Veterans Alliance is privately owned and operated to serve veterans. We are not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Veterans Alliance — Veterans Alliance
← All Alabama benefits
licenses & feesstate

A Free Pistol Permit for Military Retirees

A person otherwise eligible for a pistol permit who retired from active duty in any branch, or from any reserve or National Guard component, is issued the permit without a fee. It is the retirement that matters, not a disability rating — and it reaches Guard and reserve retirees, not only active-duty ones.

Verified August 27, 2026

What this benefit is

A person otherwise eligible for a pistol permit who retired from active duty in any branch, or from any reserve or National Guard component, is issued the permit without a fee. It is the retirement that matters, not a disability rating — and it reaches Guard and reserve retirees, not only active-duty ones.

What it's worth: The pistol permit fee waived

  • The waiver reaches retirement from active duty in any branch AND from any reserve or National Guard component. A Guard retiree qualifies.
  • You must be otherwise eligible for the permit — the statute waives the fee, it does not change who may hold one.
  • There is no disability test.
  • Permit fees are set by the county sheriff and differ, so no figure is published.

Who is entitled to it

  • You served in the U.S. armed forces.
  • You retired from the armed forces.
  • Your home is in Alabama.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

  1. 1Apply to your county sheriff as normal, and say at the outset that you are a military retiree claiming the fee waiver under Ala. Code 13A-11-75.1.
  2. 2Take proof of retirement — the DD Form 214, retirement orders, or a retiree ID.
  3. 3Reserve and National Guard retirees are covered. If the office assumes active-duty retirement only, cite the section.
  4. 4Meet the ordinary permit requirements. The waiver is of the fee, not of eligibility.
Form
County pistol permit application
File with
Your county sheriff
Documents you will need
dd214
Annual
Claimed once a year.

Sources

Why only one source type: Permits are issued county by county by the sheriff, and there is no statewide operating page — fees and process differ by county, so your own sheriff's office is the operating source.

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.