CRESTVIEW — Northwest Florida residents may now apply for a statewide concealed weapon license at the Okaloosa County Tax Collector’s Office.
Tax Collector Ben Anderson and Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam worked to pass legislation for Okaloosa and panhandle residents beginning today. Anderson said, “Our office is one of only five Tax Collector Offices statewide to offer the program to our constituents.”
The licenses are processed by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Due to rising demand, five Tax Collector Offices have been given authority to take applications, fingerprint the applicants and send the information securely to the department for final determination.
There are currently more than 1.3 million concealed weapon permits in Florida, and the department processed more than 177,000 new licenses last fiscal year.
Anderson said,“This is one service where applicants will need to make an appointment to be served and the location where they will complete their transaction is in our Crestview branch.” For more information or to schedule an appointment, go to www.OkaloosaTax.com.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Concealed weapons licenses available at tax collector's office