Help! Petersburg, VA CCW

[jetrecbn]

Quite confused with the process. I applied at the police station (background and fingerprint). Should I have gone to the courthouse immediately to pay the $15 processing fee or do I have to wait to be contacted? How long is the average wait time for a response? Thank you.

 

[ditchdigger]

unless its different in Petersburg than in Fairfax, You take the application to the Clerk of the Court(county or city court depending on your residence) Hand them 50 bucks and have them notorize your signature, you should have it in 45 days

 

[atblis]

Read

Read the Law yourself.
http://leg1.state.va.us/000/src.htm

I think this is it
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+18.2-308
Other interesting things in there as well.

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 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. The court shall issue the permit and notify the State Police of the issuance of the permit within 45 days of receipt of the completed application unless it is determined that the applicant is disqualified. Any order denying issuance of the permit shall state the basis for the denial of the permit and the applicant's right to and the requirements for perfecting an appeal of such order pursuant to subsection L. An application is deemed complete when all information required to be furnished by the applicant is delivered to and received by the clerk of court before or concomitant with the conduct of a state or national criminal history records check. If the court has not issued the permit or determined that the applicant is disqualified within 45 days of the date of receipt noted on the application, the clerk shall certify on the application that the 45-day period has expired, and send a copy of the certified application to the applicant. The certified application shall serve as a de facto permit, which shall expire 90 days after issuance, and shall be recognized as a valid concealed handgun permit when presented with a valid government-issued photo identification pursuant to subsection H, until the court issues a permit or finds the applicant to be disqualified. If the applicant is found to be disqualified after the de facto permit is issued, the applicant shall surrender the de facto permit to the court and the disqualification shall be deemed a denial of the permit and a revocation of the de facto permit. If the applicant is later found by the court to be disqualified after a permit has been issued, the permit shall be revoked. The clerk of court may withhold from public disclosure the social security number contained in a permit application in response to a request to inspect or copy any such permit application, except that such social security number shall not be withheld from any law-enforcement officer acting in the performance of his official duties.

 

[Eric F]

As I understand it each cite can charge what they want to up to $50 Suffolk was 25 IIRC. You can do it any time but I would not wait too long as someone might get picky with you Certianly with in a day or 2. I got my permit in 17 days. They must issue or refuse with a letter of reason with in 45 days per state law.

The court shall charge a fee of $10.00 for the processing of an application or issuing of a permit. Local law enforcement agencies may charge a fee not to exceed $35.00 to cover the cost of conducting an investigation pursuant to this Code section. The State Police may charge a fee not to exceed $5.00 to cover the cost associated with processing the application. The total amount of the charges may not exceed $50.00, and payment may be made by any method accepted by the court.

http://www.vsp.state.va.us/Firearms_ResidentConcealed.shtm

 

[jetrecbn]

I went to the county clerk (courthouse), and they sent me to the police station (3rd one I've been to in Prince William County; each town within the county has different guidelines). I paid $35 to the Petersburg PD for the prints and background. I still need to pay $15 to the county. I was told bey the person processing my papers that it can take up to 45 days but I was not instructed to go back to the courthouse to pay the $15 court fee. I'll visit them tomorrow to find out what is going on. At Dinwiddie and Hopewell you just pay the clerk the whole $50.

 

[MAKster]

In the counties that do not require fingerprinting the whole process is simple. I mailed my notarized application to the county clerk and never spoke to a real person. The trouble is the cities/counties that require fingerprinting because you often have to go to the police station to be fingerprinted and then take the application to the courthouse. I think they're trying to make it as much of a hassle as possible so some people just give up and don't apply.

 

[atblis]

Montgomery County

Montgomery County was pretty good. Went to the court, filled out a form, showed them my hunter ed card, paid them $15. 5 days later I had my card. Amazed me.

 

[zoom6zoom]

I went to the county clerk (courthouse), and they sent me to the police station (3rd one I've been to in Prince William County; each town within the county has different guidelines). I paid $35 to the Petersburg PD for the prints and background. I still need to pay $15 to the county.

Huh? Petersburg is nowhere near Prince William County.

 

[jetrecbn]

Sorry, meant to say Prince George County.

