Mississippi Concealed Carry Permit Fee and Training Exemptions for Veterans

Two separate provisions in Miss. Code Ann. Section 45-9-101 help veterans with concealed carry permits, and they do different things. The fee exemption. Any veteran having a service-connected disability is exempt from concealed weapon permit fees and renewal fees. Note what is not there: no percentage. The statute says a service-connected disability, not a rating of some level, so a veteran at 10 or 20 percent is exempt on the same terms as one at 100 percent. Active duty members of the Armed Forces are separately exempt from permit and renewal fees. The fee exemption carries a residency condition with three waivers. The veteran must have been a state resident for twelve months or longer immediately preceding the application. That requirement may be waived if the applicant holds a valid permit from another state, is active military personnel stationed in Mississippi, or is a retired law enforcement officer establishing residency in the state. A veteran who has just moved to Mississippi and holds a permit from the prior state should lead with that permit. The training and residency exemption, which is the more substantive one. Under Section 97-37-7 read with Section 45-9-101, a member, honorably retired member, or veteran of any active or reserve component of the United States Armed Forces who has completed law enforcement or combat training with pistols or other handguns as recognized by that branch qualifies for the enhanced carry endorsement on an affidavit attesting that the applicant has read, understands, and agrees to comply with all provisions of the enhanced carry law. That is a real substitution, not a discount. Mississippi's enhanced endorsement, which is what allows carry in the places the basic permit excludes, ordinarily requires an instructional course. Military handgun qualification satisfies it. The affidavit is the mechanism, so the paperwork is an attestation rather than a course certificate. The same provision carries a state residency exemption for the permit itself, which is what lets a servicemember stationed in Mississippi but domiciled elsewhere obtain the permit. Apply through the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. Bring the DD-214, the VA rating letter for the fee exemption, and the branch training documentation for the enhanced endorsement, and ask for both provisions by name, because they are administered as separate items.