LA Sheriff Agrees to Fix Concealed Carry Permit Backlog After DOJ Lawsuit

The Department of Justice has settled with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LCSD) regarding its procedures for issuing firearm carry permits. 

When the Justice Department filed this lawsuit, applicants were waiting an average of over nine months to receive their permits. 

In response to the lawsuit, LCSD drastically cut those waiting times and is now in compliance with statutory deadlines.

LCSD has agreed to bring its procedures in line with the Supreme Court’s landmark Bruen decision. 

This is a huge win for the residents of Los Angeles County and for the Second Amendment.

The Second Amendment requires law enforcement to have objective standards for issuing carry permits and to issue those permits without imposing lengthy delays on applicants. 

 “The Justice Department supports our law enforcement partners.” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, “The sheriff acknowledged the problem and devoted substantial additional resources, including new processing software and additional personnel, to cutting waiting times dramatically. We applaud their efforts and are happy to be able to bring this litigation to a successful conclusion!”

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has agreed to end delays in issuing carry permits! @CivilRights will ensure that the terms of this agreement are followed in the years to come. We will always protect Americans’ Second Amendment rights.https://t.co/OJjrjB89TC

— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) August 13, 2026

The Civil Rights Division sued the LA Sheriff in 2025 after it received complaints about unreasonable delays in concealed carry permits, Townhall reported. The DOJ analyzed over 8,000 CCW permits before it filed suit. 

Between January 2024 and March 2025, defendants received 3,982 applications for new concealed carry licenses. Of these, they approved two — a mere 0.05 percent approval rate that cannot be explained by legitimate disqualifying factors alone. 

“This is not bureaucratic inefficiency; it is systematic obstruction of constitutional rights,” the lawsuit said.

The Second Amendment Section of the Civil Rights Division enforces the Second Amendment, the Police Pattern or Practice Act (34 U.S.C. § 12601), and Executive Order 14206. 

The DOJ has settled a lawsuit that accused the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) of systematically denying citizens their Second Amendment rights.

Under the agreement, LASD must reduce the time it takes to process gun permits.

It will also track application numbers…

— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) August 14, 2026

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department agreed to a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice today and will speed up licensing for eligible Californians who wish to carry concealed handguns in public for self-defense. https://t.co/8OdgeuYIBn

— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) August 14, 2026

If you are a current or prospective gun owner and believe that a state or local government has infringed your right to keep or bear arms, please submit a complaint through https://www.justice.gov/crt/second-amendment-section.

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