Florida weapons charges are spread across chapter 790, and they are not interchangeable. Carrying, open carrying, exhibition, possession during a felony, and possession after a felony conviction are separate statutes with separate degrees.
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Or call (813) 588-6602Florida Statute 790.01 sets the framework for concealed carry. Subsection (2) makes carrying a concealed weapon or electric weapon or device a misdemeanor of the first degree where the statute's conditions are not met, and subsection (3) makes carrying a concealed firearm, as defined in Florida Statute 790.001, a felony of the third degree in the circumstances described. Subsection (4) matters to the prosecution's burden: in any prosecution under either subsection, the state bears the burden of proving, as an element, both that the person is not licensed under Florida Statute 790.06 and that the person is ineligible to receive and maintain such a license under the criteria listed there.
Florida Statute 790.053(1) makes it unlawful, except as otherwise provided by law and in subsection (2), for any person to openly carry on or about the person any firearm or electric weapon or device. The same subsection states that briefly and openly displaying a firearm to the ordinary sight of another person is not a violation for someone carrying as authorized in 790.01(1), unless the display is intentional and made in an angry or threatening manner and not in necessary self-defense.
Florida Statute 790.07 addresses persons engaged in a criminal offense while having weapons. Subsection (1) makes it a felony of the third degree for a person, while committing or attempting to commit any felony or while under indictment, to display, use, threaten, or attempt to use any weapon or electric weapon or device, or to carry a concealed weapon. Subsection (2) makes it a felony of the second degree where a firearm is involved instead. Subsection (3) lists offenses excluded from the section.
Florida Statute 790.23 makes it unlawful for a person to own, or to have in the person's care, custody, possession, or control, any firearm, ammunition, or electric weapon or device, or to carry a concealed weapon, where the person has been convicted of a felony in Florida, along with the other categories the statute lists, including a person found in Florida to have committed a delinquent act that would be a felony if committed by an adult and who was under 24 at the time of the finding. Subsection (3) makes a violation a felony of the second degree. Subsection (4) raises it to a felony of the first degree, punishable by a term of years not exceeding life, for a person who has previously qualified or currently qualifies for the penalty enhancements in Florida Statute 874.04.
Florida Statute 775.087 reclassifies felonies upward where a weapon or firearm was carried, displayed, used, threatened, or attempted to be used during commission of a felony, except where such use is already an essential element, and it sets mandatory minimum terms for actual possession of a firearm during listed felonies, specifying a 3-year minimum for possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a felony.
Because these statutes turn on definitions, the details recorded at the scene are the substance of the charge: the arrest affidavit with the precise subsection, the property receipt describing the item, where the item was at the time of the encounter, license documentation and its dates, and any recorded statement about ownership. Administrative Order S-2024-030 of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit assigns motions for return of a firearm where no charges have been filed to Criminal Division "O."
This page contains general information about Florida weapons statutes. It is not legal advice and does not assess whether any statute applies to any set of facts. A person charged under chapter 790 should consult a licensed Florida attorney about the exact subsection alleged.
Florida Weapons Charges Under Chapter 790 in Tampa. Call (813) 588-6602 and a Tampa lawyer reviews the claim and the deadline that applies. Nothing is signed on that call.
Call (813) 588-6602Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.130 requires that every arrested person not already released in a lawful manner be taken before a judicial officer within 24 hours of arrest, in person or by electronic audiovisual device at the court's discretion. At that hearing the judge must state the charge, provide a copy of the complaint, and advise the person of the right to remain silent and the right to counsel. Rule 3.133 sets a separate 48-hour limit for a nonadversary probable cause determination when the defendant is in custody.
Why it matters: In Hillsborough County that hearing is normally run by video link from the county jail, and release conditions are addressed at it. Rule 3.130(c)(2) also requires the judge to allow a defendant who is hiring counsel reasonable time to send for that lawyer and, on request, to have an officer carry a message to a named lawyer inside the county at no cost. That makes the first day after an arrest the point at which counsel matters most.
Source: flcourts.gov
Administrative Order S-2025-063 of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit adopts the statewide uniform bond schedule for Hillsborough County without change, effective January 1 through December 31, 2026. The order states the schedule applies only to the booking officer and does not bind a judge. It also excludes a long list of arrests: capital, life, first- and second-degree felonies, homicide, felony battery, domestic battery by strangulation, and domestic violence under Florida Statutes 741.28. The list continues with stalking, robbery, burglary, carjacking, kidnapping, trafficking in a controlled substance, and violation of a protective injunction. It reaches anyone on pretrial release, probation or community control at the time of a felony arrest, and anyone arrested three or more times in the preceding six months.
Why it matters: It decides whether anyone can be bonded out at the jail counter or has to wait for a judge. For every excluded charge there is no pre-first-appearance release, and the judge then makes an individualized determination under Florida Statutes 903.011(6) and 903.046 and Rule 3.131. Prior supervision status and recent arrest history change the answer even when the charge itself is minor.
Source: fljud13.org
The Hillsborough County Clerk of Court states that after a felony arrest the county jail sends the initial paperwork to the Clerk's felony department. That department prepares the official court file, including the original arrest document and any release forms, and forwards it to the Office of the State Attorney. The State Attorney then determines whether to file formal charges. Once charges are filed with the Clerk, the defendant is notified by mail of an arraignment date, sent to the address provided at the time of arrest, and the bail bond agent is also notified if the defendant bonded out. The felony department cannot change a court date once notice has gone out.
Why it matters: An arrest is not a filed charge, and the gap between them is where people assume a case has gone away. The notice that resumes it goes to whatever address was recorded at booking, so anyone who moved, or who gave a temporary address, can miss a court date they never saw. Missing it does not pause the case.
Source: hillsclerk.com
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