Just applied for my GWCL in Chatham County. It was a pretty quick process. Within 20 minutes I was in and out of the probate court and on my way to the UPS store for finger prints on Berwick. Will update in 6 weeks time when I get my permit.
Wife finally received it, after leaving four messages for the person who does the licensing and then a fifth phone call to the general probate court and asking for that person, who supposedly had "laryngitis" :^oWife just applied for a new issue. She was quoted 10 weeks :shock:
I will update when it comes in. I'm eligible for renewal starting in June...
It's ten days.
"Not later than ten days after the judge of the probate court receives the report from the law enforcement agency concerning the suitability of the applicant for a license, the judge of the probate court shall issue such applicant a license or renewal license to carry any weapon unless facts establishing ineligibility have been reported or unless the judge determines such applicant has not met all the qualifications, is not of good moral character, or has failed to comply with any of the requirements contained in this Code section. The judge of the probate court shall date stamp the report from the law enforcement agency to show the date on which the report was received by the judge of the probate court."
O.C.G.A. § 16-11-129(d)(4)
http://www.georgiapacking.org/GaCode/?title=16&chapter=11§ion=129
Is that calendar days or business days?10 days is all the Probate Judge has to issue the GWCL under normal circumstances. The NICS check comes back immediately from FBI and is timestamped. From that timestamp, the Probate Judge has 10 days.
to my knowledge its 10 days period.Is that calendar days or business days?
And I don't think the probate court gives a crap. I get the impression they (clerks, judge, whoever) don't like issuing them and are against the whole thing, so they'll delay as long as they can get away with. They know the average Joe has neither the time nor the money to do anything about it.
Going in for my renewal on Monday. We'll see how that goes. Not holding my breath...
The mental health check is only required if you have been treated and there for they need to contact the doctor and get their statement.Going by their website (https://courts.chathamcounty.org/Probate-Court/Concealed-Weapon-Permits), they may be overcharging too.
$37.00 for a license and $48.25 for the fingerprint/background check.
I only see where the law allows $30 16.11.129(a) for the license and $3.oo for the optional mental health check 16-11-129(b)(J). Where does the extra $4 come from?
There is no such statue. In fact, they are bound by law in exactly what they may charge and no more.He called the court clerks and got the same basic "I don't know" answer I had. He then called the head clerk directly and managed to get answers. The fee is $30 for the permit plus the $7 that the company that prints them charges to print and ship (Chatham is ship only you cannot pick it up) and statute allows them to pass that cost on (per the clerk, we did not ask for nor research for a relevant statute).
Outstanding first post, thanks. With a new judge and staff its an opportune time to get things corrected, its always easier to blame others and just fix it. As for the extra $7, nope. The statute is crystal clear. Welcome aboard.The mental health check is only required if you have been treated and there for they need to contact the doctor and get their statement.
I checked this thread the other day and your post got my attention since I needed to renew mine. I applied today and was told to expect 2 months. That is very surprising since it was mailed out two days latter last time but we will see what happens. They where also quoting 90 days for new permits. I'm hoping they are way over quoting so you don't call next week when it's not there.
While there I asked very politely about the $37 charge versus the $30 in statute and none of the clerks had a clue what I was talking about. Not feeling like I would get any other answers and not wanting to cause "trouble" with the people who decide on my permit I didn't ask anymore questions. Besides the non answer not being acceptable to me I also had a very big issue with two other things they post on the website:
"Applications made by a license holder whose current or previous license was issued by another county will NOT be considered a renewal application, but will be a new application. The applicant MUST undergo a fingerprint based check in the new county.
If you are applying for a renewal the following documents are required for application: Driver's license or state ID card issued by Chatham County, and your old permit."
First no matter the county issued the law clearly states that it is a renewal and must be treated as such and there is no ambiguity in its phrasing. Fortunately that didn't apply to me so I didn't bring that up while there. Second the permit is a state ID card so why do we have to show two state IDs when only one is required for a new permit?
