CRPA Scores Major Win: Non-Residents Now Eligible to Apply for California CCW Permits

In a significant victory for gun owners’ rights, a federal court has issued a preliminary injunction in the case of California Rifle & Pistol Association (CRPA) v. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD), opening the door for non-residents to apply for a concealed carry weapon (CCW) permit in California.

This marks a major shift in California’s long-standing restrictions on concealed carry applications and could signal broader challenges to the state’s firearms permitting laws following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen.

The Legal Challenge

The lawsuit, brought by CRPA along with the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), Gun Owners of America (GOA), and Gun Owners of California (GOC), challenged, among other things, LASD’s policy of automatically rejecting CCW permit applications from individuals who did not reside in the county in which the application was submitted. Specifically, non-residents of California.

CRPA and its co-plaintiffs argued that such a blanket denial violated the Second Amendment, especially under the clarified constitutional standards set by Bruen, which emphasized the right to carry firearms outside the home.

The plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction to immediately halt LASD’s discriminatory policy while the case proceeds.

What the Court Ordered

The court sided with CRPA and the other plaintiffs, issuing a preliminary injunction requiring LASD to accept and process CCW applications from non-residents. You can read the full court order here.

Under the injunction:

• No county in California can refuse to accept or process an application solely because the applicant is not a resident of California.

• Non-residency cannot be used as a reason to block or ignore applications at the intake stage.

• The normal requirements for a CCW permit — such as completing a background check, fingerprinting, and firearms training — still apply.

• Importantly, issuance of a permit is not guaranteed; the county must simply treat non-resident applications fairly, as they would any resident application.

However, there is an important limitation:

➡️ Only members of the four organizations named in the lawsuit — CRPA, SAF, GOA, or GOC — are currently protected under this injunction.
➡️ Applicants must be able to prove membership in one of these organizations when applying.

This membership requirement is standard practice in civil litigation, where relief from the court often applies only to the parties (and their members) involved in the case.

What This Means for Applicants

If you are not a resident of California, but wish to apply for a CCW permit there, you now have a pathway — provided you meet these basic conditions:

• You are a current member of CRPA, SAF, GOA, or GOC.

• You submit a complete CCW application.

• You complete a background check, fingerprinting, and firearms training as required by California law.

• Your application is processed without discrimination based on where you live.

The county is now legally barred from refusing to accept your application simply because of your address. You do need to apply in a county you intend to visit in the immediate future.

A Broader Legal Landscape

The CRPA v. LASD injunction is part of a growing wave of litigation reshaping California’s firearms laws in the post-Bruen era.

In a related case, May v. Bonta, a coalition of gun rights groups is challenging the overall constitutionality of California’s current CCW licensing system, arguing that the complex requirements and arbitrary denials violate the Second Amendment.

While May v. Bonta is still pending, early rulings like the preliminary injunction against LASD show that courts are increasingly scrutinizing whether government restrictions on concealed carry are compatible with the constitutional right to bear arms.

I’m personally stoked to see this victory for gun rights and hope more like it will follow as states like California continue to learn that their old discretionary and overly burdensome permitting schemes are unconstitutional.

What’s Next?

The preliminary injunction is not the final word.

The full case against LASD continues, and further rulings could expand, modify, or solidify the rights affirmed by this early decision.

For now, though, non-residents who are members of CRPA, SAF, GOA, or GOC can take action — and apply for a California CCW permit with confidence that their application must be accepted.