Santa Barbara County Information

Usual Requirements

Completed application
3 character reference letters
Proof of residency
Obligatory Live Scan / background investigation
Psychological evaluation
Classroom lecture
Range qualification
All fees and costs associated

The entire process is handled by the SBSO Internal Affairs division. The Sheriff may or may not be involved until such time as final approval/signature. Bill Brown was sworn in as the new Sheriff in January 2007. His stance on CCW issuance is yet to be determined. Previous administrations have had policies ranging from highly restrictive to fairly lenient to anyone with better than "because I want to" as a cause for issuance.

Odds of issuance

Unknown, with the new Sheriff (Brown) taking office in January 2007. Prior Sheriff (Anderson) would readily renew existing permits, but on a 1-10, 10 being easiest, I’d give him a 3. The Sheriff prior to that (Thomas) ranked an 8 if you had cause other than “just because I want to”.

Sheriff:	Bill Brown, Jr. (sworn in in January ’07)
Prior Sheriff	Jim Anderson (Sheriff until January 2007)
SBSO phone	805.681.4100
SBSO address:	4434 Calle Real Santa Barbara, CA 93110
Sheriff’s email	sheriff@sbsheriff.org

Everything is handled through the Internal Affairs Department, currently headed by Sgt. Lance Craig. Initial contact should be through the Sheriff, who will refer you to Sgt. Craig. If you go to Sgt. Craig first, he will ask you why you need one, and then tell you that you do not qualify. You must specifically ask that an application be sent to you. The act of submitting a properly completed application is what gets you in the door. You will always be told "no" if just making an inquiry.