I’m Rocky Brancato, founder of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm. I taught search and seizure at the police academy, and most of the gun cases our attorneys defend begin exactly there — with a stop, a frisk, or a car search that has to survive the Fourth Amendment before any gun charge can.

Can You Carry a Concealed Gun Without a Permit in Florida?

Yes — since July 1, 2023, Florida is a permitless-carry state. Under section 790.01, Florida Statutes, a person may carry a concealed weapon or firearm if they are either licensed or unlicensed but otherwise satisfy the criteria for receiving and keeping a concealed-carry license — essentially, an adult who could lawfully get the license may carry without ever applying for it.

The crimes that remain: a person who is unlicensed and ineligible for a license commits a first-degree misdemeanor for carrying a concealed weapon, and a third-degree felony — up to five years — for carrying a concealed firearm. And here is what the arrest reports rarely mention:

Section 790.01(4) puts that burden expressly on the State: it must prove, as elements, both that you were unlicensed and that you were ineligible under the license criteria. Officers in the field often cannot know either fact — which affects not just the charge but the legality of the stop itself. The statute even contains a hurricane-state exception: lawful gun owners may carry concealed while evacuating during the first 48 hours of a mandatory evacuation order.

Is Open Carry Legal in Florida Now?

As of late 2025, yes — for people who may lawfully possess firearms. In McDaniels v. State, No. 1D2023-0533 (Fla. 1st DCA Sept. 10, 2025), Florida’s First District held the state’s decades-old open-carry ban, section 790.053, unconstitutional under the Second Amendment: applying the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bruen test, the court found no historical tradition supporting a categorical ban, declaring that “[t]he Constitution protects the right to carry arms openly for self-defense.” The Attorney General directed that the ruling be honored statewide, and other districts have since acknowledged it. We broke the decision down in detail — including what it does not change — in our guide to Florida’s 2025 open-carry ruling.

The critical caveats: McDaniels protects ordinary, law-abiding adults. It does not restore gun rights to convicted felons or others prohibited from possession, it does not eliminate location restrictions, and it does not license waving a gun around — which brings us to the charge that has quietly become the workhorse of Tampa Bay gun prosecutions.

What Is Improper Exhibition of a Firearm?

Under section 790.10, Florida Statutes, exhibiting a firearm or other weapon “in a rude, careless, angry, or threatening manner,” in the presence of one or more persons and not in necessary self-defense, is a first-degree misdemeanor — up to a year in jail. In the permitless-carry era, this is the charge that turns a traffic dispute, a neighbor feud, or an argument in a parking lot into a criminal case: carrying the gun was legal; how it was displayed is what gets charged.

The defense terrain is favorable. “Rude, careless, angry, or threatening” is in the eye of an alarmed complainant; the statute itself excludes displays in necessary self-defense; and the line between lawful open carry, a defensive display, and improper exhibition is now genuinely unsettled after McDaniels. Where the display escalates into a charge of aggravated assault, remember what our assault guide explains: aggravated assault was removed from 10-20-Life in 2016, so the automatic firearm minimums people fear do not apply to that charge.

What Is Felon in Possession of a Firearm?

The most unforgiving gun crime in Florida. Under section 790.23, Florida Statutes, a convicted felon may not own or have in his or her “care, custody, possession, or control” any firearm, ammunition, or electric weapon — and the same ban reaches people found delinquent of felony-level acts who are under 24. It is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years, and under the 10-20-Life statute, actual possession carries a 3-year mandatory minimum.

Three battlegrounds decide these cases. First, actual versus constructive possession: a gun in a shared car or house is not automatically “possessed” by the felon in the room — constructive possession requires proof of knowledge and dominion, it is hotly litigable, and the 3-year minimum attaches only to actual possession. Second, the search: these charges almost always begin with a stop or search that can be challenged. Third, the predicate: the ban does not apply if civil rights and firearm authority have been restored or the record was expunged — and whether an out-of-state disposition even qualifies as a “conviction” is a legal question worth litigating. Courts are also actively wrestling with Second Amendment challenges to felon-possession bans after Bruen; that litigation is moving, and preserving the issue can matter.

