Current through Register Vol. 57, No. 6,
March 17, 2025
(a) Every
person applying for a permit to carry a handgun shall furnish such information
and particulars as set forth in the application form designated SP 642. The
application shall be signed by the applicant under oath and shall be endorsed
by three reputable persons who have known the applicant for at least three
years preceding the date of application, and who shall also certify thereon
that the applicant is a person of good moral character and behavior.
Applications can be obtained at police departments and State Police
stations.
(b) Each applicant shall
demonstrate a thorough familiarity with the safe handling and use of handguns
by indicating in the space provided therefor on the application form, and on
any sworn attachments thereto, any relevant information. Thorough familiarity
with the safe handling and use of handguns shall be evidenced by:
1. Completion of a firearms training course
substantially equivalent to the firearms training approved by the Police
Training Commission as described by N.J.S.A. 2C:39-6j;
2. Submission of an applicant's most recent
handgun qualification scores utilizing the handgun(s) he or she intends to
carry as evidenced by test firings administered by a certified firearms
instructor of a police academy, a certified firearms instructor of the National
Rifle Association, or any other recognized certified firearms instructor;
or
3. Passage of any test in this
State's laws governing the use of force administered by a certified instructor
of a police academy, a certified instructor of the National Rifle Association,
or any other recognized certified instructor.
(c) The information in (b) above shall be
accompanied and validated by certifications of the appropriate
instructor(s).
(d) Each application
form shall also be accompanied by a written certification of justifiable need
to carry a handgun, which shall be under oath and which:
1. In the case of a private citizen, shall
specify in detail the urgent necessity for self-protection, as evidenced by
specific threats or previous attacks, which demonstrate a special danger to the
applicant's life that cannot be avoided by means other than by issuance of a
permit to carry a handgun. Where possible, the applicant shall corroborate the
existence of any specific threats or previous attacks by reference to reports
of such incidents to the appropriate law enforcement agencies; or
2. In the case of employees of private
detective agencies, armored car companies and private security companies, that:
i. In the course of performing statutorily
authorized duties, the applicant is subject to a substantial threat of serious
bodily harm; and
ii. That carrying
a handgun by the applicant is necessary to reduce the threat of unjustifiable
serious bodily harm to any person.
(e) The completed application together with
two sets of the applicant's fingerprints and fees as established by N.J.A.C.
13:59 in accordance with
N.J.S.A.
53:1-20.5 et seq., four photographs (1 1/2 x
1 1/2 square), a consent for mental health records search form designated S.P.
66, and a permit fee of $ 20.00 payable to the County Clerk where the permit is
to be issued shall be submitted to the chief police officer of the municipality
in which the applicant resides, or the Superintendent:
1. If there is no chief police officer in the
municipality where the applicant resides; or
2. If the applicant is a non-resident of this
State or if the applicant is an employee of an armored car company.
(f) An application for a permit to
carry a handgun shall be prioritized and be investigated on an expedited basis
and approved or disapproved without undue delay, within 14 days if possible,
under the following circumstances:
1. The
applicant is a private citizen who applies for a permit to purchase a handgun
and/or a firearm purchaser identification card contemporaneously with the
application for a permit to carry a handgun or who has previously obtained a
handgun purchase permit from the same licensing authority; and
i. Has been the victim of an act of violence
that resulted in the infliction of serious or significant bodily injury, or was
credibly threatened with an act of violence that if carried out would result in
the infliction of serious or significant bodily injury, or subjected to an
incident in which the actor was armed with and used a deadly weapon or
threatened by word or gesture to use a deadly weapon as defined in
N.J.S.A.
2C:11-1.c against the
applicant, and there is a substantial likelihood, based on the information
presented in the applicant's State of New Jersey Request for Expedited Firearms
Application form (S.P. 398), and any other information revealed in the
investigation of the application, that the applicant will in the foreseeable
future be subjected to another such incident; or
ii. Is protected by a court order or under a
condition imposed by the court restraining another person from contact with the
applicant, and there is a substantial likelihood, based on the information
presented in the applicant's State of New Jersey Request for Expedited Firearms
Application form and any other information revealed in the investigation of the
application, that the applicant will in the foreseeable future be subjected to
an act of violence that if carried out would result in the infliction of
serious or significant bodily injury, or be subjected to an incident in which
the actor is armed with and would use a deadly weapon or threaten by word or
gesture to use a deadly weapon as defined in
N.J.S.A.
2C:11-1.c against the
applicant;
2. An
applicant who meets the criteria in (f)1i or ii above shall be deemed to have
demonstrated justifiable need (as set forth in
N.J.A.C.
13:54-2.3(a)3);
and
3. Approval of an expedited
firearms application request does not automatically denote approval for a
permit to carry a handgun. All applicants are subject to the provisions set
forth in this chapter for final approval and issuance of cards and
permits.
