Changes to the AZ CCW application and renewal process.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety has announced several changes to the application and renewal process for the AZ CCW permit. It is all good news! First, the application fee will drop to $60 on October 1st, 2007. Second, effective December 31, 2007, the requirement to submit a fingerprint card with your renewal application has been eliminated. Finally, since there is no longer a fingerprint requirement, the DPS does not have to pay the FBI for fingerprint review and is passing the saving on to the applicant, so effective December 31, 2007, the cost of a renewal application for your AZ CCW permit is only $43.If you need to renew your permit prior to December 31, 2007, you will need to submit a fingerprint card and a renewal fee of $60. It is important to remember that you MUST submit your renewal application within 60 days of your permit expiration. If you wait any longer, you will be purged from the DPS database and will be required to take the initial CCW course over again.These new regulation for 2008 and beyond should dramatically simplify the renewal process. The most difficult part of the whole thing was finding somewhere to get fingerprinted. While many local law enforcement agencies do provide fingerprinting to the general public, the fact that the hours were sometimes limited and that they charged a fee made it inconvenient for many renewal applicants. The new process is a huge improvement and a welcome one for the concealed carry community in Arizona.