Pennsylvania Non-resident Permit

[Gonzobird]

So I have an unrestricted permit in NY. I have to go to Philadelphia frequently for work.

From what I understand if you have an unrestricted permit in your home state Pennsylvania will give you an Non-resident Permit easy. I heard the Lakawa County sheriff department gives it out same day for $25. I am going to call Monday and confirm.

Anybody here ever do this and if so was it as easy as I hear it to be? Figured I would ask on here before I called.

 

[libertysnake]

So I have an unrestricted permit in NY. I have to go to Philadelphia frequently for work.

From what I understand if you have an unrestricted permit in your home state Pennsylvania will give you an Non-resident Permit easy. I heard the Lakawa County sheriff department gives it out same day for $25. I am going to call Monday and confirm.

Anybody here ever do this and if so was it as easy as I hear it to be? Figured I would ask on here before I called.

I haven't done it, yet, but from what I remember it sort of varies from county to county. Some will issues non-resident permits, but others will just flat our refuse to do so. Almost all counties will respect a non-resident permit, even if they don't personally issue them.

From what I remember, the counties closer to Philly are being more PITAs when it comes to issuing non-resident permits, but it's been some time since I checked on it.

That's my understanding, but you may want to follow up on that.

 

[masterswimmer]

I have my NY unrestricted and got my PA out of state LTC in 20 minutes & $20. I drove to Scranton (Lackawanna Cty.).

Definitely check this site for county by county compliance:

Firearm/Gun Information for Each Pennsylvania County

 

[Steal2B]

We have several threads here on this. I went to Scranton and it was a pleasure. Bulletguy and Deplorable Me used the Lakawanna / Erie offices for the area you may have mentioned (There is no Lakawa in Pa so I figured you meant either Lakawanna County / Scranton or Erie County Pa. near the city Lakawanna)

CCW Reciprocity sure is confusing
Question about PA permits

 

[Gonzobird]

Sorry for the spelling. You are right, thanks.

So how long was the process when you went to Scranton?

 

[Steal2B]

It takes longer to park at the mall and walk to the office than to get the permit. Two of us were maybe 20 to 25 minutes but there was a line. Plan on 15 -30 minutes. Do not bother pre-filling the on line forms from the state because the sheriff liked the older versions. The office staff is great and the pro 2A Sheriff came out to meet us. Make sure you bring address and phone numbers for the references you use on your application.

 

[Gonzobird]

Great thanks. I will do go down there this week then.

 

[Steal2B]

Great thanks. I will do go down there this week then.

Let us know how you make out. There is even one pleasant young deputy who has earned a fan club on our forum.

 

[libertysnake]

It takes longer to park at the mall and walk to the office than to get the permit. Two of us were maybe 20 to 25 minutes but there was a line. Plan on 15 -30 minutes. Do not bother pre-filling the on line forms from the state because the sheriff liked the older versions. The office staff is great and the pro 2A Sheriff came out to meet us. Make sure you bring address and phone numbers for the references you use on your application.

How long was the whole process from the application till you had the permit? I assume there is a waiting period while they check your refs?

 

[Jmac00]

when I got my Non-resident permit from Pa I went to Erie, It took me about 30 minutes to find the courthouse, 20 minutes to park, 15 minutes to get 'through the process' and they mailed me a permit within 14 days.

and that 15 minutes was with two other people applying at the same time. My wife asked the nice lady were the restrooms were and the nice lady said, down one flight of stairs to the left, but you better hurry, we'll be done before you get back.... she was right, done, including pictures before the wife got back from the potty, LOL

 

[Jmac00]

How long was the whole process from the application till you had the permit? I assume there is a waiting period while they check your refs?

I think if you're from NY, they don't bother. They never called or talked to any of my references. They must figure NY already crawled up your ass, no need to do that again

 

[Criticalt]

Warren County PA the same 20 minutes, 20 dollars.
I did it 4 years ago so the price may have went up.

It is a must where I live.
We are right on the border of NY and PA in Chautauqua Co. Just going through your day you drive over the border several times. I do shopping and such in Jamestown NY and Warren PA equally.....as do many people.
I now have homes in NY and PA which are within walking distance from each other.

 

[dsdmmat]

I got my permit in Wayne county. It needs to be renewed this year so I will need to take a couple of days off and head down there. I have family in the area so I can justify the 6 hour round trip to renew.

 

[masterswimmer]

Sorry for the spelling. You are right, thanks.

So how long was the process when you went to Scranton?

In Scranton I was in and out in 20 minutes with my non-res permit in hand. No waiting. Issued immediately. I included the names and addresses of three references and they were never contacted.

Make sure you get there well before 3pm. They're very accommodating but don't push the end of day clock. That'll be my only caveat to you.

 

[Steal2B]

How long was the whole process from the application till you had the permit? I assume there is a waiting period while they check your refs?

Walk in with $20 and a grin, and walk out in 20 minutes with a smile. You already had slow ref checks in NY so PA is in and out with quick confirmation. I was told they may check you and your references as a valid address / phone number/ no warrants / NICS and often see no need to call references.

 

[MothMan]

It takes longer to park at the mall and walk to the office than to get the permit. Two of us were maybe 20 to 25 minutes but there was a line. Plan on 15 -30 minutes. Do not bother pre-filling the on line forms from the state because the sheriff liked the older versions. The office staff is great and the pro 2A Sheriff came out to meet us. Make sure you bring address and phone numbers for the references you use on your application.

And yet due to the differences between counties Lancaster Co. required a 2 week turn around to issue my LTCF.

 

[zzrguy]

I was going recomend you mail way and get your New Hampshire Non Resident but if your going to PA alot haven their permit may help you not get inconvenienced by the law.

