Riverside County FAQ (Contributed by Keith92555)

[CalCCW03]

Riverside County general information regarding CCWs.

Information provided is derived from a variety of sources and from personal knowledge gleaned during the application process and from posts to this forum and others.

Riverside County Sheriff Stanley Sniff
4095 Lemon Street
Riverside, CA 92501
(951) 955-2400

CCW Unit: Deputy Aguirre or Deputy Barnett
Ben Clark Training Center
16791 Davis Ave. Ste 221A
Riverside, CA 92518
(951) 486-2856 or (951) 486-2816
Fax (951) 486-2985

BEN CLARK TRAINING CENTER SHERIFF’S FORENSICS CENTER INDIO
16791 Davis Ave. 47225 Oasis Street
Riverside, Calif. 92518 Indio, Calif. 92201
By Appointment Only By Appointment Only INDIO RANGE
(951) 486-2856 (951) 486-2856 (760) 275-8401
(951) 486-2816 (951) 486-2816

FIREARMS TRAINING ASSOCIATES
P.O. Box 554
Yorba Linda, Calif. 92885-0554
By Appointment Only
(714) 701-9918
(714) 777-9318 (Fax)

COACHELLA VALLEY SECURITY ACADEMY
77899 Wolf Road, Suite 101
Palm Desert, Calif. 92211
By Appointment Only
(760) 200-8999
(760) 200-5082

Applications for a permit can be picked up in person at your local station. Station addresses are available here. You can also download the application and all supporting documents here. The deputies at the CCW unit are very friendly, informative, and helpful. You should bear this in mind if you are feeling intimidated by the process (and who isn’t intimidated by the process?). Do not be afraid to contact them as they are there to answer your questions. However, do not be a burden and call them every other day for information that you could easily get on the forum. Their office is very limited on resources, they have no ancillary help. As such they will have to research anything you ask them by themselves if they are not sure of the answer already.

Some basic ground rules for applicants for CCWs:

• You must be 21 years old or older to apply.
• You must be a US citizen.
• You must have NO felony convictions and NO serious misdemeanor arrests or convictions.
• You must not have any felony or misdemeanor domestic violence convictions.
• Military vets must supply a copy of their DD214 at the interview.
• No history of mental illness or involuntary commitment in a mental institution.
• Cannot be a party to a current restraining order.
• Must complete a course of instruction for CCW approved by the Riverside County Sheriff Department.
• You must be a full time resident of Riverside County. If you are within the limits of an incorporated city, you must apply to them first and be denied or get a letter from them stating they are not issuing permits. Then you may contact the RSD for the application.

Follow the instructions on the application completely. Fill it out legibly before you turn it in. Have someone critique your Good Cause Statement before you turn it in, preferably someone who is an expert in the process or knowledgeable regarding good cause. The online application is in PDF format. You can copy the application and paste it into a Word document to fill it out. Print a draft copy and fill in the information by hand on it first. Make all your mistakes and corrections on this copy. Once you have all the information correct and complete, fill in the original copied application and print it to turn in to the CCW unit. DON'T FORGET SPELLCHECK!!!

Once you get past the interview and are approved, you will be asked to qualify with your weapon(s), take a qualified CCW training course, and have Livescan fingerprints done.

The following is an excerpt from the RSD application describing fees due at the time of the interview:

You must either bring a MONEY ORDER OR CASHIER’S CHECK made payable to Riverside County Sheriff for $100.00. This cost covers administrative fees. Riverside County Sheriff Department employees are exempt from this fee.

Depending on your CLASSIFICATION, you (everyone) must bring a second MONEY ORDER OR CASHIER’S CHECK made payable to Riverside County Sheriff. This fees covers State costs. The classification and fees are as follows:
Standard (Two-year) license $100.00
Judicial (Three-year) license $122.00
Reserve Deputy / Correctional Deputy (Four-year) $144.00
Fees are subject to change as allowed by law. They are processing fees, and as such, are NOT REFUNDABLE regardless of the decision made on the application.

