Illinois Concealed Carry - How to Get a Permit Fast

Everyone wants to know how to get an Illinois Concealed Carry Permit as soon as the new law is enacted. Well, there are two things to know about Illinois concealed carry permits, and the Illinois concealed carry permit class.

First of all, once the law is enacted, there is expected to be quite a backlog, with over 170,000 applications expected right away. With this in mind, the House Bill (HB1155 as well as HB 997) contains a provision whereby Illinois will recognize out of state concealed carry permits for either 6 months or a year. That is good news if you have a concealed carry permit issued by another state. However, things change after that initial 6 to 12 month period.

Once the initial period of recognition is over, the bill in Springfield that has the most votes, HB1155, states that the Illinois Department of State Police shall enter into a Reciprocity agreement with states that have the same concealed carry permit training requirements as Illinois. The bill lists several states, including Florida, but does NOT list Utah as one of the states.

This is very important, as many people have rushed out to get a Utah concealed carry permit. The good news is that the Utah permit is easy to get, with only a four hour class required. The bad news is that the Utah permit will not do you any good in Illinois long term, according to what is happening in Springfield.

The answer is obvious: get a Florida concealed carry permit and you will cover your bases effectively. First off, you will have the ability to carry concealed right away when the law is enacted and second, you won’t have to worry about the 6 or 12 month period expiring, as your Florida permit will still be good.

The smart way to cover all the bases, to include getting an Illinois concealed carry permit, is to take an NRA Basic Pistol Shooting Course and ask the instructor to have you shoot for qualification with the new Illinois shooting requirements.  This way, you can immediately apply for the Florida concealed carry permit, and you’ll be all set when the Illinois legislation becomes law to get an Illinois concealed carry permit.

To find an NRA Basic Pistol Shooting Course in the Chicago / Northeast Illinois area, contact me at prepperdad@gmail.com. I will have a class on Sunday, April 7th in LaGrange.