Louisville CCW permit applicants forget the most important step

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Applying for a concealed carry permit doesn't take many steps. However, people seem to be forgetting the most important and final step: picking up their license from their local sheriff's office.

In Kentucky, applying and receiving a CCW permit is a fairly simple process.

An applicant must take a training course and pass a written exam, followed by a shooting test. They must hit a life-size target 21 feet away, 11 out of 20 rounds.

Once an applicant passes the assessments and is approved by a certified firearm instructor they can apply for a CCW permit. This can take place online or at the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.

"They have to fill out an application, they pay $60 and then she's going to package all the information together and put it in an envelope and send it to the Kentucky State Police, who's going to do the background investigation," said Lt. Col. Carl Yates.

Then, they wait for the mail.

"So, the Kentucky State Police sends a formal letter to them, notifying them that their application has been completed and it's here to be picked up," said Lt. Col. Yates.

Curt Hite, a CCW permit holder, got his letter in the mail and picked it up the next day.

"You go down and just pick it up. It's pretty simple at that point," said Hite.

Except Lt. Col. Yates and the Jefferson County Sheriff's office have found that it's not that simple.

"The problem is over 1,000 haven't come to get theirs," Yates said. "Some of them are renewals, some of them are new and they just aren't picking them up."

This is a growing concern for law enforcement.

"Our biggest concern is that someone would think it's okay to carry concealed and they don't have this license with them on their person," said Lt. Col Yates.

Not having your CCW license on you is like driving without your driver's license.

If you're carrying concealed and you do not have a license to do so, you're in violation of the law. It's a Class A Misdemeanor.

If you are licensed to carry but not carrying your license with you, it's a non-criminal violation and a fine in the amount of $25 must be paid.

But the Sheriff's office has a bigger question.

"You've gone through all this trouble to get it, why would you not come to pick it up, you know?" asks Lt. Col. Yates.

Bill Haynes is a certified firearm instructor and can't believe that so many people haven't picked up their permits.

"You spend so much money getting the training and getting the applications and everything that you do. You've got a lot of money involved in it and they don't come down and pick them up, it just amazes me," said Haynes.

The Sheriff's office says there's been a significant rise in applications over the past year. With that, they hope people will follow through and pick up their license before carrying a deadly weapon.