First permit
Sixteen hours. Three ways to do them.
California requires 16 hours of instruction and a live-fire qualification before San Diego County will issue your first permit. Every route below gets you the same certificate. They differ only in how much of it you do in a room with Bill.
In a classroom, online, or half of each
Always in person. There is no online version of this.
Certificate issued the day you finish
Pick your route
Every route uses the same two steps below. Pick the one that fits your week, then book the dates it calls for.
All in person
One classroom day and one range day. Two days, one weekend if you want.
$548 booked separately, $49 comes off automatically
Blended
Eight hours online at your own pace, then one range day for the other eight.
$249 course plus a $299 range day, qualification included
Mostly online
All sixteen hours online, then a Monday evening to qualify.
$499 course, plus $60 paid at the range
New to the online courses? Read how they work, start to finish: what the county accepts, what arrives when, and when the classroom is the better call.
The $49 saving applies when you book two in-person tickets, a classroom day and a range day. It cannot reach a route that swaps one of those for an online course, so both online routes pay list price for both halves. What the extra money buys you is a day back.
Step 1
Pick your classroom day
8 hours · indoors · $249
Not seeing a date that works? Tell us and we will add you to the list for October.
Start the moment you pay. Pause and pick it back up whenever. Most people spread it over a week of evenings. You bring the completion certificate to your range day.
No date to pick. Added to your order.
The whole instruction requirement, at your own pace, from anywhere. Finish it before your qualification date and bring your completion certificate with you.
No date to pick. Added to your order.
The course is hosted by our online partner. You buy it here, they deliver it, and your certificate comes back to us automatically.
Step 2
Pick your range day
8 hours · outdoors · $299 · your qualification is completed on the day
A range day is eight hours of instruction with your qualification at the end of it, so it is for people who still owe those hours. If your course covered all sixteen, book a Monday evening qualification at the Kearny Mesa range instead. It takes about an hour and costs $60 for one pistol.
Each additional pistol you want listed on the permit is another $20, and you pay Bill at the range rather than here. Nothing is charged for the Monday when you reserve it.
Before you book
What to bring
- Sheriff’s conditional approval letter
- Government photo ID
- Your online completion certificate, if you took that route
- Eye and ear protection
- A strong-side or appendix holster
- A proper gun belt
- 50 rounds per pistol, live-fire days only
- Lunch, or cash for it, on full-day sessions
Do not bring a firearm to the classroom day. Range and qualification days only.
Questions people ask first
Yes. The Sheriff accepts the 8-hour and 16-hour online courses we use, and the live-fire portion is done with Bill either way. What the county will not accept is a qualification done online, which is why every route still ends at a range.
Blended is 8 hours online plus a full range day, so your qualification happens as part of that day. Mostly online is all 16 hours online plus a Monday evening qualification, which is about an hour. Blended gets you more trigger time with an instructor. Mostly online gets you fewer trips.
For the in-person route, yes, the order does not matter. For the online routes, finish the course first: you have to hand over a completion certificate when you arrive.
Move any in-person date once at no charge with more than 72 hours’ notice. The online course has no date to move.
On the all in-person route the two days are $249 and $299, which is $548 separately. Booked together they are $499, and the discount applies itself once both are in your cart.