Sheriff’s Department streamlines application for permit to carry a gun in San Diego County

A newly created software program promises a more user-friendly process for people applying for a permit to carry a concealed weapon, the Sheriff’s Department says.

In the face of increasing demand for the permits, the Sheriff’s Department built its own online application process in hopes of making it easier for everyone.

“It’s just going to be a lot a better experience for the customers,” said Tracy Andreacola, an operations supervisor in the Sheriff’s Department’s licensing division.

The new form, which rolled out last week, allows applicants to save their work as they go and not have to fill out the form and upload documents in one sitting. It also gives sheriff’s personnel access on the back end so they might be able to assist applicants when they have questions about the paperwork.

The easier application comes as the department has seen a spike in people seeking to carry guns as they move about town.

In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court broadly expanded who can carry a concealed weapon in public, striking down laws requiring people to show that they had a good reason to be allowed to carry — such as facing a specific threat like a stalker or transporting valuables for work.

The number of people seeking permits immediately jumped in San Diego County. In the three weeks before the ruling, 360 people submitted an application to carry a concealed weapon. In the eight days that followed the ruling, the Sheriff’s Department received 1,254 applications.

The numbers remained high after the spike. The first half of 2022 saw an average of 437 applications a month. In the months after the ruling — even excluding June and July, which each saw more than 1,200 new applications — the rest of year had an average of about 711 applications a month.

As of March, nearly 18,800 San Diego County residents had a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

While filling out the application may be a lot smoother, once it is filed, not a whole lot changes. It still takes about 15 months to complete the process and get the permit in hand.

There are less than 20 Sheriff’s Department staffers working in the licensing unit, which handles nearly three dozen different types of licensing and registrations from managing taxi permits to running the arson and sex offender registries. Requisite in-person appointments for people seeking concealed-carry permits are generally only done on Mondays. The soonest that appointments are available? 2025.