What Is Florida’s 10-20-Life Law?

Section 775.087(2), Florida Statutes imposes escalating mandatory minimums when a firearm is involved in one of its enumerated felonies:

The enumerated felonies include murder, robbery, burglary, kidnapping, aggravated battery, carjacking, home-invasion robbery, drug trafficking, and others — but not aggravated assault, which the Legislature removed in 2016. These minimums strip judges of discretion, which transfers all the power to the charging decision — and that is precisely where early defense work pays: whether the felony charged is actually a listed one, whether possession was “actual,” and whether the discharge caused the harm are all questions that decide decades.

Where Are Guns Still Prohibited?

Permitless carry and McDaniels changed who may carry and how — not where. The license statute’s list of prohibited places (schools and school events, courthouses, polling places, bars’ alcohol-service areas, and more) still applies to carriers, licensed or not, and separate statutes cover school zones and other sensitive locations. Location-based gun charges are technical, and signage, boundaries, and knowledge requirements all matter — do not assume a place restriction was valid just because a citation says so.

How Do We Defend Gun Charges?

We start with the stop. Most Tampa Bay gun cases begin with a traffic stop, a street encounter, or an anonymous tip — and after permitless carry, the sight of a firearm, without more, is a weak foundation for a detention. I taught officers this area of law at the police academy; our attorneys use that training to find the constitutional defects in how the gun was found. From there: the State’s burden to prove license ineligibility as an element; actual-versus-constructive possession in every multi-occupant case; the necessary-self-defense exclusion in exhibition cases; predicate and restoration issues in felon-possession cases; and the charging-precision fights that keep 10-20-Life minimums out of the case. Gun charges carry the harshest math in Florida sentencing — the defense has to start before the math does.

What Should You Do If You Are Arrested on a Gun Charge?

Say nothing about the gun — not whose it is, not why it was there, not that you “didn’t know it was still in the bag.” Possession cases are built on statements more often than fingerprints. Then move fast: the stop and search that produced the firearm are the foundation of the case, and the video, witnesses, and dispatch records that test them are freshest in the first weeks. If you are a prior felon, bring your complete history — including any rights restoration — to counsel immediately, because the difference between a defensible case and a 3-year minimum can be one document. Our attorneys evaluate the search first, the possession theory second, and the plea posture last.

Frequently Asked Questions About Florida Gun Crimes

Do I need a permit to carry a gun in Florida?

Not for concealed carry, since July 1, 2023 — anyone who meets the criteria to get a concealed-carry license may carry without one. Carrying while ineligible remains a crime (a third-degree felony for a concealed firearm), and the license itself still has benefits, including reciprocity in other states. Our attorneys still see arrests of eligible carriers; eligibility is an element the State must prove, and we hold it to that.

Is open carry legal in Florida?

Yes, as of the First District’s September 2025 decision in McDaniels v. State declaring the open-carry ban unconstitutional — a ruling honored statewide. It applies to people who may lawfully possess firearms, it leaves location restrictions intact, and it does not protect angry or threatening displays, which remain chargeable as improper exhibition. Our detailed guide to the ruling covers what changed and what did not.

Can a convicted felon ever have a gun again in Florida?

Only after civil rights and firearm authority are restored through clemency, or if the record was expunged under the specific statute — otherwise possession of a firearm or even ammunition is a second-degree felony. Whether a particular old disposition actually qualifies as a predicate conviction is a genuine legal question, and The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. examines it in every felon-possession case.

What is the penalty for carrying a concealed firearm without being eligible?

A third-degree felony — up to five years in prison. But the State must prove both that you were unlicensed and that you were ineligible for a license, as elements of the crime. Many arrests are made without officers knowing either fact, which creates both trial defenses and suppression issues.

Does pulling a gun trigger 10-20-Life?

