Wait times to get an appointment for a concealed carry permit in the District have been significantly reduced, months after President Trump signed an executive order creating a task force to fast-track the permit process.
D.C. now offers next-day appointments on the Metropolitan Police Department’s website, cutting wait times that reportedly could last at least four months to be photographed and fingerprinted.
The visit also entails submitting paperwork to prove the applicant completed a 16-hour gun safety class and two hours at the range.
However, the District has imposed site restrictions on where permit holders can carry firearms, a vast expanse of the city that includes federal properties blanketing downtown. This prevents people with concealed carry permits from carrying a handgun where most people work, park their cars or traverse on an average day in the District’s downtown.
Signed on March 28 by Mr. Trump, the executive order says the “Task Force shall coordinate to ensure effective Federal participation in the following tasks: … collaborating with appropriate local government entities to provide assistance to increase the speed and lower the cost of processing concealed carry license requests in the District of Columbia.”
Pro Second Amendment advocacy organizations lauded the order. Gun Owners of America Senior Vice President Erich Pratt told The Washington Times, “Washington, D.C. has always been a stronghold for the political elite — surrounded by armed security while regular Americans are left without the means to defend themselves.”
“That changed in March, when President Trump issued an executive order to streamline the concealed carry process for law-abiding citizens in the District,” he said. “It was a bold, necessary step toward restoring real public safety and standing up for the Second Amendment in a city where it’s been under constant attack. Trump recognized a simple truth: if we want to make America safe again, we have to start by making D.C. safe — not just for the politicians, but for the people.”
In April 2025, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon posted on X, “The Wait Right Now In DC For An Appointment To Apply For Concealed Carry Is Four Months.”
She continued, “There are similar issues in DC and other major cities. The wait right now in DC for an appointment to apply for concealed carry is four months! Where cities and states are defying SCOTUS guidance on our fundamental Second Amendment rights, we are on it.”
Firearm owners in the DC metro area agreed with Ms. Dhillon’s sentiments.
In April 2025, a poster on a Maryland shooters forum said, “DC’s Police Department (MPD) Requires You To Schedule Your CCW Appointment Four Months Out.”
In March 2025, the Second Amendment news website Ammoland said the appointments for concealed carry permits “are booked out for months.”
“Right now, D.C.’s permit process is a bureaucratic nightmare. Applicants must make an appointment just to apply, and those appointments are booked out for months,” Ammoland reported. “One recent attempt to schedule an appointment landed the first available slot a staggering seven months out.”
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.