As citizens of the United States of America, we have the
constitutional right to bear arms. With that right, comes
responsibility. The License Laws for the State of Georgia
allow for persons over the age of 21, without a felony or
drug related criminal record and no history of mental illness
hospitalizations to obtain a permit authorizing that citizen
to any pistol or revolver in any County of this State.
The process begins with an application, which is obtained
from the Judge of the Probate Court for the County in which
you reside. There is a fee for licensing with the Probate
Court and Fingerprinting Fees for the Georgia Crime Information
Center. After the application has been completed and the
fees paid, the Probate Court will obtain an appointment
for you to be fingerprinted at the Sheriff’s Office.
When you arrive at the Sheriff’s Office, an officer
will obtain your fingerprints using a “Livescan”
Fingerprinting system. This system is much superior to the
old way of fingerprinting due to the fact that no messy
ink is used and the results are available within hours,
not months. Photographs of the fingers are taken on the
machine and transmitted via the internet to GCIC, where
they are read, processed, and a report generated within
less than a day. A criminal history and mental health records
check is run by the Sheriff’s Office, attached to
the fingerprint report, and forwarded back to the Probate
Court. In the event that all reports are favorable, the
Probate Court will contact you and schedule a time for you
to pick up your license.
A reference of the Gun Permit Law is available below. If
you have questions, you may contact either the Sheriff’s
Office or Probate Court.
(a) Application for license; term. The judge of the probate
court of each county may, on application under oath and
on payment of a fee of $15.00, issue a license valid for
a period of five years to any person whose domicile is in
that county or who is on active duty with the United States
armed forces and who is not a domiciliary of this state
but who either resides in that county or on a military reservation
located in whole or in part in that county at the time of
such application, which license shall authorize that person
to carry any pistol or revolver in any county of this state
notwithstanding any change in that person´s county
of residence or state of domicile. Applicants shall submit
the application for a license to the judge of the probate
court on forms prescribed and furnished free of charge to
persons wishing to apply for the license. Forms shall be
designed to elicit information from the applicant pertinent
to his or her eligibility under this Code section but shall
not require data which is nonpertinent or irrelevant such
as serial numbers or other identification capable of being
used as a de facto registration of firearms owned by the
applicant. The Department of Public Safety shall furnish
application forms and license forms required by this Code
section. The forms shall be furnished to each judge of each
probate court within the state at no cost.
(b) Licensing exceptions. No license shall be granted to:
(1) Any person under 21 years of age;
(2) Any person who is a fugitive from justice or against
whom proceedings are pending for any felony, forcible misdemeanor,
or violation of Code Section 16-11-126, 16-11-127, or 16-11-128
until such time as the proceedings are adjudicated;
(3) Any person who has been convicted of a felony by a
court of this state or any other state; by a court of the
United States including its territories, possessions, and
dominions; or by a court of any foreign nation and has not
been pardoned for such felony by the President of the United
States, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, or the person
or agency empowered to grant pardons under the constitution
or laws of such state or nation or any person who has been
convicted of a forcible misdemeanor and has not been free
of all restraint or supervision in connection therewith
for at least five years or any person who has been convicted
of a violation of Code Section 16-11-126, 16-11-127, or
16-11-128 and has not been free of all restraint or supervision
in connection therewith for at least three years, immediately
preceding the date of the application;
(4) Any individual who has been hospitalized as an inpatient
in any mental hospital or alcohol or drug treatment center
within five years of the date of his or her application.
The probate judge may require any applicant to sign a waiver
authorizing any mental hospital or treatment center to inform
the judge whether or not the applicant has been an inpatient
in any such facility in the last five years and authorizing
the superintendent of such facility to make to the judge
a recommendation regarding whether a license to carry a
pistol or revolver should be issued. When such a waiver
is required by the probate judge, the applicant shall pay
to the probate judge a fee of $3.00 for reimbursement of
the cost of making such a report by the mental health hospital,
alcohol or drug treatment center, or the Department of Human
Resources, which the probate judge shall remit to the hospital,
center, or department. The judge shall keep any such hospitalization
or treatment information confidential. It shall be at the
discretion of the probate judge, considering the circumstances
surrounding the hospitalization and the recommendation of
the superintendent of the hospital or treatment center where
the individual was a patient, to issue the license; or
(5)(A) Any person, the provisions of paragraph (3) of this
subsection notwithstanding, who has been convicted of an
offense arising out of the unlawful manufacture, distribution,
possession, or use of a controlled substance or other dangerous
drug.
