To be clear...it's still usable to carry after it has expired, as long as you reapplied before that date. However, you won't be able to use your CHP as a purchase permit once it expires.

I'm in Meck, possibly the longest wait in the state. Submitted my renewal on 4/7, permit expired 7/22, still waiting. I believe they said ~120 days was their forecast when I applied...and the website says you can't submit for renewal more than 90 days out (although I changed mine another 2 weeks or so earlier with no problems). What a crock!!

I'm going by what every PD/SD I've ever dealt with, and every FFL I've ever dealt with, have said. But I'll definitely do more research.

Here's what MCSO's website says (which admittedly doesn't make it correct):

If you have any questions regarding the delay, please contact CMC's Corporate Health Information Management at 704-667-9500. If you have applied for a renewal of your CHP prior to the expiration date listed on your permit, your permit will remain valid to continue to carry concealed since you started the process prior to the expiration. However, you will not be able to purchase a firearm using your CHP until you receive your new CHP. The Sheriff's Office apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause and thanks you for your patience.


ETA: ok, after doing some digging and asking some people in the business that should know better than me, here's what I came up with (along with supporting documentation).

1. We all agree it's find to carry concealed with an expired permit based on 14-415.16(c)
2. The ability to use the CHP as a substitute for a PPP/NICS was in question.

The 4473 says this for question #21:

No NICS check was required because the transferee/buyer has a valid permit from the State where the transfer is to take place, which qualifies as an exemption to NICS. (See Instructions for Question 21.)

And includes a space for date of issuance and expiration date...which is where you'd run into your first problem, finding and FFL that would sell you a firearm while writing an expiration date that comes before the transaction date.

The "Instructions for Question 21" includes a couple NFA subpoint and this:

(b) transfers where the transferee/buyer has presented the licensee with a permit or license that allows the transferee/buyer to possess, acquire, or carry a firearm, and the permit has been recognized by ATF as a valid alternative to the NICS check requirement; or

Which at face value doesn't really say much either way. However...the "recognized by ATF" is important. Because the ATF used the Brady Law to determine which permit is valid as a substitute for a NICS check, and it includes this note:

Note: Notwithstanding the dates set forth below, permits qualify as alternatives to the background check requirements of the Brady law for no more than 5 years from the date of issuance. The permit must be valid under State law in order to qualify as a Brady alternative.

And since NC CHPs are valid for 5 years, then the day they expire they no longer qualify as a substitute at a Federal, not State, level. {The actual reference for the Brady/5-year item is 18 USC 922(t)(3)(A).}

That's my understanding. If somebody here finds an FFL, or an individual, willing to sell you a firearm with an expired CHP and renewal receipt, I'd say you're in the minority.

Yeah, that's what is on their website...which I quoted above.

However, it wouldn't be the first time an organization made up their own interpretation and tried to enforce it. No different than the "firearms laws" document Cooper had which wasn't actually the law.

Text and email came in just after 5p today...so:

Submitted renewal: 4/7
Permit expired: 7/22
Renewal approved: 8/2

Two bits of aditional info...

The good: they laminated my permit after I signed it...hadn't had Meck do that before
The bad: it was actually approved 7/18 (old one expired 7/22, and I got a call, text and voice mail on 8/2)