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Washington Concealed Carry Permit

Washington requires a Concealed Pistol License to carry. It is shall-issue, the minimum age is 21, and no training is required.

Requirements at a glance

Permit name Concealed Pistol License
Issuing authority The chief of police of the municipality or the sheriff of the county in which the applicant resides. Nonresidents may apply to any chief of police or sheriff anywhere in the state. RCW 9.41.070(1) (version effective until May 1, 2027) reads: 'The chief of police of a municipality or the sheriff of a county shall within thirty days after the filing of an application of any person, issue a license to such person to carry a pistol concealed on his or her person within this state for five years from date of issue, for the purposes of protection or while engaged in business, sport, or while traveling.' The Washington State Department of Licensing keeps the statewide CPL record database but states plainly that 'The Department of Licensing does not issue or renew any firearms licenses.' The Washington State Patrol administers the fingerprint-based background check and, beginning May 1, 2027 under RCW 43.43.575 (enacted by 2025 c 370 s 4), will certify concealed carry firearms safety training programs; WSP does not itself issue CPLs.
System shall-issue
Minimum age 21 — RCW 9.41.070 makes it a disqualifier that the applicant 'is under twenty-one years of age' (current version: 'He or she is under twenty-one years of age'). No lower-age or military exception was found in the statute, and the Department of Licensing's own CPL page states 'You must be 21 years of age or older to apply.' This same age floor is why Washington's reciprocity statute refuses to recognize any state that licenses people under 21.
Training required No
State fee $36 initial / $32 renewal — the state's own charge, not the total
Valid for 5 years
Processing time 30 days after the application is filed; extended to up to 60 days if the applicant does not have a valid Washington driver's license or Washington state identification card, or has not been a resident of the state for the previous 90 consecutive days. Identical in the current and the May 1, 2027 versions of RCW 9.41.070.
Fingerprints Required
Non-resident permit Available

What it actually costs

The state fee is rarely the whole bill. Fingerprinting is usually charged by a private vendor, training is bought from an instructor, and several states add photographs, notarisation or other requirements on top.

State fee $36
FBI fingerprint processing varies — RCW 9.41.070 passes the federal charge through verbatim rather than fixing an amount
Local fingerprinting varies — agencies may charge separately for taking the prints
Late renewal surcharge varies — $10 on top of the $32 renewal fee if you renew after expiration but within the 90-day window; past 90 days you pay the $36 original fee instead
Replacement license varies — $10 paid to the issuing authority

Thirty-six dollars for five years is among the lowest state fees in the country, and today no training is required. Both halves of that are about to change character: on 1 May 2027, 2025 c 370 s 9 (E2SHB 1163, approved 20 May 2025) makes a certified course with 50 rounds of live fire a condition of the license, which will add the largest cost in this table to a permit that currently has almost none. No total is given because the FBI charge sitting on top of the $36 is an explicit pass-through that the statute declines to fix, and local fingerprinting fees vary by agency.

RCW 9.41.070: original five-year license 'thirty-six dollars plus additional charges imposed by the federal bureau of investigation' (the FBI fingerprint-processing charge is passed through and is not fixed by state law). Renewal 'thirty-two dollars.' A licensee 'may renew a license if the licensee applies for renewal within ninety days before or after the expiration date' of the license; a renewal applied for after expiration within that window carries 'ten dollars in addition to the renewal fee.' If more than 90 days have passed since expiration, the Department of Licensing's CPL page states you must reapply for an original license. A replacement license is 'ten dollars to be paid to the issuing authority.' Local agencies may charge separately for fingerprinting services. Both fee amounts and the 90-day window are identical in the current and the May 1, 2027 versions of the statute.

How to apply

  1. Confirm you are 21 or older and not disqualified under RCW 9.41.040 or federal law.
  2. Identify the right agency: if you live in an unincorporated part of a county, apply to the county sheriff; if you live in an incorporated city or town, apply to that city or town's police department or to the county sheriff. Nonresidents may apply to any chief of police or sheriff in Washington. The Department of Licensing's CPL page points to the Washington State Sheriffs' Association county directory to find yours.
  3. Apply in person at that agency. There is no statewide online application and no single statewide PDF form published for download; each agency posts its own copy of the standard CPL application prescribed by the Washington State Patrol, and many require an appointment.
  4. Present valid photo identification with your current address (Washington driver's license or state ID card).
  5. Be fingerprinted by the issuing agency for an original license (fingerprints are generally not retaken on renewal). The agency forwards a complete set of fingerprints to the Washington State Patrol for a state check and to the FBI for a national check.
  6. Pay $36 for an original license plus the FBI's fingerprint-processing charge, or $32 to renew. Confirm the exact amount and accepted payment methods with your local agency, which may also charge a separate fingerprinting service fee.
  7. The agency runs state and federal criminal history and mental health record checks.
  8. The license must be issued or denied within 30 days, or within 60 days if you lack a Washington driver's license or state ID card or have not been a Washington resident for the previous 90 consecutive days.
  9. The license is valid 5 years from date of issue. You may renew within 90 days before or 90 days after the expiration date; renewing after expiration inside that window costs an extra $10, and once more than 90 days have passed you must apply for an original license again.
  10. NOTE for applications filed on or after May 1, 2027: you will also need a certificate of completion from a WSP-certified concealed carry firearms safety training program taken within the previous 5 years, including live fire of at least 50 rounds, unless you are exempt under RCW 9.41.1132(5).

