Shorten PAL Approval Times

digitaloutlaw said:
I have a similar story.. mailed in.. waited until the 45th day - called and said they were ready for references, and to have one of my references call in. I asked about this - and should I have my wife and other reference call, and they said no - they will call them if they feel the need to.

My reference called, and I checked online an hour later - and it showed Approved and Issued, and now I'm waiting to get it in the mail.

I applied for PAL/RPAL - and they haven't interviewed me, or my wife.. I'm fine with that.. but find it odd that one reference calls in and voila - here's your license - when others in this thread have waited forever.
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I'm sure there are reasons for that though. They must have some kind of risk matrix to focus their efforts on what are statistically higher risk people.
 
KaeJS said:
Droit, thanks for your feedback.

I ended up calling them this morning and was told the same thing "If you want to speed up the process, have a reference call in". Whelp, I did exactly that this morning and now this is what it says for me online:

Application Received on: 2015/06/30

Current Status: Your application has been processed and your licence has been issued. If you have not received your licence within 2 weeks please contact the Canadian Firearms Program Toll Free number. (1-800 731-4000)

Looks like I'll be doing some end of August shopping!
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I had called in July 13 and was told to get 1 reference to call in, did so 20 minutes after. Called back later that day and they said they were processing my photo and then its off to the cfo. its been there a month now. This sucks. I wish mine got approved right away.
 
Rumble_b said:
Just a quick time line update for anyone that may care.

Took the course June 10, got test results back July 6. Mailed the app on July 8. Showed up online today(July 31) saying that it was received on July 13.

Now I continue to wait............
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PAL is showing issued as of this morning!!! 33 days!
 
x DeathRattle x said:
I had called in July 13 and was told to get 1 reference to call in, did so 20 minutes after. Called back later that day and they said they were processing my photo and then its off to the cfo. its been there a month now. This sucks. I wish mine got approved right away.
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That's weird. I would call again. When was the last time you called? If you haven't called in the last 10 days or so, I would give it a shot.

My status changed from "processing" to "issued" very quickly. I had my reference call in and checked the website 5 hours later and it said "issued".
I actually thought it was odd because usually systems and logistics take overnight to process, but that is not the case here.
 
x DeathRattle x said:
I had called in July 13 and was told to get 1 reference to call in, did so 20 minutes after. Called back later that day and they said they were processing my photo and then its off to the cfo. its been there a month now. This sucks. I wish mine got approved right away.
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thats kind of weird, my photo was scanned first , then after my reference called in, my status had changed to approved, mine was for pal-rpal upgrade, and 1 week later card in hand, ..id call em back and politely inquire about it again
 
Current Status on my Application:
Location: Ontario
Took Pal: July 11
Took Rpal: July 14
Mailed Application with out result sheets: July 20
Application received: July 22
Credit card charge showed up: August 18 (today)
Application Status accessible: August 18 (today)
Faxed result sheets pal/rpal: August 18 (today)

My daughter also took the course and has applied for her minors:
Location: Ontario
Took Pal: July 11
Took Rpal: July 14
Mailed Application with out result sheets: July 20
Application received: July 22
Credit card charge showed up: August 6
Faxed result sheets pall: August 15 (can't send rpal until she's 18 next year.)
Missed her conditions form: Mailed August 13
Conditions form received: August 18 (today)
Application Status accessible: nil
 
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Hello guys, I'll be mailing out the application tomorrow, can you tell me if I've missed anything?

1. Completed forms (pages 1-4)
2. Photo with guarantor signature
3. Firearms Safety Course scores (non-restricted and restricted)
4. To be sent by registered mail

Did I miss anything? Or am I good to go? Thanks in advance!
 
GoodDoomguy said:
Hello guys, I'll be mailing out the application tomorrow, can you tell me if I've missed anything?

1. Completed forms (pages 1-4)
2. Photo with guarantor signature
3. Firearms Safety Course scores (non-restricted and restricted)
4. To be sent by registered mail

Did I miss anything? Or am I good to go? Thanks in advance!
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Don't forget to print your name on the back of your photo. I made that mistake and they sent it back to me.
 
