North Carolina Concealed Handgun Permit Fees and Costs

The Headline

North Carolina Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) fees are set by statute at G.S. 14-415.19. You pay $80.00 for the initial application and $75.00 to renew at the standard rate. Retired sworn law enforcement officers and persons discharged honorably (or under general honorable conditions) from the U.S. Armed Forces pay a reduced rate of $45.00 (application) and $40.00 (renewal). A duplicate permit is $15.00, and the sheriff may charge an additional fee of up to $10.00 to process fingerprints.

All fees are paid to the sheriff of the county where you reside, not to the state. G.S. 14-415.19(a); G.S. 14-415.13(a). The permit fee is nonrefundable: you pay it at application whether or not the sheriff ultimately issues the permit. G.S. 14-415.13(a)(2). The sheriff transmits the fees to the county finance officer, who remits a fixed portion to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety (DPS) to cover state and federal criminal record checks and keeps the remainder for sheriff administrative and other law enforcement purposes. G.S. 14-415.19(a).

A point of context that often confuses applicants: the CHP is the only firearm permit North Carolina still requires from most buyers and carriers. North Carolina repealed its pistol purchase permit in 2023 (Session Law 2023-8). You no longer need a county permit to buy a handgun; a federal NICS background check at a licensed dealer still applies. The CHP is a separate document, and it remains required to carry a concealed handgun. G.S. 14-415.11.

Statutory Fee Schedule

The complete list of fees set by G.S. 14-415.19, with the controlling subsection for each row:

These are the only fees authorized by Article 54B for the permit itself. The statute is closed-ended: G.S. 14-415.19(a) says "Except as otherwise provided by this section, the permit fees are as follows," then enumerates the application, renewal, and duplicate fees, with the fingerprint fee in subsection (b). There is no separate statutory line item for a mental-health records release, NICS check, or training certificate review. In fact, G.S. 14-415.15(a) bars any person, company, mental health provider, or governmental entity from charging the applicant an additional fee for the background checks the sheriff runs. Costs you incur outside the sheriff's office (training class tuition, range time, ammunition, postage, parking) are not regulated by G.S. 14-415.19.

Standard Fees Explained

Application: $80.00

G.S. 14-415.19(a) sets the application fee at $80.00. You pay it to the sheriff of your county of residence when you file the application packet, along with your fingerprints, training certificate, and mental-health records release. G.S. 14-415.13(a). The fee is nonrefundable, so denied applicants do not get the $80.00 back. G.S. 14-415.13(a)(2).

The $80.00 covers a five-year permit term. G.S. 14-415.11(b). Effective annual cost: roughly $16.00 per year of permit validity at the standard rate, before the fingerprint fee.

Renewal: $75.00

G.S. 14-415.19(a) sets the renewal fee at $75.00. You file the renewal application within the 90-day window before your existing permit expires. G.S. 14-415.16(b). The renewal packet is similar to the application packet, with two reductions worth noting:

1. New fingerprints may be waived. Under G.S. 14-415.16(d), no new fingerprints are required if your fingerprints were submitted to the State Bureau of Investigation after June 30, 2001 on the Automated Fingerprint Information System (AFIS). If the AFIS waiver applies, you also skip the fingerprint processing fee of up to $10.00.
2. Training course may be waived. On renewal the sheriff updates your criminal history (including a fresh NICS inquiry) and may waive the requirement to retake the firearms safety and training course. G.S. 14-415.16(c). This is a course-completion waiver, not a fee waiver: G.S. 14-415.19 still sets the renewal fee at $75.00.

If you let the permit expire but apply within 60 days after expiration, the sheriff may still waive the training course, but this grace period does not extend the permit's expiration date. G.S. 14-415.16(e). The renewal statute does not give a renewal applicant who is more than 60 days late a separate track, so a long-lapsed permittee effectively re-applies as a new applicant and pays the $80.00 new-application fee rather than the $75.00 renewal fee.

Duplicate permit: $15.00

If your permit is lost or destroyed, G.S. 14-415.19(a) sets the duplicate-permit fee at $15.00. The procedure is at G.S. 14-415.11(d): notify the issuing sheriff of the loss or destruction, submit a notarized statement that the permit was lost or destroyed, and pay the required duplicate-permit fee. The sheriff issues a duplicate.

Address changes are handled separately. G.S. 14-415.11(d) requires a permittee to notify the issuing sheriff of any change in permanent address within 30 days. The statute imposes that notice duty but does not set a fee for the notice itself or require issuance of a new permit on a move, so do not assume a $15.00 charge attaches to an address change. Confirm your county's practice with the issuing sheriff.

Fingerprint processing: up to $10.00

G.S. 14-415.19(b) authorizes the sheriff to collect "an additional fee, not to exceed ten dollars ($10.00)" from an applicant to pay for the cost of processing the applicant's fingerprints, if fingerprints were required to be taken. The fee is capped at $10.00, but a sheriff is not required to charge the full $10.00; some counties charge less. This fee is retained by the sheriff and does not flow to DPS.

