How to Get a Concealed Pistol License (CPL) in Michigan

How to Get a Concealed Pistol License (CPL) in Michigan

New Applicants

Step 1: Complete Required Training

• Complete a pistol safety training course. MCL 28.425j(1) ties the requirement to when the training was provided: a pistol training or safety program described in MCL 28.425b(7)(c) meets the requirement for knowledge or training in the safe use and handling of a pistol only if the training was provided within the 5 years preceding the date of application. The Michigan State Police state the rule in terms of the document, saying on the CPL online renewal page that training certificates are valid for five years from the date they were issued. If your course date and your certificate issue date fall on opposite sides of that 5-year line, ask your county clerk before you apply.
• The course must consist of not less than 8 hours of instruction (MCL 28.425j(1)), including at least 3 hours of instruction on a firing range with firing of at least 30 rounds of ammunition (MCL 28.425j(1)(b)).
• The training certificate must contain the statement: "This course complies with section 5j of 1927 PA 372," and must state that you successfully completed the course. It must include the printed name and original handwritten signature of the course instructor.
• For certificates issued on or after December 1, 2015, the certificate (or an attached document) must also contain both of the following: the instructor's name and telephone number; and the name and telephone number of the state agency or the state or national firearms training organization that certified the instructor, the instructor's certification number (if any), and the expiration date of that certification (MCL 28.425j(1)(c)).

Step 2: Apply In Person at Your County Clerk's Office

You must apply in person at the county clerk's office in the county where you reside. Bring the following:

• Completed Concealed Pistol License Application (available from the Michigan State Police website or your county clerk's office).
• Valid state-issued driver license or personal identification card (MCL 28.425b(7)(n)). The county clerk cannot require you to submit any additional forms, documents, letters, or other evidence of eligibility except as set forth in MCL 28.425b(1) or as otherwise provided for in the act (MCL 28.425b(2)).
• Original Pistol Safety Training Certificate.
• $100.00 application and licensing fee (MCL 28.425b(5)). Accepted payment methods vary by county; the statute requires the county to accept any method it accepts for other fees and penalties.

Step 3: Get Fingerprinted

• After you submit your application and pay the fee, you must have classifiable fingerprints taken (MCL 28.425b(9)).
• Fingerprints may be taken by a county clerk, the Michigan State Police, a county sheriff, a local police agency, or any other entity that provides fingerprinting capability for purposes of this act (MCL 28.425b(9)). The statute does not set a separate vendor qualification standard. It simply requires that the entity provide fingerprinting for this purpose.
• Fingerprint fee: $15.00 (MCL 28.425b(9)). Confirm accepted payment methods with the entity taking your prints.
• The entity must take your fingerprints within 5 business days after your request (MCL 28.425b(9)).
• Your application is considered withdrawn if you do not have fingerprints taken within 45 days after the date the application is filed (MCL 28.425b(1)). Your application cannot be processed by the Michigan State Police until you have been fingerprinted.

Step 4: Await Processing

• After your classifiable fingerprints are taken, the Michigan State Police complete the background verification and the county clerk issues your CPL or a notice of statutory disqualification not later than 45 days after the date your fingerprints are taken (MCL 28.425b(13)).
• If a license or notice of statutory disqualification is not issued within that 45-day window, the receipt you received when fingerprinted serves as a concealed pistol license when carried with your state-issued driver's license or personal identification card, and is valid until the county clerk issues a license or a notice of statutory disqualification (MCL 28.425b(14)).

If Your Application Is Denied

If the county clerk issues a notice of statutory disqualification, the clerk must, not later than 5 business days after that notice, inform you in writing of the reasons for the denial or disqualification. That written notice must include a statement of each statutory disqualification identified, the source of the record for each disqualification, and the contact information for the source of the record for each disqualification (MCL 28.425b(13)(a)). The clerk must also inform you in writing of your right to appeal the denial or notice of statutory disqualification to the circuit court as provided in section 5d (MCL 28.425b(13)(b)), and must inform you that you should contact the source of the record for any statutory disqualification to correct any errors in the record (MCL 28.425b(13)(c)). Under MCL 28.425d(1), you may appeal the notice of statutory disqualification, the failure to provide a receipt, or the failure to issue the license to the circuit court in the judicial circuit in which you reside, and that appeal is determined by a review of the record for error.

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Renewal Applicants

Renewal can be completed online, in person, or by mail.

Renewal Eligibility

• You may submit a renewal application up to 6 months before the expiration of your current license (MCL 28.425l(2)).
• You are eligible to renew if your license is not expired, or expired within the 1-year period before the date of your renewal application (MCL 28.425l(1)).
• If your license has been expired for more than one year, it cannot be renewed. You must apply for a new CPL, which generally requires meeting the training requirement again.
• Fingerprints are not required again for a renewal only if both of the following conditions are met: (a) the Michigan State Police have established a system to save and maintain in their Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) database all fingerprints submitted under the CPL statute, and (b) your fingerprints have been submitted to and are maintained by the Michigan State Police for ongoing AFIS comparison (MCL 28.425l(10)). If those conditions are not met, you may be required to be fingerprinted again.

