North Carolina § 14-415 - 13. Application for a permit; fingerprints.

§ 14-415. 13. Application for a permit; fingerprints.

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: An application, completed under oath, on a form provided by the sheriff, and such application form must be provided by the sheriff electronically. The sheriff shall not request employment information, character affidavits, additional background checks, photographs, or other information unless specifically permitted by this Article. A nonrefundable permit fee. A full set of fingerprints of the applicant administered by the sheriff. An original certificate of completion of an approved course, adopted and distributed by the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission, signed by the certified instructor of the course attesting to the successful completion of the course by the applicant which shall verify that the applicant is competent with a handgun and knowledgeable about the laws governing the carrying of a concealed handgun and the use of deadly force. A release, in a form to be prescribed by the Administrative Office of the Courts, that authorizes and requires disclosure to the sheriff of any records concerning the mental health or capacity of the applicant to be used for the sole purpose of determining whether the applicant is disqualified for a permit under the provisions of G.S. 14-415.12. This provision does not prohibit submitting information related to involuntary commitment to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). The sheriff shall submit the fingerprints to the State Bureau of Investigation for a records check of State and national databases. The State Bureau of Investigation shall submit the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation as necessary. The sheriff shall determine the criminal and background history of an applicant also by conducting a check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). The cost of processing the set of fingerprints shall be charged to an applicant as provided by G.S. 14-415.19. History (1995, c. 398, s. 1; c. 507, ss. 22.2(a), 22.1(b); 2006-39, s. 2; 2011-268, s. 15; 2015-195, s. 11(g).) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2003-284, s 14.5(a) and (b), provides: "(a) The Department of Justice shall report by January 15 each year to the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations, the Chairs of the Senate and House of Representatives Appropriations Committees, and the Chairs of the Senate and House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittees on Justice and Public Safety on the receipts, costs for, and number of criminal records checks performed in connection with applications for concealed weapons permits. The report by the Department of Justice shall also include information on the number of applications received and approved for firearms safety courses. "(b) The Office of State Budget and Management, in consultation with the Department of Justice, shall study the feasibility of adjusting the fees charged for criminal records checks conducted by the Division of Criminal Information of the Department of Justice as a result of the increase in receipts from criminal records checks. The study shall include an assessment of the Division's operational, personnel, and overhead costs related to providing criminal records checks and how those costs have changed since the prior fiscal year. The Office of State Budget and Management shall report its findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the Senate and House of Representatives Appropriations Committees, the Chairs of the Senate and House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittees on Justice and Public Safety, and the Fiscal Research Division on or before March 1, 2004." Session Laws 2003-284, s. 1.2, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2003'." Session Laws 2003-284, s. 49.3, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2003-2005 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2003-2005 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2003-284, s. 49.5 contains a severability clause. Session Laws 2011-268, which, in s. 15, amended subdivision (a)(5) by adding "to be used for the sole purpose of determining whether the applicant is disqualified for a permit under the provisions of G.S. 14-415.12 " in the first sentence, and adding the last sentence, provided in s. 26: "This act becomes effective December 1, 2011, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date. 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." Session Laws 2015-195, s. 11(o) made the amendment to subdivision (a)(1) applicable to applications submitted on or after October 1, 2015. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2006-39, s. 2, effective June 30, 2006, added the next-to-last sentence in subsection (b). Session Laws 2011-268, s. 15, effective December 1, 2011, and applicable to offenses committed on or after that date, in subdivision (a)(5), added "to be used for the sole purpose of determining whether the applicant is disqualified for a permit under the provisions of G.S. 14-415.12 " in the first sentence, and added the last sentence. Session Laws 2015-195, s. 11(g), effective October 1, 2015, in subdivision (a)(1), added "sheriff, and such application form must be provided by the sheriff electronically" at the end of the first sentence, and added the second sentence. For applicability, see editor's note. Legal Periodicals. - For article, "Public Endangerment or Personal Liberty? North Carolina Enacts a Liberalized Concealed Handgun Statute," see 74 N.C.L. Rev. 2214 (1996).