PA non-resident permit question

J

jrm

New member
I live in NY - Suffolk County, and have my NYS pistol permit. Of course, being in Suffolk County it is a "restricted" permit... Target/Sportsman.

I am now looking into getting non-resident permits in other states. Have read the information on this forum and elsewhere and am a little confused.

The first non-resident permit I am looking to get is PA. It looks like I will be going there several times this summer and will need my handguns with me. Based on the nature of my visits, I might be legal without a PA permit, but I would just rather get the permit and not have to worry about technicalities.

It looks like Centre County, PA is the county of choice. But the application says to include a copy of my concealed carry permit. I do not have a NY CCW, and will likely never get one in my current county. I have read elsewhere that being from NY, I need an unrestricted NY permit to get the PA non-resident permit.

Which is correct? I really don't want to waste my time/money to apply for a permit if it will automatically be denied.
 
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Open carry. Personally I hate trying to figure out all the things with permits. I moved to Florida from PA so I now have a Florida permit, but I am moving back to PA, so now is my PA permit valid even though it has the wrong adress and is my Florida in state permit valid even though I will be living out of the state then? Trying to get questions answered like that sucks. I would imagine you would be okay to open carry as I did not read anything in my books about not being able to oc if you are a non resident.
 
best way i would see it as call the county sharrifs office and ask them they will be able to tell you what you need to bring and such
 
For a PA license to carry handguns, you MUST have a license in your state of residence if they have provisions for licensing in order to be issued a non-resident license. A PA license is valid until expiration or revoked, but notify your issuing agency of the address change ASAP.
 
Maybe I should re-phrase...

I DO have a valid NY Pistol permit.

In NY, however, the issuing county is able to place administrative restrictions on pistol licenses. In my county a CCW, for all practical purposes, does not exist. They issue a NY license, but it is restricted to "target/hunting." That means I can carry under specific circumstances (to and from a range, for example).

I had though there were some posts in this forum from others in my county (Suffolk) that had obtained a PA non-resident permit. I just don't know if they had the same permit as I (NY permit with administrative restrictions) or an unrestricted permit.

So my question is, will my restricted permit fulfill PA's requirements, or will they only issue based on an unrestricted NY permit?
 
NYS only has two types of permits: residence and concealed. The adminitrative restrictions on your concealed permit does not alter its basic permit "type" in the eyes of the PA authorities. I had a PA non-res permit for years and my NY permit is limited to hunting & target practice.
 
The adminitrative restrictions on your concealed permit does not alter its basic permit "type" in the eyes of the PA authorities.
Click to expand...

Thanks, guys. That's exactly what I was trying to figure out. Application in the mail today. :)
 
Pennsylvania also recognizes Florida permits, whether issued to residents or non-residents. It is also much easier to apply for and get approved, as it is one state agency that handles the application, rather than counties with different interpretations.

Florida permits are also recognized by more states than a PA permit.

There is confusion with getting PA permits for residents of NJ and NY. We have faced this same issue, since most NJ residents cannot qualify for a carry permit here. There was one county sheriff that accepted the Firearm ID card as a substitute for a carry permit, but he has since stopped doing that.

If your NY permit is not accepted for a PA permit, consider getting a Florida permit.
 
This is the only area where living in IL is an advantage. Since there is NO provision for a carry permit under IL law, when I applied for my PA concealed carry permit I only had to send a copy of my FOID (Firearm Owners ID card). I guess this is a loophole in the PA non-resident permit rules. Once I had the PA permit I applied for a New Hampshire concealed carry permit, based upon my PA Non-Resident carry permit. With both a PA and a NH permit, I can legally carry now in about 25 states. I still am not fully comfortable, since I know that a local LEO would not likely know the intricasies of these laws, and would probably balk at accepting a PA permit or a NH permit with an IL address on it, and would likely arrest me and take my firearm, but I am assuming that ultimately I would prevail. I have traveled in states where my PA or NH permit appears to be legally sufficient, but have never had to produce either permit since I have not had an encounter with law enforcement. Having the permits just gives me a slightly better feeling that carrying without any documentation.
 
With regard to PA, I printed out the AG's statement on reciprocity with other states:

"It has come to the attention of the Office of Attorney General that there has been confusion over the applicability of Pennsylvania's reciprocal privileges with regard to the residency status of an individual who has been issued a valid license/permit. It is the position of the Office of Attorney General that recognition within Pennsylvania is based on the issuance to an individual of a valid license/permit by the reciprocal contracting state, and not on the license/permit holder's place of residence." (emphasis added).

This is so, if I'm carrying in PA with my FL permit, the police cannot give me any trouble about NJ residents not being allowed to use it.
 
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