All permits to carry handguns shall expire two years from the date of issuance or, in the case of an employee of an armored car company, upon termination of the employee's employment by the company occurring prior thereto whichever is earlier in time, and they may thereafter be renewed every two years in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as in the case of original applications.
In the case of an application made to the chief police officer of a municipality, $150 of the fee shall be retained by the municipality and the remaining $50 shall be forwarded to the superintendent. The fee amount retained by the municipality shall be used to defray the costs of investigation, administration, and processing of the permit to carry handgun applications. Application fees made to the superintendent shall be deposited into the Victims of Crime Compensation Office account.
The chief police officer, or the superintendent, as the case may be, shall determine whether the application is complete and, if so, shall cause the fingerprints of the applicant to be taken and compared with any and all records maintained by the municipality, the county in which it is located, the State Bureau of Identification and the Federal Bureau of Identification or, for an applicant who previously submitted fingerprints in order to apply for a firearms purchaser identification card or a permit to purchase a handgun in accordance with N.J.S. 2C:58-3 or a permit to carry a handgun in accordance with this section, may solicit such other identification information as may be authorized by the superintendent for the conduct of a comparable criminal record check. The chief police officer or the superintendent, as the case may be, shall also determine and record a complete description of each handgun the applicant intends to carry. The chief police officer, or the superintendent, as the case may be, shall interview the applicant and the persons endorsing the application under subsection b. of this section, and shall make inquiry concerning, and investigate to the extent warranted, whether the applicant is likely to engage in conduct that would result in harm to the applicant or others, including, but not limited to, whether the applicant has any history of threats or acts of violence by the applicant directed toward self or others or any history of use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force by the applicant against another person, or other incidents implicating the disqualifying criteria set forth in subsection c. of N.J.S. 2C:58-3, including but not limited to determining whether the applicant has been subject to any recent arrests or criminal charges for disqualifying crimes or has been experiencing any mental health issues such as suicidal ideation or violent impulses, and the applicant's use of drugs or alcohol.
The chief police officer or the superintendent may require such other information from the applicant or any other person, including but not limited to publicly available statements posted or published online by the applicant, as the chief police officer or superintendent deems reasonably necessary to conduct the review of the application.
An application shall not be approved by the chief police officer or the superintendent unless the applicant demonstrates that the applicant is not subject to any of the disabilities set forth in subsection c. of N.J.S. 2C:58-3, that the applicant is thoroughly familiar with the safe handling and use of handguns, including providing proof of completion of any training or proficiency requirements established under the law, and that the applicant is in compliance with the liability insurance requirement of section 4 of P.L.2022, c.131 (C.2C:58-4.3).
Once the application is deemed complete by the chief police officer or the superintendent, if it is not approved or denied by the chief police officer or the superintendent within 90 days of filing, it shall be deemed to have been approved; provided, however, the chief police officer or the superintendent may, for good cause shown and upon written notification to the applicant, extend by up to an additional 30 days the time period for which the application may be approved or denied. The written notification sent to the applicant shall provide a detailed explanation of the reasons for the extension. An applicant also may agree in writing to an additional extension of time past the 120 day statutory time frame.
A chief police officer or the superintendent may delegate to subordinate officers or employees of the law enforcement agency the responsibilities established pursuant to this section.
The permit shall be issued to the applicant electronically through electronic mail or through the web portal established or designated for this purpose by the superintendent, or in such form or manner as may be authorized by the superintendent, if, but only if, the chief police officer or superintendent determines that the applicant:
The provisions of this section requiring the issuance of a permit to carry a handgun utilizing the web portal established pursuant to this subsection and requiring the superintendent or chief police officer to determine that an applicant has completed the training requirement pursuant to subsection c. of this section and paragraph (3) of this subsection and is in compliance with the liability insurance requirements pursuant to subsection c. of this section and paragraph (4) of this subsection shall remain inoperative until the first day of the seventh month next following the date of enactment of P.L.2022, c.131 (C.2C:58-4.2 et al.).
The Administrative Director of the Courts shall coordinate with the superintendent in the development of an electronic filing system to receive requests for hearings and serve the chief police officer and superintendent as required in this section.
N.J.S. § 2C:58-4