Guilford County Sees Rise In Gun Permit Applications, Processing Delays

The Guilford County Sheriff's office is seeing a major uptick in gun permit applications, as well as longer wait times for processing.

The Sheriff's office says that between April 1 and July 27, there were about 8,500 applications for pistol permits, compared to nearly 2,500 during the same period last year. That's an almost 250 percent increase.

Concealed carry permit applications are up over 50 percent.

The News & Record reports this is due to a combination of high demand and a slowdown caused by COVID-19 safety measures.

These conditions have led to an average processing time of 90 days.

Department officials say a factor in the concealed carry permit delays was a nearly two-month suspension of fingerprinting, which is part of the application process.

The office says it has put in place procedures to address the wait times, including approving overtime, restructuring personnel duties, emphasizing online and mail renewals, and increasing appointment times for fingerprinting.

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