DPS Processing Times

[bdickens]

91 days from the time DPS received my application. Received CHL roughly two weeks after I contacted my State Rep, Senator, and the Governor's Office. Hmm.... I wonder...?

And I've been a veritable Boy Scout my whole life!

[texasmr2]

It has been 81 day's for me since the DPS recieved my application. I contacted my state rep today and gave him a detailed description of my application info and the reason for my concern. DPS has been waiting for ONE MONTH now on my background check info and I have been a veritable Boy Scout my whole life.

[WaltherPSS]

Class 5/3/08
Application receved by DPS 5/8/08
Processing 6/3/08
License complete 8/29/08
Wating for plastic

[DocNTexas]

My online status changed today to indicate my renewal was approved and license issued. It took 59 days from the date the DPS received my renewal material (according to the USPS, not the DPS website) to the online status change showing license issued.

Doc

[longtooth]

Welcome abaord Doc & we are glad to have you.
We have several military, LEOs, preachers, 1 good lawyer, teachers, sales, & more but I blelieve you might be our only Doctor.
Welcome.

[DocNTexas]

There is a misconception on the time the DPS has to issue a CHL to a new applicant. Most hold that the DPS has 60 days from the receipt of ones application material to issue or deny the license but they actually have 90 days on a new application and 180 days if they notify the applicant that they can not process the application in the allotted time. The statute is misleading if you do not read it closely, but if you pay close attention to the terms used and add up the numbers, you will see that the DPS can take as long as 90 days to issue a license to a new applicant and can extend that time to 180 days if necessary.

What makes the statute confusing is that it uses two different reference points in calculating the allotted time for reviewing and forwarding the application materials and issuing the license.

GC411.176 Review of Application Materials states that the Department (i.e. the DPS) has up to 30 days from the date they receive the application materials to review the material before they must forward the material to the director's local designee (i.e. the local person/agency responsible for performing the local background check). The local designee then must complete the local check and return the material to the DPS no later than 60 day from the date that the DPS received the application material from the applicant. No matter when local designee received the material, the total time can take as long as 60 days before the DPS gets the material back from the local designee. This section then states that the DPS can further review the material once they receive it back from the local designee up to the 180th day after the receipt of the application (more on this later).

Now the confusing part. Although the preceding subsection allows the DPS up to 180 days to process an application (as long as they properly notify the applicant as described below), subsection GC411.177 Issuance or Denial of License dictates that the DPS must either issue or deny the license no later than the 60th day after the departments local designee receives the material. READ THAT PART AGAIN CLOSELY! Note that it states 60 days from the date that the local designee received the material and not from the date that the DPS received the material. Now, since the DPS initially has 30 days before they must forward the material to the local designee and then 60 days from the date the local designee receives the material to finally issue the license, this adds up to a total of 90 days by statute before the DPS must either issue or deny the license on a new application.

Now, to further confuse matters, GC411.177 provides that if the DPS can not process the application in the allotted 90 days, all they have to do is notify the applicant in writing and they can then use the full 180 day allotted them by GC411.176 before having to either issue or deny the license.

So, the only real violation the DPS is guilty of, as far as the processing of new applications goes, is not notifying applicants in writing that they are not able to process the application in the allotted 90 days, thereby allowing them an additional 90 days to complete the process.

This is not the case for renewals however. GC411.185 Renewal requires that renewal applications must be either issued or denied with 45 days of the receipt of the application materials by the DPS. There are no provisions for extension or room for misinterpretation, simply a clear requirement to either issue or deny the application within 45 day of the reciept of the renewal application material.

So there you have it. The confusing Texas CHL statutes in a nutshell (a big screwy nutshell). Hopefully the DPS will get a handle on the problem soon and we can again rely on them to meet the deadlines imposed on them (they sure expect us to meet ours). In the meantime, make sure you send those renewals in well ahead of time.

Doc

[lunchbox]

There is a misconception on the time the DPS has to issue a CHL to a new applicant. Most hold that the DPS has 60 days from the receipt of ones application material to issue or deny the license but they actually have 90 days on a new application and 180 days if they notify the applicant that they can not process the application in the allotted time. The statute is misleading if you do not read it closely, but if you pay close attention to the terms used and add up the numbers, you will see that the DPS can take as long as 90 days to issue a license to a new applicant and can extend that time to 180 days if necessary.

