​​​​Sec. 411.172. ELIGIBILITY.

(a) A person is eligible for a license to carry a handgun if the person:

(1) is a legal resident of this state for the six-month period preceding the

date of application under this su​bchapter or is otherwise eligible for a license under

Section 411.173(a);

(2) is at least 21 years of age;

(3) has not been convicted of a felony;

(4) is not charged with the commission of a Class A or Class B

misdemeanor or equivalent offense, or of an offense under Section 42.01, Penal Code,

or equivalent offense, or of a felony under an information or indictment;

(5) is not a fugitive from justice for a felony or a Class A or Class B

misdemeanor or equivalent offense;

(6) is not a chemically dependent person;

(7) is not incapable of exercising sound judgment with respect to the

proper use and storage of a handgun;

(8) has not, in the five years preceding the date of application, been

convicted of a Class A or Class B misdemeanor or equivalent offense or of an offense

under Section 42.01, Penal Code, or equivalent offense;

(9) is fully qualified under applicable federal and state law to purchase a

handgun;

(10) has not been finally determined to be delinquent in making a child

support payment administered or collected by the attorney general;

(11) has not been finally determined to be delinquent in the payment of a

tax or other money collected by the comptroller, the tax collector of a political

subdivision of the state, or any agency or subdivision of the state;

(12) is not currently restricted under a court protective order or subject to

a restraining order affecting the spousal relationship, other than a restraining order

solely affecting property interests;

(13) has not, in the 10 years preceding the date of application, been

adjudicated as having engaged in delinquent conduct violating a penal law of the grade

of felony; and

(14) has not made any material misrepresentation, or failed to disclose

any material fact, in an application submitted pursuant to Section 411.174.

(b) For the purposes of this section, an offense under the laws of this state,

another state, or the United States is:

(1) except as provided by Subsection (b-1), a felony if the offense, at the

time the offense is committed:

(A) is designated by a law of this state as a felony;

(B) contains all the elements of an offense designated by a law of

this state as a felony; or

(C) is punishable by confinement for one year or more in a

penitentiary; and

(2) a Class A misdemeanor if the offense is not a felony and

confinement in a jail other than a state jail felony facility is affixed as a possible

punishment.

(b-1) An offense is not considered a felony for purposes of Subsection (b) if, at

the time of a person's application for a license to carry a handgun, the offense:

(1) is not designated by a law of this state as a felony; and

(2) does not contain all the elements of any offense designated by a law

of this state as a felony.

(c) An individual who has been convicted two times within the 10-year period

preceding the date on which the person applies for a license of an offense of the grade

of Class B misdemeanor or greater that involves the use of alcohol or a controlled

substance as a statutory element of the offense is a chemically dependent person for

purposes of this section and is not qualified to receive a license under this subchapter.

This subsection does not preclude the disqualification of an individual for being a

chemically dependent person if other evidence exists to show that the person is a

chemically dependent person.

(d) For purposes of Subsection (a)(7), a person is incapable of exercising

sound judgment with respect to the proper use and storage of a handgun if the person:

(1) has been diagnosed by a licensed physician as suffering from a

psychiatric disorder or condition that causes or is likely to cause substantial impairment

in judgment, mood, perception, impulse control, or intellectual ability;

(2) suffers from a psychiatric disorder or condition described by

Subdivision (1) that:

(A) is in remission but is reasonably likely to redevelop at a future

time; or

(B) requires continuous medical treatment to avoid

redevelopment;

(3) has been diagnosed by a licensed physician, determined by a review

board or similar authority, or declared by a court to be incompetent to manage the

person's own affairs; or

(4) has entered in a criminal proceeding a plea of not guilty by reason of

insanity.

(e) The following constitutes evidence that a person has a psychiatric disorder

or condition described by Subsection (d)(1):

(1) involuntary psychiatric hospitalization;

(2) psychiatric hospitalization;

(3) inpatient or residential substance abuse treatment in the preceding

five-year period;

(4) diagnosis in the preceding five-year period by a licensed physician

that the person is dependent on alcohol, a controlled substance, or a similar substance;

or

(5) diagnosis at any time by a licensed physician that the person suffers

or has suffered from a psychiatric disorder or condition consisting of or relating to:

(A) schizophrenia or delusional disorder;

(B) bipolar disorder;

(C) chronic dementia, whether caused by illness, brain defect, or

brain injury;

(D) dissociative identity disorder;

(E) intermittent explosive disorder; or

(F) antisocial personality disorder.

(f) Notwithstanding Subsection (d), a person who has previously been

diagnosed as suffering from a psychiatric disorder or condition described by Subsection

(d) or listed in Subsection (e) is not because of that disorder or condition incapable of

exercising sound judgment with respect to the proper use and storage of a handgun if

the person provides the department with a certificate from a licensed physician whose

primary practice is in the field of psychiatry stating that the psychiatric disorder or

condition is in remission and is not reasonably likely to develop at a future time.

(g) Notwithstanding Subsection (a)(2), a person who is at least 18 years of age

but not yet 21 years of age is eligible for a license to carry a handgun if the person:

(1) is a member or veteran of the United States armed forces, including

a member or veteran of the reserves or national guard;

(2) was discharged under honorable conditions, if discharged from the

United States armed forces, reserves, or national guard; and

(3) meets the other eligibility requirements of Subsection (a) except for

the minimum age required by federal law to purchase a handgun.

(h) The issuance of a license to carry a handgun to a person eligible under

Subsection (g) does not affect the person's ability to purchase a handgun or ammunition

under federal law.

(i) Notwithstanding Subsection (a)(2), a person who is at least 18 years of age

but not yet 21 years of age is eligible for a license to carry a handgun if the person:

(1) is protected under:

(A) an active protective order issued under:

(i) Title 4, Family Code; or

(ii) Subchapter A, Chapter 7B, Code of Criminal Procedure;

or

(B) an active magistrate's order for emergency protection under

Article 17.292, Code of Criminal Procedure; and

(2) meets the other eligibility requirements of Subsection (a) except for

the minimum age required by federal law to purchase a handgun.

Amended by: Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 203 (H.B. 918), Sec. 1, eff. September 1,

2021.

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