After I paid my $38.50, since they charge $1.50 convince fee for credit or debit, I went and stopped by a friend with a law degree (no longer practices) and lots of guns to ask him about all this. We verified current statutes and made some calls.
He called the court clerks and got the same basic "I don't know" answer I had. He then called the head clerk directly and managed to get answers. The fee is $30 for the permit plus the $7 that the company that prints them charges to print and ship (Chatham is ship only you cannot pick it up) and statute allows them to pass that cost on (per the clerk, we did not ask for nor research for a relevant statute). He also stated that we where correct in the issue of out of county renewals and that they could easily access the existing prints irregardless of previous issuing county. There was not as clear of an answer, or as detailed of a conversation, on the ID issue as that is more of a pet pieve of mine than an issue that we felt could interfere with others properly getting their permit. He stated that this appears to be a training issue and he will address it with each clerk and thanked my friend for bringing it to his attention.
All in all he was very pleasant about it all and did seem like he intends to fix the issue and we where content with the results. Hopefully no one gets charged the finger printing fee for renewals and hopefully they update the website and also add South Carolina to the listed states with reciprocity.
For those that are not aware there is a new judge and new staff in the probate court. Anyways that is my super long first post. I think I included everything but if anyone has questions let me know. I'll post back when I get my renewal.
Can someone tell me which 'law enforcement agency' this would be? Chatham County is quoting "at least 10 weeks" or 70 days to get a license when Georgia law states 47 days max. I am going to call the probate judge and want to be as prepared as I can be when I do.O.C.G.A. § 16-11-129 (d)(1)(A) For weapons carry license applications, the judge of the probate court shall within five business days following the receipt of the application or request direct the law enforcement agency to request a fingerprint based criminal history records check from the Georgia Crime Information Center and Federal Bureau of Investigation for purposes of determining the suitability of the applicant and return an appropriate report to the judge of the probate court.
The law states that a 'report' is not always required, but the judge has 10 from the time he gets 'the report' to issue. Everywhere it says "the report", shouldn't it read the application and report if required, or something similar?O.C.G.A. § 16-11-129 (d)(4) The law enforcement agency shall report to the judge of the probate court within 30 days, by telephone and in writing, of any findings relating to the applicant which may bear on his or her eligibility for a weapons carry license or renewal license under the terms of this Code section. When no derogatory information is found on the applicant bearing on his or her eligibility to obtain a license or renewal license, a report shall not be required. The law enforcement agency shall return the application directly to the judge of the probate court within such time period. Not later than ten days after the judge of the probate court receives the report from the law enforcement agency concerning the suitability of the applicant for a license, the judge of the probate court shall issue such applicant a license or renewal license to carry any weapon unless facts establishing ineligibility have been reported or unless the judge determines such applicant has not met all the qualifications, is not of good moral character, or has failed to comply with any of the requirements contained in this Code section. The judge of the probate court shall date stamp the report from the law enforcement agency to show the date on which the report was received by the judge of the probate court.
A quote from MP from another thread about the LE Report-Can someone tell me which 'law enforcement agency' this would be? Chatham County is quoting "at least 10 weeks" or 70 days to get a license when Georgia law states 47 days max. I am going to call the probate judge and want to be as prepared as I can be when I do.
Except, just for the sake of injecting a little reality into the conversation, it never takes 30 days for law enforcement to "report" to the probate judge. In addition, there is never a "request" from the probate judge to the LE to get the GBI/FBI check.
I know the statute says all that, but it never happens.
In the real world, the judge says, go to the Sheriff and get your fingerprints done.
The person goes to the Sheriff's Office that day and "gets his fingerprints done." They are electronically scanned. The background check comes back from GCIC and NCIC and NICS within minutes (it's electronic, remember?).
So, there, all in one day, goes the first five day period and the second thirty day period. Those do not count in the real world.