Traveling (Driving) to FL in a few months.  

I have my CCL in illinois.  Actually , I have my renewal class next thursday.  Not sure ill even be legal in illinois by then (April) but hypothetically, looking for some answers.

I live 3 hours from chicago and plan to never ever go back to chicago again.  EVER.  But, my kids are getting older so we want to travel.  I live in an awkward spot of Illinois, any decent vacation is at least 10+ hours from my home.

So, gentleman, the HACK i am looking for it which states to get permits in to allow me to carry in as many states as possible?  I am good for my route, besides my ending location, Florida!

I work in Iowa, so i was thinking of looking into Iowas permit.  

Any and all help greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/resources/ccw_reciprocity_map/ia-gun-laws/

I had never clicked through all the states. Looks like Alaska is accepted in the most states. Wonder how I can get their permit.

https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/resources/terminology/types-of-concealed-carry-licensurepermitting-policies/unrestricted/

it says all 50 for alaska but theyre still red on the map?

So theres online classes for iowa ranging from $20-$140.  Then $50 for application fee.  Any other states offer this cheaper?

To get an IOWA permit i need to be an IOWA resident.  

Onto Florida.....

It says Alaska honors 50 states and 38 states have reciprocity.

Illinois and Florida will get you 38 states. I have had FL since 1993 @21yo and IL pretty close to the start.

You do know, with no permits you an carry in 24 Constitutional Carry states (The 25th North Dakota requires you to be a resident for Constitutional Carry) EDIT: FL is now the 26th state as of 7/1/23. Concealed only. Have not looked if more places off limit compared to a permit holder.

With CC IL and FL

The States you can not are:

1.California (possible out of state permit but will only be good in certain area with preemption)
2. Colorado (you can open carry no permit except Denver County. Car carry seems to be good state wide. No out of state permits except military and family members who are stationed in Colorado.
3. Connecticut out of state permit issued, if you have a CC permit from your home state.
4. Hawaii (no non resident permits)
5. Maryland (non resident permits issued )
6. Massachusetts  (non resident permits issued )
7. New Jersey (non resident permits issued )
8. New York (part time resident or for work issued to out of state)
9. Oregon (open carry with no permit, no carry in car) (only connecting states for non resident permits)
10. Pennsylvania ( You can open carry without a permit. No carry in a car though. Philly is also off limits as they have a population over 1,000,000
Out of state permits issued but pick the county carefully some will not issue because feels. In person only. Was by mail not long ago. I had one expired.
11. Rhode Island (you can carry in car only with any US CC permit) ( you can apply for non resident if you have a home state permit)
12. Washington (open carry with no permit allowed, no car carry) ( non resident permits issued)

While in theory it possible to get out of state permits  it may be unlikely Most of these only recognize resident permits so Illinois not Florida. There are 2 or 3 on this list that would be a go if you where a Florida resident but you lose others without Illinois resident permit

PA and Washington are the most doable but both are in person applications only. If you get a non resident Utah permit (all ready covered by FL, IL ) it will cover Washington. You can do that by mail.

Not sure if any of these 12 get you any other states if not resident permit.

There may be some states you would all ready covered with IL and FL,  that  may get you some of these 12 but have not looked very hard.

You need some training for FL it was 16 hrs on my first one in 1993 good for ever. Not near that now. Not sure if an IL cert works or not. Go to an Agriculture office after making a online appointment. Fingerprinted there fill out the application they copy your training. Pay your fee. It may be in the mail before you get back home. Keep the documentation you need a copy each time. (I think ) I just put one in each time I renewed. You need it for sure if it expires. You can apply or renew by mail but only Police can fingerprint and has to be ink and card outside of Florida. There is an office in Ft Walton Beach/ Destin if headed there. EDIT: it does look like at least some IL courses will qualify for FL permit. The one I saw has more than the 30 rd qualifier for IL not sure what FL needs so this may be it.

You can car carry in FL with out a permit and all states between IL and there are CC . Alabama started 1/1/23

You do need to look up off limits places, duty to inform though stuff like that in each of those states. Im tired of typing

When I still lived in Illinois, I had permits from Florida and Utah. they covered most of the states I was interested in visiting and they weren't difficult to get.

The only thing Utah gets you is Washington . Everything else is covered by FL and IL. Not sure what is easier Cheaper. Utah vs Washington

I'm talking about all the way back to before Illinois issued permits. At that time, I believe Utah covered more then just Washington, but I might be mistaken.

Yes your correct back then. I had a
Florida in 1993 then added a Utah and PA when it was mail in. Now it's in person only.

With FL and IL  you are covered in 38 states including Utah. If you want Wahington it's in person only but Utah permit covers Wahington and you can get that by mail.

Somewhat off topic, but when I got a Missouri driver's license in 2017, within a couple days I received a letter from the Illinois State Police notifying me that my Illinois FOID and CCW were invalid. It went on to say that if I failed to turn in my FOID and CCW permit to a state police station within 48 hours, a warrant would be issued for my arrest. They were quick to get on that right away, but people wait months for their permits when they apply.

You IL CCW covers Iowa and 32 Total

Bump for 2edits in my above post.

IL CCW classes and CC carry in FL as of 7/1/23