How to become a CCW instructor in California
Since SB 2 took effect on January 1, 2024, CCW courses in California have to be taught by firearms instructors certified by the California DOJ. Here is the path, in order, with the paperwork, the course rules and what range day looks like once you are teaching.
How do you become a CCW instructor in California?
You need a qualifying instructor credential, such as BSIS, POST, NRA or CRPA, and a current Certificate of Eligibility from the DOJ. You also need a live-fire qualification passed within six months, and an approved BOF 1034 application. Then build a course that meets Penal Code 26165 and contact the local agency that issues licenses where your students live.
The short version
To teach CCW classes in California you need four things:
- A qualifying instructor credential from BSIS, POST, CHP/CDCR, NRA, CRPA or a California accredited school.
- A valid Certificate of Eligibility (COE) from the DOJ Bureau of Firearms, renewed every year.
- A passed live-fire qualification within six months before you apply, run by someone other than you.
- An approved BOF 1034 application to become a CCW Program DOJ Certified Instructor.
Then you build a course that meets Penal Code 26165 and get in front of the sheriff or police department that issues licenses where your students live.
The certification is good for four years, as long as your COE stays current.
Step-by-step: becoming a CCW Program DOJ Certified Instructor
Step 1. Hold a qualifying instructor credential
The DOJ accepts an active, unexpired certification from one of these:
- BSIS: Firearm Training Instructor
- POST: Firearms Instructor, Rangemaster or Concealed Carry Tactics Instructor
- A California accredited school: authorization to teach a firearm training course
- CHP or CDCR: Firearms Instructor, Weapons Instructor or Rangemaster
- NRA: Law Enforcement Instructor, or Basics of Personal Protection Outside the Home Instructor (PPOTH instructors must also hold NRA Pistol Instructor and Personal Protection in the Home Instructor)
- CRPA: Personal Protection Outside the Home Instructor (must also hold CRPA Pistol Instructor and Personal Protection in the Home Instructor)
If you are coming from the security side, a BSIS Firearm Training Instructor certificate counts. See how to become a BSIS firearms instructor.
Step 2. Get your Certificate of Eligibility (COE)
You must have a valid COE before you apply. You must be at least 21. The COE is renewed annually, and your instructor certification is only valid while your COE is. Put the COE renewal date on your calendar the day it arrives.
Step 3. Pass a live-fire qualification within six months of applying
Initial and renewal applicants must pass a live-fire qualification course on a range within six months before submitting the application. You cannot run your own qualification. It has to be administered by someone else who holds an accepted certification (BSIS FTI, POST, FLETC, federal rangemaster or firearms instructor, a military marksmanship or firearms instructor MOS, CHP/CDCR, a California accredited school, NRA or CRPA, per the DOJ list).
Active peace officers who are POST-certified Firearms Instructors, Rangemasters or Concealed Carry Tactics Instructors can skip this step by attaching a POST printout of a current live-fire qualification. Reserve officers do not qualify for that exemption.
Step 4. Submit form BOF 1034
Complete the CCW Program DOJ Certified Instructor Application (BOF 1034) and attach:
- A copy of your qualifying instructor certification
- Proof of your live-fire qualification, including the certification of the person who ran it
- Your COE number and expiration date
There is no DOJ fee for the instructor application. You pay only the COE fees. Questions go to [email protected].
Step 5. Get in front of your local licensing authority
The DOJ certifies you. It does not issue CCW licenses, and it does not publish a statewide list of certified CCW instructors. Sheriffs and police chiefs issue licenses, and the DOJ sends applicants to them to find instructors.
In practice, many agencies keep their own list of instructors they accept and set their own live-fire standards. Contact the CCW unit in every county you want to serve. Ask them three things:
- How do instructors get on their list?
- What course of fire and passing score do they require?
- What paperwork do students need to bring back from your class?
Step 6. Keep it current
- Your CCW instructor certification lasts four years.
- Your COE must be renewed every year in between.
- The DOJ can revoke a certification for false statements on the application, a course that runs short on hours, missing topics, no written exam, no live-fire or proficiency demonstration, or unsafe conduct such as being intoxicated during class. After a revocation you have to wait one year to reapply.
Being certified for the Firearm Safety Certificate (FSC) program does not make you a CCW instructor. They are separate programs, and you can hold both.
What a California CCW course has to include (Penal Code 26165)
Your licensing authority can accept any course that meets these minimums.
New license applicants: at least 16 hours
The course must cover:
- Firearm safety, handling and shooting technique
- Safe storage, legal transport, and securing firearms in vehicles
- Where license holders may and may not carry
- Permissible use of a firearm, and permissible use of lethal force in self-defense
- At least one hour on mental health and mental health resources. This is the only block that does not have to be taught by a DOJ-certified instructor.
