Are they just being lazy or are they telling the truth?

Toe Knee

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My wife and I are both up in the month of January. Our town doesn't require an appointment for a renewal so we dropped by the station today. The desk officer insisted that we were too soon and that we should wait a month because if we processed the paperwork today then we would loose an entire year off of our permits.

our birthdays are in janaury so i'd think that our current permits would end and the new permits would start on our birthdays.

or am i wrong? my gut tells me they are giving us a run around but I've been wrong before.

so-does anyone have an idea how that works?
 
Some towns (like mine) won’t accept applications until 1 month prior - the whole lost a year thing is iffy and with all the holidays and such in the next two months - earlier is better imo
 
Green town here. They speak the truth, and what GM guy said. My town said the same thing. Got the postcard from the state many months in advance tho.

Edit: I live in a small WMass podunk town.
 
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Green town here. They speak the truth, and what GM guy said. My town said the same thing. Got the postcard from the state many months in advance tho.


My first renewal is a few months out. Does the state send you a notice/postcard as a reminder to renew?
 
mine (andover) took a little more than 2 weeks. and as soon as they got the application, they sent me an official letter in case MA took their sweet old time renewing it.

I guess i would go along with what they say, UNLESS you have previous experience with them taking forever.
 
Mine expires at the end of April. I figure I'll call in January. My city is pretty busy but since they removed the grace period expiration it really doesn't matter anymore just as long as you're in before it actually expires. Keep in mind as long as you file the paperwork before your current license expires they no longer limit the grace period. Up until a few years ago it was 90 days. Your current license, even expired, is legal to carry on. You won't be able to buy any new guns in that time though.

As far as losing a year it's definitely possible and happened to me on my first license. I applied in Feb, issued in March, and my bday is in April so my first "year" was only about 4 weeks long. So, what the officer is telling you is true. Your license starts on the day they printed it and always expires on your bday. So, if you went in today and they get your new license printed before your current license expires, you'll lose a year. I don't know if it's possible because I've never seen it but if a town can print your renewal "issue date" as your bday as well you'll get the full 6 years. I think it depends on the city or town and how they process them. I was told by the person handling the licenses, in my city, they have since corrected it so you no longer get the "short years" like my first license. My last renewal though they were really busy and didn't get my license printed till July. I was covered by the race period, at the time, but my issue date says July.

Example: Let's say you went in today and your current license expires 1/15/19 but they printed your license on 12/15/18. In that case your license would expire 1/15/24. If you went in on 12/28/18 and they didn't print your license till 1/16/19 you would still be covered on your current license but your new one would expire 1/15/25.
 
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My first Renewal I wasn’t even thinking about that and somehow they managed to renew it for when the other one expired. Very little overlap, I was impressed. Because I was early I had almost a year left on my old one and still had the new one ready to go after that one stopped..
 
New LTC isn't valid until birthday no matter how soon it is issued, then expires 6 yrs from that birthday.
yep. I posted in another thread my city gave me an appointment 5 months before I expired. their suggestion, not mine to come in then. I got my ltc 4 months before expiration but it wasn't valid until the current one expired. so got my new ltc in july with a November issue date.
 
If you live in a city that requires you to make an appointment, you should call and find out how backed up they are, or are not. Boston was backed up 5 months when I last had to apply. I called in December for a March expiration and they tried to give me an appointment in May. When I told them I was expiring in March, they 'squeezed me in' at the end of February. This was last year. I don't know if it's any better.
 
but since they removed the grace period expiration it really doesn't matter anymore

Yes it does matter. You cannot purchase guns or ammo with an expired LTC in MA.

60 days prior to expiration is pretty much SOP. On the inside track, I found out they are holding the paper till the last minute so if you commit something that disqualifies you they will deny.
 
Yes it does matter. You cannot purchase guns or ammo with an expired LTC in MA.

60 days prior to expiration is pretty much SOP. On the inside track, I found out they are holding the paper till the last minute so if you commit something that disqualifies you they will deny.

Smokey-Seven I also stated he could not buy guns and ammo while on the grace period in the same paragraph.

Len and GreenCobra, thank you for clearing up the issue date. I was told that was the case but I didn't have anything to go off since my last license was actually printed after my other one expired.
 
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I was told a month before expiration. No sooner. I applied two weeks before expire. Expired in October. I am still waiting for it to arrive in the mail.
 
If you live in a city that requires you to make an appointment, you should call and find out how backed up they are, or are not. Boston was backed up 5 months when I last had to apply. I called in December for a March expiration and they tried to give me an appointment in May. When I told them I was expiring in March, they 'squeezed me in' at the end of February. This was last year. I don't know if it's any better.

As of Friday this week Boston is booked up into the first week of February.
 
If you live in a city that requires you to make an appointment, you should call and find out how backed up they are, or are not. Boston was backed up 5 months when I last had to apply. I called in December for a March expiration and they tried to give me an appointment in May. When I told them I was expiring in March, they 'squeezed me in' at the end of February. This was last year. I don't know if it's any better.

Holy smoke. The licensing officer in Acton is terrific. I called to make an appointment and apologized because it was only three weeks before expiration and he said "no problem, come in tomorrow." When I arrived he had both forms prefilled for me. I was in and out in ten minutes, including fingerprinting.
 
here's the thing, the new LTC will come out just fine but not be "active" is issued before the other one expires. Been there, done that. If you get the new one before your birthday you should call FRB on your birthday to make sure it gets "activated" but I think it's automatic.
 
Yes it does matter. You cannot purchase guns or ammo with an expired LTC in MA.

Just to clarify . . . if your application is entered into MIRCS prior to expiration AND you receive the MIRCS receipt, you can legally purchase guns/ammo on the expired LTC in conjunction with the MIRCS receipt (have it with you). It states as much in the fine print at the bottom of the MIRCS receipt.

If you get the new one before your birthday you should call FRB on your birthday to make sure it gets "activated" but I think it's automatic.

Please do NOT do this. It automatically becomes valid on your birthday, no need to burden the handful of people at FRB unnecessarily.
 
I reapplied about 5 months early. I was told I didn't need to come in so early but they'll take my application and it will be issued around my birthday (this month) I got a call last week that it's in
 
Didn’t read the whole thread....but live in a green town. Last year went to apply in December (March expire).....and they said yuo can file your papers now...but the lieutenant won’t sign until your birthday......and a few weeks later in case my Ltc......dated for my March birthday......and a refund for my check since I turned 70!! Different towns, different experiences.
 
It's buried somewhere in the epic "Guide to gun rights in your Massachusetts town" thread that the FRB will take applications starting six months out, and they'll always put the issue date on your birthday (or later, if it drags on). I don't think there's any way to lose a year, it's not like back when the lieutenant was typing out LTCs by hand. (He wasn't a great typist, I had at least one great typo.)
 
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