INFORMATION ON NORTH CAROLINA'S CONCEALED HANDGUN CARRY LAW
The information concerning North Carolina Law is to be considered for reference only. NOT LEGAL ADVICE. We expressly disclaim any liability for the accuracy of this information. Use at your own risk. Concealed Handgun Carry, Inc. recommends that you consult a qualified NC attorney if you have questions or concerns.
On December 1, 1995 the North Carolina General Assembly enacted a concealed handgun law that allows qualifying citizens of North Carolina the opportunity to obtain a permit to carry a concealed handgun. This law requires that the permit be secured from the sheriff of the permittee's county of residence. Once issued, the permit is valid throughout the state for a period of five years, unless it has been revoked.
One of our goals at Concealed Handgun Carry, Inc. is to provide the required training to meet the North Carolina State requirements in order for you to apply for your Concealed Handgun Permit.
The NC State Bureau of Investigation's Division of Criminal Information maintains statistics by county on the number of applications for Concealed Handgun Permits, the number of Concealed Handgun Permits that have been issued, the number of Concealed Handgun Permits that have been denied and the number of Concealed Handgun Permits that have been revoked since December 1, 1995.
The North Carolina Concealed Handgun Permit program has been extremely successful. In every state that has instituted a state wide Concealed Handgun Permit, the crime rates have gone down.
GETTING YOUR CONCEALED HANDGUN PERMIT
North Carolina General Statute 14.415.13
· Must have Certificate from your approved Concealed Handgun Carry Course.
· Present your original Certificate to the Sheriff of your county of residence and complete permit application under oath.
· Pay a non-refundable fee of $80.00.
· Provide two sets of fingerprints which you can be charged up to $10.00 by the Sheriff.
· Provide a release that authorizes and requires disclosure to the Sheriff of any record concerning the mental health or capacity of the applicant.
· Qualified sworn law enforcement officers may be exempt from the firearms safety and training course.
· Fees for retired sworn law enforcement officers from the North Carolina Teachers and State Employees’ Retirement System or the North Carolina Local Governmental Employees’ Retirement System who meet certain qualifications only pay $45.00 for the application fee and $40.00 for their renewal fee.
· By law, the Sheriff has 45 days to approve or deny the permit.
· Must renew the permit every 5 years. File for renewal at least 30 days prior to the expiration and submit a renewal fee of $75.00.
· Must notify the Sheriff within 30 days after a permanent change of address.
· If the permit is lost or destroyed, a duplicate may be obtained from the Sheriff.
EMERGENCY ISSUE OF CONCEALED HANDGUN PERMIT
The general statutes of NC allow for the sheriff of a county to issue an emergency permit to carry a concealed handgun provided certain requirements are met. Those requirements are below.
§ 14‑415.13. Application for a permit; fingerprints.
(a) A person shall apply to the sheriff of the county in which the person resides to obtain a concealed handgun permit. The applicant shall submit to the sheriff all of the following:
(1) An application, completed under oath, on a form provided by the sheriff.
(2) A nonrefundable permit fee.
(3) A full set of fingerprints of the applicant administered by the sheriff.
The 2003-2004 Session of the NC General Assembly rewrote NC General Statute 14-402 (Sale of certain weapons without permit forbidden) It was rewritten to allow citizens who have been issued a North Carolina Concealed Handgun Permit to lawfully obtain a handgun WITHOUT having to purchase an additional permit from the Sheriff.
RECIPROCITY
As of August 14, 2003, North Carolina law allows residents of other states who have a Concealed Handgun Permit issued by their state to carry concealed handguns in North Carolina if the person's state also grants the same privilege to North Carolinians. Because North Carolina's law on concealed handgun reciprocity is new, the list of states that have agreements with North Carolina is changing and will be updated regularly. As of November 22, 2005 the number of reciprocal states was twenty-seven.
North Carolinians who have a concealed carry permit from our state will be able to possess a concealed handgun while visiting states on the list but will be subject to the laws of that state and are responsible for educating themselves about those laws. Similarly, if you have a concealed carry permit from one of the states on this list, you will be able to possess a concealed handgun while you visit North Carolina. However, while you are in North Carolina you will be subject to all of our state's laws governing the carrying of a concealed handgun. Here is a list of the current states that honors the NC Concealed Handgun Permit.
This list is from the NC Dept. of Justice website and is current as of August 29, 2009.
Alabama Kansas Oklahoma
Alaska Kentucky Pennsylvania
Arizona Louisiana South Carolina
Arkansas Michigan South Dakota
Colorado Mississippi Tennessee
Delaware Missouri Texas
Florida Montana Utah
Georgia New Hampshire Virginia
Idaho North Dakota Washington
Indiana Ohio West Virginia
