I had a great experience with the government today!

[Guns and more]

Last week I saw where, in Florida, you can apply for your CCW permit in person. It is done at the regional office of the Department of Agriculture.
Since I'm in Tampa, and an office is here, I went. I also hate filling out paperwork, so I have been putting off sending in the forms.

Things to know. They require an appointment. They don't take cash. (check or money order only in the amount of $117) and they want your driver's license as ID. (unless you were born outside of the US, then passport) Bring your certificate of CCW class completion.

Now the good part. They were very nice to deal with. (I was the only applicant there at 8:30 am). I sat at a computer terminal and filled out the form. They did the fingerprints electronically there, and took my digital photo also. They printed the documents there and notarized them.
The best part? If you do it in person, it arrives in 2-3 weeks, not the 15-20 weeks by mail.
I was out the door in 28 minutes with a smile on my face!

A tip of the hat to whoever gave me the information last week.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[chrise2004]

that's awesome! congrats!

[Anubis]

They don't take cash.

My sheriff doesn't take cash either, but the $1 bill I am viewing states "this note is legal tender, for all debts public and private". I wonder what that really means...

[Guns and more]

My sheriff doesn't take cash either, but the $1 bill I am viewing states "this note is legal tender, for all debts public and private". I wonder what that really means...

That means they don't trust their employees.

[Anubis]

The fact that cash is not accepted may or may not indicate employee trust, but my point was that the statement on the bill (and the related federal statute) should require anyone, any business, or any government department to accept cash regardless of any other factor.

A little research proved me wrong regarding private businesses, but not about government departments such as the Sheriff.

From http://www.treasury.gov/education/fa...l-tender.shtml

Q: I thought that United States currency was legal tender for all debts. Some businesses or governmental agencies say that they will only accept checks, money orders or credit cards as payment, and others will only accept currency notes in denominations of $20 or smaller. Isn't this illegal?

A: The pertinent portion of law that applies to your question is the Coinage Act of 1965, specifically Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled "Legal tender," which states: "United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues."

This statute means that all United States money as identified above are a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor. There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person or an organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a State law which says otherwise. For example, a bus line may prohibit payment of fares in pennies or dollar bills. In addition, movie theaters, convenience stores and gas stations may refuse to accept large denomination currency (usually notes above $20) as a matter of policy.

Back to the subject of the thread... In-person is the only way I can apply in my county, not a bad process. The initial application includes getting photographed for the permit and finger-printed by a tech and requires maybe 30 minutes if there's not a bunch of applicants; wait 8 weeks for the background check and go back to pick up the permit. I just renewed mine, which took only 20 minutes and I walked out with my new permit.

I have a Florida permit too, but it was easiest for me to apply by mail, even though it took maybe 13 weeks to get it.

[gottabkiddin]

That means they don't trust their employees.

Isn't that the general consensus when it comes to state and county funds.

[Guns and more]

If I were doing a transaction, and the buyer wanted to give me cash or a check, I'd be saying "cash please." The fact that they don't take cash tells me they have had problems with cash in the past, and checks are safer.

However, today's experience was so good, I'm not allowing rain on my parade.
Kudos to the folks at the Dept of Agriculture office in Tampa. They answered any questions and treated me like a neighbor.
I'd say if you are considering getting your CCW, I recommend going the route I did.

[ccw9mm]

My sheriff doesn't take cash either, but the $1 bill I am viewing states "this note is legal tender, for all debts public and private". I wonder what that really means...

What with the past 18mos having made it abundantly clear: not what we think it means.

Kudos to the folks at the Dept of Agriculture office in Tampa. They answered any questions and treated me like a neighbor.

That, right there, is the best reason of all. I'm all for civility and a realistic view of the place of upstanding citizens in the grand scheme of things. Kudos to them, indeed!

[Thumper]

And I thought "good experience" and "government" were mutually exclusive terms!

[BlueNinjaGo]

That means they don't trust their employees.

Then should they be dealing with firearm permits?

[MattInFla]

Has nothing to do with trust.

They aren't set up to handle cash, meaning they don't have a secure place set aside to store it, etc.

Matt

[Paco]

Last week I saw where, in Florida, you can apply for your CCW permit in person. It is done at the regional office of the Department of Agriculture.
Since I'm in Tampa, and an office is here, I went. I also hate filling out paperwork, so I have been putting off sending in the forms.

Things to know. They require an appointment. They don't take cash. (check or money order only in the amount of $117) and they want your driver's license as ID. (unless you were born outside of the US, then passport) Bring your certificate of CCW class completion.

Now the good part. They were very nice to deal with. (I was the only applicant there at 8:30 am). I sat at a computer terminal and filled out the form. They did the fingerprints electronically there, and took my digital photo also. They printed the documents there and notarized them.
The best part? If you do it in person, it arrives in 2-3 weeks, not the 15-20 weeks by mail.
I was out the door in 28 minutes with a smile on my face!

A tip of the hat to whoever gave me the information last week.

I need to forward this on to the TX DPS as an idea to move towards.

[varob]

The folks at our local court house are easy to work with as well.

Glad you had a good experience.

[miklcolt45]

Has nothing to do with trust.

They aren't set up to handle cash, meaning they don't have a secure place set aside to store it, etc.

Matt

They may well just scan checks and money orders, and handling cash requires going to the bank to make a deposit, something I wouldn't want to do in downtown Tampa while carrying a lot of cash.

[maxwell]

That's great, Florida is getting better.