Jan 21–24, 2025
Venetian Expo + Caesars Forum
Las Vegas

Exhibitor FAQs

Attendance at the SHOT Show is RESTRICTED to the shooting, hunting and outdoor trade and commercial buyers and sellers of military, law enforcement and tactical products and services ONLY. The show is not open to the public, and NO one under age 16 shall be admitted (including infants).

NO personal firearms or ammunition allowed. Only firearms on display by exhibitors whose firing pins have been removed (and have been inspected by SHOT Show Safety Advisors) will be permitted at the SHOT Show.

Start with the Exhibitor Resources Center (ERC) on the website at shotshow.org/erc. Forms are specific to your exhibit area: The Venetian, Caesars Forum or Supplier Showcase/eXtra. Start with the HOT TOPICS RIGHT NOW and DEADLINES/INFORMATION/CONTACTS sections. The Budget and the Deadline Checklist will help you decide which items you need for your exhibit and how to succeed at the show.

You'll also find exhibitor move-in hours, policy on booth changes, show exhibition hours and much more. Everything you need for exhibiting is in the ERC. You can easily find forms and information by utilizing the search bar at the top of the page.

Freeman is the Official Service Contractor providing material handling, furniture rental, custom booth rental, labor, carpet, hanging signs/rigging (under 200lbs and at Venetian Expo only), plus cleaning and utilities for Caesars Forum exhibitors.

Encore at Venetian provides internet, telephone, cleaning and plumbing, and hanging signs/rigging (over 200lbs) and lighting.

Encore at Caesars Forum provides electrical, rigging, telephone, and internet.

Each building (Venetian Expo or Caesars Forum) has a different electrical provider and different forms, please be sure you are visiting the correct section of the Exhibitor Resource Center.  You will then need to refer to the Electrical Services order form provided for the applicable location. Prior to submitting your order, please check your equipment for the amps/watts needed. In addition to ordering the outlets, you will need to order electrical labor for the distribution of the power. Mark on the order form the dates for which service is requested, and the time requested for electrical to be installed. There is a minimum charge of one hour to install and 1/2 hour to dismantle the electrical if the electrical is placed somewhere other than the back of the booth. If you have an island or peninsula booth, you must provide a floor plan with your order showing the preferred location of the outlets or they will place them at their discretion.

You will need to review the order forms for each SHOT Show official contractor and how they receive payment.

If you are shipping through a third party, and not transporting it in your own personal vehicle, you can ship in one of two ways.

The first is to ship in advance to the Freeman Warehouse where shipments can be received anytime between December 16, 2024, and January 3, 2025. Freeman will then deliver your freight to your booth at your appointed target time. Be sure to print the appropriate shipping label(s) by clicking on the Warehouse Shipping label or the Show Site Shipping label and affixing it to the shipment.

The second option is to ship directly to the show site at the Venetian Expo Center or Caesars Forum during move-in, however, freight must arrive during your assigned target time (see below to request a change to your target time).  Upon arriving on-site at your appointed target time, drivers must first check in at the Freeman Marshaling Yard to receive a Freight Door assignment before coming to The Venetian Expo or Caesars Forum.  Please note the Marshaling Yard is approximately 10 miles (30 minutes away) from the convention center (6500 W. Serene Ave., Las Vegas, NV).

If you are driving your materials to the show in your own personally-owned vehicle, you may take advantage of the Privately Operated Vehicle (POV) Program. This takes place on Sunday and Monday before the show and Freeman will deliver your materials on a flatbed cart. First round trip is paid for by the SHOT Show. See the Material Handling — POV form in the Exhibitor Resource Center to see if you qualify, as well as the question below.

If you are shipping firearms to the show, you must separate them from all other freight and use the provided Warehouse Advance Security or the Show Site Direct Security shipping labels located in the Exhibitor Resource Center. These items will go directly to security and you can pick them up on-site from security in Room 306 of The Venetian Expo (Level 1) or in Room 402 at Caesars Forum. DO NOT ship non-firearm materials using the Security labels to Secured Storage. If you are bringing firearms with you to the show, please complete the Firearms Survey form on the Exhibitor Resource Center so you can be fully apprised of the programs put in place for the receipt of firearms in Las Vegas.

If you are transporting firearms through checked luggage on your flight to Las Vegas, you can bring them to the SHOT check-in desk in baggage claim in either Terminal 1 or Terminal 3 after you receive them from your airline’s baggage service upon your arrival. Your firearms will be transported to Secured Storage by SHOT Show security.

