RUMOR CONTROL: Texas

Editor's Note, September 2010: Laws and rules change. While the author sought to ensure accuracy at the time this article was published, it is incumbent upon the reader to verify any potential changes since then.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This article is no longer being updated by the author and will become increasingly out-dated.

Once upon a time, the state of Texas would not honor a Florida non resident license. This is no longer the case. Unfortunately, one can still find discussion forum threads and stale web pages that assert that Texas will not honor the Florida non-resident license.

The current actual state of affairs is that the state of Texas fully honors Florida non-resident licenses. Calls made directly to 3 different phone numbers within the Texas Department of Public Safety, speaking to different individuals each time, all answered the question directly, and without reservation. The phone numbers dialed, for the Concealed Handgun Licensing Bureau, Texas Department of Public Safety, were (512) 424-7293, (512) 424-7294, and their Help Line (800) 224-5744.

A press release issued by the Public Information Office of the Texas Department of Public Safety, dated September 7, 2000, can be found on the Texas Department of Public Safety's web site. That press release announced the reciprocity agreement (along with one signed with Tennessee), that included the following statements:

Texas has signed reciprocal agreements with Florida and Tennessee, allowing citizens with concealed handgun licenses issued by Florida or Tennessee to legally carry concealed handguns in Texas, and vice versa.

And...

Col. Thomas A. Davis Jr., director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, signed the reciprocity agreements with the State of Florida and the State of Tennessee through which their licensees can visit Texas with their concealed handguns.

These statements make NO attempt to point out, differentiate, distinguish between, single out, include, or exclude either the Florida resident or the Florida non-resident licenses.

The full press release can be found at the following link:

Likewise, I looked into this from the Florida side of things.

From Florida's web page...

It states the following blurbs, at various points. First, at the top...

PLEASE NOTE: The reciprocity information on this page is ALWAYS CURRENT. The Division of Licensing constantly monitors changing gun laws in other states and attempts to negotiate agreements as the laws in those states allow. This list was last updated on January 4, 2008.

It lists the states with which Florida has reciprocity. In that list, it shows:

Texas (1,3,6)

Notation 1 talks about knifes, clubs, and other non-handgun weapons. Notation 3 talks about being age 21. Notation 6 talks about Florida not honoring non-resident licenses from Texas. There is no notation indicating
the reverse... that Texas will not honor the Florida non-resident license.

Continuing down the page, in the FAQ section, one of the questions reads:

QUESTION 4. I have a Florida Concealed Weapon/Firearm License, but I am not a legal resident of Florida. Can I travel to the states that recognize Florida licenses and still carry a concealed weapon?

The answer given states the following...

Most of the reciprocity states will honor Florida non-resident permits; however, authorities in a number of states have informed us that there are specific provisions in their laws that restrict the terms of their mutual recognition agreements ONLY to the LICENSED RESIDENTS of other states. Therefore, those individuals who hold Florida licenses but who are not residents of Florida cannot carry concealed weapons in these states. Please take careful note of those states listed above that have a reference to Footnote 4 after them.

So, I looked at footnote number 4 (which was NOT listed with "Texas (1,3,6)", above...

(4) These states will honor the Florida concealed weapon license ONLY IF the licensee is a resident of the State of Florida.

Given the assertion that the page is always current, that it was last updated in January 2008, and that it does not indicate that footnote #4 applies to Texas, until a verifiable authoritative source can be cited to the contrary, the evidence from each state's agency directly responsible for overseeing their respective state's licensing and reciprocity management indicates that Texas DOES honor the Florida non-resident license.

Next, I posted the following question through the Ask A Question link, on the Florida Division Of Licensing's web page:

The response I received, confirms that I looked in the right place, to make my analysis above.

The Florida web page noted in the emailed response, provides a link to the following Texas web page:

That is the same web page through which I found only the Texas press release above, mentioning anything about Florida.

Finally, I emailed the Texas Department of Public Safety, directly, and received the following definitive response: