Los Angeles Sheriff’s Office Settles Lawsuit Over Concealed Carry Delays

It’s been almost two years since the California Rifle & Pistol Association, along with several other organizational and individual plaintiffs, sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the state of California, and the city of La Verne, California for respectively slow-walking the issuance of carry permits, prohibiting non-residents from lawfully carrying, and charging an arm and a leg just to apply for a permit.  

La Verne settled its portion of the lawsuit earlier this year after agreeing to reduce the cost of a permit application from around $900 to $398 (though with all of the added fees and training, it still costs more than $700 to obtain a two-year permit). The plaintiffs were also granted an injunction over the prohibition on non-residents carrying, which led to the state of California setting up a system for non-residents to apply for a California carry permit, though the state still doesn’t recognize any permits issued by other states. 

The one remaining claim was against the LASD over its inability or unwillingness to process concealed carry permit applications within the 120 days given to licensing authorities under California law. Now it looks like the department has agreed to start doing so as part of a tentative settlement reached between the parties. 

I’m sad I didn’t directly see this one through to the end myself as this case was my baby, but big congrats to my former colleagues at M&A and SAF’s counsel Don Kilmer on (tentatively) getting this done. (No idea whether this will affect the US DOJ lawsuit, and if so, how.)… pic.twitter.com/mlrYwa3Wiq

— Kostas Moros (@MorosKostas) November 1, 2025

As Moros says, the settlement, if finalized, will require the defendants to pay some amount of legal fees, which will enable CRPA, Second Amendment Foundation, Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners of California and other organizational plaintiffs to fund further litigation on these issues. And Moros noted that even if CRPA v. LASD is settled, there is ongoing litigation regarding the excessive fees charged in Santa Clara County, where it costs nearly $2,000 to apply for a two-year permit. 

Moros also warned that other “lengthy wait time offenders like LAPD and Alameda County should be on notice, as it may be their turn next.” 

The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department is also the subject of a lawsuit by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division over its abusively long wait times for concealed carry applicants, though if the LASD does start processing applications within the 120 days allotted to it under state law that could put an end to the DOJ’s litigation as well; freeing up attorneys to go after other licensing authorities like the New York Police Department and its years-long processing times. 

I confess that part of me wishes the plaintiffs hadn’t settled, especially with La Verne still charging $398 plus fees for a two-year permit. That’s still excessively high, in my opinion. There are, however, more egregious abuses that can still be litigated and serve as a better vehicle for the courts to lay out a more reasonable fee schedule. And as Moros points out, CRPA v. LASD has already led to changes in California law to now allow non-residents to apply for a concealed carry permit. That’s not as good as recognizing valid permits from other states, but it’s at least an acknowledgement that your Second Amendment rights exist beyond the borders of the state where you live, and that’s an important step as we continue the fight against California’s abuses of those rights.