Virginia is a wonderful state to live in if you
believe in the Constitutional Right to Keep And Bear Arms.
Virginia is a "shall issue" state concerning Concealed Handgun
Permits (CHP's) meaning the state "shall" issue you a permit if
you request one and are qualified for it. No questions asked.
States That Honor Virginia's Concealed Handgun Permit
Reciprocity map courtesy of
www.handgunlaw.us
Virginia Concealed Handgun Permit Application
Form (.pdf)
My CHP application experience: I downloaded the
application from the VSP website, printed three copies of the
application and filled them out, made three photocopies of my
telephone bill showing current address*,
typed a list of all addresses I've lived at for the last five
years (three copies), made three copies of my military discharge
paperwork (DD-214), and made out a check for $50 to the county
clerk. I took a half day off work and submitted my paperwork to
the clerk along with a self addressed stamped envelope. Exactly
30 days later I had the permit in my mailbox. Some localities
may require you to submit to fingerprinting for the INITIAL
application of your CHP. You should consult with the clerk of
the court in your jurisdiction for more info. Fingerprinting for
renewal applications has been struck from the state code. If
your locality requires fingerprints for a renewal
they are in violation of the law. (15.2-915.3)
* Some counties require proof of residency
which is an "extralegal" requirement. The residency proof is not
codified by state law and the county has no legal standing to
require it of you to complete the permit process. You have two
choices:
-
Play along with the extralegal requirement
and provide the clerk with the documents.
-
Tell the clerk the requirement is unlawful
as VA has preempted firearms requirements at the state
level. The county has no legal bearing setting extralegal
requirements for the CHP process. Your permit will likely be
denied for lack of proper documentation, but you may take
your hearing to "ore tenus" where you can show a judge that
the county is in error and you will then be granted your
permit. Since this is a pain in the you-know-where most
people provide proof of residency to simplify their
application process.
From the VA State Police Website:
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
or she resides, or if he is a member of the United States armed
forces, the county or city in which he is domiciled, for a
five-year permit to carry a concealed handgun. There is no
requirement as to the length of time an applicant for a
Concealed Handgun Permit must have been a resident or
domiciliary of the county or city where he or she resides.
The application may be obtained from the circuit court,
sheriff’s office, or police department. The form (SP-248
Application for Concealed Handgun Permit) also may be downloaded
and/or printed from this web site. This form can be viewed,
downloaded and/or printed by visiting the
Virginia State Police Forms page.
The court shall require proof that the applicant has
demonstrated competence with a handgun and the applicant may
demonstrate such competence by one of the following, but no
applicant shall be required to submit to any additional
demonstration of competence:
- Completing any hunter education or hunter safety course
approved by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries or a
similar agency of another state;
- Completing any National Rifle Association firearms
safety or training course;
- Completing any firearms safety or training course or
class available to the general public offered by a
law-enforcement agency, junior college, college, or private
or public institution or organization or firearms training
school utilizing instructors certified by the National Rifle
Association or the Department of Criminal Justice Services;
- Completing any law-enforcement firearms safety or
training course or class offered for security guards,
investigators, special deputies, or any division or
subdivision of law enforcement or security enforcement;
- Presenting evidence of equivalent experience with a
firearm through participation in organized shooting
competition or current military service or
proof of an
honorable discharge from any branch of the armed services;
- Obtaining or previously having held a license to carry a
firearm in this Commonwealth or a locality thereof, unless
such license has been revoked for cause;
- Completing any firearms training or safety course or
class conducted by a state-certified or National Rifle
Association-certified firearms instructor;
- Completing any governmental police agency firearms
training course and qualifying to carry a firearm in the
course of normal police duties; or
- Completing any other firearms training which the court
deems adequate.
- A photocopy of a certificate of completion of any of
the courses or classes; an affidavit from the instructor,
school, club, organization, or group that conducted or
taught such course or class attesting to the completion of
the course or class by the applicant; or a copy of any
document which shows completion of the course or class or
evidences participation in firearms competition shall
constitute evidence of qualification under this subsection.
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.
No fee shall be charged for the issuance of a permit to a
person who has retired from service as a magistrate in the
Commonwealth, 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, 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; 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 as a credentialed intelligence agent of the armed
forces of the United States or of a civilian agency of the
United States government, after completing 15 years of service;
or as a law-enforcement officer with any combination of the
agencies listed in clauses (ii) through (iv), after completing
15 years of service.
The court shall issue the permit within 45 days of receipt of
the completed application unless it appears that the applicant
is disqualified.
The person issued a permit or in possession of a de facto
permit must have the permit on his person at all times during
which he is carrying a concealed handgun and must display the
permit and a photo-identification issued by a government agency
of the Commonwealth or by the United States Department of
Defense or United States State Department upon demand by a law
enforcement officer.
If Your Application is Not Complete within 45 Days
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 until the court issues a
five-year 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 five-year permit has been issued, the permit shall be
revoked.
Permit Renewal
Persons who previously have held a Virginia resident permit
shall be issued, upon application, a new permit unless there is
good cause shown for refusing to reissue a permit. The
same fees and time constraints apply in the instance of renewal.
Fingerprint impressions are not required for the renewal of
an existing permit pursuant to §15.2-915.3.
If a permit holder is a member of the Virginia National
Guard, Armed Forces of the United States, or the Armed Forces
reserves of the United States, and his five-year permit expires
during an active-duty military deployment outside of the
permittee's county or city of residence, such permit shall
remain valid for 90 days after the end date of the deployment.
