Good Question: What are the rules for recertifying pistol permits?

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — Last week, News10NBC’s Brennan Somers saw an op-ed in the Niagara-Gazette by gun owner and columnist Bob Confer.

The headline read, "It’s time to recertify your pistol permit."

There were several comments on social media from people saying they’d forgot all about this deadline for many pistol owners in New York.

Who exactly does this cover? What do they have to do?

This stems from the SAFE Act, the sweeping gun control laws that passed in 2013. Part of that requires pistol permit holders to recertify their status every five years.

The state says, "By going through this process every five years, redundant or out-of-date records can be eliminated and the accuracy of record keeping can be improved."

The deadlines are based on the date you originally got your license.

• If your license was issued on, or after Jan. 15, 2013, the deadline to recertify is five years after the date the license was issued
• If you got your license before Jan. 15, 2013, the deadline to submit a recertification application was Jan. 31, 2018

For those of you who recertified early on when state police sent out hundred of thousands of notices in January 2017, your time is almost up.

It’s been five years. Maybe as early as this month, you need to renew your pistol permit.

Those applications can be done online or through mail. There’s not a lot to it, just putting in some basic personal info and details about every handgun you own.

We do want to note, the Monroe County Clerk’s Office does not accept these applications.

To take care of your renewal visit this site instead.

If you’re not sure of your verification status, you can check here.