Indiana Code 35-47-2-3. License requirement; application; procedure
(1) If the applicant is a resident of this state:
Attorney's Note
Under the Indiana Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Level 4 felony | between 2 and 12 years | up to $10,000 |
| Class B misdemeanor | up to 180 days | up to $1,000 |
Terms Used In Indiana Code 35-47-2-3
- Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- in writing: include printing, lithographing, or other mode of representing words and letters. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
- Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
- Sheriff: means the sheriff of the county or another person authorized to perform sheriff's duties. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
- United States: includes the District of Columbia and the commonwealths, possessions, states in free association with the United States, and the territories. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
- Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
(B) if that municipality has no such officer, or if the applicant does not reside in a municipality, to the sheriff of the county in which the applicant resides after the applicant has obtained an application form prescribed by the superintendent.
(2) If the applicant is a resident of another state and has a regular place of business or employment in Indiana, to the sheriff of the county in which the applicant has a regular place of business or employment.
The superintendent and local law enforcement agencies shall allow an applicant desiring to obtain or renew a license to carry a handgun to submit an application electronically under this chapter if funds are available to establish and maintain an electronic application system.
(b) This subsection applies before July 1, 2020. The law enforcement agency which accepts an application for a handgun license shall collect the following application fees:
(1) From a person applying for a four (4) year handgun license, a ten dollar ($10) application fee, five dollars ($5) of which shall be refunded if the license is not issued.
(2) From a person applying for a lifetime handgun license who does not currently possess a valid Indiana handgun license, a fifty dollar ($50) application fee, thirty dollars ($30) of which shall be refunded if the license is not issued.
(3) From a person applying for a lifetime handgun license who currently possesses a valid Indiana handgun license, a forty dollar ($40) application fee, thirty dollars ($30) of which shall be refunded if the license is not issued.
Except as provided in subsection (j), the fee shall be deposited into the law enforcement agency’s firearms training fund or other appropriate training activities fund and used by the agency to train law enforcement officers in the proper use of firearms or in other law enforcement duties, or to purchase firearms, firearm related equipment, or body armor (as defined in IC 35-47-5-13(a)) for the law enforcement officers employed by the law enforcement agency. The state board of accounts shall establish rules for the proper accounting and expenditure of funds collected under this subsection.
(c) This subsection applies after June 30, 2020, and before July 1, 2021. The law enforcement agency which accepts an application for a handgun license shall not collect a fee from a person applying for a five (5) year handgun license and shall collect the following application fees:
(1) From a person applying for a lifetime handgun license who does not currently possess a valid Indiana handgun license, a fifty dollar ($50) application fee, thirty dollars ($30) of which shall be refunded if the license is not issued.
(2) From a person applying for a lifetime handgun license who currently possesses a valid Indiana handgun license, a forty dollar ($40) application fee, thirty dollars ($30) of which shall be refunded if the license is not issued.
Except as provided in subsection (j), the fee shall be deposited into the law enforcement agency’s firearms training fund or other appropriate training activities fund and used by the agency to train law enforcement officers in the proper use of firearms or in other law enforcement duties, or to purchase firearms, firearm related equipment, or body armor (as defined in IC 35-47-5-13(a)) for the law enforcement officers employed by the law enforcement agency. The state board of accounts shall establish rules for the proper accounting and expenditure of funds collected under this subsection.
(d) This subsection applies after June 30, 2021. The law enforcement agency which accepts an application for a handgun license shall not collect a fee from a person applying for a handgun license.
(e) The officer to whom the application is made shall ascertain the applicant’s name, full address, length of residence in the community, whether the applicant’s residence is located within the limits of any city or town, the applicant’s occupation, place of business or employment, criminal record, if any, and convictions (minor traffic offenses excepted), age, race, sex, nationality, date of birth, citizenship, height, weight, build, color of hair, color of eyes, scars and marks, whether the applicant has previously held an Indiana license to carry a handgun and, if so, the serial number of the license and year issued, whether the applicant’s license has ever been suspended or revoked, and if so, the year and reason for the suspension or revocation, and the applicant’s reason for desiring a license. If the applicant is not a United States citizen, the officer to whom the application is made shall ascertain the applicant’s country of citizenship, place of birth, and any alien or admission number issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services or United States Customs and Border Protection or any successor agency as applicable. The officer to whom the application is made shall conduct an investigation into the applicant’s official records and verify thereby the applicant’s character and reputation, and shall in addition verify for accuracy the information contained in the application, and shall forward this information together with the officer’s recommendation for approval or disapproval and one (1) set of legible and classifiable fingerprints of the applicant to the superintendent. An investigation conducted under this section must include the consulting of available local, state, and federal criminal history data banks, including the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to determine whether possession of a firearm by an applicant would be a violation of state or federal law.
(f) The superintendent may make whatever further investigation the superintendent deems necessary. Whenever disapproval is recommended, the officer to whom the application is made shall provide the superintendent and the applicant with the officer’s complete and specific reasons, in writing, for the recommendation of disapproval.
(g) If it appears to the superintendent that the applicant:
(1) has a proper reason for receiving a license to carry a handgun;
(2) is of good character and reputation;
(3) is a proper person to be licensed; and
(4) is:
(A) a citizen of the United States; or
(B) not a citizen of the United States but is allowed to carry a firearm in the United States under federal law;
the superintendent shall issue to the applicant a license to carry a handgun in Indiana. The original license shall be delivered to the licensee. A copy shall be delivered to the officer to whom the application for license was made. A copy shall be retained by the superintendent for at least five (5) years in the case of a five (5) year license. The superintendent may adopt guidelines to establish a records retention policy for a lifetime license. A five (5) year license shall be valid for a period of five (5) years from the date of issue. A lifetime license is valid for the life of the individual receiving the license. The license of police officers, sheriffs or their deputies, and law enforcement officers of the United States government who have twenty (20) or more years of service shall be valid for the life of these individuals. However, a lifetime license is automatically revoked if the license holder does not remain a proper person.
