The following are required to obtain a firearms license:
- Applicant must be at least 21 years old. (Applicants may be 18 years old if currently actively serving in the armed services of the United States, have been honorably discharged from such services, or can provide proof that they have completed basic training in such services.)
- Applicant must provide valid photo identification showing Mitchell County residence.
- Applicant must consent to a criminal history background check and check of certain mental health records
- Must not have any state or federal disqualifications to receive license.
The following are procedures for obtaining a firearms license:
- Applicants (new and renewals) must appear personally at the Probate office to complete an application.
- Applicants must pay a fee of $73.25 (renewals are $30.00). Renewals must be issued in Mitchell County and must not have expired more than 30 days prior to date of application for renewal.
- No refunds will be issued after the application process has started.
- New applicants must be fingerprinted by an employee of the Mitchell County Justice Center for completion of a criminal history background check.
- Once background checks are returned, applicants will receive notification by phone of approval from the Probate Court or written notification of ineligibility by mail with the opportunity to provide further information and/or a formal hearing.
- Applicants seeking renewal must have had a previous license issued in Mitchell County and must not have been expired more than 30 days prior to renewal. Renewals do not require fingerprinting.
The following are State and Federal Prohibitors. The Probate Court can not issue a firearms license to a person who is prohibited under Georgia or Federal law.
Federal Prohibitors, 18 U.S.C. Sections 921-922, include:
- Persons convicted of a felony whose civil rights, including those relating to firearms, have not been restored;
- Persons who are fugitives from justice;
- Persons who are unlawful users of or addicted to any controlled substance;
- Persons who have been adjudicated as mental defectives or involuntarily committed to any mental institution;
- Persons who are aliens and are illegally or unlawfully in the United States and legal aliens having nonimmigrant status not covered by an exemption;
- Persons who have been discharged dishonorably from the U.S. Armed Forces;
- Persons who have renounced their U.S. citizenship;
- Persons who are subject to a current restraining order involving an intimate partner or the child of an intimate partner;
- Persons who have been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence or crime of violence against a person within the class of persons protected under applicable domestic violence law; and
- Persons under current indictment or information for a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment in excess of one year.
State Prohibitors, O.C.G.A. Section 16-11-129, include:
- Any person who has been convicted of a felony and who has not received a pardon;
- Any person against whom felony proceedings are pending;
- Any person who is a fugitive from justice;
- Any person who is prohibited from possessing or shipping a firearm pursuant to subsections (g) or (n) of 18 U.S.C Section 922;
- Any person who has been convicted of an offense arising out of the unlawful manufacture or distribution of a controlled substance or other dangerous drugs;
- Any person who has had his or her WCL revoked within 3 years of the date of his or her application;
- Any person who has been convicted of carrying a weapon without a WCL in violation of O.C.G.A. Section 16-11-126 or carrying a weapon or long gun in an unauthorized location in violation of O.C.G.A. Section 16-11-127 and who has not been free from all restraint or supervision in connection therewith and free of any other conviction for at least 5 years;
- Any person who has been convicted of any misdemeanor involving the use or possession of a controlled substance and has not been free from all restraint or supervision for at least 5 years or has a second conviction involving the use or possession of a controlled substance; and
- Any person who has been hospitalized as an inpatient in any mental hospital or alcohol or drug treatment center within the past 5 years immediately preceding the application, though the person may petition the court in which such adjudication, hospitalization or treatment proceedings occurred for relief.