Apply on the official Washington site

What disqualifies you

Where to get the required training

Washington does not publish a central list of certified instructors. Confirm directly with The chief of police of the municipality or the sheriff of the county in which the applicant resides. Nonresidents may apply to any chief of police or sheriff anywhere in the state. RCW 9.41.070(1) (version effective until May 1, 2027) reads: 'The chief of police of a municipality or the sheriff of a county shall within thirty days after the filing of an application of any person, issue a license to such person to carry a pistol concealed on his or her person within this state for five years from date of issue, for the purposes of protection or while engaged in business, sport, or while traveling.' The Washington State Department of Licensing keeps the statewide CPL record database but states plainly that 'The Department of Licensing does not issue or renew any firearms licenses.' The Washington State Patrol administers the fingerprint-based background check and, beginning May 1, 2027 under RCW 43.43.575 (enacted by 2025 c 370 s 4), will certify concealed carry firearms safety training programs; WSP does not itself issue CPLs. that a course will be accepted before you pay for it.

Training providers in Washington

Businesses in our directory that offer firearms training. These are not state-verified as certified permit instructors — check against the official list above, or ask the provider directly.

All firearms training in Washington →

Reciprocity

Carrying into Washington

Washington recognizes permits from 10 other jurisdictions.

Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Utah

25 jurisdictions honor a Washington permit

Derived from what each of those states officially publishes.

Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin

Official Washington reciprocity page Full reciprocity matrix →

Building your own in Washington

Build for personal use
Prohibited
Serial number required
Yes

Washington is among the most restrictive states on home firearm manufacture, and for an ordinary resident the practical answer is NO. The controlling text, read verbatim on September 15, 2026, is RCW 9.41.327 (as amended by 2026 c 203 s 7; 2022 c 105 s 5). Subsection (6) is decisive: 'No person may knowingly or recklessly manufacture a frame or receiver or an unfinished frame or receiver by use of a three-dimensional printer, computer numerical control milling machine, or by other means, unless the party manufacturing the frame or receiver or unfinished frame or receiver is a federal firearms manufacturer, or is a federal firearms dealer licensed for the sole purpose of repairing existing firearms.' Subsection (1) bars knowing or reckless possession, transport, or receipt of an unfinished frame or receiver after March 10, 2023 unless the party is a law enforcement agency or a federal firearms importer/manufacturer/dealer, or the unfinished frame or receiver has been imprinted with a serial number issued by a federal firearms importer, manufacturer, or dealer; subsection (2) bars sale, transfer, and purchase on the same terms. Subsections (3) through (5) restrict selling, distributing, possessing with intent to distribute, and possessing with intent to 3D-print or CNC-mill from 'digital firearm manufacturing code' for an unfinished frame or receiver. Penalties under subsection (8) escalate: a first violation is 'a civil infraction and shall be assessed a monetary penalty of $500'; a second is a misdemeanor; a third or later is a gross misdemeanor; possessing, transporting, receiving, selling, transferring, purchasing, or manufacturing three or more frames/receivers at a time is a gross misdemeanor; and a separate violation is committed 'for each and every frame or receiver, or unfinished frame or receiver.' CORRECTION to the prior version of this record: a serialization mechanism does exist. RCW 9.41.328 (2022 c 105 s 6) provides that 'A federal firearms dealer or other federal licensee authorized to provide marking services for firearms may imprint a firearm or unfinished frame or receiver with a serial number,' using the dealer's abbreviated FFL number as a prefix, and RCW 9.41.327(7) exempts such imprinted items from the possession ban. So a private person can lawfully POSSESS an unfinished frame or receiver that an FFL has serialized for them - but RCW 9.41.327(6) still forbids that private person from machining or printing the frame or receiver themselves, so the build itself remains unlawful. Three further provisions stack on top. RCW 9.41.190 makes it a class C felony to manufacture an undetectable firearm, or to manufacture an untraceable firearm with intent to sell it, expressly including manufacture 'by use of a three-dimensional printer, computer numerical control milling machine, or other means.' RCW 9.41.325 (2026 c 203 s 5; 2019 c 243 s 2) makes it a gross misdemeanor, and a class C felony for subsequent knowing violations charged per firearm, to knowingly or recklessly allow, facilitate, aid, or abet the manufacture or assembly of an undetectable or untraceable firearm by a person ineligible to possess firearms or who has filed a valid voluntary waiver of firearm rights. RCW 9.41.390 separately provides that no person in this state may manufacture, import, distribute, sell, or offer for sale any assault weapon as defined by state law. RCW 9.41.010 defines 'untraceable firearm' as a firearm manufactured after July 1, 2019 that is not an antique and cannot be traced by law enforcement by means of a serial number, and 'manufacture' as the fabrication, making, formation, production, or construction of a firearm by manual labor or machinery. This is a summary of statutory text, not legal advice.

