BROOKESVILLE, Fla. — Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam today announced that local residents can apply for or renew state concealed weapon licenses at the Hernando County Tax Collector beginning Thursday, May 12. Hernando County Tax Collector Sally Daniel is the 27th county tax collector in Florida whose office is now part of this partnership, the first of its kind in the country. There are now 35 locations in Florida to apply for or renew a state concealed weapon license.
“I am proud to partner with hardworking tax collectors across the state to offer Floridians a more convenient way to apply for or renew a concealed weapon license,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam.
This partnership allows tax collectors to receive applications, take fingerprints and photographs and send the information to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to process the request for a concealed weapon license.
“As tax collector, I am committed to improving customer service, and processing concealed weapon license applications is an important service to many of our customers,” said Sally Daniel, Hernando County Tax Collector.
The 27 tax collectors participating in both the application and renewal process for concealed weapon licenses include the following counties: Brevard, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, Escambia, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Lee, Leon, Marion, Martin, Nassau, Okaloosa, Pasco, Pinellas, Putnam, Seminole, St. Johns, Suwannee and Walton.
Legislation sponsored in 2014 by Sen. Wilton Simpson in the Senate and Rep. James Grant in the House of Representatives allowed tax collectors to begin accepting applications. The convenience of applying at a tax collector’s office will not affect the integrity of the concealed weapon license program. Since the partnership with tax collectors began, nearly 70,000 concealed weapon license applications have been accepted by tax collector offices. There are currently more than 1.5 million concealed weapon licenses.
Consumers can still apply for or renew a concealed weapons license via mail or at one of the department’s eight regional offices in the following locations: Doral, Fort Walton, Jacksonville, North Port, Orlando, Tallahassee, Tampa and West Palm Beach.
Additionally, in July 2015, Commissioner Putnam announced that the department is expediting concealed weapon license applications for all active military members and veterans. To date, more than 34,957 active military members and veterans have received expedited concealed weapon licenses.
Anyone who has moved since the issuance of their concealed weapon license should update his or her address online at FreshFromFlorida.com