Fingerprinting and class fees are separate from these fees and vary depending on the service you choose.

IMPORTANT: Do NOT turn in the application unless and until you have all required documentation required IN YOUR HANDS. It is difficult enough to keep track of all the applications without having to keep pulling out your packet to insert this item and that item as you turn them in one at a time. If you are applying for business purposes (you own a business and transport cash or valuables) have copies of your business license and bank statements in your application.

The following is an excerpt from the RSD application describing documentation required at the time of the interview:

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO BRING THE FOLLOWING ITEMS AND DOCUMENTS AT TIME OF INTERVIEW.
A. Completed CCW license application and CCW interview worksheet. Sign all areas marked Applicant. Do not sign areas marked Witness.
B. Copy of your birth certificate and / or naturalization papers.
C. Copy of your California driver’s license.
D. Copies of two of your most recent utility bills or any other sufficient proof of full-time residency within the County of Riverside as indicated on your application.
E. Three letters of character reference (originals). Letters must contain the writer’s name, address, and phone number where they can be reached during business hours. In the body of the letter the writer should state that he or she is aware the applicant is applying for a CCW permit with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. Letters from family members or employers are not acceptable.
F. Copy of military discharge DD214 form, if applicable.
G. Two recent Passport Photos.

You should also bring all handguns to the interview which will be listed on the permit. They need to be in a locked case, unloaded, with no magazines and no ammo in the case with the weapon.


The following is an excerpt from the RSD application (page 4) regarding applying for a CCW for personal use:

Current police reports and / or other documentation supporting need, such as restraining orders or other verifiable written statements.

VALID DEATH THREATS OR HARRASSMENT ARE THE ONLY CRITERIA WHERE ISSUANCE OF A CCW PERMIT WILL BE CONSIDERED FOR PERSONAL PROTECTION. THE RIVERSIDE COUNTY SHERIFF DOES NOT ISSUE PERMITS TO “PROVIDE A FEELING OF SAFETY” OR TO ALLEVIATE A “FEAR OF VICTIMIZATION”.

This statement may seem very disheartening for those who want to protect themselves and their loved ones and have not yet been victimized. However, recent events have shed a ray of hope over the gun loving 2nd amendment supporters of Riverside County. On November 24, 2009, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted to support a resolution presented by Supervisor Stone to the Board. He proposed that the Board recommend to the Sheriff that “personal protection” be recognized as Good Cause for a CCW in the county. The resolution passed and was forwarded to Sheriff Sniff. While Sheriff Sniff has not removed this clause from the website/application, he has made public statements indicating a loosening of the requirements needed to support Good Cause in the county.

This is from a post on this forum:
Sheriff Sniff all but said at a Town Hall Meeting that personal protection may just cut the mustard. He also (allegedly) said that one need not be victimized before one would be considered for a permit. Now, I totally doubt putting "because I want to protect myself and my family with my pistol" on the application packet would be wise. You would still have to articulate personal protection more eloquently than that, but it seems like the standards MAY have been lowered. I don't know how valid that statement is but if it were me and I wanted to protect myself by availing myself of a CCW, I think now would be a good time to give it a shot. If someone told ME that 98% of applicants are approved, I would be jumping all over it.

There have also been reports on the forum that some PDs or substations will give you a hard time if you appear in person to pick up an application. They will try to discourage you, pre-qualify you, or pretend they don’t know where the applications are and don’t know how the process works, etc. Once you present yourself at the front desk, DO NOT LEAVE UNTIL YOU HAVE THE APPLICATION IN YOUR HANDS. This little diversion is a tactic to lower the number of applications actually handed out and ergo turned in. If they keep those numbers low, it makes their statistics for issuing look better. All law abiding citizens who desire to protect themselves or their loved ones should pick up the application, fill it out, turn it in, and present themselves in a professional manner for the interview.

Riverside County Sheriff’s Department - Directory
http://www.riversidesheriff.org/info/CCW-RSO.pdf
Riverside County Sheriff issues CCW Permits - Calguns.net