(h) At the time a license is issued and delivered to a licensee under subsection (g), the superintendent shall include with the license information concerning firearms safety rules that:
(1) neither opposes nor supports an individual’s right to bear arms; and
(2) is:
(A) recommended by a nonprofit educational organization that is dedicated to providing education on safe handling and use of firearms;
(B) prepared by the state police department; and
(C) approved by the superintendent.
The superintendent may not deny a license under this section because the information required under this subsection is unavailable at the time the superintendent would otherwise issue a license. The state police department may accept private donations or grants to defray the cost of printing and mailing the information required under this subsection.
(i) A license to carry a handgun shall not be issued to any person who:
(1) has been convicted of a felony;
(2) has had a license to carry a handgun suspended, unless the person’s license has been reinstated;
(3) is under eighteen (18) years of age;
(4) is under twenty-three (23) years of age if the person has been adjudicated a delinquent child for an act that would be a felony if committed by an adult;
(5) has been arrested for a Class A or Class B felony for an offense committed before July 1, 2014, for a Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, or Level 4 felony for an offense committed after June 30, 2014, or any other felony that was committed while armed with a deadly weapon or that involved the use of violence, if a court has found probable cause to believe that the person committed the offense charged;
(6) is prohibited by federal law from possessing or receiving firearms under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g); or
(7) is described in section 1.5 of this chapter, unless exempted by section 1.5 of this chapter.
In the case of an arrest under subdivision (5), a license to carry a handgun may be issued to a person who has been acquitted of the specific offense charged or if the charges for the specific offense are dismissed. The superintendent shall prescribe all forms to be used in connection with the administration of this chapter.
(j) If the law enforcement agency that charges a fee under subsection (b) or (c) is a city or town law enforcement agency, the fee shall be deposited in the law enforcement continuing education fund established under IC 5-2-8-2.
(k) If a person who holds a valid license to carry a handgun issued under this chapter:
(1) changes the person’s name;
(2) changes the person’s address; or
(3) experiences a change, including an arrest or a conviction, that may affect the person’s status as a proper person (as defined in IC 35-47-1-7) or otherwise disqualify the person from holding a license;
the person shall, not later than thirty (30) days after the date of a change described under subdivision (3), and not later than sixty (60) days after the date of the change described under subdivision (1) or (2), notify the superintendent, in writing, of the event described under subdivision (3) or, in the case of a change under subdivision (1) or (2), the person’s new name or new address.
(l) The state police shall indicate on the form for a license to carry a handgun the notification requirements of subsection (k).
(m) The state police department shall adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 to implement an electronic application system under subsection (a). Rules adopted under this section must require the superintendent to keep on file one (1) set of classifiable and legible fingerprints from every person who has received a license to carry a handgun so that a person who applies to renew a license will not be required to submit an additional set of fingerprints.
(n) Except as provided in subsection (o), for purposes of IC 5-14-3-4(a)(1), the following information is confidential, may not be published, and is not open to public inspection:
(1) Information submitted by a person under this section to:
(A) obtain; or
(B) renew;
a license to carry a handgun.
(2) Information obtained by a federal, state, or local government entity in the course of an investigation concerning a person who applies to:
(A) obtain; or
(B) renew;
a license to carry a handgun issued under this chapter.
(3) The name, address, and any other information that may be used to identify a person who holds a license to carry a handgun issued under this chapter.
(o) Notwithstanding subsection (n):
(1) any information concerning an applicant for or a person who holds a license to carry a handgun issued under this chapter may be released to a:
(A) state or local government entity:
(i) for law enforcement purposes; or
(ii) to determine the validity of a license to carry a handgun; or
(B) federal government entity for the purpose of a single entry query of an applicant or license holder who is:
(i) a subject of interest in an active criminal investigation; or
(ii) arrested for a crime; and
(2) general information concerning the issuance of licenses to carry handguns in Indiana may be released to a person conducting journalistic or academic research, but only if all personal information that could disclose the identity of any person who holds a license to carry a handgun issued under this chapter has been removed from the general information.
(p) A person who holds a valid license to carry a handgun under this chapter is licensed to carry a handgun in Indiana.
(q) A person who knowingly or intentionally violates this section commits a Class B misdemeanor.
As added by P.L.311-1983, SEC.32. Amended by P.L.26-1990, SEC.15; P.L.48-1993, SEC.5; P.L.140-1994, SEC.6; P.L.269-1995, SEC.6; P.L.2-1996, SEC.284; P.L.27-2001, SEC.1; P.L.120-2001, SEC.1; P.L.49-2005, SEC.2; P.L.187-2005, SEC.3; P.L.190-2006, SEC.2; P.L.155-2007, SEC.1; P.L.47-2010, SEC.1; P.L.34-2010, SEC.4; P.L.158-2013, SEC.574; P.L.17-2017, SEC.3; P.L.221-2017, SEC.3; P.L.86-2018, SEC.335; P.L.107-2019, SEC.8; P.L.165-2021, SEC.196; P.L.175-2022, SEC.12; P.L.13-2023, SEC.1; P.L.9-2024, SEC.538.