The fingerprint processing fee is triggered by the fingerprint requirement at G.S. 14-415.13(a)(3), which makes a full set of fingerprints part of every initial application. New applicants always pay it. Renewal applicants pay it only if new fingerprints are required, which depends on whether the AFIS waiver under G.S. 14-415.16(d) applies.

The fingerprints themselves are submitted by the sheriff to the State Bureau of Investigation, which checks state and national databases and forwards prints to the FBI as needed. The sheriff also runs a NICS check. G.S. 14-415.13(b). The cost of those state and federal record checks is funded by the DPS portion of the application or renewal fee (see "Where Your Money Goes" below), not by the $10.00 fingerprint processing fee.

Reduced-Fee Tiers

Retired sworn law enforcement officers: $45.00 / $40.00

G.S. 14-415.19(a1) lowers the application and renewal fees for retired sworn law enforcement officers who supply the documentation below. The reduced fees are:

• Application: $45.00
• Renewal: $40.00

To qualify, a retired sworn LEO must submit both of the following to the sheriff, in addition to the standard application materials under G.S. 14-415.13(a):

1. A copy of the officer's letter of retirement from either the North Carolina Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System or the North Carolina Local Governmental Employees' Retirement System. G.S. 14-415.19(a1)(1).
2. Written documentation from the head of the agency where the person was previously employed indicating that the person was neither involuntarily terminated nor under administrative or criminal investigation within six months of retirement. G.S. 14-415.19(a1)(2).

The retirement-system letter is the gating documentary requirement. Officers retired from a non-North-Carolina retirement system, or from a North Carolina system not listed in subdivision (1), are not eligible for the (a1) tier by the plain text of the statute and pay the standard $80.00 / $75.00.

The fingerprint processing fee at G.S. 14-415.19(b) (up to $10.00) is not waived by the (a1) tier. A qualifying retired LEO pays the reduced application fee plus, if fingerprints are required, the fingerprint processing fee.

Honorably discharged veterans: $45.00 / $40.00

G.S. 14-415.19(a2) extends the same reduced fees to any person who was discharged honorably or under general honorable conditions from military service in the U.S. Armed Forces. The statute states the fees "are the same as for a retired sworn law enforcement officer under subsection (a1) of this section." That gives veterans the same $45.00 application and $40.00 renewal as the (a1) tier. This veteran tier was added to G.S. 14-415.19 by Session Law 2025-72.

The documentation requirement differs from the (a1) tier. A veteran claiming the reduced fee under (a2) must submit one of the following to the sheriff:

• A Form DD-214 showing the applicant has been discharged honorably or under general honorable conditions from military service in the U.S. Armed Forces.
• A Veterans Identification Card issued by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
• Other documentation that both shows the qualifying discharge and is deemed satisfactory by the sheriff.

The "other documentation" path gives the sheriff discretion to accept records other than the DD-214 or VIC, but the statute fixes the substantive requirement: an honorable or general (under honorable conditions) discharge. A discharge "under conditions other than honorable" does not qualify and, separately, is also a disqualifier for any North Carolina CHP under G.S. 14-415.12(b)(7).

As with the (a1) tier, the fingerprint processing fee under G.S. 14-415.19(b) is not waived.

Where Your Money Goes

The statute splits the fee proceeds between the county sheriff and DPS. The split varies by which fee tier you pay.

Standard tier (G.S. 14-415.19(a))

Of each $80.00 application fee and each $75.00 renewal fee at the standard rate, G.S. 14-415.19(a) directs the county finance officer to remit:

• $45.00 of every new application fee to DPS, leaving $35.00 for the sheriff.
• $40.00 of every renewal fee to DPS, leaving $35.00 for the sheriff.

The DPS portion covers "the costs of State and federal criminal record checks performed in connection with processing applications and for the implementation of the provisions of this Article." The remaining $35.00 "shall be used by the sheriff to pay the costs of administering this Article and for other law enforcement purposes." The statute is explicit that the county "shall expend the restricted funds for these purposes only."

Retired LEO and veteran tiers (G.S. 14-415.19(a1), (a2))

For the reduced-fee tiers, the entire fee proceeds go to DPS. G.S. 14-415.19(a1) directs the county finance officer to remit the proceeds "to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety to cover the cost of performing the State and federal criminal record checks performed in connection with processing applications and for the implementation of the provisions of this Article." G.S. 14-415.19(a2) tells the county finance officer to remit the veteran-tier proceeds "in the same manner as proceeds remitted under subsection (a1)."

In practical terms, a sheriff who processes a retired-LEO or veteran-tier application keeps none of the permit fee. The sheriff still keeps the fingerprint processing fee under G.S. 14-415.19(b) (up to $10.00), which is the sheriff's only retained dollar on those tiers.

Fingerprint processing fee (G.S. 14-415.19(b))

The fingerprint processing fee, up to $10.00, stays with the sheriff under the plain text of G.S. 14-415.19(b): "This fee shall be retained by the sheriff." No portion flows to DPS or to the State Bureau of Investigation, even though the fingerprints are submitted to SBI for processing.

