Montgomery LTCF

[offshorebear]

I'm 21 and looking to get my LTCF from my home county (Montgomery). I live in Lower Merion. As I understand it I go to the local police and get a "check card" whatever that is. Then I can take it to the sheriff in Noristown and apply for the LTCF. Is it an instant thing or do I have to wait a while? Has anyone on here gone through this recently and is there anything I should be aware of? Thanks for the help.

[Karys]

I had to go through that when I renewed mine two years ago.

The Montgomery county sheriff requires a background check from the police chief of the township or municipality in which you reside.

I dropped mine off with my police chief on a Monday and he said he'd get to it later in the week and then mail it to the sheriff's office on Friday. I was kind of pissed about that and asked if he could fax it once it was complete. He grumbled about faxing it but he did it.

All that did was basically institute a 7 day waiting period on new carry permits. I was told by the sheriff that a local LEO background check wasn't required if you were renewing a permit that was originally issued in Montgomery county. He said it was only required for new applicants or if you were renewing from another county like I was.

Just take that card to your local police chief. He'll know what to do with it. I'm pretty sure you have to sign something that gives the local LEO permission to do the background check.

[Roscoe]

Originally Posted by offshorebear

I'm 21 and looking to get my LTCF from my home county (Montgomery). I live in Lower Merion. As I understand it I go to the local police and get a "check card" whatever that is. Then I can take it to the sheriff in Noristown and apply for the LTCF. Is it an instant thing or do I have to wait a while? Has anyone on here gone through this recently and is there anything I should be aware of? Thanks for the help.

You go to the Sheriff in Norristown first, get the application and they will give you a form to be filled out and signed buy your local police chief.

Fill it out, pick it up the signed form from your police chief........

Then you take that back to the court house. They will take your picture (get the plastic coated card) $19 bucks I think and you are good to go.

P.S. Don't take any weapons to the court house....

[1blindref]

Has anyone on here gone through this recently and is there anything I should be aware of? Thanks for the help.

They don't take credit cards. I think the total with them taking the picture is $37.00.
Give them a call to check their hours before you go.

[offshorebear]

Thanks for all the help.

So I go to the sheriff, pick up the form, take it to the local police, take it back to sheriff. Sounds simply enough. Do you think I could get that done in 5 business days? I go to school in Pittsburgh and spring break will be my only lenghty time back home.

Do I need refrences? Are there any age requirments for them? Being 21 I have a lot of friends who are still under 21.

[MarcS]

Here's how it goes down in LM (i grew up there).

Go to the police station in Ardmore, ask for an application for a licence to carry firearms, you fill out the local police check form there and hand it back, then you take the application home with you. Fill out the application and in about a week call the sheriffs office to see i they got your local police check results in. If they did, bring your completed application with you to the courthouse in norristown along with $46. In about 30 minutes your have your LTCF. You only need to make that one trip to the courthouse.

They never checked my references, but if you need a reference and went to LMHS, we probably know each other anyway. Shoot me a private message.

[ItGoesBang]

What is the police mindset about concealed carry in Lower Merion and surrounding areas? I've been contemplating getting my permit, but I'm concerned about what kind of treatment I might get from the local LEOs. Do any of you inform the officer that you are legally carrying when you get pulled over? Any issues so far?

The reason I ask is because around here the police seem to be militant about writing citations for any little thing, so it makes me wonder how gun-friendly they are. The motto around here isn't "Serve & Protect," but "Stop & Collect." I've encountered a lot of attitude from younger local officers as well.

[MarcS]

Originally Posted by ItGoesBang

What is the police mindset about concealed carry in Lower Merion and surrounding areas? I've been contemplating getting my permit, but I'm concerned about what kind of treatment I might get from the local LEOs. Do any of you inform the officer that you are legally carrying when you get pulled over? Any issues so far?

The reason I ask is because around here the police seem to be militant about writing citations for any little thing, so it makes me wonder how gun-friendly they are. The motto around here isn't "Serve & Protect," but "Stop & Collect." I've encountered a lot of attitude from younger local officers as well.

