Application for license to carry handgun; procedure
Sec. 3. (a) A person desiring a license to carry a handgun shall
apply:
(1) to the chief of police or corresponding law enforcement
officer of the municipality in which the applicant resides;
(2) if that municipality has no such officer, or if the applicant
does not reside in a municipality, to the sheriff of the county in
which the applicant resides after the applicant has obtained an
application form prescribed by the superintendent; or
(3) if the applicant is a resident of another state and has a
regular place of business or employment in Indiana, to the
sheriff of the county in which the applicant has a regular place
of business or employment.
(b) The law enforcement agency which accepts an application for
a handgun license shall collect a ten dollar ($10) application fee, five
dollars ($5) of which shall be refunded if the license is not issued.
Except as provided in subsection (h), the fee shall be:
(1) deposited into the law enforcement agency's firearms
training fund or other appropriate training activities fund; and
(2) used by the agency for the purpose of:
(A) training law enforcement officers in the proper use of
firearms or other law enforcement duties; or
(B) purchasing for the law enforcement officers employed
by the law enforcement agency firearms, or firearm related
equipment, or both.
The state board of accounts shall establish rules for the proper
accounting and expenditure of funds collected under this subsection.
(c) The officer to whom the application is made shall ascertain the
applicant's name, full address, length of residence in the community,
whether the applicant's residence is located within the limits of any
city or town, the applicant's occupation, place of business or
employment, criminal record, if any, and convictions (minor traffic
offenses excepted), age, race, sex, nationality, date of birth,
citizenship, height, weight, build, color of hair, color of eyes, scars
and marks, whether the applicant has previously held an Indiana
license to carry a handgun and, if so, the serial number of the license
and year issued, whether the applicant's license has ever been
suspended or revoked, and if so, the year and reason for the
suspension or revocation, and the applicant's reason for desiring a
license. The officer to whom the application is made shall conduct
an investigation into the applicant's official records and verify
thereby the applicant's character and reputation, and shall in addition
verify for accuracy the information contained in the application, and
shall forward this information together with the officer's
recommendation for approval or disapproval and one (1) set of
legible and classifiable fingerprints of the applicant to the
superintendent.
(d) The superintendent may make whatever further investigation
the superintendent deems necessary. Whenever disapproval is
recommended, the officer to whom the application is made shall
provide the superintendent and the applicant with the officer's
complete and specific reasons, in writing, for the recommendation of
disapproval.
(e) If it appears to the superintendent that the applicant:
(1) has a proper reason for carrying a handgun;
(2) is of good character and reputation;
(3) is a proper person to be licensed; and
(4) is:
(A) a citizen of the United States; or
(B) not a citizen of the United States but is allowed to carry
a firearm in the United States under federal law;
the superintendent shall issue to the applicant a qualified or an
unlimited license to carry any handgun lawfully possessed by the
applicant. The original license shall be delivered to the licensee. A
copy shall be delivered to the officer to whom the application for
license was made. A copy shall be retained by the superintendent for
at least four (4) years. This license shall be valid for a period of four
(4) years from the date of issue. The license of police officers,
sheriffs or their deputies, and law enforcement officers of the United
States government who have been honorably retired by a lawfully
created pension board or its equivalent after twenty (20) or more
years of service, shall be valid for the life of such individuals.
However, such lifetime licenses are automatically revoked if the
license holder does not remain a proper person.
(f) At the time a license is issued and delivered to a licensee under
subsection (e), the superintendent shall include with the license
information concerning handgun safety rules that:
(1) neither opposes nor supports an individual's right to bear
arms; and
(2) is:
(A) recommended by a nonprofit educational organization
that is dedicated to providing education on safe handling and
use of firearms;
(B) prepared by the state police department; and
(C) approved by the superintendent.
The superintendent may not deny a license under this section because
the information required under this subsection is unavailable at the
time the superintendent would otherwise issue a license. The state
police department may accept private donations or grants to defray
the cost of printing and mailing the information required under this
subsection.
(g) A license to carry a handgun shall not be issued to any person
who:
(1) has been convicted of a felony;
(2) has had a license to carry a handgun suspended, unless the
person's license has been reinstated;
(3) is under eighteen (18) years of age;
(4) is under twenty-three (23) years of age if the person has
been adjudicated a delinquent child for an act that would be a
felony if committed by an adult; or
(5) has been arrested for a Class A or Class B felony, or any
other felony that was committed while armed with a deadly
weapon or that involved the use of violence, if a court has found
probable cause to believe that the person committed the offense
charged.
In the case of an arrest under subdivision (5), a license to carry a
handgun may be issued to a person who has been acquitted of the
specific offense charged or if the charges for the specific offense are
dismissed. The superintendent shall prescribe all forms to be used in
connection with the administration of this chapter.
(h) If the law enforcement agency that charges a fee under
subsection (b) is a city or town law enforcement agency, the fee shall
be deposited in the law enforcement continuing education fund
established under IC 5-2-8-2.
(i) If a person who holds a valid license to carry a handgun issued
under this chapter:
(1) changes the person's name; or
(2) changes the person's address;
the person shall, not later than sixty (60) days after the date of the
change, notify the superintendent, in writing, of the person's new
name or new address.
(j) The state police shall indicate on the form for a license to carry
a handgun the notification requirements of subsection (i).
As added by P.L.311-1983, SEC.32. Amended by P.L.26-1990,
SEC.15; P.L.48-1993, SEC.5; P.L.140-1994, SEC.6; P.L.269-1995,
SEC.6; P.L.2-1996, SEC.284; P.L.27-2001, SEC.1; P.L.120-2001,
SEC.1; P.L.49-2005, SEC.2; P.L.187-2005, SEC.3.
Last modified: May 24, 2006