Option 1: Renew Online

• Use the Michigan State Police CPL Online Renewal System.
• Approximately 3 to 6 months before your CPL expires, your county clerk mails a renewal notice. To renew online, the notice must contain your PIN. Holders who receive a notice without a PIN are not eligible to renew online and must renew in person or by mail.
• Required information typically includes your CPL number, PIN, driver's license state, driver's license number, and an email address.
• Renewal application and licensing fee: $115.00 (MCL 28.425l(2)), payable by a method the Michigan State Police accepts.
• If you did not receive your renewal notice, contact your county clerk's office to update your address and request a new notice with a PIN.

Option 2: Renew In Person

Bring the following to your county clerk's office:

• Completed Concealed Pistol License Application.
• Valid state-issued driver license or personal identification card (MCL 28.425b(7)(n)).
• No training certificate is required for renewal. Instead, you must certify on the application that you have completed at least 3 hours of review of the required training and at least 1 hour of firing range time in the 6 months immediately preceding your renewal application (MCL 28.425l(9)). You are not required to verify these statements or obtain a certificate.
• $115.00 renewal application and licensing fee (MCL 28.425l(1)).
• Acceptable proof of exemption status, if applicable.

Option 3: Renew By Mail

• Submit a completed CPL application, along with a check or money order payable to the Michigan State Police, to the MSP CPL Unit, P.O. Box 30634, Lansing, Michigan 48909.

Renewal Processing Time

• The Michigan State Police complete the verification and the county clerk issues a renewal license or a notice of statutory disqualification within 30 days after the date the renewal application is received (MCL 28.425l(3)).
• If you apply to renew before your current license expires, the expiration date of your current license is extended until the renewal license or notice of statutory disqualification is issued (MCL 28.425l(6)). You must keep your renewal receipt and your expired license with you whenever you carry during this extension (MCL 28.425l(7)).
• That extension applies only if you apply before your license expires. The Michigan State Police state that an individual who applies for a renewal license after the expiration of his or her license is not permitted to carry a pistol concealed until such time as the renewal license is issued. The receipt issued for a renewal application filed on an expired license serves as a concealed pistol license, carried with an official state-issued driver license or personal identification card, only if a license or notice of statutory disqualification is not issued within 30 days after the date the receipt was issued (MCL 28.425l(4)(e)).
• If approved, the renewal license is sent by first-class mail to the address on the application. If denied, you will receive a notice stating the reasons for statutory disqualification.

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CPL Duration

• A concealed pistol license, including a renewal license, is valid until the applicant's date of birth that falls not less than 4 years and not more than 5 years after the license is issued or renewed (MCL 28.425l(1)).
• Because the expiration is tied to your date of birth, the exact term varies between 4 and 5 years depending on your issue date relative to your birthday.

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Fee Summary

Note: Confirm the exact amount and the accepted payment methods with your county clerk before you apply.

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Key Contact Information

• Michigan State Police, Concealed Pistol Licensing (CPL): 517-284-3700.
• MSP CPL Unit (mailed renewal applications): P.O. Box 30634, Lansing, Michigan 48909. Make a check or money order payable to the Michigan State Police.
• Michigan State Police, Firearms Records: 517-241-1917.
• Michigan State Police CPL Website: https://www.michigan.gov/msp/services/ccw
• CPL Online Renewal System: https://www.michigan.gov/cplrenewal
• Contact your local county clerk's office for application processing, renewal notices, and status inquiries.

Note: The Michigan State Police say that their Firearms Records Unit does not provide legal advice, interpret firearm laws, or determine eligibility for License to Purchase a Firearm (LTP) permits. For questions about permit eligibility or the legal interpretation of Michigan firearm laws, the Michigan State Police direct you to your local law enforcement agency or prosecuting attorney's office.

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Relevant Statutes

• MCL 28.425b - Application to the county clerk, the $100.00 application and licensing fee, fingerprinting and the $15.00 fingerprint fee, the 45-day processing window, denial notice and the reasons-and-source disclosure, and the receipt-as-license rule.
• MCL 28.425j - Pistol training or safety program requirements, including the 5-years-preceding-application currency rule, the 8-hour minimum, and the required certificate language referencing section 5j of 1927 PA 372.
• MCL 28.425l - License validity and 4-to-5-year duration, the $115.00 renewal fee, the 6-month-before and 1-year-after renewal windows, the 30-day renewal processing clock, the renewal training-review certification, and the conditional AFIS fingerprint waiver.
• 1927 PA 372, Section 5j - The act provision compiled at MCL 28.425j governing pistol safety training course compliance.