(B) As used in this paragraph, the term:
(i) 'Controlled substance' means any drug, substance, or
immediate precursor included in the definition of controlled
substances in paragraph (4) of Code Section 16-13-21.
(ii) 'Convicted' means a plea of guilty, a finding of guilt
by a court of competent jurisdiction, the acceptance of
a plea of nolo contendere, or the affording of first offender
treatment by a court of competent jurisdiction irrespective
of the pendency or availability of an appeal or an application
for collateral relief.
(iii) 'Dangerous drug' means any drug defined as such in
Code Section 16-13-71.
(c) Fingerprinting.
(1) Following completion of the application, the judge
of the probate court shall require the applicant to proceed
to an appropriate law enforcement agency in the county with
the completed application. The appropriate local law enforcement
agency in each county shall then make two sets of classifiable
fingerprints of the applicant for a license to carry a pistol
or revolver, place the fingerprint required by subsection
(f) of this Code section on a blank license form which has
been furnished to the law enforcement agency by the judge
of the probate court, and place the name of the applicant
on the blank license form. The law enforcement agency shall
be entitled to a fee of $5.00 from the applicant for its
services in connection with the application.
(2) In the case of each applicant who is applying for a
license under this Code section for the first time, the
judge of the probate court shall direct the law enforcement
agency to transmit one set of the applicant´s fingerprints
to the Georgia Crime Information Center for a search of
the Federal Bureau of Investigation records and an appropriate
report. In such cases, the applicant shall submit an additional
fee in an amount established by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation
but not to exceed $30.00 for a search of records of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation and an appropriate report,
payable in such form as the judge may direct, to cover the
cost of the records search.
(3) Applications for renewal of licenses issued under this
Code section shall be made to the judge of the probate court
of the county in which the applicant is domiciled or, if
the applicant is a member of the United States armed forces,
the county in which he or she resides or in which the military
reservation on which the applicant resides is located in
whole or in part at the time of making the renewal application.
In the case of an applicant for a renewal of a license,
the judge of the probate court may, in his or her discretion,
direct that the local county law enforcement agency request
a search of the criminal history file and wanted persons
file of the Georgia Crime Information Center by computer
access from that county in lieu of transmitting the application
and forms.
(d) Investigation of applicant; issuance of license. Each
law enforcement agency, upon receiving such applications
and obtaining such fingerprints, shall promptly conduct
a thorough search of its records and records to which it
has access and shall notify the judge of the probate court
within 50 days, by telephone and in writing, of any findings
relating to the applicant which may bear on his eligibility
for a license under the terms of this Code section. When
no derogatory information is found on the applicant bearing
on his eligibility to obtain a license, a report shall not
be required. The law enforcement agency shall return the
application and the blank license form with the fingerprint
thereon directly to the judge of the probate court within
such time period. Not later than 60 days after the date
of the application the judge of the probate court shall
issue the applicant a license to carry any pistol or revolver
if no facts establishing ineligibility have been reported
and if the judge determines the applicant has met all the
qualifications, is of good moral character, and has complied
with all the requirements contained in this Code section.
(e) Revocation, loss, or damage to license. If, at any
time during the period for which the license was issued,
the judge of the probate court of the county in which the
license was issued shall learn or have brought to his or
her attention in any manner any reasonable ground to believe
the licensee is not eligible to retain the license, the
judge may, after notice and hearing, revoke the license
of the person upon adjudication of falsification of application,
mental incompetency, chronic alcohol or narcotic usage,
conviction of any felony or forcible misdemeanor, or for
violation of Code Section 16-11-126, 16-11-127, or 16-11-128.
It shall be unlawful for any person to possess a license
which has been revoked, and any person found in possession
of any such revoked license, except in the performance of
his or her official duties, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
It shall be required that any license holder under this
Code section have in his or her possession his or her valid
license whenever he or she is carrying a pistol or revolver
under the authority granted by this Code section, and his
or her failure to do so shall be prima-facie evidence of
a violation of Code Section 16-11-128. Loss of any license
issued in accordance with this Code section or damage to
the license in any manner which shall render it illegible
shall be reported to the judge of the probate court of the
county in which it was issued within 48 hours of the time
the loss or damage becomes known to the license holder.
The judge of the probate court shall thereupon issue a replacement
for and shall take custody of and destroy a damaged license;
and in any case in which a license has been lost, he or
she shall issue a cancellation order and notify by telephone
and in writing each of the law enforcement agencies whose
records were checked before issuance of the original license.
