North Carolina § 14-403 - Permit issued by sheriff; form of permit; expiration of permit.

§ 14-403. Permit issued by sheriff; form of permit; expiration of permit.

The sheriffs of any and all counties of this State shall issue to any person, firm, or corporation in any county a permit to purchase or receive any weapon mentioned in this Article from any person, firm, or corporation offering to sell or dispose of the weapon. The permit shall expire five years from the date of issuance. The permit shall be a standard form created by the State Bureau of Investigation in consultation with the North Carolina Sheriffs' Association, shall be of a uniform size and material, and shall be designed with security features intended to minimize the ability to counterfeit or replicate the permit and shall be set forth as follows: North Carolina, ______________ County. I, ______________, Sheriff of said County, do hereby certify that I have conducted a criminal background check of the applicant, ______________ whose place of residence is ______________ in ______________ (or) in ______________ Township, ______________ County, North Carolina, and have received no information to indicate that it would be a violation of State or federal law for the applicant to purchase, transfer, receive, or possess a handgun. The applicant has further satisfied me as to his, her (or) their good moral character. Therefore, a permit is issued to ______________ to purchase one pistol from any person, firm or corporation authorized to dispose of the same. This permit expires five years from its date of issuance. This ____ day of ____________, ________. _______________________________________________________________________ Sheriff. The standard permit created by this section shall be used statewide by the sheriffs of any and all counties and, when issued by a sheriff, shall also contain an embossed seal unique to the office of the issuing sheriff. History (1919, c. 197, s. 2; C.S., s. 5107; 1959, c. 1073, s. 2; 1981 (Reg. Sess., 1982), c. 1395, s. 3; 1995, c. 487, s. 1; 1999-456, s. 59; 2013-369, s. 17.1; 2015-195, s. 10(a).) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2015-195, s. 10(b), provides: "Permits issued pursuant to Article 52A of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes prior to the effective date of subsection (a) of this section [December 1, 2015] shall remain valid until expiration. Any person possessing a valid permit issued prior to the effective date of subsection (a) of this section may exchange that permit for an updated permit from the sheriff that issued the original permit with no further application required. Any permit issued in exchange shall expire on the same date as the original permit for which it was exchanged." Session Laws 2015-195, s. 10(c), provides: "The State Bureau of Investigation shall make reasonable efforts to notify federally licensed firearm dealers in this State of the new permit appearance and requirements implemented by subsection (a) of this section." Session Laws 2015-195, s. 18, made the amendment of this section by Session Laws 2015-195, s. 10(a) applicable to permits issued on or after December 1, 2015, and further provided that: "Prosecutions for offenses committed before the effective date of this act are not abated or affected by this act, and the statutes that would be applicable but for this act remain applicable to those prosecutions." Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2013-369, s. 17.1, effective October 1, 2013, deleted "license or" preceding "permit" throughout the section. Session Laws 2015-195, s. 10(a), effective December 1, 2015, substituted "The permit shall be a standard form created by the State Bureau of Investigation in consultation with the North Carolina Sheriffs' Association, shall be of a uniform size and material, and shall be designed with security features intended to minimize the ability to counterfeit or replicate the permit and shall be set forth as follows" for "The permit shall be in the following form" in the first paragraph; and added the last paragraph. Legal Periodicals. - For comment, "A Fighting Chance for Outlaws: Strict Scrutiny of North Carolina's Felony Firearms Act," see 32 Campbell L. Rev. 333 (2010).