PA Gun License Expiration Grace Period Extended to July 15

PENNSYLVANIA — The time period by which Pennsylvania gun license holders will have to renew an expired carry license has once again been pushed back, with the administration of Governor Tom Wolf announcing an additional grace period due to COVID-19 mitigation efforts.

The governor’s decision was announced through the office of the Pennsylvania State Police, which stated on June 30 that a Pennsylvania License to Carry Firearms (LTCF) that was set to expire on March 19, 2020 will now be good through July 15 of this year.

The previous extension went through June 30, 2021 before this latest extension.

The grace period was originally granted by the governor due to the closure of various government buildings and offices because of the coronavirus pandemic. Those closures included courthouses and sheriff’s offices throughout the commonwealth, which is where most carry license renewals are handled.

In cities of the first class, of which Philadelphia is currently the only one in Pennsylvania, gun licenses are actually handled by the chief of police of that city, meaning Philadelphia residents deal with the city’s police department for their license applications and renewals, not the sheriff’s office, as is the case in all the other 66 counties.

Anyone 21 years of age or older can apply for a License to Carry Firearms in Pennsylvania by filling out an application and submitting it to the sheriff, (or, in the case of Philadelphia, the chief of police), in the county in which the individual resides.

In Pennsylvania, a License to Carry Firearms is needed in order to carry a concealed gun on one’s person or inside of a motor vehicle. ‘Open carry’ of a firearm, or carrying the gun visibly over top of clothing while not inside a vehicle, is legal without a carry license in Pennsylvania, except in Philadelphia, where a license is required to carry both concealed and openly.