Displaying a gun, without firing it, is typically charged as improper exhibition (a misdemeanor) or aggravated assault (a felony) — and aggravated assault is not on the 10-20-Life list. The 10-, 20-, and 25-to-life minimums attach when a firearm is possessed or discharged during one of the statute’s enumerated felonies, like robbery or burglary. Which charge gets filed is a decision our attorneys work to influence early.

Can gun charges be dismissed?

Regularly — gun cases rise and fall on the stop and search, and a suppressed firearm usually ends the prosecution. Possession theories fail in shared spaces, eligibility elements go unproven, and self-defense excludes exhibition charges. The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. defends firearm cases throughout Tampa Bay — call (813) 727-7159 for a free, confidential review before you talk to anyone about the gun.

For more about our defense strategies, visit our Hillsborough County Criminal Defense Attorney page.

Related reading: Florida’s 2025 Open-Carry Ruling: What You Need to Know · What Is Assault in Florida? · What Is Robbery in Florida? · What Is Burglary in Florida? · What to Do After Being Arrested in Tampa, Florida

Florida Gave You More Gun Rights — and Kept Every Gun Charge

If you have been arrested on a firearm charge in Hillsborough, Pinellas, or Pasco County, you are caught in the gap between a state that just expanded carry rights and prosecutors still charging every gun they find. Call the attorneys of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. — founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato — at (813) 727-7159 before you give a statement. The search that found the gun is the case; let us test it while the evidence is fresh.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.
620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 727-7159
Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.

I’m Rocky Brancato, founder of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A., a Tampa criminal defense firm. I spent years in the Major Crimes Unit of the Hillsborough County Public Defender’s Office handling cases where a moment on the road became a life-changing charge — and today our attorneys defend hit-and-run allegations at every level, from a scraped bumper in a parking lot to a fatal crash on the interstate.

What Does Florida Law Require You to Do After a Crash?

Stop, stay, identify yourself, and help. Under section 316.062, Florida Statutes, a driver involved in any crash causing injury, death, or damage to an attended vehicle or property must give their name, address, and vehicle registration number, show their license on request, and render “reasonable assistance” to anyone injured — including arranging transportation to a hospital if treatment is apparently necessary. If no officer is present, the driver must report the crash to the nearest police authority.

The charging statutes sit on top of those duties. Section 316.061 covers crashes with property damage only. Section 316.027 covers crashes involving injury or death — and that is where the felonies, the mandatory prison time, and most of our firm’s hit-and-run work live.

What Are the Penalties for Leaving the Scene in Florida?

The penalty ladder climbs with the harm the crash caused — not the harm you intended, and not who was at fault:

Three features of the statute deserve emphasis. First, the four-year mandatory minimum for a fatal hit-and-run applies whether or not the driver was impaired — and a separate provision imposes the same four-year floor on a driver who left a fatal crash while DUI. Second, the court must order restitution to the victim unless it finds clear and compelling reasons not to. Third, a driver arrested for a fatal leaving-the-scene charge who has certain prior convictions is held in custody until first appearance — no immediate bond.

What Must the State Prove? The Knowledge Element That Decides These Cases

The State must prove you actually knew a crash happened. That is not a defense lawyer’s spin — it is a holding of the Florida Supreme Court. In State v. Dorsett, 158 So. 3d 557 (Fla. 2015), a driver in a heavy pickup — windows up, air conditioner running, radio at full volume — never stopped after a teenager fell from a skateboard into the truck’s undercarriage. He told police he had no idea he had hit anyone. The Supreme Court held that a “willful” failure to stop can exist only if the driver had actual knowledge of the crash, and that the State must prove that knowledge beyond a reasonable doubt. (Read the opinion.)

The knowledge rules run on two tracks, and the difference matters:

1. Knowledge of the crash itself — actual knowledge required. A driver who genuinely did not perceive an impact did not “willfully” leave. Vehicle size, road noise, weather, the point of impact, and the size of what was struck all bear on this.
2. Knowledge of the injury — actual or constructive. For the felony tiers, the State must show the driver knew of the injury or reasonably should have known from the nature of the crash. A violent nighttime collision speaks for itself; a light touch in a parking lot may not.

