Lifetime concealed-carry permits could become available in NC

North Carolina’s House lawmakers approved a bill this week that would allow concealed-carry permits to expand past the valid five-year period and extend into a lifetime permit.

The Firearms Liberty Act passed in a 70-42 vote on Wednesday, with four Democrats joining all Republicans. 

“The Firearm Liberty Act proposes a new concealed-carry license,” said Rep Jay Adams, R-Catawba. “The present license is what we call a fixed duration license, lasts for five years, and you have to renew it. You go through the process of applying, you get a background check, school training, you get your license, you have to renew it in five years.”  

The lifetime permit would maintain the same background check and training requirements as the five-year permit. However, the permanent license would not have reciprocity, meaning it would only be valid in North Carolina.

It also extends the renewal period for concealed-carry permit holders to renew their license without retaking a class. The class requirement is waived for six months after expiration, and a sheriff may waive it for up to one year.

The bill (HB 674) proposes a new lifetime concealed-carry license, as well as other updates to firearm laws that focus on property rights and school safety.

• Property Protection Act: If an individual is under a Domestic Violence Protective Order, a sheriff will remove the person’s firearms. The sheriff will store those firearms for 15 days with no charge. At that point, the owner of the firearms can direct them to a federally licensed firearms dealer for storage or for sale.
• Safety Hold Agreements: Allows voluntary firearm storage with licensed dealers during family crises, extended absences, or disasters, ensuring secure options for gun owners.
• School Safety Biometric Safes: Authorizes schools to store defensive, non-lethal devices (e.g., pepper spray, tasers) in biometric safes accessible only by trained staff. Safes must be anchored, acting as a deterrent without arming teachers.

Biometric safes in schools would allow schools to position defense items in various places in what Adams described as a deterrent for bad actors.

“It’s more or less a deterrent,” said Adams during a committee meeting. “The point is to get across the fact that the school does have devices that may store defensive elements, non-lethal, but it simply creates a deterrent effect. It’s up to the imagination of the bad actors what might be in them or who might have access to them.”

SEE ALSO: NC House greenlights handguns on private-school grounds

As House Bill 674 advances to the Senate, questions remain over constitutional-carry legislation awaiting action in the House. In March, the Senate passed the Freedom to Carry NC bill (Senate Bill 50) along party lines. The bill would allow individuals to carry a concealed handgun without a permit across North Carolina. 

House leaders have affirmed they are committed to advancing constitutional-carry legislation this session. The Carolina Journal inquired if the House Rules Committee intends to take up the Senate’s constitutional-carry legislation in the weeks to come, but did not receive a response.

The House’s NC Constitutional Carry Act did not pass by Thursday’s crossover deadline.

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