Commissioner Fried Announces Reopening of Plantation Regional Licensing Office

Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) announced the October 19 reopening of the FDACS Division of Licensing regional licensing office in Plantation. The office is located at 7800 Peters Road, Suite C100, Plantation, FL 32819.

This follows the June 15 reopening of the Tallahassee regional office, the September 7 reopening of the North Port regional office, the September 14 reopening of the Orlando regional office, the September 17 reopening of the Jacksonville regional office, the September 21 reopening of the Tampa regional office, and the October 1 reopening of the Fort Walton Beach regional office.

“As we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, our Department is moving forward on a strategic reopening plan for our regional Division of Licensing offices throughout the state to advance our efforts to best serve the needs of Floridians,” shared Commissioner Nikki Fried. “And as with our previous reopening efforts, our plantation office will also be utilizing enhanced safety measures to best protect the public while offering important services.”

Background: On March 19, FDACS closed nine regional offices to the public due to health concerns from COVID-19. Despite regional offices closing, the department has continued processing concealed weapons license applications throughout the pandemic. Since March 1, FDACS has processed 263,756 concealed weapons license applications, has issued or renewed 210,571 concealed weapons licenses.

Enhanced Safety Features: As in the Tallahassee, North Port, Tampa, Jacksonville, Orlando, and Fort Walton Beach regional offices, the Plantation regional office features new, enhanced safety precautions such as Plexiglass barriers at fingerprinting stations and exhaustive cleaning procedures. Licensing employees will wear masks, gloves, and face shields when taking fingerprints. Customers will be seen by appointment only and the wearing of masks will be required.

Text Notifications: The Division of Licensing is making use of new texting software to communicate with customers. This technology provides customers with confirmation texts after they schedule an appointment, as well as reminder texts on the actual day. Customers are asked to “check-in” and send a text message when they arrive for their scheduled appointment. This allows the Division to limit the number of people in the regional office at any one time, and ensures fast and efficient service once office staff are prepared to receive them. Customers can find more information and make appointments by visiting FDACS.gov/Consumer-Resources/Concealed-Weapon-License.

Reopening of Additional Offices: Commissioner Fried and FDACS will continue with a cautious, methodical approach for reopening additional regional offices, including consideration of local COVID-19 data.

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