Washington's $90 Gun Permit Fee Doesn't Match Its Own Cost Math

Washington's permit-to-purchase program launches May 1 with a $126 fee, and a Bearing Arms column questions whether the state's own numbers justify the cost.

Snapshot

Bearing Arms writer Tom Knighton examines the breakdown behind Washington's new $126 gun permit fee, which Reason Magazine reported as $90 for the permit itself and $36 for a fingerprint background check. Citing Washington State Patrol commander Kevin Baird's figures on expected applicant volume, Knighton questions whether the permit fee reflects actual processing costs or something else.

Key points

• The fee: Starting May 1, Washington gun buyers must pay $126 for a permit-to-purchase, covering a $90 permit fee and a $36 fingerprint check, plus separate costs for a state-certified safety course with live-fire training, according to Reason Magazine.
• Renewal required: Reason reports the permit must be renewed every five years at $90, with no exemption for existing concealed pistol or hunting license holders.
• Projected revenue: WSP Firearms Background Division commander Kevin Baird told Reason the agency expects 200,000 applicants in the first year, generating roughly $18 million from the $90 permit fee, since the fingerprint fee isn't retained by the program.
• The math question: Knighton argues that figure doesn't square with the actual labor involved, estimating that even with a modest staff, the per-employee revenue works out to roughly $1.6 million, which he says suggests the fee is generating far more than processing costs require.
• Legal expectation: Knighton predicts gun rights groups will challenge the law on state and federal constitutional grounds once collection begins.

Quick take

This isn't the fee-amount fight already playing out in the DOJ's Glendale lawsuit. Knighton's piece raises a different question: whether Washington's own accounting for the program holds up, and whether $90 per applicant reflects real costs or functions as an unlegislated tax on gun buyers.

Read the full story: bearingarms.com