Concealed Handgun Licenses

Oregon law prohibits the issuance of a concealed handgun license to anyone:

• Who is currently on any form of pretrial release. This may include forms of court ordered diversion.
• Who has had a misdemeanor conviction within the past four years. 
• Who has EVER been convicted of a felony.
• Who has a current warrant for their arrest.
• Who makes false statements on the application.
• Who could be a danger to self, others or the community as a result of their mental or psychological state, or as demonstrated by a past pattern of behavior involving unlawful violence or threats of unlawful violence.
• Who is the subject of a restraining order or protection order. See ORS 166.735, 30.866, 107.700 to 107.732, or 163.738.
• Who has had a dishonorable discharge from the US Armed Forces.
• Who is a registered sex offender.
• Who was convicted as a juvenile of a crime that if committed by an adult would constitute a felony or a misdemeanor involving violence and was under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court within the past 4 years.
• Who is not yet 21 years of age.
• Who has been convicted of an offense involving controlled substances, or has been sentenced to a drug diversion program in any state other than Oregon, or has been convicted more than once of a drug related offense, or sentenced to a drug diversion program in the State of Oregon.
• Who has not met the conditions of application. You are also ineligible for a concealed handgun license if you are not a US citizen, unless you are a legal resident alien who can show documentation of continuous residency in the country for at least six months, and have declared in writing to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services the intent to acquire citizenship. You must be able to provide proof of the written declaration.

Your concealed handgun license is valid for four years from date of issue. However, an arrest or involvement in criminal activity may result in revocation.

Please arrive no more than 15 minutes prior to your appointment time.

Reminder letters are sent to the current email address on file. However, it is still your responsibility to make sure your license is current and valid when you carry a concealed handgun.

Oregon law provides some limits on where a person with a Concealed Handgun License (CHL) can carry a firearm, and federal laws contain a few more prohibitions. Even if you have a Concealed Handgun License, you cannot carry a firearm on any of the following properties:

• Federal facilities - federal courthouses, social security offices, in secured areas of airports, and on airplanes
• State Capitol Building
• National forests marked or posted by signs prohibiting all firearms
• Public schools - signs posted prohibiting all firearms
• Designated wilderness areas (where a specific declaration has enacted a restriction or prohibition of firearms)
• Indian reservations or Indian property - you may not carry a firearm concealed without the written permission of the tribal judge; this may also apply to certain casinos on Indian lands. We advise people to contact the individual tribe to determine what the current rules are for that location.
• Courts - in a courtroom, jury room, judge's chambers or adjacent areas that the presiding judge determines should be free of firearms to ensure the safety of the litigants, court personnel, witnesses and others
• Private property where the owner prohibits firearms possession
• No person may bring a firearm, weapon or other contraband into the secure perimeter of the Washington County Jail, and all visitors to the jail must go through a security screening and metal detector. Knowingly introducing contraband into a correctional facility is a Class C felony.
• See also: ORS Chapter 166

If we deny your application or revoke your license, we will serve you in person or send you a certified letter stating the reason(s). If you disagree with our decision, you may appeal to the Circuit Court.

You may apply for a Washington County-issued Oregon concealed handgun license by meeting the residency requirements as stated in ORS 166.291(9):

• Possess a Current Oregon driver’s license showing a residence in the county.
• Be registered to vote in Washington County and have a precinct memorandum card showing a residence address in the county.
• Provide documentation that you currently own or lease real property in the county.
• Provide documentation that you filed an Oregon tax return for the most recent tax year with a residence address in the county.

Oregon law states that a sheriff may waive the residency requirement for a resident of a contiguous state that has a compelling business interest or other legitimate demonstrated need. Washington County may consider your application if you live in a contiguous state, meet all the requirements, and include a statement stating a compelling business interest or other legitimate demonstrated need that exhibits a correlation to Washington County and the frequency with which you visit. If Washington County is not your primary destination in Oregon, you need to apply in the county you visit most often.

ORS 166.291 is available at https://oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_166.291. Scroll through the index and then down to the section you want to review.
See also: ORS Chapter 166

No. There are no penalties for letting your license expire. However, without a license, you have no authority to carry concealed. If you wish to renew your license, please follow the instructions as listed above.

Not necessarily. Small arms qualification does not prove that a person was trained on handguns. A DD 214, block 13 is prepared using all federally recognized awards, medals, badges, citations, and campaign ribbons. If the person has qualified with a pistol (sometimes referred to as handgun)  they will have earned a qualification badge (marksman, sharpshooter, or expert) and it will appear in block 13. If it is not on the DD 214, it did not happen, from an official standpoint. There is a mechanism for a person to get their DD 214 corrected.

It is certainly possible that a person qualified with a pistol, and their DD 214 does not specifically say that. In that case, they would have to provide some other evidence to show this – we cannot grant proficiency because we have not seen documentation to show that.

If a person has a pistol marksmanship, pistol sharpshooter or pistol expert badge listed on the DD 214 – we can use that as proof of handgun safety training for the Oregon Concealed Handgun License.

It is ultimately your burden to show you are qualified, and you need to provide us with documentation that shows that you meet the requirements.  Unfortunately, documentation you were in the military, and even documentation that you had small arms training is not specific enough to satisfy the CHL standard.

If you previously held a CHL in Washington county, you may apply as a renewal applicant.  There are no penalties for renewing late.  Be aware that if it has been over 5 years, we will require proof of citizenship at the time of your appointment. 

Alternatively, if you held a Washington County CHL and transferred to another county in Oregon, you would need to schedule a transfer appointment when coming back to Washington County.