Ask The Michigan Firearms InstructorQ: How To Renew A Michigan Concealed Pistol License
No Additional Training Classes Are Required
Occasionally, I receive phone calls from persons inquiring about my "Concealed Pistol License (CPL) Renewal Classes." Let the truth be told, I don't have one available for students to take for the simple fact that the state of Michigan does not require it for CPL renewals. That fact, however, doesn't stop the charlatans and con artists in the firearms training field from "suggesting" it to prospective students.
I believe that honesty is truly the best policy. Accordingly, I would not feel right registering someone for a CPL Class that he did not have to take unless he was apprised of that fact and made the conscious decision to still take the class because it made sense for him to do so. Besides, I am just honored that he elected to contact me instead of calling the firearms instructor that originally trained him. That subject alone could be the basis of another article.
Many people, when their CPLs are about to expire, make an informed decision to retake the Basic Pistol Training Class for principally two reasons. For one, they know that in the relatively short few years that they have had their CPL, the laws governing the permit have changed sufficiently to justify a re-take. Furthermore, many people elect to re-take the class because they haven't fired their firearm since their original training class and want to brush up on their shooting skills under the oversight of a gun safety expert.
The CPL Renewal Process And Considerations
Renewing a Michigan Concealed Pistol License is a fairly straight forward process. As before, the person must submit a completed CPL Application at the County Clerk's Office in the county in which they currently reside - even if the county is different from the county which issued the original permit.
Be advised that at least one major metro-Detroit county web site has an outdated application on its web site which may not be accepted when you show up to turn it in for processing. You should always download the application from the Michigan State Police web site for principally this reason. The application should be submitted with enough lead time to allow "normal" processing. For most Michigan counties, you want to re-apply at least three months before your current permit expires.
As an aside, I spoke with one of my students today, from perhaps the slowest county in the state, who informed me that it took her nine months to get her permit in the mail. If she had talked to me months ago, I would have advised her of certain rights she had under the statute.
Furthermore, the application fee for renewals is exactly the same amount for first-time licenses: $105. Obviously, the state of Michigan is making a few bucks in generated revenue with this process; the state of Indiana only charges $75 for its CPL and it's good for a life-time unlike the relatively short time period of five years in this state.
After you pay your application fee, fold and staple your receipt to your current CPL. Depending on which county you reside, you may one day need to prove that your "expired" CPL is still being evaluated for a renewal.
Moreover, you will be required to sign a statement that you have reviewed your original Basic Pistol Safety Training Class educational materials for at least three hours AND that you have visited a target range and practiced firing a firearm for at least one hour within the last six months immediately preceding the date you submit your CPL renewal application. With respect to the shooting requirement, I know of at least one county that wants to see an applicant's receipts from the target range.
On the positive side of the renewal process, you will not have to be re-fingerprinted if the last time your prints were taken occurred after January 1, 2006; this was the date that the Michigan State Police started storing CPL applicant fingerprints with their "automated fingerprint comparison system."
Good Luck!
Disclaimer
You are strongly encouraged to not only conduct your own independent research but to also consult with a competent and qualified attorney before acting upon any information in this article. Laws covering self-defense, lethal force, firearms, and the Michigan Concealed Pistol License and their enforcement are always subject to change due to laws being amended, politics conducted in the Prosecutor's Office, and election results at all levels of government. Ignorance of the law, legally speaking, is not a valid excuse for running afoul of it. The penalties and fines imposed upon violators of firearms related offenses are stiff and severe.
About The Author
Rick Ector is a National Rifle Association credentialed Firearms Trainer, who provides Michigan CCW Class training in Detroit for students at his firearms school - Rick's Firearm Academy of Detroit. Ector is a recognized expert in firearm safety and has been featured extensively in the national and local media: Associated Press, UPI, NRAnews, Guns Digest, Tactical-Life, The Truth About Guns, The Politics Daily, Fox News Detroit, The Detroit News, The Detroit Examiner, WJLB, WGPR, and the UrbanShooterPodcast.
For more info about free shooting lessons for women and Michigan CCW Classes, please contact:
Rick's Firearm Academy of Detroit
Web: http://www.detroitccw.com.
Email: info@detroitccw.com
Phone: 313.733.74
If this information was useful for you, would you please make a small recurring donation to support this site?
I do most of my blogging and article writing in coffee shops because there are too many distractions at home.
No comments:
Post a Comment