Some Handgun license application questions

[dburkhead]

After reading the instructions on applying for a Handgun license (I'm specifically interested in the lifetime personal protection license) I still have a few questions I'd like to get straight before I possibly waste some missed work to deal with the issue.

First: There are two separate fees--the local fee and the state fee. The local fee can be paid in cash or money order and the state fee in money order or certified check. Question: If I wish to use a money order for the local fee, who is is made out to?

Second: Does the person applying have to be there in person? Specifically, can I bring completed applications (and fees) for both myself and my wife so that only one of us has to take time off from work?

Third: My wife is not a US citizen, but is a legal permanent resident (AKA "green card holder"). That's not a problem for getting a handgun license, right? (I don't believe it is, but thought I'd check.)

Fourth: There are two types of licenses, hunting/target and personal protection. I presume the hunting/target is the license to carry a handgun for those activities and one would still need the applicable hunting licenses. My question is: does the personal protection license also permit hunting? Again, I presume one still needs the applicable hunting licenses for the game being pursued (and it must be a form of game that is legal to hunt with handguns).

 

[Scutter01]

Second: Does the person applying have to be there in person? Specifically, can I bring completed applications (and fees) for both myself and my wife so that only one of us has to take time off from work?

You both have to be present because you need to be fingerprinted.

 

[dburkhead]

You both have to be present because you need to be fingerprinted.

Ah. That wasn't mentioned in the instructions I found online.

 

[Scutter01]

Ah. That wasn't mentioned in the instructions I found online.

Your local PD will fingerprint you and do a local background check to make sure you're a "proper person" (no outstanding warrants, etc.). It generally takes just a couple of business days. Then they will return your application and your fingerprint card to send to the ISP. Some local PD's will send it in for you. Mine provided the envelope, but I had to mail it.

Don't bother with the target/hunting license. It's a restricted license, whereas the personal protection one is an unrestricted license. With the personal protection license, you can carry a handgun wherever it is legal to do so (including while hunting, depending on location*). You will still need an actual DNR hunting permit to hunt.

 

[dburkhead]

I wasn't planning on getting the target/hunting license. Just wanted to make sure that the Personal Protection also included that functionality. I don't have any particular plans for handgun hunting, but should my interests change....

 

[CarmelHP]

Concerning legal resident aliens, see this thread:

https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...3779-permit_for_resident_alien.html#post46503

If the agency taking your application will take a money order (some will not, cash only, always call and check) just ask them who to make it out to. Usually for Sheriffs, it's just Sheriff of XXX county. No answer will cover every possible agency, always call and ask.

The personal protection license is an unlimited license so it subsumes the other licenses. You don't need both a hunting AND personal protection license to carry while hunting, either will do. You do, of course, need the prescribed hunting licenses to be able to hunt.

 

[Scutter01]

I wasn't planning on getting the target/hunting license. Just wanted to make sure that the Personal Protection also included that functionality. I don't have any particular plans for handgun hunting, but should my interests change....

Yeah, you understand it correctly. Personally, I prefer to call them "restricted" and "unrestricted" licenses. The background checks and legal requirements for obtaining are the same, but one is slightly cheaper. Hardly makes it worth bothering with two different classifications.

 

[melensdad]

As for who you make the money order out to, that is something you will have to find out. In my case I had to make it out to the sheriff's department because I don't live in any city/town. If you live in a city/town then you'd want to call your local P.D. and ask exactly what you need to bring, when, and where. In the city I used to live in they only did license applications on specific days, and very limited hours. Out in the county where I moved they have an office in the sheriff's complex that is dedicated to license applications.

I simply called ahead of time and asked what I needed, they told me and I showed up with it exactly as they wished. There were others in and out of the office trying to scrape together what they needed, calling people, etc. I was served very quickly and professionally with virtually no wait because I had everything they asked for. I'd suggest you call ahead, they will tell you what you need.