Section 1231.40  Curriculum Approval

a)         Application for curriculum approval shall be made by completing and submitting a Request for Approval of a Concealed Carry License Firearms Curriculum form, which is available on the Department's website.

b)         The application must be complete, accurate, signed, and notarized.  If the application is not completed properly, it will be returned to the applicant and will not be processed.

c)         The applicant shall verify that the proposed curriculum meets the requirements set forth in the Act and that the course will be taught in person, as described in this Section. 

d)         Training necessary for issuance of the FCCL shall consist of 16 hours of classroom and firearm training.  Pursuant to Section 75(g), (h) and (i) of the Act, fewer hours of training, or no additional training, will be acceptable in certain instances (see Appendix B) indicating prior firearms training.

1)         A 16 hour training course must, at a minimum, cover the following topics:

A)        Firearms Safety − a minimum of 1 hour; 

B)        Basic Principles of Marksmanship − a minimum of 1 hour;

C)        Care, Cleaning, Loading and Unloading of a Concealable Firearm − a minimum of 1 hour;

D)        All Applicable State and Federal Laws Relating to the Ownership, Storage, Carry and Transportation of a Firearm and appropriate and lawful interaction with law enforcement while transporting or carrying a concealed firearm − a minimum of 2 hours; and

E)        Weapons Handling − a minimum of 1 hour.

2)         An 8 hour training course must, at a minimum, cover the following topics:

A)        All Applicable State and Federal Laws Relating to the Ownership, Storage, Carry and Transportation of a Firearm and appropriate and lawful interaction with law enforcement while transporting or carrying a concealed firearm − a minimum of 2 hours; and

B)        Weapons Handling − a minimum of 1 hour.

3)         For the topics to be included in the 16 hour and 8 hour training courses, the minimum hours established in this subsection (d) have been determined to be sufficient for the experienced shooter and shall be adjusted upward by the approved instructor based upon the skill level of those to be trained to ensure proficiency by all upon the completion of the required training component.  

e)         A 3 hour licensure renewal course must, at a minimum, cover the following topics:

1)         Two hours to cover:

A)        any updates to Illinois or federal firearms laws governing concealed carry in Illinois;

B)        updates in the Criminal Code Sections listed in Section 1231.10; and

C)        appropriate and lawful interaction with law enforcement while transporting or carrying a concealed firearm; and

2)         One hour of instruction to include a live fire qualification with a concealable firearm using a B-27 silhouette target consisting of a minimum of 30 rounds and 10 rounds from a distance of 5 yards, 10 rounds from a distance of 7 yards and 10 rounds from a distance of 10 yards.

f)         The Department may request a complete course outline and instructional notes or any additional course related information from the applicant. If the applicant refuses the request, the application will be deemed incomplete and returned to the applicant.

g)         Once approved by the Department, the curriculum may only be taught by an Instructor approved by the Department under Section 1231.20 who is listed on the registry of approved Instructors.

h)         Upon receiving substantiated information that a curriculum is not consistent with Section 75 of the Act, the Department may remove that curriculum from the list of approved curriculums maintained on the Department's website. 

i)          Once a curriculum is removed from the list of approved curricula, the decision to remove the curriculum from the list may be appealed to the Director of the Department and evidence must be presented that the factors resulting in the revocation have been resolved.  If the Director determines that the removal of the curriculum from the list was not warranted, or that the issues that resulted in that removal have been remediated, the curriculum approval shall be reinstated to the list.