Does Wisconsin Accept Online Concealed Carry Classes?
UPDATE: The below article was written prior to Jan 1st, 2021 and at the time it was written one could take an online class and apply for a Virginia non-resident permit. That is NO LONGER TRUE. This article is outdated and the reader should note that Virginia no longer accepts online training. The main takeaway? In Wisconsin you need to take an in-person class to qualify for the permit and there is no longer any loophole to get around that.
There has been an influx of companies that have appeared on the internet offering online video only concealed carry classes. In addition to our own in-person training network and online store, we also offer an online concealed carry course.
If you have been researching trying to understand the implications for Wisconsin and online concealed carry training, this article will serve as a guide to navigating all the state specific laws and will help clarify what you need to know.
The first thing to be clear on is that ONLY Virginia will issue a permit to any person in the country, who has taken an online only concealed carry class, and mails paperwork in remotely. None of the other 49 states will do that. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean that there are no implications for Wisconsin as we will clarify below.
The Online concealed carry classes have become popular nationwide because the Virginia Non-Resident permit is valid in 29 states of the country. So, while an online only class only qualifies a person to get a Virginia permit, that Virginia permit is still valuable in 28 states other than Virginia.
Now, the map below represents the states that honor the Virginia Non-Resident permit and while Wisconsin is green, this can be deceiving. At first you might assume that because Wisconsin honors the Virginia Non-Resident permit that you could obtain that permit instead of our Wisconsin permit but you in fact cannot.
This is because Wisconsin requires that residents of our state MUST obtain a Wisconsin permit in order to carry concealed here. So, if you were hoping you could take an online concealed carry class and forego taking a local in-person class to get the Wisconsin permit I’m afraid that won’t work. Because you live in Wisconsin , you need to obtain the local permit.
Regardless of all that it is also worth noting, (independent of the Virginia Non-Resident permit being an option for the local carrying of a concealed firearm or not) a lot of people choose to obtain it in addition to a local permit since it can also expand the number of states where you can legally carry.
Specific to Wisconsin , if you have our local permit and also choose to take an online concealed carry class and obtain a Virginia Concealed Carry permit then you would add New Mexico and Texas to the list of states where you can now carry. Those are all states that do not honor the Wisconsin permit but do honor the Virginia Non-Resident Permit.
How can you get into the online class
Use the above links to purchase the course and then follow the instructions in your email.
As a Wisconsin resident does that mean if I take your online class I’m eligible for my application to doj
for concealed carry???
No. As states above the online class only makes you eligible for the Virginia non-resident permit which doesn’t really help you any as a Wisconsin resident
So, as it states above in the first Paragraph “we also offer an online concealed carry course.” Will only allow us as Residents of Wisconsin to obtain the “Virginia Permit”?
Correct
If i recieve a Virginia permit can’t i use that to get a Wis permit ?
“A copy of a current or expired CCW license from another state that has not been revoked for cause. You must also include form DJ-LE-289 affirming this fact.”
I would contact WI and confirm. They may not accept the VA permit since it can be obtained with online training only.
Really dumb to advertise this to WI residents as an online option when in fact this permit will not allow you to legally carry concealed in WI. Way to be deceiving guys! Really classy move!
Bradley, sorry you feel that way. We feel like we went above and beyond to clarify the truth of the situation to prevent people from mistakenly taking an online class thinking it would help them apply for the WI permit. All truth, honestly, and transparency in the above article.
I actually thought you made it very clear. Looking to get my girlfriend into a class and was confused whether or not an online course certificate would be sufficient to apply for a ccw permit that would be valid in Wisconsin. Once I read the information you provided here, I clearly understand that no online course certificate would be sufficient to apply for a Wisconsin ccw. Thank you for such clarity and simple honesty instead of the —y most other sites offer just to take your money even though they know their courses would not help the individual paying for the course.
Can you just say no right off the bat so people people aren’t asking a million questions. Your wording and writing is clearly confusing people. Why can you say NO – then tell your unnecessarily extra wordy story? Jesus.
If this information confused anyone, said confused person’s should not be looking to apply for a ccw permit. If a individual is confused about clearly written statements/facts, I’d be concerned with their abilities to make rational decisions in regards to actually carrying a weapon.
So here’s my problem, my Wisconsin CCW expired January 19, 2019, I lost my CCW certificate and the company I got my certificate from does not have a copy of my certificate. Can I take the Non-Virginia resident training to get my CCW renewed
No
So what you’re saying is although your map shows that the states in green are legal to c.c BUT Wisconsin, even though it’s one of the green legal c.c states with the Virginia online class, is not accurate?! So why is it in green? Are all the other green states actually legal to conceal carry? Minis the misinterpretation of Wisconsin being green?
Thanks for the very clear info. Clears up all the mystery, makes all the choices very clear.