Erie Permit Timelines redux

Great success. I had an awesome surprise waiting for me in the mail today





I would say I beat the average.

Got finger printed and submitted my application mid June 2017.

Interviewed by police i think in early Feb 2018

All 4 references quickly got statements notarized and back to the police.

The entire packet was to the judge by end of Feb or early March.

End of April it's waiting for me in the mailbox.

Now the fun part

Justincase said:

Man oh man, you hit the jackpot. Not even a year! Took me 20 months, and I got restricted, but i basically set myself up for that. Did you request self defense? Just curious as I've only encountered one person in this thread who got denied unrestricted upon asking in their original application.

Congrats, btw, and we expect a range report on your new purchase/s.

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Yes I asked for unrestricted and listed self defense as a reason.

Its sad when I admit 10months is "lucking out" But unfortunately here it is.

I didn't know anyone, I am not law enforcement and I had no special connections.

What I think helped me is all of my references were very quick to get their notarized statements back in, I had a very favorable interview with my towns detective so perhaps he put my application on top, and it sounded like they frequently take packets up to the judge office and they don't just sit on them for months. I think some towns in Erie county are more pro gun than others and some towns seem to bog down the process where I had a very good experience at the local level in Hamburg.

And perhaps the new clerk Kearns really is trying to speed up the response time.

Hopefully I give hope to anyone currently in the process and waiting or someone thinking of doing it.

Drinkthekoolaid said:

Yes I asked for unrestricted and listed self defense as a reason.

Its sad when I admit 10months is "lucking out" But unfortunately here it is.

I didn't know anyone, I am not law enforcement and I had no special connections.

What I think helped me is all of my references were very quick to get their notarized statements back in, I had a very favorable interview with my towns detective so perhaps he put my application on top, and it sounded like they frequently take packets up to the judge office and they don't just sit on them for months. I think some towns in Erie county are more pro gun than others and some towns seem to bog down the process where I had a very good experience at the local level in Hamburg.

And perhaps the new clerk Kearns really is trying to speed up the response time.

Hopefully I give hope to anyone currently in the process and waiting or someone thinking of doing it.

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Hello, I just read this What is the best way to get a Concealed Carry in Erie County?? I live in Buffalo. And what did it cost to get it??? I had my concealed carry when I lived in Virginia it only took me 2 weeks to get and cost $40.

D4v3B said:

Hello, I just read this What is the best way to get a Concealed Carry in Erie County?? I live in Buffalo. And what did it cost to get it??? I had my concealed carry when I lived in Virginia it only took me 2 weeks to get and cost $40.

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It varies by town/municipality. Some are more or less difficult than others.

I forget the entire process but generally it will go like this

1 You need to attend a pistol permit class. Probably run about $50. They will give you a certificate and point you in the right direction to start your application
2 you need to complete your application it's a lot of ppwk. You will need 4 references .some municipalities make all 4 live in the same town as you, others don't care as long as they are in Erie county
3 go to the pistol permit office down town in the Erie county building, meet with them and turn your initial application in
4 when you turn in your application the permit office Will give you info on how to schedule your finger printing. You need to call and schedule a digital finger print with one of their approved companies that's another $100
5 after you turn your application in and get finger printed, you wait. Probably about 6 months.
6 about 6 months later a detective will call you to arrange an interview and he will ask you about why you want a pistol etc..
7after you meet with your detective you will get forms to have your 4 references to fill out, get them notarized and then sent back to the police dept.
8 once the police dept has all of your references notarized statements, they will send your application to the judge.
9 after the entire packet makes it to the judge's office another 1-6 months will go by then you get a letter in the mail saying congratulations you were apprived for either restricted or unrestricted.
10 with that paper letter mailed to you saying you have been approved for a permit you can now go to stores, touch pistols and buy one.
11 once you "buy a pistol" the store will hold it for you. They will give you paperwork about your pistol (serial number, model etc) that you take along with your approval letter back to the permit office and they add the pistol you are buying into your permit and give you a plastic card (think this is probably another 10$)
12 once you have your card with your pistol and serial number on it you can go back to the store to actually pick your pistol up to take home.

Expect to drop somewhere in the neighborhood of $200-300 for all the costs and running around and probably taking some time off of work.

Good luck. Its complicated, expensive, time consuming and frusterating. But don't give up don't get despaired. There are 10s of thousands of people in Erie county with permits. They make it difficult but it's not impossible.

If you want unrestricted make sure you full out your application requesting it!

I'm sure I don't have the process exactly right But it's pretty close im sure others will chime in. If you have any questions just ask we are all happy to help. We have been in your shoes.

Thank you. This seems like alot of crap yes. I think I need to get moving on it that's a long time.

Reach out to James Emmick at FTWNY. He teaches a pre-licensing course (recommended but not necessarily required) with a lot of information specific to Erie County. He'll also help walk you through the process. A friend of mine just went through the process after having worked with FTWNY, and he said it was well worth the money.

Bob said:

Reach out to James Emmick at FTWNY. He teaches a pre-licensing course (recommended but not necessarily required) with a lot of information specific to Erie County. He'll also help walk you through the process. A friend of mine just went through the process after having worked with FTWNY, and he said it was well worth the money.

