Why I chose the CT, FL, ME, NH, and PA non-resident licenses

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IMPORTANT NOTE: This article is no longer being updated by the author and will become increasingly out-dated.

So why did I opt to apply for all five of the non-resident licenses that I chose (CT, FL, ME, NH and PA)? I travel each year to New England, and neither Connecticut, New Hampshire nor Maine accept the Ohio license. Nor do they accept any states' non-resident license but their own. Until the Ohio Attorney General negotiates reciprocity with those states (not likely at present, due to significant differences in the laws), my only options for carry in Connecticut, New Hampshire or Maine are each state's own non-resident licenses.

I purchased the PA license because it was cheap (and fast!), and I often travel to and through Pennsylvania. The PA license additionally gained Texas and North Dakota (though Ohio now has reciprocity with ND), and when coupled with the New Hampshire license, gave access to every state offered at that time, by the Florida non- resident license, except Nevada. The Florida license provided access to Nevada, and thus was obtained to broaden access throughout the Southwest. Since then, Nevada has dropped acceptance of Florida, and has chosen instead to accept Ohio. The Florida non-resident license is now redundant, and no longer needed (though in the years between now and when my Florida license expires, that could certainly change.)