Firearms & Concealed Carry
Information

Process for applying for Retired APD Weapon Proficiency

  1. FIRST and FOREMOST: You cannot apply until AFTER you have retired. (you have to swear that - "I am an honorably RETIRED police officer")
  2. READ the INSTRUCTIONS document
  3. FILL OUT the following two forms
    1. Retired Officer's Affidavit
    2. Liability Release Form
  4. Both of these have to be NOTARIZED
  5. MAIL the completed forms for processing.
    1. Mail to:
          Austin Police Department
          Internal Affairs
          PO Box 689001
          Austin, TX 78768-9001
  6. RENEWAL AFFIDAVIT
    1. Complete the Renewal Affidavit
    2. Make sure to get it NOTARIZED
    3. NOTE: Some retirees were approved before the Liability form was used.  If one is not on file, then the Assumption of Risk and Covenant not to Sue needs to be filled out.
    4. Renewal Forms can be turned in the same way as shown above.
  7. Once you get the application/renewal has been approved, CONTACT THE RANGE and SCHEDULE A TIME to qualify !! The phone number for the Range is 512-974-6955.
  8. After qualifying, you will receive a Certificate of Proficiency. Once you have this, complete the following form (it does NOT need to be notarized):
    1. Application for Firearms Proficiency ID Card
  9. If you do not already have a Retired Officer ID Card (which is different that the Firearms Proficiency ID Card), complete the form below:
    1. Retired APD Officer ID Card Application
  10. Take the following documents/cards with you to obtain the Firearms Proficiency ID Card
    1. Certificate of Proficiency (issued by APD after qualification)
    2. Application for Firearms Proficiency ID Card
    3. Honorably Retired Peace Officer ID Card...OR...an APPROVED Application for Honorably Retired Peace Officer ID Card
    4. SPECIAL NOTE - HOURS of OPERATION for ID CARDS. These are the ONLY hours that they will take photos and issue ID cards!! You must have completed all paperwork and qualified at the range before attempting to get your photo and ID card. 
      1. NOTE: As of 7/01/08, ID cards are NO longer made at the main.
      2. The new location is at 1124 South IH-35 on the 3rd floor of the Housing Authority of the City of Austin (HACA) building, Room 301. Park on the upper deck of the CTM parking garage marked with blue signs. Proceed to the main CTM 3rd Floor entrance and the receptionist will let you in or call (512) 974-7777.
      3. The times are on Tuesday from 8am to 12pm, and on Thursday from 1pm to 3pm. 
      4. Everyone needs to make sure they have all their paper work. When you walk into the building you need to check in with security. The office for ID’s is on the 3rd floor.
      5. Call CTM Corporate Security at (512) 974-7777 24-hours prior to your desired time slot to ensure they have adequate staffing.

National Right To Carry

The Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, known as HR218, gave all officers, active and retired, the right to carry a weapon in all states. There are many sites on the Internet where you can read the law or one of the many question and answer sites, which may answer any question you may have about that law. The biggest difference between the State and Federal law is that State law requires you qualify every other year while Federal law requires you to qualify yearly.

For those who no longer live in Texas check to see if the State you are living in has a State agency that issues ID cards to out of state retired officers who qualify on their state approve course. If they do you may want to obtain one instead of having to come back to Texas just to get an ID card. If they do not offer an ID card for out of state officers you may consider obtaining the APD Honorably Retired Officer ID card, which does not expire. Then you can qualify each year in the state you live in and that should be all you need to be covered under the Federal Right to Carry Law.

If you travel out of state a lot and want to carry your weapon in other states you will have to qualify every year. APD allows us to qualify once every other year, so in the off year you need to qualify and carry proof. Tom Schaefer and J.D. LaFosse have offered the use of their ranges. They are instructors and they can notarize the required State forms, all of which they should have on hand. You will need your own ammo. Once they have signed off on your qualification form no other action is needed. Keep the form for your records and a copy with you when you travel in case you have to prove when you qualified. You can contact at:

Schaefer Training Academy
948 Sandy Creek Road
Dale, TX 78616
512-785-4800
http://www.schaefertraining.com


J.D. Lafosse's Range (WCSO Range)
3901 CR 130
Hutto, TX
Call first at 512-846-1224
click HERE for map

Documents

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All of the forms below can be filled in on your computer
or they can be printed out and filled out by hand.
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Firearms Information (Process for obtaining and carrying a firearm)

Firearms Affidavit (Sworn affidavit of fitness to carry a firearm)

Firearms Renewal Affidavit Form (Sworn affidavit of fitness to carry a firearm)

Honorably Retired Peace Officer ID (Application for a retired APD Officer ID)

Firearms Proficiency ID Card (Application for a Firearms Proficiency ID Card)

Firearms Release Form (City of Austin Release of Liability form)

TCLEOSE Retired Officer Firearms Proficiency Affidavit (TCLEOSE Form FP-1)

View the Approved Firearms List (Effective August 2007)

Download the Approved Firearms List (Effective August 2007)

Download ALL of the above files