Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§18.2-308.02 and 18.2-308.010 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§18.2-308.02. Application for a concealed handgun permit; Virginia resident or domiciliary.
A. Any person 21 years of age or older may apply in writing to
the clerk of the circuit court of the county or city in which he resides, or if
he is a member of the United States armed forces Armed Forces,
the county or city in which he is domiciled, for a five-year permit to carry a
concealed handgun. There shall be no requirement regarding the length of time
an applicant has been a resident or domiciliary of the county or city. The
application shall be made under oath before a notary or other person qualified
to take oaths and shall be made only on a form prescribed by the Department of
State Police, in consultation with the Supreme Court, requiring only that
information necessary to determine eligibility for the permit. Additionally,
the application shall request but not require that the applicant provide an
email or other electronic address where a notice of permit expiration can be
sent pursuant to subsection C of §18.2-308.010. No information or
documentation other than that which is allowed on the application in accordance
with this section may be requested or required by the clerk or the court.
B. The court shall require proof that the applicant has demonstrated competence with a handgun and the applicant may demonstrate such competence by one of the following, but no applicant shall be required to submit to any additional demonstration of competence, nor shall any proof of demonstrated competence expire:
1. Completing any hunter education or hunter safety course approved by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries or a similar agency of another state;
2. Completing any National Rifle Association firearms safety or training course;
3. Completing any firearms safety or training course or class available to the general public offered by a law-enforcement agency, junior college, college, or private or public institution or organization or firearms training school utilizing instructors certified by the National Rifle Association or the Department of Criminal Justice Services;
4. Completing any law-enforcement firearms safety or training course or class offered for security guards, investigators, special deputies, or any division or subdivision of law enforcement or security enforcement;
5. Presenting evidence of equivalent experience with a firearm through participation in organized shooting competition or current military service or proof of an honorable discharge from any branch of the armed services;
6. Obtaining or previously having held a license to carry a firearm in the Commonwealth or a locality thereof, unless such license has been revoked for cause;
7. Completing any firearms training or safety course or class, including an electronic, video, or online course, conducted by a state-certified or National Rifle Association-certified firearms instructor;
8. Completing any governmental police agency firearms training course and qualifying to carry a firearm in the course of normal police duties; or
9. Completing any other firearms training which the court deems adequate.
A photocopy of a certificate of completion of any of the courses or classes; an affidavit from the instructor, school, club, organization, or group that conducted or taught such course or class attesting to the completion of the course or class by the applicant; or a copy of any document that shows completion of the course or class or evidences participation in firearms competition shall constitute evidence of qualification under this subsection.
C. The making of a materially false statement in an application under this article shall constitute perjury, punishable as provided in §18.2-434.
D. The clerk of court shall withhold from public disclosure the applicant's name and any other information contained in a permit application or any order issuing a concealed handgun permit, except that such information shall not be withheld from any law-enforcement officer acting in the performance of his official duties or from the applicant with respect to his own information. The prohibition on public disclosure of information under this subsection shall not apply to any reference to the issuance of a concealed handgun permit in any order book before July 1, 2008; however, any other concealed handgun records maintained by the clerk shall be withheld from public disclosure.
E. An application is deemed complete when all information required to be furnished by the applicant, including the fee for a concealed handgun permit as set forth in §18.2-308.03, is delivered to and received by the clerk of court before or concomitant with the conduct of a state or national criminal history records check.
§18.2-308.010. Renewal of concealed handgun permit.
A. 1. Persons who previously have held a concealed handgun permit shall be issued, upon application as provided in §18.2-308.02, a new five-year permit unless it is found that the applicant is subject to any of the disqualifications set forth in §18.2-308.09. Persons who previously have been issued a concealed handgun permit pursuant to this article shall not be required to appear in person to apply for a new five-year permit pursuant to this section, and the application for the new permit may be submitted via the United States mail. The circuit court that receives the application shall promptly notify an applicant if the application is incomplete or if the fee submitted for the permit pursuant to §18.2-308.03 is incorrect.
2. If a new five-year permit is issued while an existing permit remains valid, the new five-year permit shall become effective upon the expiration date of the existing permit, provided that the application is received by the court at least 90 days but no more than 180 days prior to the expiration of the existing permit.
3. Any order denying issuance of the new permit shall be in accordance with subsection A of §18.2-308.08.
B. If a permit holder is a member of the Virginia National
Guard, armed forces Armed Forces of the United States, or the
Armed Forces Reserves of the United States, and his five-year permit expires
during an active-duty military deployment outside of the permittee's county or
city of residence, such permit shall remain valid for 90 days after the end
date of the deployment. In order to establish proof of continued validity of
the permit, such a permittee shall carry with him and display, upon request of
a law-enforcement officer, a copy of the permittee's deployment orders or other
documentation from the permittee's commanding officer that order the permittee
to travel outside of his county or city of residence and that indicate the
start and end date of such deployment.
C. If the clerk has an electronic system for, and issuance of, concealed handgun permits and such system has the capability of sending electronic notices to permit holders and if a permit holder requests such notice on the concealed handgun application form, the clerk that issued the permit shall notify the permit holder by electronic mail at least 90 days prior to the permit expiration date that the permit will expire. The failure of a clerk to send the notice required by this subsection or the failure of the permit holder to receive such notice shall not extend the validity of the existing permit beyond its expiration date.