This can be downloaded in an easy to print format here: http://www.njfos.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Policy-Brief-on-Eliminating-Municipal-CCW-Permitting-Fees.pdf
New Jersey Firearms Owners Syndicate is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that advocates for the Second Amendment rights of its over 4,000 members and all residents of the State of New Jersey.
Background
In June of 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the landmark case New York Rifle & Pistol
Association v. Bruen, finding that New York’s Sullivan Act was unconstitutional. Under the Sullivan Act, as was the case under New Jersey law before June of 2022, Concealed Carry Permits would only be issued to the extent that the applicant demonstrated a “justifiable need” to obtain the permit. The
Court in Bruen found that “justifiable need” laws violated the Second and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and struck down the Sullivan Act. After Bruen, states are now required to provide licenses to all applicants as long as that person is not a prohibited person. The Court further held that the licensing process must be based on clear and non-subjective criteria.
In the aftermath of the Bruen decision, the New Jersey legislature passed N.J. P.L. 2022, Chapter 131 (“Chapter 131”). This so-called “Bruen Response Bill” was introduced not because of concerns around public safety but simply to make it as difficult as possible for peaceable people to exercise their rights. In this legislation, the fees to obtain a permit were quadrupled!
Using high fees as a barrier to exercising a constitutional right has long been suspect (see, e.g., Murdock v. Pennsylvania, 319 U.S. 105 (1943) and Shuttlesworth v. City of Birmingham, 394 U.S. 147 (1969)). Going back to nearly the time of the founding, then Chief Justice John Marshall wrote that “the power to tax is the power to destroy.” McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. 316 (1819).
There is no reasonable public policy objective behind limiting access to a right based solely on one’s ability to afford to exercise that right.
Before Chapter 131 was signed into law by Governor Murphy, the prior version of N.J.S.A. 2C:58-4 required that the applicant submit his or her application to their chief law enforcement officer, who would complete a background check. The applicant would submit a cashier’s check in the amount of
$50 payable to the County Superior Court with jurisdiction over the application. The $50 fee was intended to cover the cost of a hearing before a Superior Court judge so that the applicant could demonstrate a justifiable need for the permit. In that prior regime, the role of the municipal law enforcement agency was still the same: to conduct the prescribed background check consistent with directives and procedures promulgated by the New Jersey State Police. The municipality received no fee for the completion of this background check.
Today, concealed carry permit applications are processed through a portal maintained by the State Police (https://www.njportal.com/NJSP/ConcealedCarry/). The cost of maintaining this system is paid
through a separate transaction fee by the applicant, directly to the State Police in addition to the statutory fees. With the electronic submission, the applicant pays the $50 state portion of the application fee directly to the New Jersey State Police. After submitting all required paperwork through the portal, including fingerprinting, reference letters, and proof of completion of the state’s
training requirements, the application is automatically forwarded to the municipal agency for review and approval.
We recognize that there is some time involved with the processing of those applications in completing the steps to the background check, but there is no direct cost to the municipality where the application
is submitted. The infrastructure used to complete these applications is maintained by the state and separately paid for with each online submission.
In New Jersey, Carry Permit fees are layered fees on top of fees. An applicant must pay a fee to obtain a Firearms Purchaser Identification Card, a separate fee to obtain a Pistol Purchase Permit, a separate fee to the NJ State Police for each of those applications, and a separate fee to pay for the processing of fingerprints. Before 2022, the municipal fee to obtain a permit to simply purchase a pistol was $2. It is now $25 for the same background check conducted to obtain a permit to carry that pistol.
On June 11th , the Borough of Englishtown in Monmouth County became the first in the state to eliminate these burdensome and discriminatory fees through a rebate system.
Below is a model resolution based closely on the resolution that was passed in Englishtown.
We strongly urge all municipalities across the state to consider and pass this resolution to ensure equal protection of our laws and to ensure that all peaceable people can share the same rights, regardless of their income levels.
Model Resolution
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING REFUND OF MUNICIPAL PORTION OF HANDGUN
CARRY PERMIT FEE UPON SUBMISSION OF RECEIPT
WHEREAS, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:58-4, applicants for permits to carry a handgun are required to pay an application fee in the amount of $200, of which $150 is paid to the municipality and $50 is paid directly to the Superintendent of the State Police; and
WHEREAS, the [insert municipality] recognizes that the statutory fee structure imposes financial burdens on applicants and wishes to ease that burden for residents by offering refunds of the [municipality/city]’s portion of the application fee; and
WHEREAS, the [insert municipality] recognizes that the United States Supreme Court has long held that taxes on fundamental rights are unconstitutional and that the statutory fee prescribed by N.J.S.A. 2C:58-4 is in excess of a mere processing fee and is therefore a tax on a core constitutional right; and
WHEREAS, the [municipality] has determined that it is in the public interest to establish an
administrative process for refunding the $150 municipal portion of the application fee upon
appropriate documentation;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Mayor and Council of [insert municipality],
County of [insert County], State of New Jersey, as follows:
- Refund Authorization: Any application who has paid the $150 municipal application fee for a handgun carry permit on or after [insert date], and who submits a valid receipt showing payment, may apply to the [municipality’s] Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for a refund of
$150, representing the portion of the statutory fee paid to the [municipality] under N.J.S.A 2C:58-4. - Procedure: Refunds shall be issued upon applicant’s submission to the CFO of (a) proof of payment, and (b) confirmation that the application was processed through the [insert municipality].
- Limitation: This refund policy applies only to the municipal portion of the fee and does not apply to any amounts remitted by the applicant directly to the State of New Jersey or other agencies. Refunds shall be available only for payments made on or after [insert date].
- Effective Date: This resolution shall take effect immediately upon adoption.
- Administrative Oversight: The [insert municipality] CFO is hereby authorized to administer this refund program and to require any reasonable documentation necessary to confirm eligibility.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution shall be made available to the public and posted on the [insert municipality] website for informational purposes.