There are differing opinions about how credit for previous training for the Illinois Concealed Carry License is to be applied. While 16 hours of training is required to obtain an Illinois License to Carry, the first 8 hours of training can be waived for military service or having taken an NRA course like the Basic Pistol Shooting Course. In addition, 4 hours of credit is given for having taken the Illinois Hunter Safety Course, the Chicago Firearms Safety Course, or for having training used to obtain ccw permits from Utah, Florida, Missouri, Kentucky, Michigan and Nevada.
The problem is that many people have taken a 5 hour Utah/Florida course (for example) and used the training to obtain both a Utah and Florida ccw permit. This is perfectly acceptable, unless you are trying to claim 8 hours of credit for having two permits obtained with only 5 hours of training.
Currently, the Illinois State Police is saying that they will require copies of “Training Certificates” from each ccw course in order to obtain the credit. Almost no Utah instructors, however, issue certificates. Instead, they issue a stamped and signed application that you then send off to get your permit. So we are awaiting word on how the Illinois State Police will deal with the lack of certificates….
Illinois Gun Pros does offer a four-hour course for those who have 4 hours of training, so that they won’t have to do the entire 16 hours. This course is also available to those who have two ccw permits that were obtained with less than 8 hours of training.
Stay tuned for more updates about how the Illinois State Police will recognize multiple ccw permits for up to 8 hours.
