Earlier this year when New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin released the permit to carry dashboard, we did a lot of coverage on the data. Platkin’s dashboard provided a treasure trove of information. One of the very first things that was covered when looking at the information was that there have been excessive delays in the issuance of permits in the Garden State. We’re going to look at the top 10 worst jurisdictions in New Jersey and maybe toss a hat tip at some of the best.
Post-Bruen, New Jersey had to bend the knee and start issuing permits to carry. The ruling class had issues with this and tossed a Bruen response law at New Jersey permit holders. That law changed many things, most notably the addition of many so-called “sensitive locations,” where carry was to be banned.
The Bruen response law, aka the “carry-killer,” also made several changes to the application process. One of the changes was in 2C:58-4.c and had to do with application time limits.
The pre-Bruen version of the law gave permitting officials 60 days to issue permits to carry. The law specifically said, “If the application is not approved by the chief police officer or the superintendent within 60 days of filing, it shall be deemed to have been approved, unless the applicant agrees to an extension of time in writing.”
Enacted in December of 2022, the new version of 2C:58-4.c states the following:
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.
Looks like they gave themselves quite some latitude there. Also, note how the lawmakers shifted the power from the applicant to the issuing authority. The former version of the law, an applicant had to agree “to an extension of time in writing.” In the new law, an issuing authority only needs to provide “written notification to the applicant” to extend the time limit another 30 days.
The crux to all of this is a very important weasel clause. “Once the application is deemed complete by the chief police officer or the superintendent,” is where all of the issuing authorities get away with not adhering to the timeline laid out by law.
When is the application complete? Who knows. The statute does not define that. Much like the subjective standard still being used in New Jersey, it’s an escape route for these jurisdictions.
Who’s the worst of the worst in the Garden State when it comes to permitting delays? Taking a look at some of the data that’s been aggregated by the New Jersey NICS Research Center, we can look at our top performers as well as our biggest infringers.
The NJNRC notes the following jurisdictions with the longest average wait times during the time frame between February 2019 and March 2024:
- Seaside Park 253 days
- Hi-Nella 200 days
- Palmyra Boro 196 days
- Bayhead Boro 191 days
- Westville 170 days
- Allenhurst 165 days
- Englishtown 153 days
- Ringwood Boro 135 days
- Ho-Ho-Kus 129 days
- Ogdensburg 124 days
For the jurisdictions with the highest number of days wait on an individual application, we have Orange, Jackson Township, and the NJ State Police. Those waits were 1178, 1096, and 1002 days respectively.
The jurisdictions with the worst average wait times for the first quarter of 2024 are as follows:
- Ho-Ho-Kus 151 days
- Chesilhurst 142 days
- Hillside 137 days
- Pompton Lakes Boro 128 days
- South Bound Brook 118 days
- Chatham Boro 110 days
- Asbury Park 108 days
- Cresskill 107 days
- West Caldwell 107
- Pine Hill 106
And finally, the jurisdictions with the lowest average wait times since 2019 are as follows:
- Pine Beach Boro 0 days
- Marlboro Township 8 days
- Toms River Township 11 days
- Flemington 12 days
- Robbinsville 12 days
- Howell Township 15 days
- Eastampton Township 15 days
- Middle Township 16 days
- Hardyston Township 16 days
- Wyckoff Township 17 days
During the first quarter of 2024, there were 49 jurisdictions with an average wait time of zero days to issue permits.
As time goes on, we’ll be collecting more data. The jurisdictions that are taking any more than about a week to process these permits really do have some explaining to do. The entire application process is done online.
Once someone fills out their application, pays the fees, and references return their questionnaires, the applications should be considered complete. The state processes the background check and their system is utilized. In short, the issuance by a local jurisdiction is a matter of rubber stamping the applications – not slow-walking them.
Gun owners who are getting permits to carry in New Jersey are required to already have firearm identification cards, so they have been vetted previously. There are no excuses for applicants waiting any amount of time once they’re entered into the system.
Those jurisdictions in the top 10 worst need to start taking notes from the 49 jurisdictions that get it. As 2024 closes out, we’ll be looking closer at the data on just 2024 and hope to get out a report card with more specific data. Any of those bad performers out there, we’ll be talking about you more and more in 2025.
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