I called the state troopers and they had me go in circles. My fault for not making the right calls.

 

[brickeyee]

Time to talk with the clerk of the court, and possibly the local Commonwealth;'s Attorney.
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+18.2-308

K. No fee shall be charged for the issuance of such permit to a person who has retired from service (i) as a magistrate in the Commonwealth; (ii) as a special agent with the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board or as a law-enforcement officer with the Department of State Police, the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, or a sheriff or police department, bureau or force of any political subdivision of the Commonwealth, after completing 15 years of service or after reaching age 55; (iii) as a law-enforcement officer with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Secret Service Agency, Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Customs Service, Department of State Diplomatic Security Service, U.S. Marshals Service or Naval Criminal Investigative Service, after completing 15 years of service or after reaching age 55; (iv) as a law-enforcement officer with any police or sheriff's department within the United States, the District of Columbia or any of the territories of the United States, after completing 15 years of service; or (v) as a law-enforcement officer with any combination of the agencies listed in clauses (ii) through (iv), after completing 15 years of service. The clerk shall charge a fee of $10 for the processing of an application or issuing of a permit, including his costs associated with the consultation with law-enforcement agencies. The local law-enforcement agency conducting the background investigation may charge a fee not to exceed $35 to cover the cost of conducting an investigation pursuant to this section. The $35 fee shall include any amount assessed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for providing criminal history record information, and the local law-enforcement agency shall forward the amount assessed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to the State Police with the fingerprints taken from the applicant. The State Police may charge a fee not to exceed $5 to cover their costs associated with processing the application. The total amount assessed for processing an application for a permit shall not exceed $50, with such fees to be paid in one sum to the person who accepts the application. Payment may be made by any method accepted by that court for payment of other fees or penalties. No payment shall be required until the application is accepted by the court as a complete application. The order issuing such permit, or the copy of the permit application certified by the clerk as a de facto permit pursuant to subsection D, shall be provided to the State Police and the law-enforcement agencies of the county or city. The State Police shall enter the permittee's name and description in the Virginia Criminal Information Network so that the permit's existence and current status will be made known to law-enforcement personnel accessing the Network for investigative purposes.

The clerk of the court can only require s single payment.
Not $10 here and $20 there, outside of a possible fingerprinting charge.

Arlington County already tried the multiple fee, cash only crap as soon as the personal protection act became effective.
They got slapped pretty good.

 

[Rmac58]

In Hopewell, you go to the clerk of court with the proper paperwork, $50.
The clerk is a notary public.

 

[jetrecbn]

The single payment is what I got from the other two courthouses that I was sent to by the State Troopers. Apparently in Petersburg it is different. I called the county clerk today and they said they have not recieved anything from the PD as of yet. Once they get the application from the PD they would call me. I then proceeded to call the PD and they told me that they are waiting for my finger print check to come back. Supposedly it takes no more than 45 days so I have 15 days left. It is so much cheaper here ($50/5yrs) than Colorado ($152/5yrs).

 

[RNB65]

Some localities seem to make the CCW process as difficult as possible just to discourage people from applying.

Here in Chesterfield, you walk into the Circuit Court Clerk's office and tell them you want to apply for a concealed handgun permit. The front desk receptionist will take you across the hallway to the Sheriff's office to be fingerprinted. Then you walk back over to the Clerk's office where you swear an oath in front of a notary public, sign the application form, and hand them the $50 check. The whole process takes about 15 minutes.

They'll tell you it will be ready in 45 days, but in truth the permit is usually ready and waiting at the Court Clerk's office in about 10-12 days. If depends on how backed up the State Police are on doing the background checks. Give them about 2 weeks, then start calling every few days to see if it's ready.

 

[atblis]

Supposedly it takes no more than 45 days so I have 15 days left.

Well the law doesn't say it should take 45 days. Basically what it says is that after 45 days if they haven't processed it, you automatically get a permit. The idea is to keep localities from intentionally dragging their feet so that don't have to issue a permit. I believe Virginia is what you'd call a "shall issue" state (even though it's technically a Commonwealth). The laws are pretty cool in that they are intended to keep the liberal commie pinko f** localities from playing games.