There's no reason to inform an officer that you are carrying when stopped. I've had friends held at gunpoint and other friends assaulted by police for doing so. Cops, especially younger guys, are in general way too jumpy and are trained to view everyone as a potential bad guy. Some people have had pleasant experiences informing the police, but it's not worth the risk or even the inconvenience.

I've had no problems with LM cops. In general they're an excellent department. They're paid well and expectations are likewise high.

[ItGoesBang]

Sounds good

[Vortex]

Everyone seems to have had a slightly different experience, so all I can say is this is what happened to me.

Originally Posted by offshorebear

As I understand it I go to the local police and get a "check card" whatever that is.

The Sheriff's Department indicated that I should come IN PERSON to the County Court House in Norristown to get the application. A blank local Police "check card" was part of the application paperwork. I don't know if the "check card" was available locally or not, but I did drop off the card with the local PD on Friday with low expectations. Surprisingly, they (local PD) called over the weekend and I picked it up on Monday. The local PD did not offer to send it directly to the county and I did not ask if they would.

Originally Posted by offshorebear

Then I can take it to the sheriff in Noristown and apply for the LTCF. Is it an instant thing or do I have to wait a while?

They appear to be at the mercy of PICS just like everyone else, so your total wait will be highly influenced by how long they are on hold. If there are people in front of you being processed, multiply the PICS waiting time by the number of people that got there first.

Originally Posted by offshorebear

Has anyone on here gone through this recently and is there anything I should be aware of?

IMHO I would highly suggest that you get the laminated Photo ID option. They take a digital picture while you are there and the finished LTCF is the same dimensions (somewhat different layout) as your PA DL. Very convenient.

Originally Posted by 1blindref

They don't take credit cards. I think the total with them taking the picture is $37.00.

Give them a call to check their hours before you go.

I believe that the photo option is now up to $46.00. Don't go late in the day since they won't start your application if it will keep them working on it past closing time.

Originally Posted by offshorebear

Do you think I could get that done in 5 business days?

. . . . spring break will be my only lengthy time back home.

If your local PD "check card" is processed before you get back home it should only take a single trip to the County Court House. The Sheriff's office says that you have to pick up the application in person, but I don't see how they would know if someone picked it up and mailed it to you. Fill out the "check card" portion and mail it back to your friend and have your friend drop it off at the local PD.

Originally Posted by offshorebear

Do I need references?

I really sweated this out and finally decided on a WWII Navy vet and a NG Air Force retired friend. Although I'm sure they would have given me grief if I left the references blank, the pure deciding factor was the outcome of the PICS call. None of my references where contacted before or after the application process.

Originally Posted by MarcS

. . . . bring your completed application with you to the courthouse in norristown along with $46.

Don't bring cash. I'm not kidding. Bring a check (or Money Order). The first thing they do is send you next door to the finance department, finance takes your check and gives you a receipt, then you take the receipt back to the Sheriff's department. Seriously, if you want to do it in one trip, do not take cash. They are not set up for it.

Originally Posted by ItGoesBang

The motto around here isn't "Serve & Protect," but "Stop & Collect."

Admittedly off-topic, but this is usually referred to as "Cash Register" justice. Basically any situation where the "cash value" of your time and aggravation is more valuable to you than the fine imposed, so it's easier to pay just not to have to deal with it.

Good luck offshorebear with your LTCF application.

The only other words of wisdom that I can think of is, return silence with silence. Maybe I was reading too much into it, but near the beginning the guy processing me said something to the effect "So, you want to do this?," followed by silence and a frown. I said "Yes," followed by my silence and a smile.

I don't know if he was "fishing" or not, but after I remained silent for a while he then smiled and proceeded to process me and was actually quite friendly by the time the whole thing was finished. I don't think it would have went nearly so well if I took his initial frown as an invitation to argue with him over the merits of my application. Maybe it was purely in my imagination, so take it with a grain of salt. YMMV of course.