VA CCW permit law question

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sernv99

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I have a question to all you VA folks out there.

I took a 4 hour Intro to Handgun class 2 weeks ago, in order to shoot different caliber rounds and to get a sense of what caliber I wanted to buy as my first handgun. I didnt take the class to teach me how to handle a gun or for safety. I'm ex-military, have a out of state hunting license (just moved to VA a year and a half ago) and have 2 shotguns I own. When getting into handguns around here in VA, I was under the impression that you needed to take a CCW specific class in order to apply for a CCW permit. The Intro Handgun class didnt give out any certs or documents saying that I attended class, since the gunshop that sponsors it said AFTER I signed up that this class isn't a class that meets their standards for CCW permit.

So I go to the VA State Police website and read the fine print on the law. It states, for documentation to show competence in handling a handgun:

1. Completing any hunter education or hunter safety course approved by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries or a similar agency of another state;
2. Completing any National Rifle Association firearms safety or training course;
3. Completing any firearms safety or training course or class available to the general public offered by a law-enforcement agency, junior college, college, or private or public institution or organization or firearms training school utilizing instructors certified by the National Rifle Association or the Department of Criminal Justice Services;
4. Completing any law-enforcement firearms safety or training course or class offered for security guards, investigators, special deputies, or any division or subdivision of law enforcement or security enforcement;
5. Presenting evidence of equivalent experience with a firearm through participation in organized shooting competition or current military service or proof of an honorable discharge from any branch of the armed services;
6. Obtaining or previously having held a license to carry a firearm in this Commonwealth or a locality thereof, unless such license has been revoked for cause;
7. Completing any firearms training or safety course or class conducted by a state-certified or National Rifle Association-certified firearms instructor



so have any of you VA folks know of anyone who used their DD214 military discharge papers as the only evidence to get your CCW permit?

Thanks.
 
Here in Loudoun County, a DD-214 showing character of service as "Honorable" is all you need.
 
I'm in Fairfax, not Fairfax city proper but outside the city limts, Fairfax Co.
 
Yes I did last week to get a non-resident permit while I work there over the summer. Since they dont recognise a KS CCW.
 
Virginia law preempts local (county, town, etc) law. That means that state law is all you need to worry about. VA is a "must-issue" state, meaning that all you need to do is apply, using either the DD-214 as mentioned, or a certificate of completion from the course you took, and if the NCIC check comes back clean, you'll get your concealed handgun permit in short order.

Advice: think about taking a CCW-specific course in order to learn about proper use of lethal force in this state, now. Well worth the time and money, regardless of your firearm safety knowledge.

Welcome to THR. Have you joined VCDL?

TC
 
I used my DD-214 as my only evidence of training in Spotsylvania County, didn't have any problems at all.
 
I used a DD-214 when I got my first resident permit in 1999, even though the fingerprinting deputy in James City County "didn't believe that was good enough." :rolleyes: The application went through just fine.
 
DD-214 for me, Hunter's Safety Course for my brother (from LA or MS, don't recall which).
 
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Richard Gardiner

Contact him and get several of his cards.

He also teaches courses about the legal aspects of defense in terms of Virginia law. Ask him about it; my friend sat in on two hours of a gun course just to hear about the legal aspects of defense.
 
I have heard of being fingerprinted to do this but when i went and got mine i wasnt printed... Is this supposed to be done??
Click to expand...

Most emphatically not. Law stipulates requirements, and VCDL has actively pursued LEOs and Judges who see fit to impose their own standards beyond law. This is the beauty of our "shall issue" and preemption statutes. Call them on it, and if you get pushback, notify VCDL. You do belong, right?

TC
 
They can only fingerprint the initial application, not renewals.


//http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+18.2-308

§ 18.2-308. Personal protection; carrying concealed weapons; when lawful to carry.

D. Any person 21 years of age or older may apply in writing to the clerk of the circuit court of the county or city in which he resides, or if he is a member of the United States Armed Forces, the county or city in which he is domiciled, for a five-year permit to carry a concealed handgun. There shall be no requirement regarding the length of time an applicant has been a resident or domiciliary of the county or city. The application shall be made under oath before a notary or other person qualified to take oaths and shall be made only on a form prescribed by the Department of State Police, in consultation with the Supreme Court, requiring only that information necessary to determine eligibility for the permit. The clerk shall enter on the application the date on which the application and all other information required to be submitted by the applicant is received. The court shall consult with either the sheriff or police department of the county or city and receive a report from the Central Criminal Records Exchange. As a condition for issuance of a concealed handgun permit, the applicant shall submit to fingerprinting if required by local ordinance in the county or city where the applicant resides and provide personal descriptive information to be forwarded with the fingerprints through the Central Criminal Records Exchange to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the purpose of obtaining criminal history record information regarding the applicant, and obtaining fingerprint identification information from federal records pursuant to criminal investigations by state and local law-enforcement agencies. However, no local ordinance shall require an applicant to submit to fingerprinting if the applicant has an existing concealed handgun permit issued pursuant to this section and is applying for a new five-year permit pursuant to subsection I. Where feasible and practical, the local law-enforcement agency may transfer information electronically to the State Police instead of inked fingerprint cards. Upon completion of the criminal history records check, the State Police shall return the fingerprint cards to the submitting local agency or, in the case of scanned fingerprints, destroy the electronic record. The local agency shall then promptly notify the person that he has 21 days from the date of the notice to request return of the fingerprint cards, if any. All fingerprint cards not claimed by the applicant within 21 days of notification by the local agency shall be destroyed. All optically scanned fingerprints shall be destroyed upon completion of the criminal history records check without requiring that the applicant be notified. Fingerprints taken for the purposes described in this section shall not be copied, held or used for any other purposes.
 
For those that had to go to Fairfax county court to submit your application, which court clerk did you have to go to? I had to go last summer to court for a stupid traffic ticket (no points) and I was confused by the layout of the counrt buildings on Chain bridge rd.

do I have to get my application notorized before submitting it to the court clerk or can the court clerk sign off as a witness?

Thanks.
 
sernv99,

They'll give you a big smile and a lollipop if you bring it in already notarized. The good lady who accepted my application indicated that not all the window clerks can notarize or witness your signature on the document, so they may have to scurry and find someone if it isn't already done. Save you and them some time and have it all squared away before you go in; places like UPS Stores often have notories public on staff.

Bob James
 
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A 4 hour Intro to Handguns class absolutely meets the training requirement for Virginia. You can even take a Hunter Safety class that has nothing to do with handguns. This gun shop should have provided you with a certificate. Whether the shop thinks what they taught you is of benefit for concealed carry is irrelevant. When I took my class the main selling point was they gave you a certificant at the end.
 
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