In order to establish proof of continued validity of the permit,
such a permittee shall carry with him and display, upon request
of a law-enforcement officer, a copy of the permittee's
deployment orders or other documentation from the permittee's
commanding officer that order the permittee to travel outside of
his county or city of residence and that indicate the start and
end date of such deployment.
If Your Application is Denied
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.
Any person denied a permit to carry a concealed handgun may
present a petition for review to the Court of Appeals. The
petition for review shall be filed within 60-days of the
expiration of the time for requesting an ore tenus hearing
pursuant to subsection I, or if an ore tenus hearing is
requested, within sixty days of the entry of the final order of
the circuit court following the hearing. The petition shall be
accompanied by a copy of the original papers filed in the
circuit court, including a copy of the order of the circuit
court denying the permit. Subject to the provisions of §
17.1-410 B, the decision of the Court of Appeals or judge
shall be final. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if
the decision to deny the permit is reversed upon appeal, taxable
costs incurred by the person shall be paid by the Commonwealth.
Persons Not Qualified to Obtain a Permit:
- An individual who is ineligible to possess a firearm
pursuant to §§
18.2-308.1:1,
18.2-308.1:2 or §
18.2-308.1:3 or the substantially similar law of any
other state or of the United States.
- An individual who was ineligible to possess a firearm
pursuant to §
18.2-308.1:1 and who was discharged from the custody of
the Commissioner pursuant to §
19.2-182.7 less than five years before the date of his
application for a concealed handgun permit.
- An individual who was ineligible to possess a firearm
pursuant to §
18.2-308.1:2 and whose competency or capacity was
restored pursuant to former § 37.1-134.1 or §
37.1-134.16 less than five years before the date of his
application for a concealed handgun permit.
- An individual who was ineligible to possess a firearm
under §
18.2-308.1:3 and who was released from commitment less
than five years before the date of this application for a
concealed handgun permit.
- An individual who is subject to a restraining order, or
to a protective order and prohibited by §
18.2-308.1:4 from purchasing or transporting a firearm.
- An individual who is prohibited by §
18.2-308.2 from possessing or transporting a firearm,
except that a permit may be obtained in accordance with
subsection C of that section.
- An individual who has been convicted of two or more
misdemeanors within the five-year period immediately
preceding the application, if one of the misdemeanors was a
Class 1 misdemeanor, but the judge shall have the discretion
to deny a permit for two or more misdemeanors that are not
Class 1. Traffic infractions or reckless driving shall not
be considered for purposes of this disqualification.
- An individual who is addicted to, or is an unlawful user
or distributor of, marijuana or any controlled substance.
- An individual who has been convicted of a violation of §
18.2-266 or a substantially similar local ordinance or
of public drunkenness within the three-year period
immediately preceding the application, or who is a habitual
drunkard as determined pursuant to §
4.1-333.
- An alien other than an alien lawfully admitted for
permanent residence in the United States.
- An individual who has been discharged from the Armed
Forces of the United States under dishonorable conditions.
- An individual who is a fugitive from justice.
- An individual who the court finds, by a preponderance of
the evidence, based on specific acts by the applicant, is
likely to use a weapon unlawfully or negligently to endanger
others. The sheriff, chief of police, or attorney for the
Commonwealth may submit to the court a sworn written
statement indicating that, in the opinion of such sheriff,
chief of police, or attorney for the Commonwealth, based
upon a disqualifying conviction or upon the specific acts
set forth in the statement, the applicant is likely to use a
weapon unlawfully or negligently to endanger others. The
statement of the sheriff, chief of police, or the attorney
for the Commonwealth shall be based upon personal knowledge
of such individual or of a deputy sheriff, police officer,
or assistant attorney for the Commonwealth of the specific
acts, or upon a written statement made under oath before a
notary public of a competent person having personal
knowledge of the specific acts.
- An individual who has been convicted of any assault,
assault and battery, sexual battery, discharging of a
firearm in violation of §
18.2-280 or §
18.2-286.1 or brandishing of a firearm in violation of §
18.2-282 within the three-year period immediately
preceding the application.
- An individual who has been convicted of stalking.
- An individual whose previous convictions or
adjudications of delinquency were based on an offense which
would have been at the time of conviction a felony if
committed by an adult under the laws of any state, the
District of Columbia, the United States or its territories.
For purposes of this disqualifier, only convictions
occurring within sixteen years following the later of the
date of (i) the conviction or adjudication or (ii) release
from any incarceration imposed upon such conviction or
adjudication shall be deemed to be "previous convictions."
- An individual who has a felony charge pending or a
charge pending for an offense listed in 14 or 15.
- An individual who has received mental health treatment
or substance abuse treatment in a residential setting within
five years prior to the date of his application for a
concealed handgun permit.
- An individual not otherwise ineligible pursuant to this
section, who, within the three-year period immediately
preceding the application for the permit, was found guilty
of any criminal offense set forth in Article 1 (§
18.2-247 et seq.) of Chapter 7 of this title or of a
criminal offense of illegal possession or distribution of
marijuana or any controlled substance, under the laws of any
state, the District of Columbia, or the United States or its
territories.
- An individual, not otherwise ineligible pursuant to this
section, with respect to whom, within the three-year period
immediately preceding the application, upon a charge of any
criminal offense set forth in Article 1 (§
18.2-247 et seq.) of Chapter 7 of this title or upon a
charge of illegal possession or distribution of marijuana or
any controlled substance under the laws of any state, the
District of Columbia, or the United States or its
territories, the trial court found that the facts of the
case were sufficient for a finding of guilt and disposed of
the case pursuant to §
18.2-251 or the substantially similar law of any other
state, the District of Columbia, or the United States or its
territories.
