DOJ Sues Glendale, CA Over Roughly $2,000 Concealed Carry Permit Costs

The U.S. Department of Justice has sued the City of Glendale, California, over how the Glendale Police Department issues concealed carry permits. The complaint, filed Nov. 9 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (No. 2:26-cv-13098), comes down to two things: what a permit costs and how much leeway the police have to say no. Glendale "cannot impose unreasonable fees and unbridled discretion," Jesus Osete, acting assistant attorney general for civil rights, said in the DOJ's announcement.

Where the $2,000 comes from

The complaint, quoting the city's own permit portal, says Glendale, a city in Los Angeles County, charges a $1,078 city fee for a new permit, half when you apply and half after approval. Renewals carry an $826 city fee. DOJ says the city's own fee was $100 for a first application and $25 for a renewal last fiscal year. New applicants also pay for Live Scan fingerprinting ($93 in state fees plus the provider's charge), a required training course and range qualification (about $300 to $435), and a psychological evaluation (about $500).

Add it up, and the DOJ puts a new permit at roughly $2,000. A renewal runs about $1,300 by DOJ's math, not counting a psych evaluation. Permits run two years, so that bill keeps coming, though a new state law allows terms of up to three years starting Jan. 1.

The screening steps

The suit also targets Glendale's screening: three reference checks, an interview, a review of public information (including social media), residency verification, and the psych evaluation. DOJ argues the reference checks, social media review, and psych exam turn Glendale's shall-issue system into a may-issue one. It also says the city's policy appears to require psych testing for every renewal, though state law allows that only with "compelling evidence of a public safety concern."

DOJ leans on a footnote in the Supreme Court's 2022 Bruen decision: shall-issue systems can still be challenged when "exorbitant fees" deny ordinary citizens their right to carry.

Not DOJ's first California carry case

In September 2025, DOJ sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department over permit delays; that case settled in August 2026. In September 2026, DOJ sued San Jose over a permit fee it put at nearly $1,600. DOJ's Second Amendment Section, which TFB covered in December 2025, filed the Glendale suit.

What DOJ wants

DOJ brought the case under 34 U.S.C. § 12601, which lets it go after a "pattern or practice" of police conduct that violates constitutional rights. It wants an injunction against the fees, the psych exam, the reference checks, the social media review, and the residency requirement. It also wants Glendale to contact everyone it denied a permit under those rules, invite them to reapply, and offer to return (or else destroy) applicants' psych exams and social media reviews.

This is a lawsuit, not a ruling. As of Nov. 10, Glendale hadn't responded in court. Glendale's fees and requirements stand unless the city changes them or a court orders otherwise.