Where Your Money Goes: Summary

G.S. 14-415.19(a) sets the duplicate-permit fee at $15.00 and makes it payable to the sheriff, but it does not enumerate a separate DPS split for the duplicate fee. The DPS remittance language addresses only "each new application fee" and "each renewal fee," so by the plain text the $15.00 duplicate fee stays in the county.

What Is Not a Separate Statutory Fee

A few items applicants ask about are not separate line items in G.S. 14-415.19:

• Mental-health records release. G.S. 14-415.13(a)(5) requires the application packet to include a signed release authorizing disclosure of your mental-health records, used solely to determine disqualification under G.S. 14-415.12. The release is required, but G.S. 14-415.19 does not enumerate a separate fee for it, and G.S. 14-415.15(a) forbids a mental health provider or governmental entity from charging the applicant for that records check.
• NICS check. The sheriff conducts a NICS check on every applicant under G.S. 14-415.13(b). G.S. 14-415.19 does not charge a separate NICS fee; the cost is funded by the DPS portion of the application fee.
• State and federal record checks (SBI and FBI). Same answer as NICS. The SBI and FBI checks are funded out of the DPS portion of the application or renewal fee, which is the express purpose of the $45.00 / $40.00 DPS remittance under G.S. 14-415.19(a), (a1), (a2).
• Application form. G.S. 14-415.13(a)(1) requires the application form to be provided by the sheriff electronically and bars the sheriff from requesting employment information, character affidavits, additional background checks, photographs, or other information unless this Article specifically permits it. The statute does not authorize a charge for the form itself.
• Training course. The training certificate is required under G.S. 14-415.13(a)(4), but the tuition for the underlying course is paid to the training provider, not to the sheriff. G.S. 14-415.19 does not regulate training costs. Course market rates sit entirely outside the statutory fee framework. The TRAINING_REQUIREMENTS section covers what an approved course must include.

If a sheriff's office charges a line item beyond the fees enumerated in G.S. 14-415.19, that charge is not authorized by Article 54B itself.

When You Pay

The application fee is paid at filing, as part of the application packet under G.S. 14-415.13(a). The statute requires "A nonrefundable permit fee" alongside the application form, fingerprints, training certificate, and mental-health release. G.S. 14-415.13(a)(2).

You do not pay a separate fee at the decision point. The sheriff must either issue or deny the permit within 45 days after receiving the items listed in G.S. 14-415.13 and the required mental-health records. G.S. 14-415.15(a). If denied, the sheriff must, within 45 days, notify you in writing stating the grounds for denial. G.S. 14-415.15(c). You may appeal by petitioning a district court judge of the district in which the application was filed. G.S. 14-415.15(c). The court appeal is governed by the district-court fee schedule, not by G.S. 14-415.19; G.S. 14-415.19 sets only the permit fees themselves.

For renewals, the $75.00 fee is paid with the renewal packet during the 90-day pre-expiration window under G.S. 14-415.16(b).

Forms of Payment

G.S. 14-415.19 does not prescribe accepted forms of payment. Each sheriff's office sets its own payment policy. Cash, debit cards, credit cards, money orders, and cashier's checks are commonly accepted; personal checks may or may not be. Card payments at some offices may carry a third-party processor surcharge that is not part of the statutory fee structure. Confirm forms of payment with your county sheriff's office before you go.

Effective Cost Over a Five-Year Term

A North Carolina CHP runs for five years from the date of issuance. G.S. 14-415.11(b). At the standard rate, the effective annual cost is:

• New permit: $80.00 application + up to $10.00 fingerprinting = up to $90.00 over five years, roughly $18.00 per year.
• Renewal: $75.00 renewal (no fingerprint fee if the AFIS waiver applies) = $75.00 over five years, roughly $15.00 per year.

At the retired-LEO or veteran rate:

• New permit: $45.00 + up to $10.00 = up to $55.00 over five years, roughly $11.00 per year.
• Renewal: $40.00 + (likely no fingerprint fee under the AFIS waiver) = $40.00 over five years, roughly $8.00 per year.

The recurring value of the permit includes statewide carry authority (G.S. 14-415.11(a), (b)), the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act license exemption under 18 U.S.C. 922(q)(2)(B)(ii), and recognition by states that honor a North Carolina CHP (see RECIPROCITY; North Carolina's recognition of out-of-state permits is governed by G.S. 14-415.24).

Quick Reference

The Operative Rule

The North Carolina CHP fee framework is small and statutory: $80.00 to apply and $75.00 to renew at the standard rate, $45.00 / $40.00 at the retired-LEO and honorably-discharged-veteran rates, $15.00 for a duplicate, and up to $10.00 for fingerprint processing. All fees are paid to the county sheriff. Of the standard application fee, $45.00 goes to DPS for state and federal record checks and $35.00 stays with the sheriff; on the reduced tiers the entire permit fee goes to DPS. The fingerprint processing fee is retained by the sheriff. The permit fee is nonrefundable at application, and no provider may charge the applicant a separate fee for the required background checks. Confirm forms of payment with your county sheriff's office; the statute does not restrict payment method.