Target times are listed by booth numbers and is established to accommodate the large volume of freight that needs to be unloaded on the limited freight dock space available. If you ship in advance to the Freeman warehouse, the freight will be at your exhibit space at your designated target time and you have certainty of when your freight will be at your booth so you can schedule labor accordingly. If your freight is coming to the show by a common carrier to arrive during move-in, this is the date and time for which your freight should arrive at the Freeman marshalling yard.  Please know that it can take up to several hours for your freight to be brought from the marshalling yard to the convention center and subsequently unloaded and delivered to your booth.  This needs to be taken into account when scheduling your labor. If you need to change your target time, complete the Target Time Change Request Form. For more information, review the Target Time Map.

Material Handling is the service to move and store your freight from the freight docks to your booth. This service includes off-loading from the delivery truck; delivery to your booth; removing empty crates and boxes; storing the crates and boxes during the show and returning them after the show; and finally, delivery of the crates and boxes to your carrier. This service is provided exclusively by Freeman. It is a one-time charge for incoming and outgoing. See the Material Handling Order Form in the Exhibitor Resource Center for rates.

Yes, there are two ways to unload your materials at the show. You can take advantage of the POV/Cart Service Program provided by Freeman and the SHOT Show, or you can hand carry your own freight. See description below.

Hand Carry is permitted if a display or product is capable of being carried from the exhibitor's privately owned vehicle into the hall by hand. Only a small, two-wheel dolly can be used. Exhibitors with hand-carry freight can arrive any time after their scheduled target time. To utilize this service, your total freight must be delivered in a Privately Operated Vehicle (POV), no commercial carriers, and driven by a company employee and cannot be unloaded at any of the loading docks.

A Privately Owned Vehicle (POV) is a vehicle driven by you or your employee and Freeman will deliver the materials to your booth. The first cart load (round trip) to your booth is paid by the SHOT Show. Additional cart loads are charged by Freeman at $107.00 per cart load (round trip).

Delivery must take place during move-in on:
Sunday, January 19, 2025 from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Monday, January 20, 2025 from 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM

During move-out, POVs will be reloaded on Friday, January 24, 2025, from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM. See the Freeman POV Service Form for more information and details of how to take advantage of this program.

If you have firearms in your booth, you must secure them overnight. The SHOT Show offers a free service that allows you to secure your firearms overnight in a secured storage area. The person who checks them in must also check them out and a signature is required. Secure storage areas are located in Hall G (Level 1), Hall D (Level 2), Level 2 ballrooms at The Venetian Expo and Room 402 in Caesars Forum.

Exhibitor booth personnel can receive a Letter of Invitation by clicking “yes” when requested during the badge registration process. The letter is then emailed to the exhibitor to print out and take with them to their visa appointment. If additional documentation is required, please email Show Management at visa@shotshow.org.

Outboarding is when any company that is eligible to exhibit, yet is not exhibiting at the SHOT Show, hosts an event anywhere in the city that attracts SHOT Show buyers. The SHOT Show considers outboarding a serious offense and akin to theft as it is essentially taking away from the investment made by you, the exhibitor. Therefore, the SHOT Show immediately takes away credentials for the current show and likewise bans the offending individual and company from participation or attendance at future SHOT Shows.

If you hear of or see an outboarding event while you are onsite, please contact the Show Management Office, (702) 691-8508 or tell your floor manager. To contact Show Management in advance or after the show, please call (855) 355-7468 or email regmgr@shotshow.org.

Suitcasing is when any non-exhibitor tries to sell their products to attendees or other exhibitors at the show. This includes having meetings, providing merchandise, samples, catalogs or any other materials. This is not permitted at the show. The SHOT Show considers suitcasing a serious offense and akin to theft as it is essentially taking away from the investment made by you, the exhibitor. Therefore, the SHOT Show immediately takes away credentials for the current show and likewise bans the offending individual and company from participation or attendance at future SHOT Shows.

If you witness a suitcaser, contact the Show Management Office at (702) 691-8508 or your floor manager immediately.

Exhibitors are not permitted to photograph or video the exhibit or product of another exhibitor without prior approval. You are prohibited from entering the exhibit space of another exhibitor without permission from that exhibitor, and at no time may anyone enter an exhibit space that is not staffed.

SHOT Show Exhibitor Registration will open in the beginning of October. You will simply sign in to your Exhibitor Dashboard and click on REGISTRATION. Badges are allocated based on booth size. See your allocation on the Badges & Allotments Form.

