PASCO COUNTY, Fla. -- The process of getting a concealed carry permit is now nearly 100 percent faster for Floridians, despite a 75 percent surge in people applying for permits.
With 2,000,000 concealed carry permit holders in Florida, Department of Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried's mission has been to make the process more efficient.
"When I took office in January, we, unfortunately, inherited a mess. The backlog was enormous and the division was rifled with challenges," said Fried.
Fried says changing leadership and making a sworn law enforcement officer with 30 years of experience director of the licensing program helped streamline the process.
"We have made tremendous progress in just six months," said Fried.
Fried says the application review for people with prior arrests went from 88 days to 25 days, which is 70 percent faster.
While the review for people with no priors went from 50 days to 1 day, about 98 percent faster.
"Because of the changes you have made commissioner, we don’t get complaints anymore," said Mike Fasano, Pasco County tax collector.
Fried says although the review takes one day, people shouldn’t expect to get their permit in just one day, more like 7 to 15 days.
But even with the number of applications surging to 20,000 a month, the process of getting a permit will now take weeks instead of many months.
"We’ve done all this while adding complete accountability, full review and background checks on all applications," said Fried.
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