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San Mateo County CCW

Our San Mateo County CCW class is an officially recognized course as part of the process of obtaining your concealed weapons permit within the State of California.

This 8 hour class covers the requirements laid out in California Penal Code Section § 26165. Our course is both an NRA CCW course and a USCCA Use of Force Mini course. All required NRA and USCCA materials will be provided to the students. We will additionally be providing each student with a copy of Chuck Michel’s California Gun Laws book that covers legal scenarios in more detail than we would be able to cover in a single day course.

Successful students will receive a course certificate for NRA CCW, a certificate for USCCA Use of Force, and a certificate as proof of training to the County of San Mateo.

The NRA CCW course requires a written test to be completed by all students. It is possible to complete the San Mateo County requirements without the written test, but if you choose to go that route then we will be unable to provide the NRA certificate. Please reach out if you have any questions on the written test.

Class outline:

  • Firearm Safety
  • Use of Force Law
  • Legal Aftermath of a Defensive Encounter
  • Basic Defensive Pistol Skills
  • Drawing from Concealment
  • Loading and Stoppage Remediation
  • Carry Modes and Pistol Concealment
  • Range qualification
  • Next Steps and Further Training Activities

The class runs from 10:00AM to approximately 8:00PM. There is a full one hour lunch period and several breaks to help make the class time more enjoyable. We are required to have 8 hours of active instruction. The extra time in the schedule is to make sure that we do not go below the requirements with the breaks built into the day.

This course is designed for folks who are in-process with being approved for the permit to carry. Please do not sign up for a class date where that class is prior to receiving an email from the San Mateo County Sheriff’s department instructing you to take the course. Note that we do not have access to your application and have no way to determine the status of it. People who are not applying for a permit to carry are also welcome to take the class.

This class is valid for both initial applications and renewals.

Student are required to bring the following:
1) All guns listed on their application or permit. These need to match the permit exactly. The course certificate will contain the serial numbers of the guns you qualified with. San Mateo county requires all firearms to be in the following calibers: 38 Spl, .380 ACP, 9mm, 10mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, .357 SIG, .357 Mag, .44 Spl, .44 Mag and must be capable of holding a minimum of five (5) rounds.
2) A minimum of 60 rounds of ammunition per gun. Factory new ammo only. We are unable to allow reloaded ammunition during the class. Target ammunition is OK. You do not need to bring the expensive self-defense ammo for the qualification. The qualification is 36 rounds per gun. The additional ammunition is for warm up exercises to help you be ready for the qualification. Ammunition must be in a different container from the firearm. Do not pre-load your magazines or speed loaders.
3) A minimum of 3 magazines per semi-automatic firearm. It will help if you bring enough magazines to hold 50 rounds. You will not be able to pass the course without at least 3 magazines.
4) Speed loaders for revolvers are mandatory. You must bring a minimum of 3 speed loaders per revolver. Again, it will help if you bring enough speed loaders for 50 rounds.
5) Firearms must be in clean and serviceable condition. All firearms are subject to inspection. Any firearm determined by our instructors to be unsuitable or unsafe will not be allowed.
6) A holster designed for each firearm you plan on having on your permit. For the class, these must be strong side inside or outside the waistband holsters. Appendix carry is not considered strong side. The holster must be in serviceable condition. Our insurance company does not allow any holsters where a retention device is released with the trigger finger (Serpa and others).
7) A proper gun belt. Multiple vendors make nice ones. Please contact us if you need suggestions. If you can not safely secure the holster to your belt then you will not be able to attempt the qualification.
8) Lights, optical sights, lasers etc are all allowed as long as they are attached to the firearm correctly and can work safety in conjunction with your holster. As a practical matter, it is much easier to pass the course of fire using an aiming device on the firearm such as a red dot or iron sights vs trying to use a laser. You are welcome to use a laser if you wish, but using a laser makes the qualification harder due to the range of distances involved.
9) Range appropriate attire. Long pants, closed toe shoes, shirts with tight fitting collars, baseball caps. Please bring shirts that can be tucked into your pants. We can not allow you to shoot if your clothing interferes with the safe use of the holster.
10) Electronic amplified hearing protection. We need you to be able to hear the range commands. The electronic hearing protection is quite inexpensive these days. Contact us for suggestions.
11) Full wraparound eye protection. You must not be able to fit your pinky finger between the eye protection and your face. We can loan out laboratory goggles if needed. Contact us ahead of time if you need that.

Age Requirements:
You must be 21 years or older to obtain a permit to carry a firearm. Contact us prior to registering if any student under the age of 21 wishes to take the course.

Eligibility Requirements:
You must be a US-person under ITAR and not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm.

Prior to registering, please have the Manufacturer, Model Number, Caliber, and Serial number of your firearms available. We need that information to inform the county which firearms you completed the qualification with.

Location: The San Mateo County CCW class is offered at various locations in the San Francisco Bay Area. The current dates are listed by clicking any of the below class date links.

Class Reservation: To reserve a spot in one of our upcoming classes, please visit any of the links below. To pay by check, please contact us, and one of our instructors will contact you shortly.

There are no upcoming Events at this time.