What makes the statute confusing is that it uses two different reference points in calculating the allotted time for reviewing and forwarding the application materials and issuing the license.

GC411.176 Review of Application Materials states that the Department (i.e. the DPS) has up to 30 days from the date they receive the application materials to review the material before they must forward the material to the director's local designee (i.e. the local person/agency responsible for performing the local background check). The local designee then must complete the local check and return the material to the DPS no later than 60 day from the date that the DPS received the application material from the applicant. No matter when local designee received the material, the total time can take as long as 60 days before the DPS gets the material back from the local designee. This section then states that the DPS can further review the material once they receive it back from the local designee up to the 180th day after the receipt of the application (more on this later).

Now the confusing part. Although the preceding subsection allows the DPS up to 180 days to process an application (as long as they properly notify the applicant as described below), subsection GC411.177 Issuance or Denial of License dictates that the DPS must either issue or deny the license no later than the 60th day after the departments local designee receives the material. READ THAT PART AGAIN CLOSELY! Note that it states 60 days from the date that the local designee received the material and not from the date that the DPS received the material. Now, since the DPS initially has 30 days before they must forward the material to the local designee and then 60 days from the date the local designee receives the material to finally issue the license, this adds up to a total of 90 days by statute before the DPS must either issue or deny the license on a new application.

Now, to further confuse matters, GC411.177 provides that if the DPS can not process the application in the allotted 90 days, all they have to do is notify the applicant in writing and they can then use the full 180 day allotted them by GC411.176 before having to either issue or deny the license.

So, the only real violation the DPS is guilty of, as far as the processing of new applications goes, is not notifying applicants in writing that they are not able to process the application in the allotted 90 days, thereby allowing them an additional 90 days to complete the process.

This is not the case for renewals however. GC411.185 Renewal requires that renewal applications must be either issued or denied with 45 days of the receipt of the application materials by the DPS. There are no provisions for extension or room for misinterpretation, simply a clear requirement to either issue or deny the application within 45 day of the reciept of the renewal application material.

So there you have it. The confusing Texas CHL statutes in a nutshell (a big screwy nutshell). Hopefully the DPS will get a handle on the problem soon and we can again rely on them to meet the deadlines imposed on them (they sure expect us to meet ours). In the meantime, make sure you send those renewals in well ahead of time.

Doc

this is the reply Mr Cotton sent me on the subject

lunchbox wrote:Mr Cotton

I have a quick question. Was I mistake about the processing time for DPS? It was my understanding the total number of days was 60. However at work today (prodefence) a LEO told me i was blatantly wrong and that it was 90 days and always has been.
even though he doesn't even have one and I do he felt since he was LEO and I'm just a dumb kid I was wrong and there was no convincing him otherwise.
where can I find this statute and show him if he is indeed incorrect?



There is a typo in the statute that can, under very limited circumstances, give DPS up to 90 days to process an initial application. This typo doesn't exist regarding renewals and the time limit is 45 days.

The typo has to do with one word; i.e. "designee" v. "department." DPS has up to 30 days from the date they receive an application to send it to their "local designee" to perform the background check in your county of residence and employment. The statute goes on to require DPS to either issue or deny an application within 60 days of the "designee's" receipt of a completed packet. It should read "within 60 days of the "department's" receipt of . . ." as it reads for renewals.

So DPS can take up to 90 days, but only if they wait the full 30 days before sending it to their local designee. Another way to look at it is that DPS gets 60 days plus the number of days they waited to send the application to their local designee.

To DPS' credit, they have always taken the position that they have 60 days; they know it was a mistake, albeit a legally binding one, and they hold themselves to the 60 day timetable. When they report the number of days late they are on processing, they base the calculation on the 60 day requirement for new licenses and 45 days for renewals.

I hope to change this mistake in 2009.

[DocNTexas]

There is a misconception on the time the DPS has to issue a CHL to a new applicant. Most hold that the DPS has 60 days from the receipt of ones application material to issue or deny the license but they actually have 90 days on a new application and 180 days if they notify the applicant that they can not process the application in the allotted time. The statute is misleading if you do not read it closely, but if you pay close attention to the terms used and add up the numbers, you will see that the DPS can take as long as 90 days to issue a license to a new applicant and can extend that time to 180 days if necessary.

