The California carry permit fee in Santa Clara County has reached a jaw-dropping $2,000 — raising serious constitutional questions about the process. In a move targeting gun owners, the county is implementing a costly and intrusive process for those seeking a permit to carry a firearm. This new approach involves a hefty fee and a mandatory psychiatric evaluation, sparking a legal challenge.

Key Takeaways

• Santa Clara County is charging applicants around $2,000 for a carry permit, including a $500 mandatory psychological exam.
• This process is being challenged in court as a “wealth qualification” that prices out law-abiding citizens.
• Plaintiffs argue there’s no legal basis for a universal psychological exam for all applicants.
• The Supreme Court’s Bruen decision previously struck down subjective standards for carry permits.
• Other California counties have significantly lower fees and do not require psychological exams.

California Carry Permit Fee: The $2,000 Breakdown

Getting a permit to carry a firearm in Santa Clara County, California, now comes with a steep price tag. Applicants are looking at an estimated total cost of around $2,000 to apply. This figure includes a $976 application fee, a $500 mandatory psychological evaluation, and a $400 training course, not to mention fingerprinting costs. The permit itself is valid for two years, and renewals aren’t cheap either, costing about $850 every two years, which also requires an 8-hour recertification course.

This approach stands out because, as of now, no other county in California requires a mandatory psychological exam just for applying to exercise constitutional rights. While California law does allow sheriffs to order psychological evaluations in specific cases where mental fitness is in question, Santa Clara County has made it a universal requirement for every applicant, regardless of individual circumstances.

Legal Challenge Against California’s Carry Permit Fee

Predictably, this new policy has already led to a lawsuit. Filed as Blank versus Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department, the case challenges both the fee structure and the universal psychological exam requirement. The people bringing the lawsuit argue that the fees act as a “wealth qualification,” effectively preventing law-abiding citizens who can’t afford the high costs from exercising their rights. They also contend that there’s no legal or constitutional basis to make a psychological test a requirement for everyone applying, without any specific reason or evidence of concern.

To put it in perspective, imagine if other rights had similar requirements. Would you have to pay a fee and undergo a psychological exam to vote? Or to speak at a city council meeting? Or to post on social media? The lawsuit points out that such requirements would likely be struck down as unconstitutional, drawing parallels to the prohibition of poll taxes.

The Bruen Decision and Subjective Standards

The lawsuit also argues that Santa Clara County’s new policy effectively recreates a subjective standard for obtaining a carry permit, which the U.S. Supreme Court addressed in the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen case back in 2022. The Bruen decision made it clear that governments can’t use subjective, discretion-based tests to control who gets a permit to carry a firearm in public for self-defense. The “good cause” standard, which required applicants to prove a specific need, was effectively ended by that ruling.

The plaintiffs in the Santa Clara case believe that the mandatory psychological exam, which applicants pass or fail at the county’s discretion, functions as a new, subjective barrier, similar to what the Supreme Court ruled against.

A Stark Contrast: California Carry Permit Fee vs Other Counties

When you look at other counties in California, the difference is striking. For example, Sacramento County charges only about $48 for an initial carry permit application. Major counties like San Diego and Los Angeles also have significantly lower fees and do not require any psychological evaluation. This disparity suggests that the high fees in Santa Clara County aren’t just about covering processing costs; they appear to be a deliberate attempt to limit who can obtain a permit, potentially barring those with fewer financial resources from exercising their constitutional rights.

The CCW Reckoning Project

This legal battle is part of a larger effort by the California Rifle and Pistol Association (CRPA), which calls this lawsuit the “CCW Reckoning Project.” This initiative aims to ensure that all jurisdictions in California comply with the Constitution and Supreme Court rulings. If the lawsuit against Santa Clara County is successful, it could send a strong legal message to sheriffs’ offices across the state and potentially other states, making it clear that pricing citizens out of their constitutional rights is not permissible.

This case is definitely one to watch, as it could have significant implications for gun rights and the application process for carry permits nationwide. As Samuel Adams once said, “The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms.”