Is open carry legal in Florida now?
This one requires precision, because the popular version of the answer is incomplete in a way that can get someone arrested.
In September 2025, Florida's First District Court of Appeal held the state's open carry ban unconstitutional in *McDaniels v. State*. The Attorney General issued guidance to law enforcement shortly after and declined to appeal, and open carry has since been treated as lawful across the state.
What has not happened: the statute banning open carry has not been repealed. It remains in the Florida Statutes. The decision came from the First District, which covers the Panhandle — not the Fourth District, which covers the Treasure Coast, and which has not ruled on the question. The decision also sits in tension with a 2017 Florida Supreme Court decision upholding the ban.
So the current situation rests on a ruling from another district plus an enforcement policy. Policies change.
Every location restriction still applies, and private property owners may still prohibit firearms — refusing to leave or disarm can support a felony armed trespass charge.
This is genuinely unsettled. Before you carry openly, get current advice — this answer could be different in six months. ---
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