We have been getting a lot of calls about people still waiting for their renewal permits for Illinois Concealed Carry. Some applied in January and are still waiting, which are expiring or have recently expired, even though they applied in plenty of time. I wanted to type this update to everyone and to share what we know on the topic.
First, I want to clear up something that we have been saying since our first renewal class. We had made the blanket statement in every renewal class to not carry your firearm concealed if you have re-applied and are still waiting for your renewal permit with the current permit expiring before receiving your renewal permit. We were wrong on this point. Corrected Information: Your permit for Illinois Concealed Carry is valid after it expires ONLY if you have already applied for renewal and you are waiting for the renewal permit to be processed by the Illinois State Police. There is a grace period that the State of Illinois gives itself to process the information after the expiration, if you have already applied.
As most of you should know, I am a Police Officer by trade, and this company is more cautious with what legal information is put out than a lot of other groups. This is because we don’t want our students to become test cases in the courts. It is an expensive process that no one enjoys. The reason for the blanket statement was because until people started expiring before they received their renewal permits, we didn’t know what the police databases would show while your card was expired yet you were still waiting for your renewal.
I had the chance to check someone that was in the exact situation. He applied 3 days before his card expired. His Illinois Concealed Carry Permit of course expired before receiving his renewal permit. What it showed in the police database was that he was still “Active” (valid) with the same expiration date, but it also listed that he had reapplied for the renewal. Because the status still showed Active, he was valid to carry concealed.
Before everyone jumps for joy over this, remember there could still be some confusion with Police Officers if they don’t know that “Active” translates to valid. Also, the Police Officers in other states may rely on the fact that it has an expired date. Please proceed with caution! I would not rely on your pending renewal Illinois Concealed Carry Permit outside of Illinois. If you have Florida, Utah and or Arizona check to see if they are valid in the states you are going to. We always recommend checking on https://www.handgunlaw.us/
The other information I wanted to share was about the slow down on issuing the renewals for Illinois Concealed Carry. This is speculation on our part but rooted in a solid base. After the shooting in Aurora a few weeks ago, everything slowed to a halt. I believe incident that has caused the large slow down and people waiting for months. When we started the renewals, the Illinois State Police were getting renewals out in just over 30 days. After the shooting, I hadn’t heard of anyone getting their renewal permits at all. That is what started the emails and phone calls because everyone is hitting the 2 month (or longer) wait period and the expiration dates are coming up.
I heard from a former student at the Gat Guns Factory Shoot that that the day before (Friday) his status had changed from “Under Review” to “Active” on the Illinois State Police Website. That change usually happens when they are dropping your card in the mail. We are past the week that it takes to get the card in the mail, but I haven’t heard back from the former student to find out if he got his card yet.
If you expire before you re-apply for your renewal, the Illinois State Police will make you take the entire 16-hour class again. Some people are getting letters and others are not. If you have moved in the last 5 years and have not changed your address with the Illinois State Police, you will not be getting a letter. It doesn’t matter if you have changed your Illinois Driver’s License to your new address. The systems operate separately.
If anyone has any information, please pass it on to me. I don’t like using single source information for these articles, but this is all the information that I have at this point. I hope this has explained a few things in the renewals any questions feel free to email us. We will try to help.
-P. Warren, Lead Instructor