FDACS Announces Reopening of West Palm Beach Regional Division of Licensing Office

Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) are announcing the November 9 reopening of the FDACS Division of Licensing regional office in West Palm Beach. The office is located at 400 North Congress Avenue, Suite 140, West Palm Beach, FL 33401. With the West Palm Beach regional office reopening, all of the FDACS Division of Licensing offices have been reopened to the public.

This follows the October 30 reopening of the Doral regional Division of Licensing Office, the October 19 reopening of the Plantation regional office, 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.

“Throughout the pandemic, we have remained committed to offering important services to the people of Florida, while being mindful, careful, and cautious about public safety as it pertains to COVID-19,” stated Commissioner Nikki Fried. “With our Division of Licensing’s West Palm Beach regional office reopening, all of our FDACS licensing offices are now open to the public with enhanced safety measures like Plexiglass barriers, appointment-based scheduling, and the wearing of masks.”

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 293,574 concealed weapons license applications, has issued or renewed 234,962 concealed weapons licenses.

Enhanced Safety Features: As in the Doral, Plantation, Tallahassee, North Port, Tampa, Jacksonville, Orlando, and Fort Walton Beach regional offices, the Doral 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.

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