Dear VCDL,
I thought you might enjoy the following tale of my quest to get a CHL permit in Arlington, VA. In order to protect both the guilty and the innocent I have removed all names from this account and would ask that my name be withheld as well.
I finally had all of the required paperwork collected including my “proof of competence” so I thought it was high time to get this process underway thus on 11/21/2006 I got up early and headed over to the Circuit Court office (open at 8:00am). I still needed to be fingerprinted and that was when I discovered that the Sheriff’s office only fingerprints from 1:30pm to 4:00pm. Well, that meant that I was a little late to work and still hadn’t accomplished my mission but that was okay. Had I read the SHERIFFS webpage and not just the CIRCUIT COURT webpage I would have seen the fingerprinting information clearly listed.
So on 11/28/2006 I took time off from work and returned to the Arlington courthouse to get my fingerprints done and turn in all the completed paperwork. This process went very smoothly and everyone involved was extremely professional and courteous. The pleasant lady at the Circuit Court Clerk’s desk advised me that unless I was denied I would receive a call from their office within 45 days to let me know I could pick up my permit.
Due to the holidays and such the 45 days passed quickly but when the magic day of 1/12/2007 rolled around I heard...nothing. No permit received in mail, no phone call from clerk’s office. Well I figured that we’d had several holidays and such to interrupt “business as usual” so I decided I would give the process a few more days before following up. We passed 1/13/07-1/15/07 (Saturday, Sunday, and Martin Luther King day) and into that Tuesday.
Finally on 1/18/2007 (Day 51) I called the Circuit Court office and spoke with a very pleasant young lady who apologized profusely and explained that things were a little backed up from the holidays. Upon checking computer records she told me she saw no indication that I had been denied so, at minimum, I would be issued a 90 day temporary permit. I asked her if I could get that the next day and she said yes and apologized again for the delay
1/19/2007 - at 10:30am I called the Circuit Court office, and spoke with the same lady from the previous day. I told her that I would be coming to the Circuit Court office at 3:00pm and could they please make sure my temporary permit was ready. I also hinted that I would be delighted if it was, in fact, my actual permit. I took more time off from work (this being the 3’rd time) and arrived promptly at 3:00pm.
After a short wait in line I let the clerk know why I was there and was told “I’m sorry, it’s not ready”. I asked if she (the clerk) could explain and was told “I’m sorry but Richmond hasn’t been responding to our requests and I just got authorizations about 30 minutes ago”. She then held up this large armful of papers and said “I have all this work to do and I don’t know if there is anything we can do about it (my permit) today”. (the implication being that since it was 3:00pm and they close at 4:00pm there wouldn’t be time).
For me that was really the final straw. I switched to my best polite-but-firm voice and proceeded to advise her that while I understood that they were backed up from the holidays and such, I had given the process several extra days, had called in earlier to confirm that my temporary permit would be ready today, had received confirmation that it would be ready, and had given them the full working day to have it ready.
I also advised her that although she had my sympathy regarding her workload and the unresponsiveness of Richmond, we were well past the 45 day limit required by law and that, since I had not been rejected, the Circuit Court office was now required by law to furnish me with either a 90 day temporary permit, or my actual permit, and I wanted it before the close of business because I had already taken as much time off from work as I was going to in connection with this process. (I also placed a copy of the relevant portions of the VA Code on the counter at this point).
This really appeared to shake a few people in the office up a bit. Another lady then came up to the counter and politely asked me if I would please wait for a few minutes. I agreed and sat down to wait. After about 15 minutes of waiting (and being stared at by the secretaries) the third lady returned and said that as soon as she could find a judge to “sign off” (on what I don’t know) she would be able to issue me a permit. Roughly 15 minutes after that the second lady came out to me with, not a 90 day temporary, but my actual CHL permit. Paperwork was signed, I thanked all concerned for their effort, and I was on my way.
FIN
P.S. I would like to thank the members of VCDL, especially our President, Philip Van Cleave, for their quick and informative responses when I had questions during this process. If it weren’t for the “advance prep work” I doubt I would have been ready to stand my ground at the Circuit Court office.
P.P.S. Arlington’s permit is CHEESY! It’s just computer printed on a piece of cardstock. After some thought I decided to laminate it myself lest it simply disintegrate in my wallet over time.
! I'm in D-town Michigan, and Michigan is a shall issue state is it not? I'm going to have to check this 45 day rule!