CCW Santa Clara County CCW Thread

[tbombaci]

Picked up my new permit today. Still the same room in the back hall but a new setup. The printer seems higher res and the camera they use is a higher end Logitec. I was in and out in probably 5 minutes. Had to give up my old permit so they could shred it. They seem to have their act together with the exception of literally robbing us with their fees. Hopefully somethign will be done about the outrageous fees but I am not holding my breath. The person claimed they have an entire CCW unit. I am not sure if the person was a sworn officer but she said she were contemplating getting a CCW. I recommended Saber Tactics to her for the classes.

 

[TotoNutz]

Picked up my new permit today. Still the same room in the back hall but a new setup. The printer seems higher res and the camera they use is a higher end Logitec. I was in and out in probably 5 minutes. Had to give up my old permit so they could shred it. They seem to have their act together with the exception of literally robbing us with their fees. Hopefully somethign will be done about the outrageous fees but I am not holding my breath. The person claimed they have an entire CCW unit. I am not sure if the person was a sworn officer but she said she were contemplating getting a CCW. I recommended Saber Tactics to her for the classes.

Thanks for the update, I’m also in the renewal process, submitted mine Wednesday, got a call Friday to schedule pickup, and set it for a week before expiration so I don’t lose any time. And yes, these renewal fees are absolute highway robbery...

 

[captain america]

Thanks for the update, I’m also in the renewal process, submitted mine Wednesday, got a call Friday to schedule pickup, and set it for a week before expiration so I don’t lose any time. And yes, these renewal fees are absolute highway robbery...

How much did your renewal cost after all said and done? ie class, renewal cost fee etc

 

[TotoNutz]

How much did your renewal cost after all said and done? ie class, renewal cost fee etc

Fees came out to $712.78 ($464.38 renewal, $247 Class + $40 range). Add ammo, time off, mileage/gas… it’s pricing people out of their 2A rights.

 

[tbombaci]

Fees came out to $712.78 ($464.38 renewal, $247 Class + $40 range). Add ammo, time off, mileage/gas… it’s pricing people out of their 2A rights.

Exact same total for me too, $712.78. I purchased the classes from Saber Tactics for reference. I cannot recommend them enough.

 

[JamesL]

License pickup was painless, in and out in 15 mins.

You check in with an iPad and wait in the main seating area and get to listen to whoever comes in to complain to the desk Sgt about the bike SJPD "stole" from them.

Get called in, photo, thumb print, license printed, out the door.

Tech did note that some trainers are banning the P320/M18 from their CCW classes, so if that's on your ccw they will change out for you.

 

[Tominnorcal]

Good to know about the 320. I heard that was really a cover story for a negligent discharge. But they did have a drop problem a few years ago.

 

[cyfrShooting]

Anyone taking the initial / renewal class with Saber Tactics this Saturday (8/30)?

 

[NeilDown]

Regarding the confusing on WHEN to apply.
I was under the impression (after contacting the SCSO) that we had to submit BEFORE 3 months of expiration.

Today, I tried to fill out my application (2 weeks early) and got the below error message from permitium.
So it seems you have to wait till you are WITHIN 3 months of expiration to apply.

 

[cyfrShooting]

Hey folks, just got the email to schedule my pickup appointment!

The process seems to have changed a bit - there's no more automated call. I also do not have to pay an issuance fee.



Application submitted: 12/17/24, initial interview date: 12/9/25
(was able to reschedule the interview sooner, I checked every other day)
Initial interview: 4/8/25, was told that the expected wait would be about 30 days
Follow-up email sent to office: 6/10/25, received response same-day saying I should receive an email soon
Psych Testing Email: 6/11/25
Psych Test Pt. 1 (written test): 7/2/25
Psych Test Pt. 2 (interview): 7/14/25
Livescan Go-ahead Email: 7/22/25
Livescan Appointment: 7/24/25, FBI / DOJ cleared 7/24, Firearms cleared 7/26
Training Email: 7/29/25, scheduled for 8/30 with Saber Tactics
Training Class: 8/30/25, Los Altos R&G club
Training Certs Recieved & Uploaded: 9/2/25, proficiency form printed, signed, and scanned
Pickup Scheduling Email: 9/4/25, appt. scheduled for 9/12

 

[Tominnorcal]

That is different. I was about 1 year ahead of you and remember paying a $300 plus “final fee” to finish the process before being called for pickup.
My total costs were a little over $1700 including scan, psych and training but I understand it is higher now. I have a diary of actions and expenses in table format earlier in this thread.
Do you rember your total costs?

 

[cyfrShooting]

Do you rember your total costs?

Sure.

I paid $345 for my initial app - I think I am in the "in-between" of a few different fee structures. Previously, it was some ~$70 for the initial app and some ~$300 on issuance. Right now, it's $488 for the initial app, and $488 due on issuance. I think I lucked out with the timing - I vaguely remember some wording when I applied about how the issuance fee was moved to application time so I had to pay the "full" fee up-front.