Because knowledge is rarely provable directly, both sides fight over circumstances: damage photographs, event data recorder downloads, surveillance video, and what the driver did next. That is exactly the evidence our attorneys move to preserve in week one.

What Did a 2026 Tampa Bay Decision Say About Leaving to “Report” the Crash?

It closed a door many drivers assume is open. In Paleveda v. State, No. 2D2024-0980 (Fla. 2d DCA Jan. 23, 2026) — a decision from the appellate court covering Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties — a driver convicted of leaving the scene of a fatal crash argued he left intending to report the crash to law enforcement. The Second District affirmed: under section 316.062, a driver cannot lawfully leave the scene, even to report the crash, without first ascertaining the condition of the people involved, and the fact that the victim has died rather than been injured does not change the duties owed. (Read the opinion.)

The practical lesson is stark: the statute’s duties are performed at the scene, in order — stop, check on the people, exchange information, render aid, then report. A driver who skips to the last step has, in the eyes of the law, left.

What Defenses Actually Work in Hit-and-Run Cases?

The strongest defenses map directly onto the elements. Lack of knowledge of the crash — the Dorsett defense — is the leading one, and it is strongest where the physical evidence corroborates it: minimal or hidden vehicle damage, an impact at the rear quarter or undercarriage, highway speed and noise, bad weather. Lack of knowledge of any injury protects against the felony tiers even when the driver knew about some contact. Identity is a genuine issue in a surprising number of cases, because hit-and-run investigations often work backward from a tag number to an owner — and the owner is not always the driver.

One more thing worth knowing: fault for the crash is not an element. You can be completely blameless in the collision and still be charged for leaving. Conversely, being at fault does not prove you knew — the questions are independent, and juries are instructed accordingly.

For more about our defense strategies, visit our Hillsborough County criminal defense page.

Why Do Prosecutors Charge Hit-and-Run So Aggressively?

Because the Legislature has told them to. The four-year mandatory minimum for fatal cases was designed to eliminate the perverse incentive for an impaired driver to flee, sober up, and surrender later — fleeing now costs at least as much as the DUI would have. That policy history shapes how these cases are prosecuted in the 13th Judicial Circuit: fatal and serious-injury hit-and-run investigations get traffic homicide investigators, search warrants for vehicles and phones, and media attention, and charging decisions err toward the top of the ladder.

It also means the aggravated versions stack. A driver who flees a crash scene and then fails to stop for the officer who spots the car has converted one bad night into two felonies — the hit-and-run plus aggravated fleeing and eluding, which carries its own mandatory adjudication and, if anyone was seriously hurt, its own three-year mandatory minimum. And where the underlying crash involved impairment, the State often charges the hit-and-run alongside DUI manslaughter — parallel counts with parallel minimums.

How Is Leaving the Scene Different From Vehicular Homicide?

They punish different things, and the distinction drives strategy when both are on the table. Vehicular homicide punishes the driving — a killing caused by reckless operation of a vehicle. Leaving the scene punishes the departure — the willful failure to stop and perform the statutory duties, regardless of how careful or careless the driving was. That is why a driver can be acquitted of the driving charge and convicted of the leaving charge, or the reverse: the two counts stand on different elements, different mental states, and different evidence.

In fatal-crash prosecutions around the 13th Judicial Circuit, the State frequently files both, along with DUI manslaughter where impairment is alleged — Paleveda itself involved all three. Each count carries its own minimums and its own defenses, and a defense that concedes one count to fight another must be built deliberately, not by accident. When our attorneys evaluate a multi-count fatal crash case, the first product is a count-by-count map of what the State can actually prove — because a plea negotiation that treats three counts as one case leaves value on the table.

How Do Police Actually Build a Hit-and-Run Case?

Backward from the car. Most hit-and-run investigations begin with fragments — a partial tag from a witness or doorbell camera, paint transfer on the struck vehicle, debris that carries a part number traceable to a make and model range. Tag readers on major Tampa Bay corridors narrow the window; a BOLO turns up the vehicle; and the registered owner gets a visit. From there the case is usually made or lost in two places: the vehicle inspection (does the damage match the crash, and has it been repaired since?) and the owner interview (does anyone put the owner behind the wheel — including the owner?).

