PIKESVILLE, Md. — Maryland State Police on Friday issued new guidance for residents on how to apply for a Wear and Carry Permit.
The move comes following a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court and an order from Governor Larry Hogan that suspended the state's "good and substantial reason," standard when applying to wear, carry or transport a regulated firearm.
Since that order came down, Maryland State Police say they've received an unprecedented number of applications.
However there has still been some confusion as to what information applicant still need to fill out and provide on their online applications.
First, police want to clarify that just submitting an application does not authorize you to wear, carry, or transport a handgun. Applicants must first be approved and issued a permit. Second, Maryland law does not recognize handgun carry permits issued by any other state.
Third, despite the "good and substantial reason" being eliminated from the application process, citizens must still meet training and fingerprinting requirements to receive a permit to carry.
When applying online, through the Maryland State Police Licensing Division Portal residents need to upload a digital passport-sized photograph, certificate of training or documentation of exemption, and a “Live Scan” fingerprint receipt. All can be uploaded in PDF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, DOC, and DOCX formats.
A common error made during the process is uploading expired fingerprints, which need to be taken within one year of submitting an application.
Another error that often comes up is when applicants have not completed therequired training in order to obtain a Wear and Carry Permit.
The state requires 16 hours of instruction for an original application and 8 hours of instruction for a renewal application. They must be completed within two-years of submitting an application.
Other requirements include a valid email account, and the ability to create an online account in the portal.
Also, the application fee has to be paid electronically via the portal at the time of application submission.
If your application is missing any of the required information or documentation, your application will be returned to you, via the Licensing Portal, for correction.
Paper Wear and Carry Permit applications will not be accepted.
Police have a mandated window of 90 days to act on a wear and carry permit. With the influx of applications, the processing time could take longer than the usual average of 60-days.