- A written exam on the covered topics, which students must pass
- Live fire on a range, including safe handling and a shooting proficiency demonstration with each firearm the student wants on their license
Renewal applicants: at least 8 hours
Renewal courses must cover the same topics, the same written exam and the same live-fire requirement, in at least eight hours.
Live-fire standards come from the agency
Each licensing authority has to publish its own live-fire standards, including the minimum number of rounds and the passing scores at set distances. Two counties can score the same student differently. Build your course of fire to the strictest agency you serve, or keep a separate standard for each one.
A note on payment timing
Under 26165(e), an applicant cannot be required to pay for training before the agency's initial determination of whether they are a disqualified person. Before you take a student's money, ask whether their agency has cleared them to start training.
A note on where students can carry
"Where permitholders may carry" is the topic most likely to change under you. SB 2 added a long list of restricted places, and parts of that list have been challenged in court. Check the current status before every class, and date your slides.
What range day actually looks like
The certification paperwork takes an afternoon. Range day is where it gets busy. On a typical CCW day you are:
- Checking IDs against your roster
- Confirming every gun a student brought matches what they are listing on the application
- Running relays and scoring each student, with each firearm, against the agency's standard
- Handling a retest for the student who pulled shots at the long line
- Writing down who left early and why
Then, that evening, you are issuing certificates that list the right hours and the right guns.
Most of us started on paper and a spreadsheet. That works until a sheriff's office calls about a student from eight months ago and you are digging through a binder in the garage.
How CertDuty handles it
I built CertDuty for this part of the job.
- Course templates. Set up your CCW initial (16 hr) and renewal (8 hr) templates once, with hours and prerequisites, and publish each class from them.
- Registration. Students register from one link, sign your waiver and enter their ID details. Payment is collected at registration.
- Roll call. Check students in with a QR code and verify IDs. Classroom hours are tracked as you go.
- Range Mode. Score relay by relay against your pass threshold, with or without signal. Retests, exemptions and no-shows are recorded with a reason, and the safety log timestamps itself.
- Certificates. Numbered and verifiable, with a public verification link and QR code. They are emailed when you close the class and list the course, hours, score and instructor.
See how a CCW class runs in CertDuty
New signups are paused while we move to a payment processor that works with firearms businesses. Join the waitlist and we will walk you through a class from registration to certificate.
Mistakes I see new CCW instructors make
- Letting the COE lapse. Your four-year certification is only as good as this year's COE.
- Teaching one county's course of fire everywhere. Agencies set their own round counts and passing scores.
- Short hours. A 16-hour course that ends at hour 14 because the range closed is a revocation reason. Plan rain and range-closure days.
- Skipping the written exam on renewals. The 8-hour renewal still needs one.
- Losing track of which guns were qualified. Students are qualified per firearm, and your records should show it.
- Taking payment too early. See 26165(e) above.
Run your CCW classes on CertDuty
Signups are paused while we finish the next release. Join the waitlist and you’ll be first in when we reopen.
Do CCW instructors in California have to be certified by the DOJ?
Yes. Since January 1, 2024, Penal Code 26165 requires CCW courses to be taught and supervised by firearms instructors certified by the California DOJ. The one exception is the mental health component.
How long is a CCW class in California?
At least 16 hours for a new license and at least 8 hours for a renewal. Both must include a written exam and live fire with each firearm the applicant wants on the license. Your licensing authority may set additional standards.
How long does DOJ CCW instructor certification last?
Four years, as long as you keep a valid Certificate of Eligibility. The COE must be renewed every year.
Is there a fee to become a DOJ certified CCW instructor?
The DOJ does not charge a fee for the instructor application, form BOF 1034. You do pay the fees for the Certificate of Eligibility you need to apply.
Can I run my own live-fire qualification for the application?
No. The qualification must be completed within six months before you apply and administered by another qualified instructor. Active peace officers with certain POST instructor certifications can submit a POST qualification printout instead.
Is there a statewide list of DOJ certified CCW instructors?
The DOJ refers applicants to their local licensing authority, the county sheriff or city police department, for instructors in their area. Contact the agencies you want to serve to learn how they list instructors.
Does my FSC instructor certification let me teach CCW?
No. The Firearm Safety Certificate program and the CCW program are separate. You can apply for either or both.
Spend range day on the line, not on paperwork.
CertDuty handles registration, roll call, scoring and certificates for CCW instructors. $45/month. Signups are paused for now, so join the waitlist.