Eligibility Requirements
Qualifications That Must Be Met Before Applying for a Tennessee Handgun Carry Permit (Enhanced or Concealed)
- Effective July 1, 2005, all handgun permit applicants seeking a new permit must provide proof of U.S. Citizenship or Lawful Permanent Residency.
- Applicants must not be prohibited from purchasing or possessing a handgun in this, or any other, state.
- Must not have a felony conviction and not currently under indictment for a felony
- Must not have a charge pending for domestic violence and never been convicted of domestic violence
- Must not be a fugitive from justice
- Must not have been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions
- Must not be an illegal alien or unlawfully in the United States
- Has not renounced their United States citizenship
- Does not have an Order of Protection or a restraining order filed against them
- Not an unlawful user of or addicted to alcohol or any controlled substance or controlled substance analogue
- Not a patient in a rehabilitation program and have not been hospitalized for alcohol, controlled substance or controlled substance analogue within ten (10) years (if court ordered) or 3 years (if voluntary)
- Must not have had two (2) convictions for DUI in ten (10) years, with one of those being within the last five (5) years
- Not currently under the jurisdiction of the court for a DUI or any other Class A misdemeanor conviction
- Has not been adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to/or hospitalized in a mental institution
- Has not had a court appoint a conservator for me by reason of mental defect
- Has not been judicially determined to be disabled by reason of mental illness, development disability or other mental incapacity
- Has not been found by a court to pose an immediate substantial likelihood of serious harm, because of mental illness within seven (7) years from the date of application
- Has not been convicted of stalking and have no pending charge(s) for stalking
- Not receiving social security disability benefits by reason of alcohol dependence, drug dependence, or mental disability
- Applicants are required to be a resident of the state of Tennessee
- Be at least eighteen (18) years of age
Acceptable Proof of U.S. Citizenship or Lawful Permanent Residency Documents
- Official Birth Certificate issued by a U.S. state, jurisdiction or territory (Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Swain's Island, Guam)
- IMPORTANT: Puerto Rican birth certificates issued before July 1, 2010 will not be recognized as proof of Lawful U.S. Citizenship beginning November 1, 2010.
- The government of Puerto Rico has provided information for citizens to apply for new birth certificates.
- U.S. Government-issued Certified Birth Certificate
- U.S. Certificate of Birth Abroad (DS-1350 or FS-545)
- Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the U.S. (FS-240)
- Valid, unexpired U.S. Passport
- Certificate of Citizenship (N560 or N561)
- Certificate of Naturalization (N550, N570 or N578)
- U.S. Citizen Identification Card (I-197, I-179)
- Unexpired Permanent Resident Alien Card (I-551), issued for ten (10) years.