Sheriff's Office seeks larger CCW fees to recover costs; committee votes to forward increase to full Board

The Alameda County Sheriff's Office told the Public Protection Committee on July 24 it is seeking to raise the county portion of concealed-carry weapons (CCW) permit fees to recover processing costs created by a surge in applications after the 2022 Supreme Court decision (Bruen) that changed California's licensing landscape.

Rob Evans, captain responsible for the CCW unit, said the county had not updated permit fees since about 2004 and described added work steps under current law, including background checks, interviews, three references, social-media review, a psychological evaluation and a 16-hour safety course. Evans said the county's recommended new county fee for a standard two-year license is $675; combined with the state Department of Justice portion ($93), the total would be $768 for an initial two-year license. He proposed renewal fees of $77 (county portion) for two-year renewals.

Simone Murphy, finance director for the Sheriff's Office, told the committee the full $675 county portion would come to the Sheriff's Office and that the proposed amount was developed from a time study of staff and processing costs conducted about a month earlier.

Supervisors pressed staff for detail. Evans estimated processing an application requires roughly three to four staff hours and said the county created 16 CCW positions (14 funded); OES later confirmed the department had added several assigned staff and planned to continue hiring. The psychological evaluation, Evans said, is performed by a county-vetted vendor and costs about $400, payable by the applicant; the vendor reports only pass/fail to the Sheriff's Office.

Several supervisors noted that some cities in the county charge lower fees and asked whether the psych exam is universal; Evans replied that all issuing jurisdictions in Alameda County agreed to require the psychological exam when the interagency agreements were made, though there is no statewide statutory requirement to do so. Supervisor Meili suggested the Board consider recommending state legislation to make a psychological exam a statewide requirement.

Supervisor Miley moved to forward the fee-schedule amendment to the full Board for consideration; the motion was seconded and a roll-call vote was taken with recorded affirmative responses. The committee closed public comment and adjourned.

Next steps: The Sheriff's Office said it will seek full-Board approval in September 2025 and, if approved, the revised fee schedule would take effect October 1, 2025.