CCW Renewal in Georgia going at snail's pace

misnomerga

New member
From start to finish the renewal process in urban counties in Georgia has been elongated to 9 weeks at a minimum. Started the process the 3rd week in January and I am being told that I can expect my renewal no earlier than 3/26. Glad I went ahead and spent the extra dollar to get a 90 day temp extension on my old license
 
CCW in NC is for 10 years. How long is the period in GA? Have you had any explanation as to why it's taking so long?
 
renewal in N.H. is for 4 years, and I had mine in 4 days delivered to my door by the local, part time P.D. I believe N.H. is a shall issue state which is a plus.
 
There is no CCW license in Georgia. We have a Georgia Firearms License (GFL). There is NO requirement to conceal.
 
Start calling daily. Georgia law says the Probate Judge has 60 days from date of application. My last one took 5 business days.
 
Thanks, I stand corrected

Sorry I used the wrong terminology and was called for it, my apologies my GFL renewal, not CCW, is crawling at a snail's pace, example: my fingerprinting appointment was for 12:00 so I go there a little early to check in, They processed me about an hour later at 1pm. They had three people behind the glass but only one window open. One poster said I should call and talk to someone to see if it can't be expedited. That is highly unlikely as the system here in Dekalb County is very well thought out and designed to reduce if not eliminate a person's ability to call and actually get through to someone. When you call for your fingerprinting session you get a recording that instructs you to leave contact information and they call you back to give you a time to show up. I waited two weeks for a call back. I tried two different numbers for the authorities and both numbers are set up the same way. The Probate Court refers you back to the GBI background check being done so they say it is out of their hands. Georgia GFL is good for 5 years and then strangely enough they make you go through the whole fingerprinting process all over again to renew.
 
I'll reiterate my opinion to begin calling, and were it me I would probably make an appointment with the Probate Judge. It's your business, but you have a case here with the law on your side. There have been several lawsuits filed and won against counties in Georgia over the last couple of years regarding this same issue. You might also contact Georgia Carry.org for further assistance.

O.C.G.A. 16-11-129

(d) Investigation of applicant; issuance of license; renewal.

(1) For both license applications and requests for license renewals, the judge of the probate court shall within two 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. Fingerprints shall be in such form and of such quality as prescribed by the Georgia Crime Information Center and under standards adopted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation may charge such fee as is necessary to cover the cost of the records search.

(2) For both license applications and requests for license renewals, the judge of the probate court shall within two business days following the receipt of the application or request also direct the law enforcement agency to conduct a background check using the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Instant Criminal Background Check System and return an appropriate report to the probate judge.

(3) When a person who is not a United States citizen applies for a license or renewal of a license under this Code section, the judge of the probate court shall direct the law enforcement agency to conduct a search of the records maintained by the United States Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. As a condition to the issuance of a license or the renewal of a license, an applicant who is in nonimmigrant status shall provide proof of his or her qualifications for an exception to the federal firearm prohibition pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 922(y).

(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 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 and the blank license form with the fingerprint thereon 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 firearms license, the judge of the probate court shall issue such applicant a license or renewal license to carry any pistol or revolver 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.
 
DeKalb County does have a bad reputation. My wife just applied for her's mid-January. They bget 60 days. On day 61, we start calling.
 
I don't know much about Georgia, but...

Here in Texas, I started seeing early signs close to two years ago. TSRA was reporting that applications for Texas CHLs were trending significantly upward every month (50-100% year over year) and a backlog was developing. The trend became acute several months before the November election (now, why would that be?) and have continued unabated ever since. I would imagine that this trend was not limited to Texas :)
To their credit, Texas DPS hired more staff to minimize the impact.

My Texas CHL was due in November of '09, but state law allows one to take the recurrent class up to six months early. Care to guess where I was in May? :) Forewarned is forearmed. Our state law allows (IIRC) 120 days to process the application, so in that context, I think that 60 days is reasonable...that said, I'd be contacting them on day 61. :)
 
It does sound like a DeKalb County issue. Gwinnett and Walton Counties have been running 1-2 weeks- at least they were in 2009.
 
Bartow Co. GA

Got mine renewed last year in Bartow Co. GA.
It all took about 20 min to pay my money, sign the forms, Electronic Fingerprinting in the back room, then about 1 -2 weeks to arrive in the mail.
I personally think our courthouse is one of the best.
Never had problems with tags, licenses, or questions. Easy in, do what needs to be done, and back out.

FredD
 
Boy, after reading these posts I realize how lucky I am. In Jefferson Co., Alabama it took two weeks to get my license. It lasts one year, and I just renewed it and it literally took 7 minutes.
 
Gwinnett and Walton Counties have been running 1-2 weeks- at least they were in 2009.
Good to hear. Gwinnett was one of the worst counties before the law changed. One person I knew had to wait over six months back in 2006.

Misnomerga, check Code 16. IIRC, under new regulations, the county has a maximum of 42 days to issue, after which you are entitled to legal action. It sounds to me like they're just sitting on the paperwork. Subtly mention that to them, and they'll likely speed things up.
 
My renewal, in the bastion of liberalism that is Athens/Clarke county, took just under 7 days. Now they do have the electronic fingerprint scanners, which I think helps speed things along. But I agree with previous posters, they are required to expedite these things now.
 
It really is a matter of what county you live in

And I am here to testify to you that Dekalb has to rank up there with the most bureaucratic. It's not just with GFLs but ANYTHING. I was the executor for an estate and I dealt with two counties Towns and Dekalb. In Towns County they processed my papers and completed the vehicle transfer process in 20 minutes and I was able to turn the vehicle over to the person who inherited it. In Dekalb they created so much havoc. The legal papers clearly stated that either the Signature of the Probate Judge or the seal of the clerk of the probate court was acceptable. I had the latter. They told me they had to take my paperwork in for further review. They made me wait four weeks for the same 20 minute transaction in Towns County. In the case of the GFL I was the first and only person at the courthouse when they opened for business. The clerk behind the desk took her time before she came to the counter to take my application, then when I went to the pay window you would have thought I was invisible. The clerk behind the window just let me stand there for five minutes or more before she turned her attention to me. I always try and be as polite as possible when dealing with these folks but they do try one's patience.
 
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