Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. A Permit to Carry is good for five years. The expiration date is printed directly on the permit.

Iowa law specifies that to renew a Permit to Carry Weapons, a person must complete any of the acceptable forms of training or, at the discretion of the applicant, the applicant may instead choose to qualify on a range under the supervision of a certified instructor.

Iowa law does not prescribe a particular course of fire, so the instructor determines what constitutes qualification. The completion of another training course or qualification on a range must occur within the 12 months prior to the expiration of the current permit.

Since an application for a renewal must be submitted at least 30 days prior to the expiration of the current permit, this effectively leaves an 11 month window in which a person must complete training or qualify on a range.

The law allows 30 days to process the application. Our office usually has the permit in the mail and returned to the applicant within a week, not including weekends or holidays.

Small arms training, as evidenced by a discharge document showing an honorable discharge or general discharge under honorable condition (DD-214), is one of the acceptable forms of training for former service members.

However, to renew a permit, a person must present documentation showing that one of the acceptable forms of training was completed within the 12 months prior to the expiration of the current permit.

If a DD-214 was used to obtain a permit originally, that same document could not be used again in an application submitted as a renewal, as there is no way the training could have occurred within the 12 months prior to the expiration of the current permit.

Possibly. Given the requirement that any of the acceptable forms of training must be completed within the 12 months prior to the expiration of the current permit, it is possible that military small arms training and qualification could be used to renew a permit, but it depends on the timing of the training.

Please consult with the Sheriff of your county of residence to discuss the details of your service record and your application.

There is no specific requirement in Iowa Code Chapter 724 that a person update their weapons permit upon a change of residential address within the state (or upon a change of a mailing address). Given that there is no specific requirement to update a residence and/or mailing address on a “Permit to Acquire a Pistol or Revolver” or a “Permit to Carry Weapons,” it is our view that a permit remains valid until the expiration date or until the permit is suspended or revoked for cause.

However, a licensed gun dealer, a law enforcement officer from another state, or some other party who is shown the permit may question the validity of the permit if it shows an out of date address. Though the Iowa Department of Public Safety is aware of no provision of law that requires notification or updating of a permit after a move, many people who have a permit with an out of date address may want to obtain a permit showing the new address.

If a person has moved within the same county, the address change can be handled as a duplicate (updated to show the new address). If a person has moved from one county to another, the address change can only be handled as a new permit application.

Yes. A duplicate permit can be obtained for a fee of $25, as set by Iowa law.

You have to come in more than thirty (30) days before the permit expires. Additionally, you will need to take another certification class in the eleven (11) months prior to applying to renew, or you may choose to qualify on the range instead.

If you come in more than 30 days before the permit expires and have taken another certification class or qualified on the range, the fee is $25.

If you come in less than 30days before the permit expires, the fee returns to $50 and is treated like a new application.

If a person waits until less than 30 days prior to the expiration of the current permit, or after the permit expires, the application will be submitted and processed as if it were a new application for a permit instead of a renewal.

In such case, a person would be required to submit proof of training. There is no time frame specified for when the training must have occurred. A person who misses the renewal window and files as a new application cannot present proof of qualification on a range to satisfy the training requirement, unless qualification is part of a training course.

In other words, the option to simply qualify without completing a training course is only available to those who are filing as a permit renewal.

When you move into Hardin County, as long as your permit was issued in the State of Iowa, it will be honored the same as if we had issued it.

It is the Iowa Department of Public Safety's view that a Sheriff cannot renew a permit that the Sheriff's Office did not previously issue. As such, an application for a new permit would need to be submitted to the Hardin County Sheriff if you wished to renew your permit.

Iowa state law sets the fee for:
- New permit at $50
- Renewal at $25
- Duplicate at $25

Checks should be made payable to Hardin County Sheriff's Office the day you apply for the permit.