F.A.Q

At Nationwide CCW, we emphasis on CCW after all our instructors are Certified CCW instructors by NRA, California DOJ, P.O.S.T (police instructor), BSIS, and have a vast experience and training in various fields and firearms, We go over what you need to know about the laws, firearms safety, carry options, and other protocols. Training can vary extensively by various companies and individual instructors. But, please keep in mind that getting training by "Rambo" doesn't make a you a "Rambo" or mean that you able to take on all the bad guys. PLEASE REMEMBER, Police officers get training six months to twelve months before they are sworn in, than get an additional six months to a year in the "field" training AND receive continued training throughout the coming months and years and still doesn't make them perfect. At Nationwide CCW we treat you and teach you as we would to any of our family members or friends. Please be a safe and responsible CCW holder and practice regularly.

You need to apply in the city that you reside. For example, if you live in city of Los Angles where your responding agency is LAPD, you would apply with LAPD. If you live in the city of Pasadena, you would need to apply with the Pasadena Police Department. Most agencies by now have their own dedicated CCW unit. The simplest way would be to google your police agency followed by the following words (CCW). For example if your police agency is LAPD, you would google "LAPD CCW" and would get a link to their CCW page where you can click on it and read and follow the instructions to apply. If you have any further questions, you may contact their (your police agencies) CCW unit either via telephone or email.

Yes, you would need to own at least one qualified firearm. This means (currently) a firearm that is either on the California Roster or you purchased it prior to the roster creation or from a private party (which is in your name now)

Unlike many other states, there is NO one agency that handles the CCW's for California. In California, each Sheriffs or Police department issues their own CCW and has their own policies. Therefor, their processing times can vary. For best answer, contact your local police agency and find out what their processing time lookin like at this time. But, right now with most agencies various from 12 months to over 2 years.

Since the Supreme Courts Bruen decision in 2022. All states are shall issue, however, some states such as California, have a GOOD MORAL CHARACTER in place, which as long as you dont have a serious criminal records, you may be qualified to apply and receive a CCW.

No, your California CCW is good for the whole state, However, there are some restrictions on where you are NOT allowed to carry a concealed firearm which will go over it in the class.

As far as we know all police agencies have a policy on drug use and one of them is marijuana use, which is one of the questions on just about all applications we have come across. And it doesnt matter prescribed or recreational use. Since marijuana is still federally illegal and with a CCW you can carry anywhere in the state including some other states (reciprocity), therefor it can be rejected. However, We strongly recommend checking with the police agency you wish to apply at to see their policies.

You can find the answer from your local police agency or their website. We have seen some agencies like Glendale and Gardena, asking for physiological exam also (as stated on their website at a time when this article was written).

There is no one answer as each agency set their own price. We have seen some as low as just over $100 to some over $400. + physiological fee + Fingerprint (live scan).

Yes, some states (currently) such as Nevada, Arizona, Florida, Texas, Utah. offer none resident CCW. However, some of them require that you take the class and apply in their state. We currently offer Multi-State CCW. For Arizona and or Florida. Just let us know prior to taking the California CCW class or if your just interested in one of both of these states, which will allow you to carry in most states.

CCW from other states are cheaper in just about all cases compared to California. You would be LEGAL to carry in their state and other states trough something call "Reciprocity" which means those states honor the CCW from the other states. We recommend applying for Arizona and Florida. Because, even though there is a agreement between these states (Reciprocity), they will ONLY ccw's from those states RESIDENTS ONLY and WILL NOT honor none resident ccw. For example, with Arizona ccw you can carry in many other states but not in Florida with a none resident ccw (including some other states). Unlike California where your ccw permit is good for only 2 years, other states such as Florida and Arizona, the ccw permit is good for five (5) or seven (7) years.

Even though now it is legal to constitutionally carry a ccw in many states, we still recommend applying for a ccw. When applying for a ccw, they will do a background check and vet you that your not a felon and are fully authorized to carry a ccw. And owning a ccw might give you permission to carry in some places that a constitutional carry might not. And lets face it, how do you think a police officer will feel if your stopped and you show him/her your ccw rather than say i have a right to carry? Which you think will make the officer more at ease? And remember, the cost of this ccw is good for 5-7 years.

This all depends on the particular state or police (issuing agency). Although some states do not have laws that you have to show your ccw with if being stopped or at any interactions with the police. Some agencies (like LAPD and LASD) will have you sign a document (prior to your issuance of the ccw) that you MUST notify the police that you are a ccw holder EVEN IF YOUR NOT carrying a firearm and for any interactions with the police. Conclusion, it is best to find out from your local ccw issuing agency.