The judge shall charge the fee specified in subsection (k)
of Code Section 15-9-60 for such services.
(f) License specifications. Licenses issued as prescribed
in this Code section shall be printed on durable but lightweight
card stock, and the completed card shall be laminated in
plastic to improve its wearing qualities and to inhibit
alterations. Measurements shall be 3 1/4 inches long, and
2 1/4 inches wide. Each shall be serially numbered within
the county of issuance and shall bear the full name, residential
address, birth date, weight, height, color of eyes, sex,
and a clear print of the right index finger of the licensee.
If the right index fingerprint cannot be secured for any
reason, the print of another finger may be used but such
print shall be marked to identify the finger from which
the print is taken. The license shall show the date of issuance,
the expiration date, and the probate court in which issued
and shall be signed by the licensee and bear the signature
or facsimile thereof of the judge. The seal of the court
shall be placed on the face before the license is laminated.
The reverse side of the license shall have imprinted thereon
in its entirety Code Section 16-11-127.
(g) Alteration or counterfeiting of license; penalty. A
person who deliberately alters or counterfeits such a license
card commits a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall
be punished by imprisonment for a period of not less than
one nor more than five years.
(h) Licenses for former law enforcement officers. Except
as otherwise provided in Code Section 16-11-130, any person
who has served as a law enforcement officer for at least
ten of the 12 years immediately preceding the retirement
of such person as a law enforcement officer shall be entitled
to be issued a license as provided for in this Code section
without the payment of any of the fees provided for in this
Code section. Such person must comply with all the other
provisions of this Code section relative to the issuance
of such licenses. As used in this subsection, the term 'law
enforcement officer' means any peace officer who is employed
by the United States government or by the State of Georgia
or any political subdivision thereof and who is required
by the terms of his or her employment, whether by election
or appointment, to give his or her full time to the preservation
of public order or the protection of life and property or
the prevention of crime. Such term shall include conservation
rangers.
(i) Temporary renewal licenses.
(1) Any person who holds a license under this Code section
to carry a pistol or revolver may, at the time he applies
for a renewal of the license, also apply for a temporary
renewal license if less than 90 days remain before expiration
of the license he then holds or if his previous license
has expired within the last 30 days.
(2) Unless the judge of the probate court knows or is made
aware of any fact which would make the applicant ineligible
for a five-year renewal license, the judge shall at the
time of application issue a temporary renewal license to
the applicant.
(3) Such a temporary renewal license shall be in the form
of a paper receipt indicating the date on which the court
received the renewal application and shall show the name,
address, sex, age, and race of the applicant and that the
temporary renewal license expires 90 days from the date
of issue.
(4) During its period of validity the temporary
renewal permit, if carried on or about the holder´s
person together with the holder´s previous license,
shall be valid in the same manner and for the same purposes
as a five-year license.
(5) A $1.00 fee shall be charged by the
probate court for issuance of a temporary renewal license.
(6) A temporary renewal license may be
revoked in the same manner as a five-year license.
(a) Any two or more persons who shall do an unlawful act
of violence or any other act in a violent and tumultuous
manner commit the offense of riot.
(b) Any persons who violate subsection (a) of this Code
section are guilty of a misdemeanor.
16-11-128.
(a) A person commits the offense of carrying a pistol without
a license when he has or carries on or about his person,
outside of his home, motor vehicle, or place of business,
any pistol or revolver without having on his person a valid
license issued by the judge of the probate court of the
county in which he resides, provided that no permit shall
be required for persons with a valid hunting or fishing
license on their person or for persons not required by law
to have hunting licenses who are engaged in legal hunting,
fishing, or sport shooting when the persons have the permission
of the owner of the land on which the activities are being
conducted; provided, further, that the pistol or revolver,
whenever loaded, shall be carried only in an open and fully
exposed manner.
(b) Upon conviction of the offense of carrying a pistol
without a license, a person shall be punished as follows:
(1) For the first offense, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor;
and
(2) For the second offense, and for any subsequent offense,
he is guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be imprisoned for not less than one year nor more
than five years.
(c) On and after October 1, 1996, a person licensed to
carry a handgun in any state whose laws recognize and give
effect within such state to a license issued pursuant to
this part shall be authorized to carry a handgun in this
state, but only while the licensee is not a resident of
this state; provided, however, that such licenseholder shall
carry the handgun in compliance with the laws of this state.