RCW 9.41.327; RCW 9.41.328; RCW 9.41.190; RCW 9.41.325; RCW 9.41.390; definitions at RCW 9.41.010

Federal law, gunsmithing schools, and tools →

Statutes

What we could not confirm

  • TIME-SENSITIVE: RCW 9.41.070 currently exists in two published versions. Everything reported here about training and fingerprint exemptions reflects the version headed '(Effective until May 1, 2027.)'. On May 1, 2027 the version credited to 2026 c 36 s 11; 2025 c 370 s 9 takes effect and adds a mandatory certified-training requirement with 50-round live fire. The enacting session law is 2025 c 370 (E2SHB 1163, approved 20 May 2025), whose effective date is 1 May 2027 for all sections except section 6 (in effect since 27 July 2025). Any republication of this record on or after 1 May 2027 is wrong unless re-verified.
  • There is no statewide Washington CPL application form or online portal. officialApplicationUrl points to the Department of Licensing's CPL page, which is the state's own applicant-facing page: it explains that local police chiefs and sheriffs issue CPLs, tells you which agency to use based on where you live, and links the Washington State Sheriffs' Association county directory. It does not host a downloadable application form, and I did not confirm any canonical statewide WSP-prescribed PDF available for public download. Applicants must still get the form from their local agency.
  • The FBI fingerprint-processing charge added to the $36 original fee is not fixed by state law and I could not find an official Washington or FBI page stating the current dollar amount specifically for a CPL fingerprint submission. Local agencies may also levy a separate fingerprinting service fee that varies by agency and that I did not verify.
  • instructorRegistryUrl is null because Washington has no certified concealed-carry-instructor or certified-program registry today. The WSP Firearms Background Division page says the training requirement is 'Not required until May 2027' and that WSP is targeting early 2027 for the certification user interface; searching wsp.wa.gov on 2026-09-15 turned up no dedicated Firearms Safety Training Certification Program page yet. A registry URL will likely exist before the mandate begins and should be added then.
  • I attributed 2026 c 36 s 10 (the amendment now appearing on the currently effective version of RCW 9.41.070) to HB 2632, a statute-wide 'advanced registered nurse practitioner' to 'advanced practice registered nurse' terminology act, and concluded it made no substantive CPL change. Section 10 is not listed in the 'Effective dates - 2026 c 36 ss 5, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16, and 30' note following RCW 7.68.030, so I infer it took effect on the default date rather than a delayed one. I did not read the chapter 36 session law text itself to confirm either point, so treat the characterization of 2026 c 36 s 10 as inferred rather than verified.
  • RCW 9.41.010 is published with a version headed '(Effective June 30, 2027.)' that I did not read. The definitions of 'untraceable firearm', 'undetectable firearm', and 'manufacture' quoted in homeManufacture come from the currently effective version; the 2027 version could alter them and should be checked before that date.
  • The disqualifier list is now cross-checked against the text of RCW 9.41.040 as well as RCW 9.41.070's own list, but RCW 9.41.040 incorporates a long schedule of predicate offenses and restoration-of-rights conditions that cannot be reduced to bullet points. Treat the list as representative of the main categories rather than legally exhaustive.
  • RCW 9.41.190 and RCW 9.41.390 were carried forward from the 2026-08-10 research and were not re-read verbatim today, so their current session-law credits and any 2026 amendments are unconfirmed. They affect only the homeManufacture narrative, not any carry-permit field.

Sources