We strongly recommend and urge all our students to buy some form of self defense liability insurance. Unlike car insurance where it pays for damages, this type of self defense insurance pays for self defense. However, some gear more towards online training and DO NOT cover red flag laws. If you dont know about under the section titles "what is a red flag law". If you ever had to hire or talk to an attorney, you know that they charge you hundreds if not thousands just to answer your questions. Be safe, be responsible, and protect yourself and your family. After our research, we found that US law shied offers some of the best protection at lowest possible rates. Our recommendation is www.uslawshied.com

What is California’s red flag law? A “red flag law” is a type of gun confiscation law. It allows certain people to seek a Gun Violence Restraining Order (GVRO) to remove firearms from: a person who has been deemed a threat to themselves; or a person who has been deemed a threat to someone else. What does a gun violence restraining order do? A GVRO temporarily removes firearms and ammunition from the possession of someone who (1) is a threat to themselves, or (2) is a threat to someone else. Who can get a gun violence restraining order? Family members (spouse, domestic partner, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, uncles, aunts, and half-siblings) of the person named in the petition; Current or recent household members of the person named in the petition; employers, co-workers, and teachers. Note that in regard to coworkers, they can file a petition if: they had substantial and regular interactions with the other person for at least one year, and they have obtained the approval of the employer to file the petition In regard to teachers, they can file a petition if: they are a teacher of a secondary(including lower, middle, or high school) or postsecondary school, they get the approval of a school administrator or a school administration staff member, and that person has a supervisorial role. Employers and school administrators should consider having policies in place that address gun violence restraining orders and the process for seeking them. How does someone obtain a gun violence restraining order? Forms for a GVRO from the California court system are available here. Submit the form to the court You can also contact your local district attorney’s office to ask if they will assist you in filling out the forms. If you or the person you want restrained is a resident of San Francisco, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office will assist you in filling out these forms if you need assistance. What happens after the form is filed? A judge decides whether or not to grant or deny the request at a hearing. How does the judge decide whether to grant the GVRO? The judge will look at evidence presented by the person asking for the GVRO, including whether the respondent has: Made threats or acts of violence against self or others within the past six months; Exhibited any pattern of violent acts or threats within the previous 12 months; Violated domestic violence protective orders; or Been previously convicted for any crime prohibiting the purchase and possession of firearms The judge may also look any other evidence to see if there’s an increased risk for violence, such as: The person’s history of violence or physical force against others Unlawful and reckless use of firearms Recent acquisition of weapons Ongoing abuse of drugs or alcohol If there is clear and convincing evidence that the gun violence restraining order is necessary based on the evidence presented, the judge will issue the order. If a judge grants a restraining order, he/she can prohibit a person from the following: having a gun in his custody or control, owning a gun, purchasing a gun, possessing a gun, or receiving a firearm or ammunition. The judge can order the removal to last between one and five years. Who takes the firearms away? If the court issues the order, law enforcement may serve the order. There is no fee for law enforcement to serve the order. When officers do serve the order, they are required to ask the person to relinquish any firearms they own or possess. The person is required to immediately relinquish his or her weapons to the officer. Alternatively, if a law enforcement officer does not serve the order, (if for example, it is served in court), the respondent is required to sell or temporarily transfer his or her weapons to a licensed firearms dealer or the local law enforcement agency within 24 hours of being served with the order. Can the person get their firearms back? The person whose gun has been confiscated can ask the court to remove the order. The person can do this once a year. A judge will remove the order if he/she believes there is no longer any convincing evidence that the person is a threat. But after a court hearing, the court can extend the protective order if the person continues to pose a significant danger. Gun Violence Restraining Orders – Cal Pen Code §§ 18170-18197 Source: San Francisco District Attorneys Website

Our Los Angeles area instructors has been in the security business and field for over thirty (30) years. Is NRA certified instructor and Police Academy Graduate with continued education from various police agencies.

NO, Absolutely not. your certificate from Nationwide CCW ONLY means that you achieved the requirements by law for the state listed on your certificate. Please be aware that if you carry a concealed weapon without a license to do by a law enforcement agency or the issuing governmental agency, it is illegal.

It depends on your respected employer (company), you need to check your employers (companies) policies regarding carrying a concealed firearm on duty (while on the clock or place of employment). For California, BSIS policies is that even if you have a CCW permit, you are still required to have a BSIS exposed firearm permit. For more information, you can check BSIS website.

