Olympia-area gun buyers will need a state permit before purchasing a firearm starting May 1, 2027, and the Washington State Patrol (WSP) is already building the system to make it happen.

The permit-to-purchase program, created by House Bill 1163, will require buyers to submit fingerprints through local law enforcement, complete a certified firearms safety course and pay a $126 fee. That breaks down to $90 for the permit and $36 for fingerprint processing. Local agencies may charge additional fees to collect prints. Permits will be valid for five years.

WSP is targeting early 2027 to open applications, Yelm Online reported in a republished Center Square story, giving buyers time to get permits before the May 1 deadline. The new system will operate on top of existing background checks and waiting periods, not replace them.

Gov. Bob Ferguson signed HB 1163 on May 20, 2025. No Republican legislator voted for the bill.

The rollout has already hit turbulence. On Friday, Sept. 11, WSP emailed training providers saying independent NRA-certified instructors could not teach the mandatory safety course because the NRA does not sponsor them under the statute. Three days later, on Monday, Sept. 14, the agency reversed itself, as SeattleRed first reported. WSP said in the Sept. 14 email that the original message stemmed from a misunderstanding of the statute's terminology and confirmed independent NRA-certified instructors may teach the required course.

As of that Sept. 14 email, WSP had not begun reviewing individual training curricula. The agency described its own process as building the airplane while flying it.

The required safety course must cover basic safety rules, secure storage, suicide prevention, state and federal gun laws, use of deadly force, conflict de-escalation and live-fire range exercises. The $126 permit fee does not cover training, ammunition or range time.

Not all law enforcement officials support the law. Franklin County Sheriff Jim Raymond called it unconstitutional in a Thursday, Sept. 10 interview with The Center Square, saying the permit adds an unnecessary layer of government control for people who already pass background checks.

"I think this is insane," Raymond said. "People that aren't law-abiding are going to figure out other ways to purchase firearms."

Raymond, who has only a few months left in office, said his opposition would not change his department's responsibility to enforce the law.

Gun safety advocates see the law differently. Kelly Roskam, director of law and policy at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, said when the bill was signed in May 2025 that the law reflects a public health approach to gun violence prevention and called firearm purchaser licensing one of the most effective tools for reducing gun deaths.

No legal challenges to the law had been filed as of Tuesday, Sept. 15.

Renewals will cost $90 if filed before a permit expires, with a $25 late fee for renewals within 90 days after expiration. Beginning May 1, 2027, dealers will be prohibited from delivering a firearm unless the buyer holds a valid permit and has cleared the state background-check system.