2025 BCA Permit-to-Carry Report Shows Rise in St. Louis County

St. Louis County issued 3,183 permits to carry firearms in 2025, a county total cited by WDIO as part of a statewide surge that saw Minnesota sheriffs report 65,961 permits issued last year compared with 57,248 in 2024, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said in its March 3, 2026 Permit to Carry Annual Report. Statewide, sheriffs reported 75,782 applications in 2025 and Minnesota had 375,551 valid permits in force at the time of the BCA release.

The BCA report lists Hennepin County as the top issuer in 2025 with 8,063 permits, followed by Anoka at 4,665, Dakota at 4,525, Washington at 3,579 and Ramsey at 3,529. Administrative actions recorded in 2025 included 261 permits suspended, 49 revoked - nine of those revocations tied to Extreme Risk Protection Orders - 1,331 permits voided and 751 denied, the BCA data show.

Crime figures tied to permit holders drew particular attention: sheriffs reported 5,647 crimes committed by people with permits in 2025, the BCA said, the highest number recorded since the Personal Protection Act took effect in 2003. WDIO summarized the BCA breakdown, noting that only 1 percent of permit holders committed a crime in 2025, that less than 3 percent of those crimes involved the use of a firearm, and that just over 55 percent were DWIs or other traffic offenses while 24 percent fell under the “Other” category, which includes city ordinance violations, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources violations and more serious offenses like stalking and riot.

Month-to-month volatility has added urgency to local conversations about permits. Minneapolimedia reported a sharp jump in permit-to-carry applications in January 2026, recording 8,240 applications that month compared with 4,734 in January 2025, a nearly 75 percent year-over-year increase. Minneapolimedia wrote, “The spike coincided with what federal authorities described as ‘Operation Metro Surge,’ a heightened immigration enforcement effort conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minnesota.” The outlet also reported that “local firearm instructors and gun shop owners told reporters that training classes filled rapidly during this period,” and that “advocacy organizations such as the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus publicly attributed the demand to community anxiety and concerns about unrest amid federal enforcement actions.”

Minnesota’s permit process remains a local responsibility: applicants must apply at their county sheriff’s office, provide proof of approved firearms training and, if denied, have the right to appeal, a procedural outline reported by KROC and reflected in the BCA materials. As St. Louis County processes permits and local trainers manage sudden surges in class demand, the BCA data and the January spike underscore tensions between a broad rise in permit activity and continued scrutiny over crimes reported among permit holders. Minneapolimedia framed the larger trend this way: “This is not merely a statistical update. It is a structural shift worth documenting carefully and soberly.”