(a)A person who is at least eighteen (18) years
of age and is not otherwise prohibited from carrying or possessing a
handgun under state or federal law is not required to obtain or possess
a license or permit from the state to carry a handgun in Indiana. A
person who wishes to carry a firearm in another state under a
reciprocity agreement entered into by this state and another state may
obtain a license to carry a handgun in Indiana under this chapter by
applying as follows:
(1)If the applicant is a resident of this state:
(A)to the chief of police or corresponding law enforcement
officer of the municipality in which the applicant resides; or
(B)if that municipality has no such officer, or if the applicant
does not reside in a municipality, to the sheriff of the county in
which the app
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(a) A person who is at least eighteen (18) years
of age and is not otherwise prohibited from carrying or possessing a
handgun under state or federal law is not required to obtain or possess
a license or permit from the state to carry a handgun in Indiana. A
person who wishes to carry a firearm in another state under a
reciprocity agreement entered into by this state and another state may
obtain a license to carry a handgun in Indiana under this chapter by
applying as follows:
(1) If the applicant is a resident of this state:
(A) to the chief of police or corresponding law enforcement
officer of the municipality in which the applicant resides; or
(B) if that municipality has no such officer, or if the applicant
does not reside in a municipality, to the sheriff of the county in
which the applicant resides after the applicant has obtained an
application form prescribed by the superintendent.
(2) If the applicant is a resident of another state and has a regular
place of business or employment in Indiana, to the sheriff of the
county in which the applicant has a regular place of business or
employment.
The superintendent and local law enforcement agencies shall allow an
applicant desiring to obtain or renew a license to carry a handgun to
submit an application electronically under this chapter if funds are
available to establish and maintain an electronic application system.
(b) This subsection applies before July 1, 2020. The law
enforcement agency which accepts an application for a handgun license
shall collect the following application fees:
(1) From a person applying for a four (4) year handgun license, a
ten dollar ($10) application fee, five dollars ($5) of which shall be
refunded if the license is not issued.
(2) From a person applying for a lifetime handgun license who
does not currently possess a valid Indiana handgun license, a fifty
dollar ($50) application fee, thirty dollars ($30) of which shall be
refunded if the license is not issued.
(3) From a person applying for a lifetime handgun license who
currently possesses a valid Indiana handgun license, a forty dollar
($40) application fee, thirty dollars ($30) of which shall be
refunded if the license is not issued.
Except as provided in subsection (j), the fee shall be deposited into the
law enforcement agency's firearms training fund or other appropriate
training activities fund and used by the agency to train law enforcement
officers in the proper use of firearms or in other law enforcement
duties, or to purchase firearms, firearm related equipment, or body
armor (as defined in IC 35-47-5-13(a)) for the law enforcement officers
employed by the law enforcement agency. The state board of accounts
shall establish rules for the proper accounting and expenditure of funds
collected under this subsection.
(c) This subsection applies after June 30, 2020, and before July 1,
2021. The law enforcement agency which accepts an application for a
handgun license shall not collect a fee from a person applying for a five
(5) year handgun license and shall collect the following application
fees:
(1) From a person applying for a lifetime handgun license who
does not currently possess a valid Indiana handgun license, a fifty
dollar ($50) application fee, thirty dollars ($30) of which shall be
refunded if the license is not issued.
(2) From a person applying for a lifetime handgun license who
currently possesses a valid Indiana handgun license, a forty dollar
($40) application fee, thirty dollars ($30) of which shall be
refunded if the license is not issued.
Except as provided in subsection (j), the fee shall be deposited into the
law enforcement agency's firearms training fund or other appropriate
training activities fund and used by the agency to train law enforcement
officers in the proper use of firearms or in other law enforcement
duties, or to purchase firearms, firearm related equipment, or body
armor (as defined in IC 35-47-5-13(a)) for the law enforcement officers
employed by the law enforcement agency. The state board of accounts
shall establish rules for the proper accounting and expenditure of funds
collected under this subsection.
(d) This subsection applies after June 30, 2021. The law
enforcement agency which accepts an application for a handgun license
shall not collect a fee from a person applying for a handgun license.
(e) The officer to whom the application is made shall ascertain the
applicant's name, full address, length of residence in the community,
whether the applicant's residence is located within the limits of any city
or town, the applicant's occupation, place of business or employment,
criminal record, if any, and convictions (minor traffic offenses
excepted), age, race, sex, nationality, date of birth, citizenship, height,
weight, build, color of hair, color of eyes, scars and marks, whether the
applicant has previously held an Indiana license to carry a handgun
and, if so, the serial number of the license and year issued, whether the
applicant's license has ever been suspended or revoked, and if so, the
year and reason for the suspension or revocation, and the applicant's
reason for desiring a license. If the applicant is not a United States
citizen, the officer to whom the application is made shall ascertain the
applicant's country of citizenship, place of birth, and any alien or
admission number issued by the United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services or United States Customs and Border Protection
or any successor agency as applicable. The officer to whom the
application is made shall conduct an investigation into the applicant's
official records and verify thereby the applicant's character and
reputation, and shall in addition verify for accuracy the information
contained in the application, and shall forward this information
together with the officer's recommendation for approval or disapproval
and one (1) set of legible and classifiable fingerprints of the applicant
to the superintendent. An investigation conducted under this section
must include the consulting of available local, state, and federal
criminal history data banks, including the National Instant Criminal
Background Check System (NICS), to determine whether possession
of a firearm by an applicant would be a violation of state or federal law.
