Prohibited Places: Where You Cannot Carry in Florida

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June 18, 2026 · Dan Ribacoff, NRA-Certified Instructor

Read the statute, not the summary

This article is educational background, not legal advice, and prohibited-location law is exactly the area where relying on a summary is a bad idea. The statutory list is specific, it has been amended, and the consequences of getting it wrong facility from being asked to leave to criminal charges.

Florida Statutes chapter 790 is the relevant body of law. Read it. It is not long, and it is written in reasonably plain language. Then, if your circumstances are unusual, consult a Florida attorney.

What this article can usefully do is describe the general categories and, more importantly, the habits that keep you out of trouble.

The general categories

Broadly, Florida law has historically restricted carry in locations including:

• School, college and university property, with limited exceptions.
• Courthouses and courtrooms.
• Polling places.
• Detention facilities and jails.
• Police, sheriff and highway patrol stations.
• Meetings of governing bodies and legislative sessions.
• Secure areas of airports — that is, past the security checkpoint.
• Establishments licensed to dispense alcohol for on-premises consumption, in the portion of the premises primarily devoted to that purpose.
• Certain other locations specified by statute or by federal law.

The bar and restaurant question

This one causes more confusion than any other, particularly in Delray Beach, Fort Lauderdale and other areas with dense restaurant districts.

The general framework has distinguished between the portion of an establishment primarily devoted to dispensing alcohol for on-premises consumption and other portions of the premises. A restaurant that serves alcohol is treated differently from a bar, and the line runs through the premises rather than around the business.

Two practical points. First, the specifics matter and you should read the statute. Second, and separately from any legal question: carrying while consuming alcohol is a bad idea regardless of what the law permits. Judgement and firearms are a combination worth protecting carefully.

Private property

Independent of the statutory list, private property owners can generally prohibit firearms on their premises. Signage practices vary, and the legal effect of a sign differs from state to state.

As a practical matter: if you are asked to leave a private property because you are armed, leave. Whatever the underlying legal position, arguing it on the spot is the worst available option.

Employers may also restrict firearms on their property, though Florida has specific provisions relating to firearms lawfully kept in private vehicles in parking areas. This is another area to verify carefully rather than assume.

Building habits that keep you out of trouble

Most prohibited-location problems are not deliberate. They are someone who carries daily, went somewhere unusual, and simply did not think about it.

• Have a securing plan before you leave the house. A vehicle lockbox secured to the frame is the standard answer. Not a glovebox, and not under a seat.
• Think ahead about the day's itinerary. A school pickup, a courthouse errand or a government office visit should be identified before you get dressed.
• Practise the transition. Removing and securing a firearm in a vehicle is a handling operation and should be done deliberately, discreetly and in a way that never points the muzzle at yourself or others.
• Do not handle firearms in public view. Even lawful handling looks alarming to bystanders.
• When genuinely unsure, do not carry into the location. The cost of leaving it secured is nothing. The cost of being wrong is substantial.

Travelling outside Florida

Reciprocity means other states recognise your Florida license, not that Florida law travels with you. Prohibited locations, magazine capacity limits, transport requirements, duty-to-inform rules and carry methods all vary considerably between states.

Before travelling, check the destination state's rules and every state you will drive through. Several states along common driving routes from Florida do not honour Florida licenses and have significantly different laws.

Air travel has its own set of federal requirements: firearms must be unloaded, in a locked hard-sided case, declared at check-in and transported as checked baggage, with ammunition packed according to airline and federal rules. Verify current TSA and airline requirements before every trip; they change and they are enforced strictly.

Where this fits in training

The legal framework is covered at an educational level in the concealed weapon license course, and in more practical detail in concealed carry skills training — particularly the habits and mechanics of securing a firearm when entering a prohibited location, which is a physical skill as much as a legal one.

What no instructor can do is give you legal advice about your specific situation. For that, a Florida attorney who practises in this area is the correct resource, and the consultation is inexpensive relative to the alternative.

Carrying is a habit set, not a purchase

The most common failure mode among new license holders is not a legal one or a marksmanship one. It is simply not carrying — buying the gun, buying the holster, carrying for two weeks, finding it uncomfortable, and quietly stopping.

Preventing that is mostly about setting the system up properly at the start. Buy a rigid gun belt before you buy a second holster; most holster complaints are actually belt complaints. Expect to spend money on two or three holsters before finding the one that works for your body and wardrobe, and treat that as a normal cost rather than a series of mistakes. Dress around the firearm rather than trying to make the firearm fit an existing wardrobe, which in South Florida means thinking carefully about lightweight untucked shirts and about what happens when you sit down in a car.

Then rehearse the boring parts. Drawing from concealment in dry fire, slowly. Reholstering even more slowly, with eyes on the holster, because that is the more dangerous half of the motion. Getting in and out of a vehicle. Using a public restroom. Removing and securing the firearm when entering a prohibited location. These unglamorous mechanics are what determine whether carrying is sustainable, and they are almost never covered in a license course.

Train with a certified instructor in South Florida

Reading about shooting is useful. Being watched while you shoot is transformative — because the faults that limit you are, almost by definition, the ones you cannot see yourself. Delray Firearms Training provides private, NRA-certified instruction with Dan Ribacoff throughout Palm Beach County and Broward County, including Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs and Weston.

Lessons are one-on-one by default, arranged by appointment seven days a week, and shaped around your experience level rather than a fixed script. Whether you have never fired a shot or you have carried for twenty years and want a specific problem solved, the starting point is a short conversation.

Call 516-315-2809 Request a Time

About the instructor

Dan Ribacoff is an NRA-certified firearms instructor, licensed private investigator and career security professional who has spent decades in investigations, executive protection and private security. He teaches handgun, rifle, carbine, shotgun, concealed carry, home defense and maintenance courses across South Florida. Read more about Dan →

Related reading

• Concealed Carry in South Florida Heat: Practical Solutions
• Reciprocity and Travelling With a Firearm From Florida
• Use of Force: The Framework Every Florida Carrier Should Understand