LA County agrees to faster concealed-carry licensing in federal settlement

The Los Angeles County sheriff's department has agreed to overhaul its concealed-carry licensing process as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice. The agreement, filed Thursday in federal court, resolves a lawsuit that accused the county of systematically violating the Second Amendment rights of California residents.

The settlement requires the sheriff's office to continue meeting state-mandated deadlines, including beginning application reviews within 90 days. It also mandates that the county's licensing regime align with the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which expanded the right to carry firearms in public and warned that lengthy processing delays could be unconstitutional.

The Justice Department's lawsuit, filed last September, focused on bureaucratic inefficiencies rather than policy disagreements. Officials alleged that applicants typically waited nine months for license reviews and sometimes more than two years for interviews. Between January 2024 and March 2025, the sheriff received 3,982 applications for new concealed-carry licenses but approved only two.

Under the settlement, the county does not admit wrongdoing. The Justice Department noted that Los Angeles has already "drastically" reduced wait times and now complies with state deadlines, partly by adding personnel and new processing software.

Harmeet Dhillon, head of the DOJ's civil rights division, credited the sheriff for acknowledging the problem and dedicating substantial resources to cutting delays. The sheriff's department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Los Angeles County had an estimated population of 9.7 million in 2025. The settlement still requires approval from a federal judge.