A DPS representative was at the Firearm Instructors Conference this past Monday and she noted that the average turnaround time was 19 days. Yes, there are exceptions, but that is the average. Since it is unlikely that any applications can be approved in less than 14 days, that means the 19 day average is not the product of a wide range of processing times.dale blanker wrote:It seems like processing should take no more than a couple of weeks. All that's needed is to confirm that the fingerprints and the background check are acceptable. I worked at a county volunteer coordinating agency that would background check certain volunteer applicants. We received replies from online background queries in a day or two.Charles L. Cotton wrote:A common question I get from students is if and when they should check the status of their application. I tell them to check online to see that it's in processing about 3 or 4 weeks after uploading all of their information. Then don't check again until the 61st day. Most people get their license long before the 61st day and some have received them before checking the first time.
The only reason to check at all is to be sure the application is in the system and being processed, i.e. no glitch. There's no reason to call DPS before the 61st day and every reason not to do so. They have to process far more applications than they are staffed for and every call takes someone away from processing applications. I understand it's human nature to be curious and to want to know when the license is coming, but multiply your personal call by thousands and you can see the impact on the entire system.
Chas.
FBI does not respond to noncriminal fingerprint checks in just a few days. They have been slammed with noncriminal background checks since the real id act went into effect in May 2013 (not sure of the year).
The FBI can and does reject noncriminal fingerprints twice before doing a "name-only" background check if/when the third set is also unclassifiable.dale blanker wrote:There might be a little more handling to getting confirmation from the FBI that the fingerprint records are ok. In my own case there was some delay with the fingerprints and sampling had to be redone. The second set was also rejected and another re-do was requested. I checked with DPS for a reason the fingerprints were rejected again - why keep making the same mistakes over and over? They said they didn't know why the rejections and "never mind, two samples are enough and another is not really needed." Duh.
Write your Representative and Senator and get them to add funding, a lot more funding, to the CHL program. That way they can hire 2 or 3 dedicated website personnel to provide real time updating of approximately 18,000 applications per month. Without the additional funding and more personnel, I suspect most applicants would prefer that available personnel process applications so they can get their licenses as quickly as possible.dale blanker wrote:Application status should always be available online.
Really? Not only would this not help, I would hope you see a problem with private entities having access to this information that is statutorily confidential and cannot be released to anyone or any entity other than criminal justice agencies. What you suggest would violate Texas law.dale blanker wrote:If necessary, DPS should get some help from UPS or FedEx or Amazon to automate status tracking and delivery projection. More efficiency and less handling will save time and money and frustration levels. I wonder if anyone from DPS cares enough to follow this forum...
Does DPS care? Yeah, they care a lot about this program and are constantly working to improve it without anywhere near the necessary funding. And yes, they also read the Forum and post occasionally.
Chas.