Understanding that sequence tells you what the defense must do, and quickly. The vehicle should be preserved exactly as it is and photographed professionally before any repair — a repair after police contact reads as consciousness of guilt, while untouched, ambiguous damage supports a no-knowledge defense. The interview should not happen without counsel, because identity and knowledge — the two hardest elements for the State — are most often supplied by the driver’s own words. And time matters on defense evidence too: the same doorbell and business cameras that captured fragments for the police may hold exculpatory angles that overwrite within days.

What Should You Do If You Are Accused of Leaving the Scene?

If the crash just happened and you are still able to act, the safest course is to fulfill the statutory duties — return if you can do so safely, or report immediately. An early, voluntary report can be the difference between a defensible misunderstanding and a fleeing narrative.

If police have already contacted you — a knock at the door, a card on the windshield, a call about “your vehicle being involved in an incident” — do not give a statement. Hit-and-run investigations frequently hinge on a single admission (“I thought I hit a curb”) that supplies the knowledge element the physical evidence could not. Politely decline, and call counsel. Our attorneys can accept service of the investigation, preserve the vehicle in its post-crash condition for independent inspection, send preservation letters for area surveillance video before it is overwritten, and — where the facts support it — present the no-knowledge defense to the prosecutor before charges are filed rather than after.

Frequently Asked Questions About Leaving the Scene in Florida

Is leaving the scene of an accident a felony in Florida?

It is a felony whenever the crash injured or killed anyone: third-degree for injury, second-degree for serious bodily injury, first-degree with a four-year mandatory minimum for death. Property-damage-only crashes are second-degree misdemeanors under section 316.061. Our attorneys at The Brancato Law Firm treat even the misdemeanor version seriously, because the same facts often carry civil exposure and license consequences.

What if I did not know I hit someone?

Then under State v. Dorsett the State cannot convict you — actual knowledge of the crash is an essential element the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt. The believability of a no-knowledge defense depends on the physical evidence: where the vehicle was struck, how loud and fast the environment was, and what the damage looks like. Preserve the vehicle unrepaired and unwashed until it is documented.

Can I be charged if the accident wasn’t my fault?

Yes. Fault is not an element of leaving the scene — the duties to stop, exchange information, and render aid apply to every driver involved in a crash, including the blameless one. The flip side: being charged says nothing about civil liability for the collision itself.

What is the mandatory minimum for a fatal hit-and-run?

Four years in prison under section 316.027(2)(c), and the same four-year minimum applies to a driver who left a fatal crash while driving under the influence. The court must also revoke your license for at least three years and order restitution absent clear and compelling reasons.

Can I leave the scene to go find the police?

Not before performing your duties at the scene. In Paleveda v. State (2026), the Second District — the appellate court for Tampa Bay — held that a driver may not leave even to report the crash without first ascertaining the condition of the people involved. Reporting is the last duty, not a substitute for the others.

Will I lose my license for a hit-and-run conviction?

For any conviction under section 316.027 — injury, serious injury, or death — revocation for at least three years is mandatory. Property-damage convictions under section 316.061 do not carry the same mandatory revocation, but points and insurance consequences follow. The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. builds license consequences into every negotiation, because a plea that saves jail time and silently costs three years of driving is not a good plea.

If you or someone you love left the scene of a crash — or is being investigated for one — anywhere in Tampa Bay, the attorneys of The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. — founded by Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Rocky Brancato — can step in before charges are filed. Call (813) 727-7159 now: the vehicle, the surveillance video, and your silence are the three most valuable assets in a hit-and-run defense, and all three are at their most fragile in the first days.

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A.
620 E. Twiggs Street, Suite 205, Tampa, FL 33602
(813) 727-7159
Serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties

The Brancato Law Firm, P.A. is a Tampa-based criminal defense practice. We are not affiliated with any other Brancato-named law firms.