I submitted my Washington county CHL application back in April and have been waiting to hear back. I finally tried calling them. It took several tries to reach them and I was told that I had failed to appear in March. Weird. Despite that, I was able to go today and I guess the procedure has changed.
They took my money downstairs and I went upstairs. It looks like they've gone totally digital now. I saw an acquaintance’s CHL and it looked like the old OR driver's license with the red background and the photograph.
Well, now they have a digital camera. They also had a little pad that I got to sign with a plastic stylus. That was not the interesting part. Everyone was very nice and friendly. The woman, after taking my photo, then had me come over to a machine that looked like a tall and skinny photocopier. I got to rub some husker's hand lotion into my hands, and then she had me roll my fingertips over this glass plate. There was a computer monitor and it had an image of my fingerprints in real time. She used a foot-operated mouse to accept each scan of my fingers. After each individual finger was done on one hand, they scanned my four fingers together as a set.
After that, she informed me that I would get my CHL in the mail in three weeks after a background check by the state. I mentioned that I never received my appointment letter. I double-checked the address they had and it was correct.
So, I guess I'll wait and see what happens. I suppose I can use my three weeks to pick a belt and holster.
I just thought I'd post since I thought that fingerprint scanner was neat (although I feel a little weird being scrutinized by 'the man').
Oh, they also had some enlarged thumbprints where someone had colored in parts of the swirls. One looked like a heart (valentine variety, not blood-pumping) and it was colored in with red. Another looked like a flower and it was colored in with yellow and green. I guess it gets monotonous taking pictures and prints and filing paperwork.