Greetings and Salutations,
With the encouragement of my training instructor, who has his CCW, I have begun the process of applying for a CCW permit here in the Inland Empire of Southern California. In this thread I hope to chronicle the process and my experiences through it. I hope to not only gather information, experiences, and suggestions from this community but also to share my journey in the hopes of encouraging and educating others.
I began my journey at the San Bernardino Country Sheriff's CCW website:
wp.sbcounty.gov
As I was going through all the necessary paperwork to bring to the initial interview I realized I did not have a long form "official" copy of my original birth certificate. I know, I know. But I haven't needed one in decades. So, even before I filled out the online application I had to order a couple of copies of my birth certificate from my state of birth. That was a bit of a process in itself because I had to scan and email copies of my drivers license, DD-214, etc, to the local clerk and then speak with them on the phone because they had questions. Records get hard to find when you were born in the middle of the 1900s.
But I did receive copies of my birth certificate, that actually look like new printings with official county and state seals, on 12/4/2020. With these documents in hand I could fill out the online CCW application for San Bernardino County, where I live. I did so on 12/5/2020, putting both the XD9 and CW9 on the application, and thought "now I wait". Then I saw this a couple of days later.
Well, wouldn't you know it!?!?! I thought I was done for and would have to wait until this madness was over to continue the process.
But then the very next day I got an email from [email protected] with the subject line "SBCSD CCW INFO":
So I am still in business! Now I have a lot of paperwork to fill out, one form to get notarized, and bring originals and copies of requested documents to my interview.
I will also have to bring two postal money orders to get the ball rolling:
After my interview, if it is decided that I am worthy of a CCW permit, at some point in the future I will receive an appointment for an eight hour training course, then qualify at the range, and pay the rest of my application fees:
OK, the exact order is something like this, as told by a member of Calguns.net:
, during the process. I also know a few of the public safety officers at my employment who carry on the job, we've talked about our sport shooting hobby, and they've all said that my county, while thorough, is not averse to giving CCWs to citizens of good moral character and have kept their nose clean.
So for the time being I will keep my hopes up that I will eventually be able to better protect my family and myself. I don't want to be a vigilante or a hero. I just want options when it comes to protection in these increasingly turbulent times.
My initial interview is not until the middle of March so this thread may not be updated very often unless I talk to my trainer or the officers at work and share any pointers or insights they may have. Please, you are welcome to share your wisdom with this old noob too. Thanks!
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
With the encouragement of my training instructor, who has his CCW, I have begun the process of applying for a CCW permit here in the Inland Empire of Southern California. In this thread I hope to chronicle the process and my experiences through it. I hope to not only gather information, experiences, and suggestions from this community but also to share my journey in the hopes of encouraging and educating others.
I began my journey at the San Bernardino Country Sheriff's CCW website:
CCW FAQ – San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department

As I was going through all the necessary paperwork to bring to the initial interview I realized I did not have a long form "official" copy of my original birth certificate. I know, I know. But I haven't needed one in decades. So, even before I filled out the online application I had to order a couple of copies of my birth certificate from my state of birth. That was a bit of a process in itself because I had to scan and email copies of my drivers license, DD-214, etc, to the local clerk and then speak with them on the phone because they had questions. Records get hard to find when you were born in the middle of the 1900s.
But I did receive copies of my birth certificate, that actually look like new printings with official county and state seals, on 12/4/2020. With these documents in hand I could fill out the online CCW application for San Bernardino County, where I live. I did so on 12/5/2020, putting both the XD9 and CW9 on the application, and thought "now I wait". Then I saw this a couple of days later.
Well, wouldn't you know it!?!?! I thought I was done for and would have to wait until this madness was over to continue the process.
But then the very next day I got an email from [email protected] with the subject line "SBCSD CCW INFO":
I was a quite surprised! My initial interview date and time were just confirmed by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. Cool! As it turns out, applications are still being processed. The Sheriff's Department updated the information on their Facebook page....You have successfully scheduled a ccw interview on <date>,<time>. Please ensure you follow the instructions (On the website San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department – San Bernardino County) and bring all of the required documents, forms, and money orders to the interview. If you have made other arrangements with the department you can disregard this message. You will continue to receive this reminder until your scheduled interview date has passed. This email account is not monitored, if you have questions please contact employee resources. There is NO waiting list or earlier appointments, do not contact the department to request an earlier interview date.
So I am still in business! Now I have a lot of paperwork to fill out, one form to get notarized, and bring originals and copies of requested documents to my interview.
I will also have to bring two postal money orders to get the ball rolling:
After my interview, if it is decided that I am worthy of a CCW permit, at some point in the future I will receive an appointment for an eight hour training course, then qualify at the range, and pay the rest of my application fees:
OK, the exact order is something like this, as told by a member of Calguns.net:
Since my instructor has his CCW, we live in the same county, I asked him and he has agreed to tell me all about his experience, what to expect, what to say, how not to be stupidWhen you go to the interview make sure you have photo copies of all your paperwork.
If you pass the interview process you will give them your MO's and do the livescan [background check]. They will tell you don't call them they'll call you.
You will go home and wait for them to call you. At that time they will schedule you for your training. You will now wait for the day you go to the training.
When you go to the training you will give them the last of the MO's and do the class and range time.
At the end of the class they will tell you not to carry until you get your permit in the mail.
You will now go home and wait for your permit in the mail. Once your permit comes you will now carry everywhere it's legal to carry.
From what I've been seeing it's about an 8-10 [month] process right now.
Have a good day and carry on. (Once you get your permit)
So for the time being I will keep my hopes up that I will eventually be able to better protect my family and myself. I don't want to be a vigilante or a hero. I just want options when it comes to protection in these increasingly turbulent times.
My initial interview is not until the middle of March so this thread may not be updated very often unless I talk to my trainer or the officers at work and share any pointers or insights they may have. Please, you are welcome to share your wisdom with this old noob too. Thanks!
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff