Last updated September 2026 · By Nick Hall, who tracks federal and state firearms policy daily for USA Gun Shop readers
Quick take: The Justice Department has sued San Jose over what it calls the highest concealed carry application fee in the nation, $1,591. DOJ says a fee that size is exactly the kind of “exorbitant” charge the Supreme Court warned about when it struck down may-issue permitting in Bruen.
- What happened: The United States sued the City of San Jose and the San Jose Police Department in the Northern District of California on September 16, 2026, case 5:26-cv-10508.
- Why it matters: San Jose’s council raised the new-license fee to $1,591 in June, more than 10 times the $144 San Francisco charges for the same fee.
- What’s next: San Jose answers the complaint, and the fee stays in force until a court says otherwise.
- Who to watch: Barry K. Arrington, chief of the Civil Rights Division’s Second Amendment Section, who signed the complaint.
Most carry-permit fights are about who gets a permit. This one is about what it costs to ask for one, and the number is big enough that DOJ put it in the headline. I pulled the complaint to see where the $1,591 comes from, how it gets paid, and what stacks on top of it.
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Where the $1,591 San Jose Fee Comes From
California lets cities add their own charge to the state’s carry license fee. Penal Code section 26190(b)(1) says the local licensing authority “shall charge an additional fee in an amount equal to the reasonable costs for processing the application” for a new license, issuing it and enforcing it, excluding fingerprint and training costs. Subdivision (c) adds that local fees can never exceed those reasonable costs.
In June, the San Jose City Council set that local fee at $1,591 in Resolution No. 2026-183. The complaint says that’s a nearly $300 jump in two and a half years since the city’s last increase, and that the resolution “does not attempt to justify this cost.”
The San Jose Fee Breakdown, and What Comes on Top
The $1,591 is split in two. An applicant pays 20 percent, $318, up front. The remaining $1,273 is due when the license is issued.
That’s the city’s fee alone. The complaint quotes the police department’s own carry policy acknowledging that additional fees are required for “fingerprinting, psychological testing, and training, in addition to the application fee.” None of those three is priced in the $1,591.
The psychological test gets the sharpest treatment. State law allows a licensing authority to require one, but doesn’t require it, and caps what the applicant can be charged at the authority’s reasonable costs. DOJ says the department’s policy leaves the price to an “authorized psychologist” and gives applicants no notice of what it will cost.
The complaint also points to San Jose’s municipal code sections on a liability insurance requirement and a “Gun Harm Reduction Fee” as more financial strings on the right. State law also requires an approved training course, so the concealed carry training bill and the fingerprinting both land on top of the $1,591.
“You don’t need a law degree to recognize that charging a fee several times higher than the cost of the firearm itself is illogical, and an unconstitutional attempt to impede Americans’ Second Amendment rights,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon in the DOJ release.
How San Jose Compares to San Francisco, New York and Chicago
The complaint’s comparison list is the most useful part of the filing. Across the Bay, San Francisco charges $144 for the same local fee. Berkeley charges $255 to apply and $325 more on approval. The Santa Clara County Sheriff charges $488 up front and $488 at issuance, and Alameda County charges $347 and $346.
Outside California the gap gets absurd. Washington, D.C. charges $75 to apply. A three-year New York City license costs $340, Boston charges $100, Chicago $150 and Philadelphia $20.
DOJ is careful to say in a footnote that it “does not concede” any of those other fees are constitutional. It uses them to show San Jose is, in the complaint’s words, “a national outlier.”
Why Bruen’s Footnote 9 Is the Whole Ballgame
When the Supreme Court struck down may-issue permitting in 2022, it blessed shall-issue regimes in a footnote. The same footnote warned against systems where “exorbitant fees deny ordinary citizens their right to public carry.” DOJ’s case is built on that sentence.
The legal vehicle is 34 U.S.C. 12601, the 1994 law that bars a government from running a pattern or practice of law enforcement conduct that deprives people of constitutional rights. DOJ says the police department is the licensing authority, charges the fee, and so is engaged in that pattern every time it collects. It asks for a declaratory judgment and a permanent injunction against charging “abusive licensing fees.”
San Jose isn’t DOJ’s first California target. The Civil Rights Division opened a pattern-or-practice investigation into the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in March 2025 over carry license delays, and DOJ sued the state on July 1, 2026 over its Glock ban and handgun roster.
And San Jose adds a new angle to that pair: price, rather than delay or a ban.
What San Jose Applicants Should Do Now
Pay it or wait. A complaint is not an injunction, and this one asks for permanent relief without an emergency motion in the filing itself, so the $318 deposit and the $1,273 balance still apply to anyone who applies today.
If you’re going through the process anyway, the California gun laws rules on training and approved guns still govern everything else, and our list of California carry guns is a good place to start before you put a gun on the application.
$144 in San Francisco. $1,591 in San Jose. Same state, same statute, eleven times the price.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a concealed carry permit cost in San Jose?
The city’s application fee is $1,591, set by City Council Resolution No. 2026-183 in June 2026. Applicants pay $318 (20 percent) when they apply and $1,273 when the license is issued. The San Jose Police Department’s policy says fingerprinting, psychological testing and training cost extra.
Why is the Justice Department suing San Jose?
DOJ says the $1,591 fee is the highest carry application fee in the nation and an “exorbitant” fee of the kind the Supreme Court warned against in Bruen. It sued the City of San Jose and the San Jose Police Department on September 16, 2026 in the Northern District of California under 34 U.S.C. 12601, the federal pattern-or-practice statute.
Is a local CCW fee allowed under California law?
Yes, within limits. California Penal Code section 26190(b)(1) requires the local licensing authority to charge an additional fee equal to its reasonable costs of processing, issuing and enforcing a new license, excluding fingerprint and training costs, and subdivision (c) says local fees may not exceed those reasonable costs.
Does California require a psychological evaluation for a concealed carry license?
State law lets a licensing authority require a psychological assessment but does not require one statewide. Where one is required, section 26190(e) caps the charge to the applicant at the licensing authority’s reasonable costs. The San Jose Police Department requires the test under its own policy.
How does the San Jose carry fee compare to other cities?
According to the DOJ complaint, San Francisco charges $144, Berkeley $255 plus $325 on approval, Santa Clara County $488 plus $488, Alameda County $347 plus $346, Washington, D.C. $75, New York City $340 for a three-year license, Boston $100, Chicago $150 and Philadelphia $20.
What did the Supreme Court say about carry permit fees?
In New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022), the Court approved shall-issue licensing in footnote 9 but cautioned against regimes where “exorbitant fees deny ordinary citizens their right to public carry.”
Does the DOJ lawsuit lower the San Jose fee now?
No. The lawsuit asks for a declaratory judgment and a permanent injunction, and the fee stays in place unless and until a court orders otherwise.
Related Reading
- California Gun Laws: CCW, AWB, Roster and Everything You Need to Know
- Best California CCW Guns
- Concealed Carry Guide
- Concealed Carry Reciprocity Map
- DOJ Sues California Over Glock Ban and Handgun Roster
- Best Concealed Carry Training
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