Between boat trips on Lake Lewisville and everyday errands around town, most Lewisville residents don’t have hours to spend in a classroom to earn a Texas License to Carry (LTC). East Texas Security Training Academy (ETXSTA) built an online course specifically so you don’t have to — the classroom work happens on your schedule, and the hands-on portion is quick and local.
Eligibility First
Before enrolling, confirm you meet Texas’s requirements. An LTC applicant must:
- Be 18 years of age or older
- Have no felony conviction
- Have no Class A or Class B misdemeanor conviction within the past five years
- Not be subject to a protective or restraining order
- Have no active or pending criminal charges
- Not be a chemically dependent person
- Be of sound mind
- Be qualified under state and federal law to possess a handgun
- Not have been finally determined delinquent on child support obligations
From Online Lessons to Certificate to Range Day
The classroom instruction is fully online and self-paced, covering Texas firearm laws, the legal standards around use of force and self-defense, safe handgun handling and storage, non-violent conflict resolution, and how to properly interact with law enforcement while carrying.
Finish it and you can instantly download your LTC-104 Certificate of Training — the Texas Department of Public Safety’s official proof that you completed the required coursework. That certificate is valid for two years, and it needs to still be current when you actually submit your LTC application, so don’t sit on it too long.
Then it’s on to the shooting proficiency test with an ETXSTA-certified instructor in Lewisville or a nearby location. You’ll shoot a 50-round course of fire — 20 rounds at 3 yards, 20 rounds at 7 yards, and 10 rounds at 15 yards — and need to score at least 70% to pass. Applicants get up to three attempts to pass both the written exam and the range test within a 12-month period, so a rough first outing isn’t the end of the road.
Range Test Exemptions
Active-duty military members and veterans with a qualifying range score or documented firearms familiarization training from within the past 10 years don’t need to complete the shooting portion, and neither do state correctional officers or county jailers who received firearms training as part of their job. Those applicants complete only the online classroom course.
Permitless Carry Doesn’t Make the LTC Pointless
Texas allows constitutional carry, so an LTC isn’t mandatory — but it still delivers real advantages. It brings reciprocity in 37 other states for travel, covers you in some places that permitless carry doesn’t reach, offers certain legal protections, and lets you skip the NICS background check when buying a firearm from a licensed dealer. For Lewisville residents who travel to the lake, across state lines, or just want an extra layer of documentation, that combination makes the effort worthwhile.