Non-resident CCW woes

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mgmorden

mgmorden

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Basic rundown on my situation: I live in SC, have a SC CCW permit, but I travel to Georgia occasionally and my SC permit is no good there. Hence, I need to find a good non-resident permit that they accept.

Apparently my plan to apply for a PA non-resident permit is out because as of March 31, 2011 you need to visit in person to get the permit. Bleh.

I had looked at the New Hampshire permit which seems easy enough but they want 3 references. That's the problem. I'm not much of a socialite - I have very few non-family people who I want to discuss anything firearms related with. I could dig up maybe 1 non-family reference, but other than that, I'd be calling up people I barely know.

Anyone know of any other states with a mail-in option for non-residents that is accepted by Georgia? At this point I'm close to just driving down to Jacksonville, FL for a weekend and just doing a Florida course. Almost seems like it would be less painful :).
 
Since you live in SC and have a SC permit, you could apply for a UT permit. The UT permit can be mailed in.
 
I know how you feel. Luckily I got my PA non-res in a few days before they closed it. Can you dig up some old work related people? Most of the time when I put down references on forms they never even get a call.
 
Florida is one of the most widely accepted CCW's out there.
You could travel a lot further by getting one!

Take home a piece of the GUN-shine state!
 
Florida or Utah would get you the most coverage for your money. Utah is a bit less expensive to get and to renew.
 
I know how you feel. Luckily I got my PA non-res in a few days before they closed it. Can you dig up some old work related people? Most of the time when I put down references on forms they never even get a call.
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To clarify, PA did not close down their non resident permit.. They only stopped issuing permits by mail. You can still walk in and get one.
 
Thanks, something for me to check. A few states think WV is too liberal in CC requirements.
 
I had looked at the New Hampshire permit which seems easy enough but they want 3 references.
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NH would have been a good choice when they were only twenty bucks for a non-res, but after they increased it to a Franklin last year it's no longer a great option.
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I think at this point the most attractive option is Florida. From the sounds of it my SC class (or even my Hunter's Education class) will work for the training portion.

Rather than mail it in I think I'm going to do the drive to Jacksonville. From my understanding if you go into one of their offices in person it is processed a lot faster than if you mail it in, and I'd like to have my permit in hand in 60 days or less (got a trip in Atlanta on the schedule then). I can make it to Jacksonville in a little less than 4 hours so it should just be a fun little field trip. :)
 
I got mine in 10 days from the Punta Gorda office. But my appointment was almost a month from the day I called the office. An appointment is required, they will not take walk-ins.
 
I got mine in 10 days from the Punta Gorda office. But my appointment was almost a month from the day I called the office. An appointment is required, they will not take walk-ins.
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Any idea on how much lead-time they want? I know that the website says "24-hours", but working in government myself I know that sometimes what is written and what is expected isn't always the same :).

I was thinking about setting it up for next Friday (July 1st) - I'll probably setup the appointment with them Monday.

That's kinda hinging on some more research on the Arizona permit. Initially what I read there was that you had to take an 8 hour course actually in AZ to get it, but upon further reading there's an "Alternate Documentation" option listed which seems to indicate that a copy of a CWP from another state that has training requirements in place can be substituted, so I think my SC permit might suffice for that documentation requirement.
 
Just a FYI to the OP. PA needs 2 references and NH needs 3. For PA, all you have to do is to provide your home LCH permit in person with your DL and complete the app. You will get the permit in 10 minutes.
 
Florida or Utah would get you the most coverage for your money. Utah is a bit less expensive to get and to renew.
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+1. I have a Utah and it covers 33 states. Florida i believe also covers 33 states. It took me about 45 days to get mine from Utah. It was $65 mailed in with copy of certification, finger prints, photo, copy of drivers licence and the applicaton. I lived in Oregon at the time when i applied and since moved to idaho and i was a quick change on the computer and the address was switched. Utah is very easy to work with.
 
Just curious, why doesn't GA accept the SC permit?
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Well, it's mostly SC's fault really. SC is MOSTLY a gun-friendly state with some oddball restrictions (ie, we're one of only a few states with a frame melting point law to ban some cheaper handguns like the Heritage Rough Riders). Also, aside from a minor exemption when hunting or fishing, absolutely no open-carry is legal here.

Concealed carry also has some oddball restrictions in this state (ie, we don't recognize any non-resident permits; no carry into any place - including restaurants - where alcohol is served, etc). Amongst those restrictions is one that states that SC will not recognize any state's permit that doesn't have a training requirement attached to it. Georgia permits are simply applied for with no training required, so we don't recognize them. In turn, since we refuse to recognize their permits, Georgia also refuses to recognize ours.

As of right now I'm leaning towards Arizona. Just got confirmation back from their licensing division. They're mailing their application packet. A copy of my SC permit, an application, and fingerprint cards are all thats needed. Fee is only $60 and it's good for 5 years (Florida does net you 7 years on theirs, but oh well - hopefully within 5 years either SC or Federal law will have changed such that I no longer need any non-resident permits).

From everything I've heard AZ is pretty on the ball with their timelines. My email to them was answered within 2 hours. Most people seem to indicate that after mailing in their stuff they're getting permits back in 10 to 15 days, so I should be good.

Now I just need to see if the sheriff's department here does fingerprinting as a service.
 
Florida's renewal is like $107 and you need fingerprints each time you renew.

Utah's renewal is $15 and you only need prints for the initial permit.

Also, if you use a gun safety class as training for Florida, they require live fire. Utah doesn't require live fire.
 
I want to make sure I got this right as well....

Utah does not require a course? Like FL?
I read thru the posts and I didn't see anyone mention that. I don't go thru SC at this time but I would like to be able to without disarming.
 
Its not cheap...but a (resident) Tennessee permit covers more states than any of them (37 states)

I do not know the specifics of the non-resident permits though...

EDIT: I just read through it...I don't think TN even offers non-resident permits, sorry.
 
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