 

[Joe Blow]

How long was the whole process from the application till you had the permit? I assume there is a waiting period while they check your refs?

No checking of references. If you have the application filled out prior to going in for the permit allot ~20 minutes (provided there is no line). If you fill out the application there add another five minutes (again, assuming there is no line). I've been to different counties in PA for permits with five family members at one time. With applications filled out / printed ahead of time (all using the same references) we've been in and out in an hour or less.
PA is a Full Point of Contact (POC) state. They do not utilize the federal NICS system as is done here in NY. They have their own NICS contact point. Knowing this, I would tell the deputy taking the applications that there are five of us. He'd take all the applications on a one on one basis, then make one phone call to their point of contact and get the go ahead for everyone all at once. Very similar to an NY FFL calling into NICS for a transfer background check and having multiple checks to run.
The PA application can be found here

 

[Podmonkey]

How long was the whole process from the application till you had the permit? I assume there is a waiting period while they check your refs?

When I did my resident permit in Cambria Co they never called my references. I think all they do is a quick background check like on a NICS. Took me 30 mins from walking in the building to walking out with my license.

 

[Joe Blow]

I got my permit in Wayne county. It needs to be renewed this year so I will need to take a couple of days off and head down there. I have family in the area so I can justify the 6 hour round trip to renew.

One doesn't have to renew in the same county that their permit was issued in. I currently have two valid PA permits. One issued in Luzerne County, the other in Center County (I used to use Pike county, but that's a whole other story).
PA permits are valid for five years from date of issuance. My Centre County issued permit expires in a year, the Luzerne County issued permit expires in four years. Point being, if I'm in PA on business or pleasure and my PA permit has less than approx. two and a half years left on it I'll reapply in whatever county I can while in the state. At $20 a pop, beats the heck out of making a special trip years down the road.

 

[Drinkthekoolaid]

I have my NY unrestricted and got my PA out of state LTC in 20 minutes & $20. I drove to Scranton (Lackawanna Cty.).

Definitely check this site for county by county compliance:

Firearm/Gun Information for Each Pennsylvania County

Thanks . When I get my NY one, PA will be up next . based on your link it looks like the 2 closest counties to me Erie and mckean are both friendly

 

[Bob]

I went to Erie. Walked into the courthouse and there was a sign that said they couldn’t process CCW licenses at that time. Found out from a friend that PICS was down. Spent the day in Erie, hoping that the system would come back up. It stayed down for three days.

So I made the trek back a week later. Walked in, put my application, a photocopy of my NY permit, and a $20 bill on the counter. The clerk reviewed the application, handed it back to me, and sent me down the hall. When the Deputy called me in, we made small talk for a few minutes. I mentioned to him that I drove out the previous week, but PICS was down. He told me he wasn’t going to make me wait. Five minutes later, I was on my way out the door with CCW in hand.

My car was in the parking garage for less than 30 minutes.

 

[Marine Cpl]

Lackawanna is a go in 20 minutes as others have said. Call first. When I got mine, I was lucky as it was closed the day before and I was going the day before but got put off on something else and I did it the next day. I only knew because they still had a sign on the main door that they forgot to take down in the lobby by the metal detectors. Had I just gone, it would have been a wasted trip.

 

[Retired MSG]

It takes longer to park at the mall and walk to the office than to get the permit. Two of us were maybe 20 to 25 minutes but there was a line. Plan on 15 -30 minutes. Do not bother pre-filling the on line forms from the state because the sheriff liked the older versions. The office staff is great and the pro 2A Sheriff came out to meet us. Make sure you bring address and phone numbers for the references you use on your application.

This was my experience too.....in and out in 15 minutes, also met the sheriff, walked out permit in hand. FYI there is a great gun show in Oakes outside Philly ,next one is weekend of March 24th , 2000 tables, great time

 

[tapper3]

Just be aware of one thing if you have ever been "delayed" by a NICS check when purchasing a gun.

PA has a time limit of 15 days for a "delay" to clear - if it doesn't then it is an automatic denial. At that point you have the option of making a full application complete with photo, fingerprints, references, and background check for however long that takes. Or just giving up on the idea.

If you get a "delayed" by NICS and then go pick up your gun from the FFL 3 days later and never hear any more about it you will really have no idea how long it took for NICS to clear that "delay" because the FFL will probably never hear any more about it.

So if it took longer than 15 days for NICS to clear your "delay" it could take PA longer than 15 days to clear theirs also. And that will result in a denial.

 

[Darth]

Yes I have one.

Yes I did it in Lackawanna county.

Yes it was $20.

Yes it was 20 minutes.

Yes the female deputy handling them has a set of huge...umm...pens.

Easy Peasy.

 

[Joe Blow]

If you get a "delayed" by NICS and then go pick up your gun from the FFL 3 days later and never hear any more about it you will really have no idea how long it took for NICS to clear that "delay" because the FFL will probably never hear any more about it.

True, unless your FFL follows through with due diligence. A friendly FFL will give a crap and be "banging" the system.

 

[71velle]

$20 and 20 minutes sounds right. I did Potters county, they have the paperwork on their website. If you permit is over a certain age you need a separate form. I would check out the paperwork requirements before driving down.

 

[Saltwater60]

I’m guessing no, but is there any county that anyone is aware of that you can mail it in for a pa ccw. Not a renewal first time application. My father-in law swears you can and he did. I said nope it’s in person.

 

[Darth]

I’m guessing no, but is there any county that anyone is aware of that you can mail it in for a pa ccw. Not a renewal first time application. My father-in law swears you can and he did. I said nope it’s in person.

I think they ended that a few years ago.