What makes the statute confusing is that it uses two different reference points in calculating the allotted time for reviewing and forwarding the application materials and issuing the license.

GC411.176 Review of Application Materials states that the Department (i.e. the DPS) has up to 30 days from the date they receive the application materials to review the material before they must forward the material to the director's local designee (i.e. the local person/agency responsible for performing the local background check). The local designee then must complete the local check and return the material to the DPS no later than 60 day from the date that the DPS received the application material from the applicant. No matter when local designee received the material, the total time can take as long as 60 days before the DPS gets the material back from the local designee. This section then states that the DPS can further review the material once they receive it back from the local designee up to the 180th day after the receipt of the application (more on this later).

Now the confusing part. Although the preceding subsection allows the DPS up to 180 days to process an application (as long as they properly notify the applicant as described below), subsection GC411.177 Issuance or Denial of License dictates that the DPS must either issue or deny the license no later than the 60th day after the departments local designee receives the material. READ THAT PART AGAIN CLOSELY! Note that it states 60 days from the date that the local designee received the material and not from the date that the DPS received the material. Now, since the DPS initially has 30 days before they must forward the material to the local designee and then 60 days from the date the local designee receives the material to finally issue the license, this adds up to a total of 90 days by statute before the DPS must either issue or deny the license on a new application.

Now, to further confuse matters, GC411.177 provides that if the DPS can not process the application in the allotted 90 days, all they have to do is notify the applicant in writing and they can then use the full 180 day allotted them by GC411.176 before having to either issue or deny the license.

So, the only real violation the DPS is guilty of, as far as the processing of new applications goes, is not notifying applicants in writing that they are not able to process the application in the allotted 90 days, thereby allowing them an additional 90 days to complete the process.

This is not the case for renewals however. GC411.185 Renewal requires that renewal applications must be either issued or denied with 45 days of the receipt of the application materials by the DPS. There are no provisions for extension or room for misinterpretation, simply a clear requirement to either issue or deny the application within 45 day of the reciept of the renewal application material.

So there you have it. The confusing Texas CHL statutes in a nutshell (a big screwy nutshell). Hopefully the DPS will get a handle on the problem soon and we can again rely on them to meet the deadlines imposed on them (they sure expect us to meet ours). In the meantime, make sure you send those renewals in well ahead of time.

Doc

this is the reply Mr Cotton sent me on the subject

lunchbox wrote:Mr Cotton

I have a quick question. Was I mistake about the processing time for DPS? It was my understanding the total number of days was 60. However at work today (prodefence) a LEO told me i was blatantly wrong and that it was 90 days and always has been.
even though he doesn't even have one and I do he felt since he was LEO and I'm just a dumb kid I was wrong and there was no convincing him otherwise.
where can I find this statute and show him if he is indeed incorrect?



There is a typo in the statute that can, under very limited circumstances, give DPS up to 90 days to process an initial application. This typo doesn't exist regarding renewals and the time limit is 45 days.

The typo has to do with one word; i.e. "designee" v. "department." DPS has up to 30 days from the date they receive an application to send it to their "local designee" to perform the background check in your county of residence and employment. The statute goes on to require DPS to either issue or deny an application within 60 days of the "designee's" receipt of a completed packet. It should read "within 60 days of the "department's" receipt of . . ." as it reads for renewals.

So DPS can take up to 90 days, but only if they wait the full 30 days before sending it to their local designee. Another way to look at it is that DPS gets 60 days plus the number of days they waited to send the application to their local designee.

To DPS' credit, they have always taken the position that they have 60 days; they know it was a mistake, albeit a legally binding one, and they hold themselves to the 60 day timetable. When they report the number of days late they are on processing, they base the calculation on the 60 day requirement for new licenses and 45 days for renewals.

I hope to change this mistake in 2009.

Exactly. It is dependant on the time the DPS takes to send it to the local designee, but the point is that by statute they can take up to 90 days. I also agree that this was not the intended wording when the legislature proposed the statute and that the DPS generally tries to follow the 60 day timeline as the legislature intended. The point I intended to make is that the DPS is technically within their allotted time and that the real problem is in the statute as it is written.

At the same time, the problem of extended processing times is not new to the DPS and they have been claiming to have the situation under control for some time now. In reality, they have not maintained proper staffing to deal with the applications they had before the surge.