Below are of CA and Federal Laws regarding the caring and issuance of a CCW. This information should NOT be considered as legal advise nor does it entitle all the laws. It is YOUR responsibility to know and follow the laws of your state and other states where you want to carry a concealed firearm. Please be a responsible firearm owner and CCW holder. While exercising the privileges granted to the licensee under the terms of CCW Permit, the licensee shall not, when carrying a concealed weapon: • Consume any alcoholic beverage. • Be in a place having a primary purpose of dispensing alcoholic beverages for on-site consumption. • Be under the influence of any medication or drug, whether prescribed or not. • Refuse to show the license or surrender the concealed weapon to any peace officer upon demand. • Impede any peace officer in the performance of his/her duties. • Present himself/herself as a peace officer to any person unless he/she is, in fact, a peace officer as defined by California law. • Unjustifiably display a concealed weapon. • Carry a concealed weapon not listed on the permit. • Carry a concealed weapon at times or circumstances other than those specified in the permit. Title 49, section 46505 of the United States Code states that a license to carry a concealed weapon does not authorize a person to carry a firearm, tear gas, or any dangerous weapon aboard commercial airlines. Further, a person must declare that he/she is carrying such firearm, tear gas, or any dangerous weapon BEFORE entering the boarding area of an air terminal where the security checks are made. Such violation can result in arrest by law enforcement. Any violation of these restrictions or conditions may invalidate the CCW license and may void any further use of the license until reinstated by the licensing authority. Any arrest for a felony or serious misdemeanor, including driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, is cause for invalidating the license. Applicable California Penal Code Sections The following Penal Code sections are of special importance to the holder of a CCW license regarding the use, carrying, and storage of firearms: Penal Code section 26180 - False Statement on Application Form (a) Any person who files an application required by Section 26175 knowing that statements contained therein are false is guilty of a misdemeanor. (b) Any person who knowingly makes a false statement on the application regarding any of the following is guilty of a felony. (1) The denial or revocation of a license, or the denial of an amendment to a license, issued pursuant to this article. (2) A criminal conviction. (3) A finding of not guilty by reason of insanity. (4) The use of a controlled substance. (5) A dishonorable discharge from military service. (6) A commitment to a mental institution. (7) A renunciation of United States citizenship. Penal Code section 192 - Manslaughter Manslaughter is the unlawful killing of a human being without malice. (a) Voluntary - upon a sudden quarrel or heat of passion. (b) Involuntary - in the commission of an unlawful act, not amounting to a felony; or in the commission of a lawful act which might produce death, in an unlawful manner, or without due caution and circumspection. This subdivision shall not apply to acts committed in the driving of a vehicle. Penal Code section 197 - Justifiable Homicide; Any Person Homicide is also justifiable when committed by any person in any of the following cases: 1. When resisting any attempt to murder any person, or to commit a felony, or to do some great bodily injury upon any person; or, 2. When committed in defense of habitation, property, or person, against one who manifestly intends or endeavors, by violence or surprise, to commit a felony, or against one who manifestly intends and endeavors, in a violent, riotous or tumultuous manner, to enter the habitation of another for the purpose of offering violence to any person therein; or 3. When committed in the lawful defense of such person, or of a wife or husband, parent, child, master, mistress or servant of such person, when there is reasonable ground to apprehend a design to commit a felony or to do some great bodily injury, and imminent danger of such design being accomplished; but such person, or the person in whose behalf the defense was made, if he was the assailant or engaged in mutual combat, must really and in good faith have endeavored to decline any further struggle before the homicide was committed; or 4. When necessarily committed in attempting, by lawful ways and means, to apprehend any person for any felony committed, or in lawfully suppressing any riot, or in lawfully keeping and preserving the peace. Penal Code section 198 - Justifiable Homicide; Sufficiency of Fear A bare fear of the commission of any of the offenses mentioned in subdivisions 2 and 3 of Section 197, to prevent which homicide may be lawfully committed, is not sufficient to justify it. But the circumstances must be sufficient to excite the fears of a reasonable person, and the party killing must have acted under the influence of such fears alone. Penal Code section 199 - Justifiable and Excusable Homicide; Discharge of Defendant The homicide appearing to be justifiable or excusable, the person indicted must, upon his trial, be fully acquitted and discharged. Penal Code section 25100 - Criminal Storage of Firearm (a) Except as provided in Section 25105, a person commits the crime of "criminal storage of a firearm of the first degree" if all of the following conditions are satisfied. (1) The person keeps any loaded firearm within any premises that are under the person's custody or control. (2) The person knows or reasonably should know that a child is likely to gain access to the firearm without the permission of the child's parent or legal guardian. (3) The child obtains access to the firearm and thereby causes death or great bodily injury to the child or any other person. (b) Except as provided in Section 25105, a person commits the crime of "criminal storage of a firearm of the second degree" if all of the following conditions are satisfied: (1) The person keeps any loaded firearm within any premises that are under the person's custody or control. (2) The person knows or reasonably should know that a child is likely to gain access to the firearm without the permission of the child's parent or legal guardian. (3) The child obtains access to the firearm and thereby causes injury, other than great bodily injury, to the child or any other person, or carries the firearm either to a public place or in violation of Section 417. Penal Code section 25105 - Exceptions Section 25100 does not apply whenever any of the following occurs: (a) The child obtains the firearm as a result of an illegal entry to any premises by any person. (b) The firearm is kept in a locked container or in a location that a reasonable person would believe to be secure. (c) The firearm is carried on the person or within close enough proximity thereto that the individual can readily retrieve and use the firearm as if carried on the person. (d) The firearm is locked with a locking device, as defined in Section 16860, which has rendered the firearm inoperable. (e) The person is a peace officer or a member of the Armed Forces or the National Guard and the child obtains the firearm during, or incidental to, the performance of the person's duties. (f) The child obtains, or obtains and discharges, the firearm in a lawful act of self-defense for defense of another person. (g) The person who keeps a loaded firearm on any premise that is under the person's custody or control has no reasonable expectation, based on objective facts and circumstances, that a child is likely to be present on the premise. Penal Code section 25200 - Storage of Firearm where Child Obtains Access and Carries Firearm Off-Premises (a) If all of the following conditions are satisfied, a person shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine: (1) The person keeps a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, loaded or unloaded, within any premises that are under the person's custody or control. (2) The person knows or reasonably should know that a child is likely to gain access to that firearm without the permission of the child's parent or legal guardian. (3) The child obtains access to that firearm and thereafter carries that firearm off-premises. (b) If all of the following conditions are satisfied, a person shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, by a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine: (1) The person keeps any firearm within any premises that are under the person's custody or control. (2) The person knows or reasonably should know that a child is likely gain access to the firearm without the permission of the child's parent or legal guardian. (3) The child obtains access to the firearm and thereafter carries that firearm off-premises to any public or private preschool, elementary school, middle school, high school, or to any school-sponsored event, activity, or performance, whether occurring on school grounds or elsewhere. (c) A pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person that a child gains access to and carries off-premises in violation of this section shall be deemed "used in the commission of any misdemeanor as provided in this code or any felony" for the purpose of Section 29300 regarding the authority to confiscate firearms and other deadly weapons as a nuisance. (d) As used in this section, "off-premises" means premises other than the premises where the firearm was stored. Penal Code section 25205 – Exceptions Section 25200 does not apply if any of the following are true: (a) The child obtains the firearm as a result of an illegal entry into any premises by any person. (b) The firearm is kept in a locked container or in a location that a reasonable person would believe to be secure. (c) The firearm is locked with a locking device, as defined in Section 16860, which has rendered the firearm inoperable. (d) The firearm is carried on the person within close enough range that the individual can readily retrieve and use the firearm as if carried on the person. (e) The person is a peace officer or a member of the Armed Forces or National Guard and the child obtains the firearm during, or incidental to, the performance of the person's duties. (f) The child obtains, or obtains and discharges, the firearm in a lawful act of self-defense or defense of another person. (g) The person who keeps a firearm has no reasonable expectation, based on objective facts and circumstances, that a child is likely to be present on the premises. Please know… That you accept and assume all responsibility and liability for, injury to, or death of any person, or damage to any property when accepting your CA CCW permit per DOJ application.