Total Cost:

Initial App - 12/17: $345
Psych Test - 7/14: $415
Livescan - 7/24: $113 (at SCCSO West Valley office)
Training - 8/30: $400 (Saber Tactics)
Pickup Appt - 9/12: $0

So I'm at about $1,273 total in terms of fees (if I include the money spent on optics / ammo / holsters / range fees for practice, I'm sure it'd nearly double).

It's interesting - I was expecting to pay a fee, but I just got an email saying "Final Payment Recieved". My "Total Charge" on Permitium still just shows $345 as well.

 

[Tominnorcal]

Thanks - That really is different than one year ago - I also notice that Psych is also lower. I paid $500. I remember reading about 6 months ago that the Sheriff asked the board of supervisors for a fee increase which was granted. In their defense it probably is pretty expensive to maintain a permit unit with so many mandated functions and checks. The real problem lies with the pols who cooked all this up.

 

[NorCalBusa]

Oddly, just under the price of an iMac or MacBook Air?

 

[cyfrShooting]

is pretty expensive to maintain a permit unit with so many mandated functions and checks. The real problem lies with the pols who cooked all this up.

Yup, and although it's not the fault of the current officers / admin, the fact that a county of 2 million people only had ~100 permits issued for the last two decades surely didn't help with the surge of demand that opened in 2022, and is probably holding pretty steady still.

From what I can tell from the Permitium pickup scheduling slots, they only do pickups Tue / Fri, with 5 times per day; so a max of 10 per week being issued, which just isn't very many; I have no doubt they are probably hiring more folks to try and pick up the probably still-present high demand.

 

[cyfrShooting]

Hey folks, just picked up my permit.

Timeline:

Application submitted: 12/17/24, initial interview date: 12/9/25 - $345

(was able to reschedule the interview sooner, I checked every other day)

Initial interview: 4/8/25, was told that the expected wait would be about 30 days

Follow-up email sent to office: 6/10/25: received response same-day saying I should receive an email soon

Psych Testing Email: 6/11/25 - $415

Psych Test Pt. 1 (written test): 7/2/25

Psych Test Pt. 2 (interview): 7/14/25

References Contacted: 7/18/25 - 8/8/25 - Two of my references talked w/ the department that week, the third didn't pick up at all, and I had to provide a new reference. The new reference was able to get through to the department and talk on 8/8/25.

Livescan Go-ahead Email: 7/22/25

Livescan Appointment: 7/24/25 - $113 - FBI / DOJ cleared 7/24, Firearms cleared 7/26

Training Email: 7/29/25, scheduled for 8/30 with Saber Tactics - $399

Training Class: 8/30/25, 8 AM - 12 PM, Los Altos R&G club

Training Certs Received & Uploaded: 9/2/25, proficiency form printed, signed, and scanned

Pickup Scheduling Email: 9/4/25, appt. scheduled for 9/12

Pickup: 9/12/25, received permit in hand

Total Cost: $1,272

Time from Initial App: 269 days (8 mo, 29 days)

Time from Interview: 157 days (5 mo, 7 days)

Takeaways

• The process seems to have sped up a lot now compared to a year or two ago - most of the initial glut of applications seem to have been processed
• The biggest bottleneck is the initial interview - almost 41% of the "wait" for the permit was just the first three-ish months that I was waiting for my initial interview
• The department is pretty responsive to emails and phone calls; if things go past the expected time line (e.g. my psych eval was a month late), contact them and they will be pretty helpful.
• • The psych eval delay seems to be more on the side of LEPS than the various IAs - they have very limited slots for both the initial test & the live interview
• All the interactions I had with the department were very pleasant and professional
• • The officer I interacted with during both the interview and pickup was quite happy about the whole thing, and congratulated me on legally exercising my right
• After the psych eval, everything else went pretty quick
• • I waited 7 days after the psych eval to get the Livescan email
  • I got the training email 7 days after the Livescan email
  • I was "approved" 2 days after submitting my training cert
  • I picked up 8 days after approval
• I strongly recommend Saber Tactics for training
• • Being able to do 12 of the 16 hours online is super convenient
  • The instruction about drawing from concealment at the range was great
  • The whole qualification process is super well organized
  • The instructors are great guys and were more than willing to stay and answer questions
• Santa Clara Qual is harder than San Mateo, but still really easy

 

[Tominnorcal]

My psych was $500 but quick to schedule. I wonder if it is the same psych company with a new price or a different one with a discount. I scheduled mine quickly.

Amen on Saber. I felt exactly the same way!

 

[cyfrShooting]

My psych was $500 but quick to schedule. I wonder if it is the same psych company with a new price or a different one with a discount. I scheduled mine quickly.

I did it via LEPS. I don't recall any other vendors used for SCCSO, but it's possible they started to pepper in other ones at some point.

 

[ImpulseGundam]

To those who did renewals: do I have to submit my application 90 days before expiration? Or is it within 90 days of expiration?

 

[TotoNutz]

90 days before it expires