Applying for a CCW Permit in Humboldt County

[Poogsdad]

Applying for a CCW Permit in Humboldt County

Overview:

Humboldt County is considered to be one of the more CCW friendly counties in California.

According to the California DOJ statistics, there were 1043 permits issued by the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office as of 2006. CCW issuance has decreased slightly, however, since 2003. There were 1247 permits issued in 2003, 1108 issued in 2004, and 1097 permits issued in 2005.

The current Sheriff (Sheriff Gary Phelp) is no pushover and will not issue a CCW permit just because he can. He does not, however, require you to jump through many of the "Hoops" or pay the exorbitant fees that many other counties seem to force upon their CCW applicants.

If you are able to complete a reasonable training program (8-12 hours of formal instruction) and demonstrate safe weapons handling skills (shoot and qualify with 50 rounds through each weapon you desire on your CCW), pass a federal and state criminal background check, and demonstrate that you are a mature, stable, level-headed adult while articulating a reasonable good cause in an oral interview, you will be issued a CCW Permit in Humboldt County.

To my knowledge Humboldt County has not had most of the CCW qualification issues that seem to be prevalent in other counties.

Humboldt County has been described as "almost shall issue", “shall issue”, and “will issue” on other websites. As a resident of Humboldt County with a CCW Permit issued by Sheriff Phelp, I tend to agree with these descriptions.

The training requirement is reasonable and the Sheriff's Office includes a list of approved local instructors as part of the CCW Application Packet. The staff at the Sheriff’s Office in Eureka that process CCW Applications is very knowledgeable, professional, and seems to go out of their way to help.
You still need a reasonable Good Cause Statement but the interview is used primarily, in my opinion, to determine your maturity and emotional stability.

Availability of staff to process CCW Applications:

Permit Renewals: Tues, Wed, & Thurs, 8:00-12:00 & 1:00-3:00.
Must re-qualify and attend safety course prior to renewal.

Obtaining a new permit: By appointment only.
Please call (707) 445 - 7251

CCW Application Process:

1. Pickup CCW Application Packet from the Main Sheriff’s Office in Eureka.

2. Contact an approved CCW Instructor from the provided list and schedule CCW Training and Range Qualification.

3. Contact the staff at the Sheriff’s Office in Eureka to schedule an Oral Interview.

4. Your finger prints taken via LiveScan and manual “Ten Card” on date of Oral Interview.

5. Your picture will be taken for the CCW on date of Oral Interview.

6. Oral Interview

7. Pay all applicable fees (all applicable fees are itemized in the CCW Application Packet).

8. Wait on completion of State and Federal criminal background checks.

9. Initial approval/disapproval will occur after the interview.

10. Final approval occurs upon completion of the State and Federal Background checks, assuming you pass both. For some applicants this may be as little as 15 days. As a matter of course, however, they will quote "30 - 60 days" for final approval/disapproval.

The Oral Interview:

When you present for your interview, you will be expected to have in your possession the following items:

1. Valid California Drivers License or California ID Card with current address in Humboldt County.

2. Completed application.

3. Certificate of CCW Training.

4. Range Qualification Certificate(s) for all weapons you desire to place on your CCW.

5. The means to pay all required fees (please contact the staff at the Sheriff’s Office in Eureka that process CCW Applications to verify what is acceptable for payment).

6. All weapons you desire to place on your CCW; clean, unloaded, and in a locked hard-sided container.

Depending on whom you choose from the approved CCW Instructor List for your training, your Certificate of CCW Training and Range Qualification Certificate may be the same document.

Your weapons will be inspected and the serial numbers and range certification documentation will be verified against what is put on the CCW application.

No safety or functional inspection is done on the weapons as this is assumed to have been done as part of the CCW Training and Range Qualification.

Adding, removing, or replacing a weapon on a current CCW:

Contact the staff at the Sheriff’s Office in Eureka that process CCW Applications to have a weapon removed from your CCW. They will remove the weapon while you are on the phone; however, you still need to come to Sheriff’s Office in Eureka to finish processing of the revised CCW.

Adding or replacing a weapon on your CCW is as simple as qualifying with the weapon with an approved CCW Instructor and presenting the Range Qualification Certificate and new weapon (unloaded in a locked container) to the staff at the Sheriff’s Office in Eureka that process CCW Applications.

If you do not already have 3 weapons on your CCW, the new one will be added while you wait.

If you already have 3 weapons on your CCW, they will ask you which one you want to drop.

The revised CCW will then be printed and presented to you for verification of the content. If all information is accurate, you will then be required to place your thumb print and signature on all three copies.

The revised CCW will then need to be signed by the Sheriff. The revised CCW will be mailed to you or you can pick it up after it is signed by the Sheriff.

Humboldt County does not charge a fee to add, remove or replace a weapon on your CCW. The CCW Instructor you select may charge you a fee for the range qualification and documentation, however.

The process noted above also applies to changing of any other information such as address, phone number, name, employer, etc. on a current CCW Permit.

Miscellaneous Information:

Character reference letters are not required by Humboldt County for issuance of a CCW Permit.

Psychological evaluations are not required by Humboldt County for issuance of a CCW Permit.

Medical or physical evaluations are not required by Humboldt County for issuance of a CCW Permit.

Receipts of sale of all of the listed firearms on your application are not required by Humboldt County for issuance of a CCW Permit.

Humboldt County residents must be at least 21 years of age to apply for a CCW Permit.

Lasers/Laser Grips are permitted on CCW weapons in Humboldt County.

Humboldt County requires completion of training prior to the oral interview. Your Training Certificate and Range Qualification Certificate will be required at the Oral Interview.

A maximum of 3 weapons are allowed on your permit. This will be noted as a restriction on the front of your CCW. Any additional restrictions, if any, will be noted on the back of your CCW.

Standard CCW Permits are valid for a period of 2 years.

CCW holders are not required to re-qualify annually. They are, however, required to re-qualify prior to renewing an existing CCW.

Whether or not a weapon is on the California DOJ Approved Handgun List has no impact on CCW applicability in Humboldt County.

Humboldt County Sheriffs Department Website: Humboldt County Sheriff's Office

Disclaimer:

To the best of my knowledge, the information presented above is accurate and valid as of October 1st, 2007.

The information presented above is subject to change at any time.

It is highly recommended that any person desiring a CCW permit issued by Humboldt County contact the Humboldt County Sheriffs Office at (707) 445 – 7251 or refer to the Humboldt County Sheriffs Department Website at: Humboldt County Sheriff's Office to verify the information presented.