TexasCHLforum.com

Skeptilius wrote:I looked at the Utah application form and I don't see where you have to be a resident of Utah. Can all this be done by mail? What about the approved course that is required?

It can be done by mail, but you would have to take a class offered by a Utah certified instructor: http://publicsafety.utah.gov/bci/docume ... te_047.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It looks like only 3 people in Houston offer it. Based on that, I would imagine that classes with them are either not offered on a regular basis, or are very expensive for a private class.

I decided to go for a Florida Concealed Weapons License over the Texas CHL due to the complexity of the process here, and because I didn't enjoy the thought of sitting through an 8 hour class. I travel to Florida for work on a regular basis, and that pretty much sealed the deal for me. My course took about 3 hours and included a basic range qualification. After my course, I brushed up on Texas specific laws by reading

Costs (approximate, I forget what they were exactly):
$40.00 Class
$10.00 Passport Photos
$15.00 Fingerprinting and notary at the local PD
$34.00 State biometrics fee
$75.00 State application fee

Total: $174, class and all.

My license is valid for 7 years, and can be renewed by mail with no class necessary - just a fresh set of prints. In fact, you can do the entire process by mail since Florida does not require instructors to be certified by the state police. Military discharge papers (DD-214, I think) can be accepted as proof of firearms proficiency, and so can anything taught by an NRA certified instructor.

The only drawback I've found thus far is that some states (CO, KS, MI, SC, WV, NH) do not recognize non-resident concealed carry licenses. I have no plans on visiting any of those states, so it wasn't a big deal for me.