12/21/2025
Why Should I Get an LTC Permit If I Don’t Have To?
Although permit-less carry is allowed and is an inalienable right, there are significant benefits to having a Texas License To Carry permit:
■ Any person 18 years of age without a Class B Misdemeanor or above can obtain a Texas LTC in order to carry a firearm.
■ A License To Carry person can carry in the 37 states that currently honor a Texas LTC, 20 of which also allow permitless carry.
■ An LTC holder is entitled to more notice in some prohibited locations. An unpermitted individual is prohibited from carrying in these locations with effective notice of a 30.05 sign, but these signs don’t apply to a Licensed Carrier. In order to provide effective notice prohibiting licensed carry, a 30.06 sign prohibiting concealed carry or a 30.07 sign prohibiting open carry would be required.
These locations include:
- Buildings on college campuses and sporting events
-Open meetings of government entities
- Hospitals
- Nursing facilities
- Amusement parks
■ A Texas License To Carry qualifies as an alternative to background check requirements for up to five years from the date of issuance. Therefore, possessing an LTC expedites a fi****ms purchase by allowing a licensee to not have to submit to and wait on the results of a background check.
■ An individual with an LTC or a permit from a state that Texas honors will have a legal defense to carry in businesses and on properties that display the new 30.05 signs (which prohibit JUST the permitless carry of handguns in their establishments).
■ A public or private employer may not prohibit an employee who holds a valid concealed carry license from transporting or storing a firearm or ammunition the employee is authorized by law to possess in a locked, privately owned motor vehicle in a parking area the employer provides for lemployees except in locations prohibited by state or federal law. This includes school districts and open-enrollment charter schools per Texas Education Code § 37.0815, provided that the firearm or ammunition is not in plain view, and institutions of higher education per Gov. Code § 411.2032. There are exceptions, including oil and gas refineries [Texas Labor Code § 52.061].
■ Texas has an interesting law that allows an LTC holder grace (defense to prosecution) if he or she happens to have a handgun in his or her possession when going through airport screening, provided the permit holder immediately exits the screening checkpoint if found to possess a firearm. Without the License To Carry it is an automatic FELONY.
■ A person with a License To Carry is allowed to carry a handgun on the premises of a place licensed to sell alcoholic beverages, either for on premise consumption (restaurants) or for resale only (convenience stores & liquor stores). Without a LTC permit - it’s a FELONY.
