Longer waits in county for concealed pistol licenses

EVERETT — If you’re planning to apply for a concealed pistol license at the Snohomish County courthouse, you might want to bring along a book to read.

Last fall, the average wait and processing time for “CPL” applicants at the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office was 15 minutes, said Brenda Gibbs, staff services manager.

Last week, the wait was up to an hour.

The number of applicants has mushroomed since mid-December, starting the first business day after the Sandy Hook school shooting in Connecticut, according to data kept by the sheriff’s office.

Nationally, people have speculated that the push for gun control legislation is behind the increase in applications. Snohomish County Sheriff John Lovick last week issued a statement saying the sheriff’s office plans to stay clear of controversy over proposed gun law changes.

Statewide, 394,286 people held active concealed pistol licenses as of Jan. 7, according to the Department of Licensing.

In most cases, sheriff’s staff have to process applications within 30 days, Gibbs said.

Staff are struggling to keep up with the new demand, she said. They’re having to turn away three or four people at the end of each day.

“We’re just doing the best we can,” she said.

On a recent weekday, people crowded the small fourth-floor lobby at the sheriff’s office headquarters, a few tapping their toes. The CPL applicants and those seeking CPL renewals waited alongside all the other folks who come to the sheriff’s office for one reason or another — including people required to show up to register as sex offenders.

Sheriff’s staff in recent weeks have created “stations” within the processing area to streamline the flow of applicants for CPLs, Gibbs said. Still, the line tends to bottleneck at the fingerprinting machine. Fingerprinting takes about five minutes per person.

The average application takes 15 minutes to process, Gibbs said.

“That’s four an hour,” she said. “That’s about as fast as we can go.”

Applicants are men and women, young and old, sheriff’s spokeswoman Shari Ireton said. Couples come in together. Parents bring in their grown children. Applicants must be 21 at the time they apply.

When someone applies, the sheriff’s office does an extensive, multi-step background check and a mental health check, Gibbs said. The FBI also is contacted.

Much of the process is protected by privacy laws. The names and addresses of people who seek or obtain CPLs are exempt from public disclosure under the state’s open records law.

Gun sales are up in the county, too, police data show. The laws are complicated, but licensed gun sellers here are required to send documentation to a police agency for every handgun sale.

In Snohomish County, the sheriff’s office receives most of those forms, though some go to city police departments.

The sheriff’s office counted 5,171 handgun sales in 2011. There were 12,523 reported sales in 2012.

Part of the uptick likely is due to the spring 2012 opening of Cabela’s sporting goods store on the Tulalip Reservation, Ireton said.

Other kinds of firearm sales are tracked at the federal level.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com

More information

Concealed pistol license services vary by community and police agency in Snohomish County. Most people who live in the county apply at the sheriff’s office headquarters on the fourth floor of the county courthouse, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett. You can also find information about CPL laws at www.dol.wa.gov/business/firearms.

In most cases, you can print out the forms at home and fill them out there to lessen your wait time. For fingerprinting, it’s best not to use lotion or other ointments on your hands that day.

CONCEALED PISTOL LICENSE APPLICATIONS
2011 2012
January 510 549
February 513 747
March 605 781
April 567 753
May 486 681
June 437 691
July 464 623
August 475 681
September 501 602
October 544 688
November 505 737
December 674 1,274
Total 6,281 8,807
Source: Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office
Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order halting work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett will welcome new CEO in June

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.