth District in Eubanks v. State (June 17, 2026). Long guns are covered by the same statute.

A person 18 or older who lawfully possesses a handgun may keep it inside a private vehicle if it is 'securely encased or otherwise not readily accessible for immediate use,' but may not carry it on their person. Long guns may be carried anywhere in a private vehicle for a lawful use. Anyone authorized to carry concealed (licensed or permitless) may carry on their person in a vehicle, and licensees may carry or store a firearm in a vehicle for lawful purposes.

Licensees (and permitless carriers) may not carry into: places of nuisance; police, sheriff or highway patrol stations; detention facilities, prisons or jails; courthouses and courtrooms (judges excepted); polling places; meetings of county, school district, municipal or special district governing bodies; meetings of the Legislature or its committees; school, college or professional athletic events not related to firearms; elementary or secondary school facilities or administration buildings; career centers; the portion of a bar primarily devoted to serving alcohol; college or university facilities; airport passenger terminals and sterile areas (except encased firearms for checking); and places where federal law bans firearms. Possessing a firearm on school property, a school bus or bus stop, or at a school-sponsored event is a third-degree felony, with exceptions including a firearm kept in a vehicle under s. 790.25(4). Licensees may carry on property of religious institutions, subject to the institution's property rights.