It’s one thing to master the fundamentals of marksmanship. It’s another thing to put those skills to use against an intruder in the home. But if you’re concealing a handgun on your person for defensive use out in public, that’s a whole new arena entirely. To help prepare serious handgun students for concealed carry, we offer an NRA course called Personal Protection Outside the Home (“PPOTH”).


Topics Covered


Frequently Asked Questions


Course Details

What You’ll Learn

The NRA’s Personal Protection Outside the Home course (“PPOTH”) teaches students the knowledge, skills, and attitude essential for avoiding and countering dangerous confrontations and for safe, effective, and responsible use of a concealed pistol for self-defense outside the home. This is the NRA’s most advanced defensive handgun course.

  • The universal firearm safety rules
  • Situational awareness and concealed carry mindset
  • Psychological reactions to sudden attack
  • Mid-fight considerations; Controlling the encounter
  • The aftermath of a violent encounter
  • Carry modes and concealment options
  • Legal considerations
  • Context-appropriate live-fire exercises (accounting for barriers, spatial challenges, innocent bystanders, and other environmental factors)

Frequently Asked Questions

Who’s Eligible

This course is for adult individuals who are not disqualified from possessing a firearm as defined by applicable federal, state, or local law and are of good repute and possess defensive pistol skills presented in the NRA Basics of Personal Protection In The Home Course. Participants must also understand the basic legal concepts relating to the use of firearms in self-defense, and must know and observe not only general gun safety rules, but also those safety principles that are specific to defensive situations. Prospective participants can demonstrate that they have the requisite knowledge, skills, and attitudes by producing an NRA Basic Personal Protection In The Home Course Certificate, or by passing the pre-course evaluation. 

What to Expect

The course is divided into two levels. Level one is nine hours and offers the essential knowledge and skills that must be mastered in order to carry, store, and use a firearm safely and effectively for personal protection outside the home. Students spend several hours on the range and shoot approximately 100 rounds of ammunition during level one. Upon completion, students may choose to attend level two, which is an additional five hours on the range and approximately 115 rounds of ammunition learning advanced shooting skills. Time and ammunition requirements are minimum, and may be exceeded. Students will receive the NRA Guide to the Basics of Personal Protection Outside The Home handbook, NRA Gun Safety Rules brochure and appropriate (level one/level two) course completion certificates(s).

Who teaches the legal stuff?

Firearms and the Law, and Legal Aspects of Self-Defense, of the Personal Protection In and Outside The Home Courses is conducted by an attorney licensed to practice law within the state in which this course is given and who is familiar with this area of the law, a Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) who possesses an intermediate or higher Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) certificate granted within the state, or an individual currently certified to instruct in this area of the law by the state in which this course is presented. NRA Certified Instructors may conduct this lesson only if they meet the requirements stated above and then only in their capacity as an attorney, or other state certified individual, not in their capacity as an NRA Certified Instructor.

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