Texas Is A “Shall Issue” State

Texas is a “shall-issue” state, meaning that the Department of Public Safety must generally issue a license to carry a handgun if the applicant meets specified qualifications. Texas law provides that a person is eligible for a license to carry a handgun if the person:

• Is a legal resident of Texas for the six-month period preceding the date of the application or meets the special eligibility requirements for legal residents of other states that do not issue licenses to carry handguns;
• Is at least 21 years of age;

• Is fully qualified under applicable federal and state law to purchase a handgun;
• Has not been convicted of a felony;
• Has not been convicted in the 5 years preceding the date of application of a Class A or Class B misdemeanor, or of a disorderly conduct offense;
• Has not been convicted two or more times within the past 10-year period of an offense of the grade of Class B misdemeanor or greater that involves the use of alcohol or a controlled substance as a statutory element of the offense;
• Is not charged with the commission of a Class A or Class B misdemeanor or disorderly conduct, or of a felony under an information or indictment;
• Is not a fugitive from justice for a felony or a Class A or Class B misdemeanor;

• Is not a “chemically dependent person”;
• Is not currently restricted under a court protective order or subject to a restraining order “affecting the spousal relationship,” other than a restraining order solely affecting property interests;
• Is not incapable of exercising sound judgment with respect to the proper use and storage of a handgun. (This term is defined narrowly to refer to people who:
  • Have been diagnosed by a licensed physician as suffering from a psychiatric disorder or condition that causes or is likely to cause substantial impairment in judgment, mood, perception, impulse control, or intellectual ability;
  • Suffer from a diagnosed psychiatric disorder or condition (as described above) that is either in remission but reasonably likely to redevelop at a future time, or requires continuous medical treatment to avoid redevelopment;
  • Have been diagnosed by a licensed physician or declared by a court to be incompetent to manage their own affairs;
  • Have entered in a criminal proceeding a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.
• Has not been “finally determined” to be delinquent in making a child support payment administered or collected by the attorney general;
• Has not been “finally determined” to be delinquent in the payment of a tax or other money collected by the comptroller, the tax collector of a political subdivision of the state, or any agency or subdivision of the state;
• Has not, in the past 10 years, been adjudicated as having engaged in delinquent conduct constituting a felony;
• Has not made any material misrepresentation, or failed to disclose any material fact, in an application for a license to carry a concealed handgun.

Texas law provides that the local designee of the Department of Public Safety must conduct an additional background check (in addition to the initial background check conducted by the Department) on the applicant using local official records to verify the accuracy of application materials.

If you are not sure if you qualify after reading these qualifications, please reach out. Its still better to attempt to get your license and be told no than to not attempt to get your license and actually be eligible. Background checks are harmless and don’t take a lot of time to perform. Smokin’ Aces Arsenal is here for you!