The State of New Jersey has once again revised its training guidelines for concealed carry permit holders, marking the third such revision in less than a year.
In a September 15 memo issued by the New Jersey Attorney General, the State announced a new “Civilian Carry Assessment and Range Evaluation (CCARE) protocol” that replaces the qualification previously issued in July. The previous version (HQC2) became known as the “John Wick” qualification within the 2A community due to unusually difficult standards that were based on those for retired police officers, including one-handed shooting, kneeling and firing from retention.
The new qualification is required for individuals who completed firearms training prior to July 1, 2023, and whose permit to carry does not expire until after December 22, 2023. According to the memo, individuals who need to requalify have until December 31, 2023 and failure to requalify will render the individual’s permit-to-carry invalid.
The new shooting qualification is as follows:
- A minimum of 50 scored rounds per participant.
- Minimum passage score of 80% using an FBI type Q target.
- At least 10 rounds must be from the 15, 10, 7, 5, and 3 yard lines each, or if fewer rounds were fired from those distances, the remaining rounds must have been fired from greater distances.
- The participant must demonstrate safe holstering and unholstering during the shooting course, which must include safely drawing the weapon from a secured holster before firing at each of the required distances and reholstering after completing the round.
- The participant must demonstrate proficient and safe reloading during the shooting course.
The new protocol also requires a Use of Force and Firearms Safety in-classroom instruction if not already completed. The State-issued use of force guidelines can be found here: “Use of Force Interim Training For Private Citizen Concealed Carry.“
The state also addresses those who previously qualified. A previous qualification prior to the CCARE protocol is deemed to be “Substantially Equivalent” if the individual completed a course of fire that included each of the following:
- A minimum of 50 scored rounds per participant.
- Minimum passage score of 80% using an FBI type Q target.
- At least 10 rounds must be from the 15, 10, 7, 5, and 3 yard lines each. If fewer than 10 rounds were fired from those distances, the remaining rounds must have been fired from farther distances.
- The participant must demonstrate safe holstering and unholstering during the shooting course, which must include safely drawing the weapon from a secured holster before firing at each of the required distances and reholstering after completing the round.
- The participant must demonstrate proficient and safe reloading during the shooting course.
If a previous qualification is not “substantially equivalent” to the new CCARE protocol, individuals must re-qualify. It’s important to note that the new qualification requires drawing from a concealed holster and performing reloading operations (magazine changes) between courses of fire.
The new qualification is valid for two years from the date of qualification, which in many cases will bleed over into the new application period for those who have already received their permits.
We recommend contacting the range at which you qualified to determine if your previous qualification was “substantially equivalent”.
Our sincere thanks to attorney Dan Schmutter for leading the negotiations with the state and Scott Bach, Evan Nappen, and Anthony Colandro (of Gun for Hire) for their input and support.