In short, the legislature needs to rewrite/clarify the statute (hopefully this coming session) and the DPS needs to increase their staffing and stop relying on temp help during periods of high volume. I hope to see the renewal statute changed to include a automatic issuance at 45 days if not acted on.

Doc

[bigdave238]

NEW OR RENEWAL: new
NAME: bigdave238
DATE A COMPLETE APPLICATION RECEIVED BY DPS: Mailed on June 9, reg mail
DATE LICENSE WAS RECEIVED: Sept. 5
TOTAL NUMBER OF DAYS IN PROCESSING: around 80
DID YOU RECEIVE A LETTER FROM DPS REGARDING A DELAY:no
DID YOU CAUSE ANY DELAY IN PROCESSING. IF YES, EXPLAIN:no
YOUR CHL NUMBER: [DON'T PROVIDE IN THE OPEN FORUM]
YOUR TEXAS DRIVERS LICENSE NUMBER: [DON'T PROVIDE IN THE OPEN FORUM]
IF DPS GAVE YOU A VERBAL EXPLANATION (EXCUSE) FOR ANY DELAY, PLEASE EXPLAIN: none
WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION LATER: sure

[Springfellow1]

Good Day
I apologize if this would be the wrong string to post my question.
I took the CHL class almost 12 months ago and was never able to get to sending the forms and payment to DPS. DO I need to tkae the class agian before sending the PPW. Thanks.

[KRoyal]

Took them about 4.5 months for mine and it got sent back once because I left out a month or so of where I lived for the last so many years.

[Nintao]

I will update this as I get new info.

NEW OR RENEWAL: New
NAME: Nintao
DATE A COMPLETE APPLICATION RECEIVED BY DPS: July 16th, 2008
DATE PIN # LETTER MAILED: My letter is dated August 8th, 2008 (still in Processing App)
DATE LICENSE WAS RECEIVED:
TOTAL NUMBER OF DAYS IN PROCESSING:
DID YOU RECEIVE A LETTER FROM DPS REGARDING A DELAY:
DID YOU CAUSE ANY DELAY IN PROCESSING. IF YES, EXPLAIN:
IF DPS GAVE YOU A VERBAL EXPLANATION (EXCUSE) FOR ANY DELAY, PLEASE EXPLAIN:
WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION LATER: Yes

I know if I was slow at my job I would lose it! I knew it was going to be a frustrating ride, but enough is enough! My record is clean so should not have any delays there. I emailed them this morning (Sept 14hth), so lets what they tell me!

[bkjunk]

NEW OR RENEWAL: New
NAME: bkjunk
DATE A COMPLETE APPLICATION RECEIVED BY DPS: 7/10/2008
DATE PIN # LETTER MAILED: 08/08/2008
DATE LICENSE WAS RECEIVED:09/09/2008
TOTAL NUMBER OF DAYS IN PROCESSING:
DID YOU RECEIVE A LETTER FROM DPS REGARDING A DELAY:
DID YOU CAUSE ANY DELAY IN PROCESSING. IF YES, EXPLAIN:
IF DPS GAVE YOU A VERBAL EXPLANATION (EXCUSE) FOR ANY DELAY, PLEASE EXPLAIN:
WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION LATER: Yes

This was my wife's license. I mailed my app about two weeks later, hopefully I will have mine soon also.

[texasmr2]

Good Day
I apologize if this would be the wrong string to post my question.
I took the CHL class almost 12 months ago and was never able to get to sending the forms and payment to DPS. DO I need to tkae the class agian before sending the PPW. Thanks.

Your application is valid for two year's, that is what the DPS personaly told me, but your finger prints expire after 6 month's so you will only need to get new print's done.

Hope that help's,
Gregg

[Nintao]

DATE A COMPLETE APPLICATION RECEIVED BY DPS: 7/10/2008
DATE PIN # LETTER MAILED: 08/08/2008
DATE LICENSE WAS RECEIVED:09/09/2008
This was my wife's license. I mailed my app about two weeks later, hopefully I will have mine soon also.

Well mine was received 6 days later, but the Pin number was issued the same day...

Hopefully I can see mine soon as well!

After recenetly hearing back from them I got what I am sure is a standard response of "Your application is in the final stage of processing... please wait a little longer"

But after seeing your post I am a bit more optimistic.