California City Jacks Up Gun Permitting Fees, Opening Legal Can Of Worms

Second Amendment activists predicted that a California city could face legal action over its fees to apply for concealed carry permits.

The city of Glendale announced it would charge $1,078 for an initial application for a concealed carry permit, which would come in addition to fees for fingerprinting, a training course and a psychological evaluation. The announcement came to light after both the Department of Justice(DOJ) and the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) settled litigation with Los Angeles County over its handling of concealed carry permit applications.

The Daily Caller News Foundation confirmed the prices listed on the website, as well as estimates for the psychological evaluation, fingerprinting and the training course, which comes to at least $2,106. Glendale City Manager Roubik Golanian did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.

SAF initially sued Los Angeles County and other jurisdictions over fees for concealed carry permits in December 2023, citing the Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen that declared discretionary-issue laws for concealed carry unconstitutional. In a footnote of the opinion, Associate Justice Clarence noted that even “shall issue” laws regarding concealed carry permits could fall under scrutiny.

“[B]ecause any permitting scheme can be put toward abusive ends, we do not rule out constitutional challenges to shall-issue regimes where, for example, lengthy wait times in processing license applications or exorbitant fees deny ordinary citizens their right to public carry,” Thomas wrote.

In September 2025, the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) and Sheriff Robert Luna in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. The suit alleged that the department engaged in a “pattern or practice” of violating Second Amendment rights by unreasonably delaying the processing of concealed carry weapon (CCW) permit applications.