I firmly believe that the more law-abiding citizens we have on the street armed and ready to defend themselves and their families, the safer we all are from violent criminals. Therefore, this essay is based on my experience in obtaining my Texas Concealed Handgun License to help others exercise their rights.
The following instructions will eventually emerge. Texas laws change with every legislative session, so you can contact the Handgun Licensing Bureau first to make sure you have the latest information. :
ORDINARY LICENSE SERVICE MSC 0245
Texas
PO BOX 4087
AUSTIN TX 78773-0245
Phone: (512) 424-7293 or (512) 424-7294
Helpline: (800) 224-5744
Now the following colleges and information and have them available;
Social Security Number
* Your Texas driver’s license or Texas Identification card
credit card
*(Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or American) This is going to cost you $140.00 up front, around $125.00 later with the class you take yours, and you call about $50.00 in security and handling fees a day (mostly as part of your order). The total cost of the Texas CHL is approximately $315.00
Go to http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/administration/crime_records/chl/chlsindex.htm
Click on the link: Apply for a New Concealed Handgun License or Instructor License
Click on the Continue button
Click on “Apply for License” – make links to CHL applications, NOT instructor application links.
Fill out the resulting form and click continue.
Follow the rest of the instructions and pay with your credit card.
Within the next 11 days, you should receive the requesting file from Texas DPS. You will find a file of forms inside your file. I recommend that you do not fill out the forms yet. Look at the numbered forms and if you have screws you will have them through the occupations of a whole new set. They can be very confusing, especially when arriving with a passport photo holder and the requirement to sign the back of one of them. Just hang on to your file and go to the next step, signing up for class. Your CHL instructor will help you complete the forms correctly.
Research Texas CHL instructors and classes in your area. Many of the instructors provide everything you need. You will find one that includes notary services, fingerprinting services, and passport photo services as part of their order. If you want to get fingerprints done ahead of time or your instructor does not offer fingerprinting services, you can find a job near you by going to the Fingerprinting for Integrated Biometric Technology office locator.
Instructors who provide the whole package usually between $100 and $125 for their class, sometimes also include this in your price for the day, and it is a price that includes all these services because you have a complete set at the end of the class. the collection of emails ready for DPS without delay, money, effort running backs waiting, fingers and reporter services.
Take the class. Instructors will usually tell you to bring an unloaded handgun with at least 100 rounds of ammunition for absolutely free shooting (if you can’t pass the Texas Handgun License shooting test, you have no business being a gun…it’s too easy. or a causal shooter, in my opinion). Make darn sure your instructor gives you a full ten hour class. In the past, some Texas Handgun license instructors have faced criminal charges for falsifying their class time records and former students. at risk of losing the CHLs obtained.
Once you have completed your class and the package is designed, send it to DPS.
Wait, wait, wait. Sometime soon you will receive a letter from DPS with a PIN number to check the status of the online application. It will typically take 30 to 60 days for your application to process and your new CHL ID to be mailed to you.
Once you’ve got your license, do the world a favor and practice at the range whenever you can, and make sure you stay up-to-date on firearms and self-defense laws. Hopefully you’ll never have to defend yourself or others with your gun, but if you ever do, you’ll want to have the skills and experience to put it to good use, and avoid injury or killing of innocent bystanders.