Due to factors beyond our control, the costs associated with putting on a trade show of SHOT’s magnitude have increased (as have the costs of doing most things these days). Also, as you may know, revenue generated from the SHOT Show directly supports all that NSSF does as your industry’s trade association—from advocating on behalf of the industry in Washington, D.C. and in state capitals nationwide to providing compliance education, industry research, firearm safety programs and so much more. Additionally, NSSF’s #GUNVOTE effort needs more funding than ever before to ensure a bright future for our industry.

SHOT Show has negotiated low hotel rates at many of the top hotels in Las Vegas. You can go to the Hotels page found on the show website to book rooms for you and your team. As a reminder the only official SHOT Show housing providers are the Venetian/Palazzo and onPeak.

You can update your directory listing on your Exhibitor Dashboard by going to shotshow.org/exhibitor and entering your username and password. The information on your Dashboard will be reflected in your online listing (The SHOT Show Planner), the mobile app and the printed directory. The deadline to be included in the printed SHOT Show Directory is September 27, 2024. If you have any questions or need assistance regarding your company's directory listing, contact Customer Service at (855) 355-7468 or email exhibitorhelp@shotshow.org.

You can upgrade your SHOT Show Planner listing to a Premium Digital Sponsorship through your Exhibitor Dashboard (shotshow.org/exhibitor). The Premium Digital Sponsorship includes 500 additional private messages to attendees, sponsorship image displayed in rotation at the bottom of all pages in the planner, logo on the online floorplan, sponsorship image displayed in rotation at bottom of Attendee welcome email, and banner on mobile app. This is in addition to your SHOT Marketing Package. For more information contact Customer Service at (855) 355-7468 or email exhibitorhelp@shotshow.org or send a question to Doe our SHOTbot on chat.

The Marketing Package is a required purchase that includes basic company information such as company name, description, and product categories, your company logo (SHOT Show Planner, mobile app and printed directory), press releases, and show specials. You also have access to Digital Press Kits that allow you to upload assets for up to three products. SHOT Show media have exclusive access to the Press Kits site and look for products to produce stories on throughout the year.  The SHOT Marketing package also gives you access to your leads (attendees who have visited your online listing whose interests match your product categories). You can also private message with attendees through your dashboard. All listings carry over to the SHOT Show mobile app.

All buyers will have a badge with their registration information encoded in the QR code on the badge. To retrieve this information, you must rent a Lead Retrieval Scanner or purchase the lead retrieval SWAP app from Maritz.  The SWAP app does not require any equipment, aside from your own mobile device (phone or tablet).  Lead retrieval scanners can be picked up on-site at the Maritz Lead Retrieval counter. All scanners are portable so you will only need to order electricity if you plan on charging the units within your booth. Order the scanners or SWAP app on or before November 11, 2024, to get the early bird rate or on or before December 23, 2024, to get the advance rate. For more information, contact Exhibitor Services at (877) 623-3487 or via email at exhibitorservices@maritz.com.

Many companies will likely reach out to you for assistance with your housing needs, carpet options, or numerous other services relating to your SHOT Show experience. Please be assured the only contractors authorized to contact you are those referenced in the Exhibitor Resource Center and the SHOT Show places strict guidelines on any contact they can make. The SHOT Show protects your contact information very closely. Unfortunately, with the internet, unscrupulous companies have a way of gathering anybody’s email address and phone number. Please review the complete Solicitation Notice in the Exhibitor Resource Center relating to this issue.  While some companies may be reputable or provide legitimate services, many are not and be wary of companies that use such predatory marketing tactics to solicit your company.

Yes, you can have a vehicle or mobile unit in your booth. Per Clark County fire codes, you can purchase a permit directly from Show Management if the appropriate application is filed with Show Management by November 15, 2024. If you miss the deadline, you must purchase a permit from the Clark County Fire Department directly at (702) 455-7116. Exhibitors must also submit the Motor Units / Motorized Vehicle form with Freeman and pay a spotting fee of $215.25. Vehicles displayed in your booth need to be moved in according to your Target Time. At the appropriate time, you may proceed directly to the freight door for your booth and Freeman will escort the vehicle to the booth. See the Freeman Vehicles & Mobile Units form for more information. Forms must be complete by December 17, 2024.

No. Show badges constitute a limited, revocable license to the named badge holder to attend the current SHOT Show. Badges cannot be reproduced, sold, shared or otherwise transferred to another person. Show badges are the property of the show and may be revoked at any time for any reason.

We will not be mailing badges, you will be able to pick up the badges at Venetian Expo, Caesars Forum or any of our many locations throughout Las Vegas. Click here to see a full list of locations.

New this year due to SHOT Show security, each registrant must pick up their own badge. No one will be able to pick up other persons badge.