Since Supreme courts Bruen decision in 2022, all states are equal now in issuing a CCW permit. However, the is something called "reciprocity", which means which other states honor your home state (or none resident state) CCW. Which this can vary state by state. For more information, read our Q&A on why to have a Multi-State CCW.

Since the majority of the courses are offered by private instructors and a few by the issuing police agencies, the cost of the course varies tremendously. Some are as cheapest (as our courses) that start from under $200 (no hidden fees, one flat fee) to as much as nearly $1000. Do your own research and find out the cost and availability of the their courses. But, just remember that many are on weekdays which means you need to take 1-2 days off from work can can cost you several hundred dollars more.

Since Supreme Courts Bruen decision in 2022, all the states are equal in issuing a CCW permit. However, some states, such as Florida, Arizona, Utah non-resident CCW permit are easier to get because you dont have to be present or get the training in that particular state and having these additional CCW non-resident permits, will allow you to carry in more states with the reciprocity. However, the reciprocity varies by state and some reciprocity are for that particular states "residents" only. Please be sure to do you do diligence and check the visiting states DOJ reciprocity to see if you permit is honored in that state.

As of 2022 Supreme Courts Bruen decision, you do not need a reason (or the reason should be personal protection). Some states such as California (most counties) , prior to this decision, you had to provide a "good cause". However, after the "Bruen" decision, all states MUST get rid of this and become shall issue as long as you meet some common criteria such as not be a felon, not be mentally institutionalized (most for a certain period), not be a drug user, etc...