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Thanks Bob I will contact them and ask for him

D4v3B said:

Thanks Bob I will contact them and ask for him

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I think that's who I took my class with. He was very helpful after my class was completed I had a few paperwork questions that I emailed him and he was responsive getting back to me.

Sounds Good, I applied to Border Patrol around last October I am waiting for a polygraph. My only concern is if I pay the money and start the process and then get the job I will be moving. But if I don't get hired they could set me back further on time to get permit. I may as well start the process just in case.

You are looking at spending almost $200 upfront. I would probably wait.

Well, almost two months to the day, it arrived. I honestly thought when it came back so soon, it was going to be the bad news I expected. Surprisingly enough, it was GOOD news. Sad that we have to go through this for something that should be observed as our constitutional right.

Carlos Hathcock said:

Well, almost two months to the day, it arrived. I honestly thought when it came back so soon, it was going to be the bad news I expected. Surprisingly enough, it was GOOD news. Sad that we have to go through this for something that should be observed as our constitutional right.

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Congrats!

Carlos Hathcock said:

Well, almost two months to the day, it arrived. I honestly thought when it came back so soon, it was going to be the bad news I expected. Surprisingly enough, it was GOOD news. Sad that we have to go through this for something that should be observed as our constitutional right.

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CH, I was thinking of submitting mine soon as well. If you don't mind sharing, what sort of stuff did you write under the "reason" (for wanting it) section? Doesn't it say "be specific" or something?

UltraT said:

CH, I was thinking of submitting mine soon as well. If you don't mind sharing, what sort of stuff did you write under the "reason" (for wanting it) section? Doesn't it say "be specific" or something?

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Is this for an upgrade to remove restrictions or initial application?


IMO I don't think you can go wrong saying you are concerned for your safety as the reason.

Drinkthekoolaid said:

Is this for an upgrade to remove restrictions or initial application?


IMO I don't think you can go wrong saying you are concerned for your safety as the reason.

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For restriction removal. Right, I was planning on writing something like that, but wanted to make sure since it makes it sound like you need a very "specific reason". Whatever that means, lol.

UltraT said:

CH, I was thinking of submitting mine soon as well. If you don't mind sharing, what sort of stuff did you write under the "reason" (for wanting it) section? Doesn't it say "be specific" or something?

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Restriction removal. Protection of self and family. Nothing about property protection. Mentioned we are out and about as a family, urban and country. Also mentioned years of incident free permit possession, gravity and responsibility of carry, and included certs for intro to self defense and citizens police academy.

Carlos Hathcock said:

Restriction removal. Protection of self and family. Nothing about property protection. Mentioned we are out and about as a family, urban and country. Also mentioned years of incident free permit possession, gravity and responsibility of carry, and included certs for intro to self defense and citizens police academy.

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Thank you! That helps

Thought after reading through everyone's time line's I would add mine for Erie County

Applied 5/1/2018
References contacted 9/25/18
Phone Interview 9/26/18

Asked all my references and it seems that it was just a phone interview, as far as they were told, no signed statements were needed.
After my phone interview, I was told that it would probably be another 3-4 months before I could possibly see my permit.

obrien19 said:

Thought after reading through everyone's time line's I would add mine for Erie County

Applied 5/1/2018
References contacted 9/25/18
Phone Interview 9/26/18

Asked all my references and it seems that it was just a phone interview, as far as they were told, no signed statements were needed.
After my phone interview, I was told that it would probably be another 3-4 months before I could possibly see my permit.

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What town are you in

Drinkthekoolaid said:

What town are you in

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I live in Cheektowaga. Had to write a letter to the Cheektowaga PD to allow me to use references outside of Cheektowaga, since they are one of the towns that requires all references to live in Cheektowaga.

Justincase said:

Wow. 4 1/2 month wait for your interview? I waited over 14 for that milestone. Hope you get it soon.

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Well the investigator said that he was just finishing up the background check, then sending everything to the judge, and mentioned probably a 3-4 month wait. I honestly didn't expect my references to get contacted until January. Maybe they've changed some procedures, because when I first called to drop everything off at the end of March this year, I had to make an appointment, and the earliest they had available at that time was May 1st.

It sounds like someone is putting the heat on all involved in process. Good to hear.

BuffNiag said:

Statements, now need to be notarized? Ugh, it keeps getting worse.

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Wayne county mandates this now, too. It's quite the pain in the pass, particularly when the office seems to have lost one of mine and I had to get a guy to submit a second one. This is a new rule within the past 9 months or so.

My application was submitted July and I'm hoping by end of this year, but who knows.

Does anyone have a current timeline for the process? I handed in my application in late August and got my fingerprints done the next day. I had a phone interview that went great in late March and my references were interviewed the following day. Any idea on how long I have to wait now to receive the letter? I am starting to get excited!

trapshooter123 said:

Does anyone have a current timeline for the process? I handed in my application in late August and got my fingerprints done the next day. I had a phone interview that went great in late March and my references were interviewed the following day. Any idea on how long I have to wait now to receive the letter? I am starting to get excited!

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Last I heard, they were at about 8 months total. Not sure how accurate that is.

My timeline:
8/1 submitted application
8/13 fingerprints
2/20 - 2/21 all 4 references and my interview done

I just called the permit office and was told it just went up to the judge and I should expect it in a few weeks to a month.