Guy at work applied for a permit to purchase in Hamilton county on Nov 21.  The person at the front desk told him the Sheriff likes to review the applications himself. Its been sitting on his desk ever since despite several phone calls.

Anybody know if this is typical of Hamilton Co? Is there a time limit to issue a permit to purchase?

It has been my understanding that they should do a NICS check and issue it while you are in the office.  Making valid three days later for a "cooling off period".  Sadly I hear a lot of sheriffs don't do this.  Last time I got a PTA in Polk county it took nearly three weeks.

I sent the Sheriff Hagenson an email to ask him directly.  It seemed easiest, and it follows:

Hello Sheriff Hagenson:

I am sending this email directly to you because the general email link to your office does not appear to be set up correctly on the Sheriff Department's webpage.

I am curious what your turnaround time is for an Iowa Permit to Acquire Weapons. It is my understanding that you have an application that was filled out on November 21 that has still not been issued as of today, December 5.   I am following up on a concern that was voiced that your office wasn't adhering to Iowa Code 724.19 which states "The annual permit to acquire pistols or revolvers shall be issued to the applicant immediately upon completion of the application unless the applicant is disqualified under the provisions of section 724.15. . ."

Please be aware that this wording is different from the Iowa Permit to Carry that states the following in section 724.11: "The sheriff or commissioner of public safety shall approve or deny an initial or renewal application within thirty days of receipt of the application."

Anyway, I am curious if there has simply been a oversight or whether department policy is not in line with 724.19.

Respectfully,



I will post up if I get a response.

Chickasaw County doesn't do it that way either. You fill out your paperwork, pay your fee and they mail it to you. The last time I applied for a purchase permit was before shall issue, and I received it in the mail  within 3 days.

My permit I received in 3 days from Chickasaw

Over the years I've had permits to acquire from six different counties.   They all seem to do it different.  I've walked out with the permit in hand, I've waited almost a month (hint: Johnson County).  There is no consistency to it.

Any reply yet yammer?

No. Not yet.

Suggest placing a call to the State Ombudsmen's office and then the County Attorney. They likely will not do much of anything, but try to get a formal complaint on the record. That may send a message to shake loose the permit. Nobody from Des Moines wants to drive to Webster City in the winter, but it might speak volumes for you.

@jasonsbeer any updates?

He was able to pick up his permit on Wednesday. Not much more info.

I'm glad to hear it was issued.  

Three counties here. Biggest headache was in Worth County 18 years ago, actually got fingerprinted for a permit to purchase. Had to go to Northwood from manly, fill out application, get printed and drive back 3 days later to get the permit.

Cerro Gordo was as painless as a permit can be, apply, pay, walk out with permit(post dated to cover the 3 day waiting period).

Chickasaw mails it. Not a big issue, they process fast but you don't have it in hand the day you pay your fee.

Johnson used to require prints.  And a copy of your lease, a utility bill, and one or two other things.  At the time I was living at my sister's place.  I needed a letter from her stating I actually lived there.  The quickest I ever got a permit from Lonny was three weeks.  You needed to plan your gun show circuit carefully.

Sunday I followed up on my initial email with the following:


Hello Sheriff Hagenson:

I am following up on this email since I haven't heard back from you
regarding my December 5 email.  You issued the permit to acquire that
generated my original email on December 7, but the question still
remains on whether your office is issuing Permits to Acquire
immediately as per Iowa Code 724.19.

Please provide me with the general process that occurs, including
timelines, once the permit application is filled out and submitted to
your office.

I thank you in advance for your time and hope to take as little of it
as necessary.

Respectfully,


Today I received the following response:

Dear xxxxx,

I am writing on behalf of Sheriff Dennis Hagenson.  I have included the previous emails he received from you regarding a permit to acquire.  We are attempting to research this per your request, but we have no documentation that a permit was applied for on November 21, 2016, nor do we have an application that conforms to your specifics.  Could you please forward the permit holder's information so that we may more easily look into this situation and be sure you are contacting the correct entity and/or we are providing proper service and due diligence.

Feel free to contact us at 515-832-9500.  Thank you.


xxxxx
HCSO - Civil Clerk



jasonsbeer, is there any chance your guy at work misrepresented what happened or changed some significant details? I kind of enjoy spending a little of my free time hoping to politely educate the Sheriff's office so others don't have similar issues in the future. On the other hand, I don't want to waste anyone's time who is issuing like they should be issuing. I am interested in making sure Hamilton county is on the right page, but I have no desire to waste their valuable time with bad info.

I will follow my line of inquiry to conclusion if provided the permit holder's information, but otherwise see no point in chasing bad info. as all it does is take unnecessary time and alienate people.

I really see the important point being how the office operates, not whether the individual permit was issued.  So, do you think the information provided by your co-worker is bogus?

I'll check and pm you. I think he is out this week. Sounds like something is amiss.