(f) The superintendent may make whatever further investigation the
superintendent deems necessary. Whenever disapproval is
recommended, the officer to whom the application is made shall
provide the superintendent and the applicant with the officer's complete
and specific reasons, in writing, for the recommendation of
disapproval.
(g) If it appears to the superintendent that the applicant:
(1) has a proper reason for receiving a license to carry a handgun;
(2) is of good character and reputation;
(3) is a proper person to be licensed; and
(4) is:
(A) a citizen of the United States; or
(B) not a citizen of the United States but is allowed to carry a
firearm in the United States under federal law;
the superintendent shall issue to the applicant a license to carry a
handgun in Indiana. The original license shall be delivered to the
licensee. A copy shall be delivered to the officer to whom the
application for license was made. A copy shall be retained by the
superintendent for at least five (5) years in the case of a five (5) year
license. The superintendent may adopt guidelines to establish a records
retention policy for a lifetime license. A five (5) year license shall be
valid for a period of five (5) years from the date of issue. A lifetime
license is valid for the life of the individual receiving the license. The
license of police officers, sheriffs or their deputies, and law
enforcement officers of the United States government who have twenty
(20) or more years of service shall be valid for the life of these
individuals. However, a lifetime license is automatically revoked if the
license holder does not remain a proper person.
(h) At the time a license is issued and delivered to a licensee under
subsection (g), the superintendent shall include with the license
information concerning firearms safety rules that:
(1) neither opposes nor supports an individual's right to bear
arms; and
(2) is:
(A) recommended by a nonprofit educational organization that
is dedicated to providing education on safe handling and use of
firearms;
(B) prepared by the state police department; and
(C) approved by the superintendent.
The superintendent may not deny a license under this section because
the information required under this subsection is unavailable at the
time the superintendent would otherwise issue a license. The state
police department may accept private donations or grants to defray the
cost of printing and mailing the information required under this
subsection.
(i) A license to carry a handgun shall not be issued to any person
who:
(1) has been convicted of a felony;
(2) has had a license to carry a handgun suspended, unless the
person's license has been reinstated;
(3) is under eighteen (18) years of age;
(4) is under twenty-three (23) years of age if the person has been
adjudicated a delinquent child for an act that would be a felony if
committed by an adult;
(5) has been arrested for a Class A or Class B felony for an
offense committed before July 1, 2014, for a Level 1, Level 2,
Level 3, or Level 4 felony for an offense committed after June 30,
2014, or any other felony that was committed while armed with
a deadly weapon or that involved the use of violence, if a court
has found probable cause to believe that the person committed the
offense charged;
(6) is prohibited by federal law from possessing or receiving
firearms under 18 U.S.C. 922(g); or
(7) is described in section 1.5 of this chapter, unless exempted by
section 1.5 of this chapter.
In the case of an arrest under subdivision (5), a license to carry a
handgun may be issued to a person who has been acquitted of the
specific offense charged or if the charges for the specific offense are
dismissed. The superintendent shall prescribe all forms to be used in
connection with the administration of this chapter.
(j) If the law enforcement agency that charges a fee under
subsection (b) or (c) is a city or town law enforcement agency, the fee
shall be deposited in the law enforcement continuing education fund
established under IC 5-2-8-2.
(k) If a person who holds a valid license to carry a handgun issued
under this chapter:
(1) changes the person's name;
(2) changes the person's address; or
(3) experiences a change, including an arrest or a conviction, that
may affect the person's status as a proper person (as defined in IC 35-47-1-7) or otherwise disqualify the person from holding a
license;
the person shall, not later than thirty (30) days after the date of a
change described under subdivision (3), and not later than sixty (60)
days after the date of the change described under subdivision (1) or (2),
notify the superintendent, in writing, of the event described under
subdivision (3) or, in the case of a change under subdivision (1) or (2),
the person's new name or new address.
(l) The state police department shall indicate on the form for a
license to carry a handgun the notification requirements of subsection
(k).
(m) The state police department shall adopt rules under IC 4-22-2
to implement an electronic application system under subsection (a).
Rules adopted under this section must require the superintendent to
keep on file one (1) set of classifiable and legible fingerprints from
every person who has received a license to carry a handgun so that a
person who applies to renew a license will not be required to submit an
additional set of fingerprints.
(n) Except as provided in subsection (o), for purposes of IC 5-14-3-4(a)(1), the following information is confidential, may not be
published, and is not open to public inspection:
(1) Information submitted by a person under this section to:
(A) obtain; or
(B) renew;
a license to carry a handgun.
(2) Information obtained by a federal, state, or local government
entity in the course of an investigation concerning a person who
applies to:
(A) obtain; or
(B) renew;
a license to carry a handgun issued under this chapter.
(3) The name, address, and any other information that may be
used to identify a person who holds a license to carry a handgun
issued under this chapter.
(o) Notwithstanding subsection (n):
(1) any information concerning an applicant for or a person who
holds a license to carry a handgun issued under this chapter may
be released to a:
(A) state or local government entity:
(i) for law enforcement purposes; or
(ii) to determine the validity of a license to carry a handgun;
or
(B) federal government entity for the purpose of a single entry
query of an applicant or license holder who is:
(i) a subject of interest in an active criminal investigation; or
(ii) arrested for a crime; and
(2) general information concerning the issuance of licenses to
carry handguns in Indiana may be released to a person conducting
journalistic or academic research, but only if all personal
information that could disclose the identity of any person who
holds a license to carry a handgun issued under this chapter has
been removed from the general information.
(p) A person who holds a valid license to carry a handgun under this
chapter is licensed to carry a handgun in Indiana.
(q) A person who knowingly or intentionally violates this section
commits a Class B misdemeanor.