Question from a newbie about Firearm ID cards

[BadAsh87]

I'm currently 17 years old, and a resident of new jersey. I love shooting though(I go up to the poconos often where family friends let me shoot) and hoped to purchase a rifle when I turn 18 in a month. My mom even agreed to buy me a .22 for my birthday. I became a little bummed out upon hearing from a guy at a hunting shop in pennsylvania that it can take from 6 months to a YEAR just to obtain a firearm ID card, and if you include the safety training courses im going to be taking, that means I wont be touching my first rifle for almost over a year. Does it really take THAT long to obtain a FAID card? and if so, Why? And would If im 17 right now, would I be able to fill out the proper papers and submit them now(I turn 18 in october) or do I have to be 18 to fill them out? Please help! Thanks

 

[geekWithA.45]

You sound like another young man I'm working with, and myself when I was your age. (I'd moved from CT, where you only needed to be 16 to have a rifle way back then, to NJ....feh....)

For starters, you can take NRA safety courses NOW. It'd be simplest/best if a parent accompianied you, but gun handling and shooting when < 18 is OK under certain circumstances if supervised.

You should also look into NRA or 4-H affiliated youth shooting programs, which are excellent.

These guys are great: http://www.delranjuniormarksman.com/DJM PAGE1.htm

You FID application will probably NOT be accepted if less than 18, and even if your local cops are sympathetic, the timing might be off, and it'll get rejected further down the line by the state if they process the papers before your birthday. Sorry, but that's the truth.

FID times vary wildly from one town to the next, and for random reasons no one can discern. _Most_ Places take 2-4 months. A lot of places take longer. The jerked me around for 10 months, and I've heard of folks being held up for as long as 18 months.

Good luck, and keep this sort of thing in mind when you go vote for the first time.

 

[Keaner]

Well, the guy you talked to is wrong. A NJ FID card is really easy to do. You will have to be 18 to apply (I Think, ask your local PD), and it may take a few months, but the card is cheap and easy to get, and its good for life.

Go to your local PD and get the paper work (1 page, real easy), fill it out, and go back. Official cost is 5$, but there is also a one time "Finger print fee", which for me was 54$.

I havent recieved mine, but I am told it only takes a few months.

 

[WT]

Here is a link to the application form. Print out 2 copies, fill them out, and bring them down to the local PD. Your local PD may not accept cash or personal checks.

http://www.njsp.org/info/pdf/firearms/sts-033.pdf

Issuance depends on the local chief. For a friend of mine it took 1 day. Mine took 3 weeks. Your mileage may vary.

I would look very carefully at Item #19 on the form. If you apply while age 17 and the application is rejected because of age, you will have that mark on your record. The next time you apply you will have to answer that you were previously rejected. Something to think about.


More info can be found at the NSJP website below.

http://www.njsp.org/about/firearms.html

 

[firefighter4884]

BadAsh...

Just went through the whole getting my FID card in NJ. I put in the paperwork in Mid May, and had my ID and stuff Mid August.

Cost was 54. The NJSP trooper I spoke to recommended using the carbon form instead of the printed forms, only because the state offices get confused.

--Jim

 

[Car Knocker]

Unbelievable what some states will put their citizens through!

 

[BadAsh87]

Thanks a bunch guys. Wish New Jersey was more gun friendly, but I guess i'll just have to do what I can.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Did I miss something? I've never seen anything in the Second Amendment about having to pay for the privilege of being granted a license to keep and bear arms.