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I'm currently sitting at 18 weeks since they received my Alberta PAL/RPAL application (April 13) and still nothing. One of my references was called, I had my other one call them and she was told her reference wasn't needed. I have called to check status several times and I get a different answer every time, the latest being that it is sitting on the CFO's desk and he'll get to it when he gets to it (seriously that is what was said to me). It's made even more frustrating by the fact that my husband and I took the course and applied at the same time and he got his license in the mail 2 months ago. I just don't understand the delay. I don't even know if I'm supposed to be interviewed (only one of my husband's references was called and he was not interviewed)? My husband and I are both new licencees, we took the PAL and challenged the RPAL together.

Any advice out there?
 
Dawghaus said:
Any advice out there?
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Sorry to hear.

They only care about 1 Reference for the most part. The only reason I think it could be delayed would be something that your reference said, or something that is related to your reference. If you have no issues criminally, then it doesn't necessarily make sense why they would be holding it back.

At this point, I would just call each week. See if you can get in touch with the CFO somehow.
 
I figured as much. I don't think it's an issue with my reference, I talked to her and she told me what was asked and what she said - and I trust her to have expressed any concerns prior to agreeing to be a reference. I definitely have no issues criminally, nor do my references. Playing the waiting game is annoying. ;oP
 
Hi:

Thanks to the OP for the great tips provided for a smooth and mostly painless (other than continuous checking of the progress of the application daily, hourly, etc... LOL).

The following is the chronology of my application process:

**Location: BC
**Licence Type: RPAL
**Course completed: June 26, 2015, test results provided at the end of the course (no waiting for my score)
**Application sent: July 17, 2015 via Registered Mail (Was busy with other things)
**Application received by CFC: July 20, 2015

I waited until Aug 5, 2015 to call the CFC as I did not see my application online. Lady said that they don't have a record of my application but to check again in a couple of weeks.

30 minutes after I called, I checked again online and my application shows up as received on July 20, 2015. So don't believe anything you are told about waiting to call if you want to move things along. Maybe it is a coincidence that the application shows up right after I called. Maybe not...

I checked the online status every day after Aug 5, 2015. No change until Aug 18, 2015. I decided to call in to see if there is anything I could do to move things along as that was the 28th day after the application was received. Nice lady tells me that they are ready for my reference to call. I get my reference to call about 20 minutes later.

Checked again later Aug 18, 2015, status does not change from "in progress".

**Reference called in for interview: Aug 18, 2015

This morning I checked the online status and it still says "in progress". I decided to call in again to see if the application has moved to the BC CFO or not. Lady on the phone makes my day! Licence Issued !!!

**Licence Issued: Aug 19, 2015
**Days from Received to Issued: 29 days

Asked for my RPAL number over the phone, no problem. Asked about an ATT and transferred to the BC CFO. Another lady tells me that until Sept 2, I have to follow the old regs and apply for a LTATT. Will go to my range of choice tomorrow to get that part rolling (with my RPAL number and the issue date) before my card shows up so that I would have that taken care of while I wait for the actual licence to show up at my door.

So my RPAL should be printed in the Friday (Aug 21, 2015) printing run and will be waiting by my mailbox next week. Another wait :( but at least this is the last step.

So thus far the total wait time from the CFC receiving the application has been 29 days. One day over the mandatory waiting period. Not too bad!

Cheers!
 
Hi,

Here my status:

2015-06-26 - Took PAL course
2015-06-28 - Took RPAL course
2015-07-16 - Test result from CFO
2015-07-17 - mailed application to CFC
2015-08-17- website shows the application status.
Application Received on: 2015/07/22
Current Status: Your application has completed initial processing. It is now in progress. Please check the status again at a later date.
2015-08-18 - see credit card charge for $80 from RCMP-CFP GRC-PCAF OTTAWA, charged 2015-08-17
2015-08-21 - called in.. told to have references call.. references called within 20 minutes
2015-08-21 - status updated
Current Status: Your application has been processed and your licence has been issued. If you have not received your licence within 2 weeks please contact the Canadian Firearms Program Toll Free number. (1-800 731-4000)

- 29 days since application received date.
 
After I completed my course I sent my app via registered mail on july 20th. It was recieved on the 21st. I was issued my license august 21 or 22. That was fast, of course I called in a bunch of times.
 
I sent my application in July 7th, received July 13th, called only twice, August 18th I called back, told to have reference call in, had reference call in, 20 minutes later, status updated to licence issued. She told me on the phone if I wait for them to call references it will take a few weeks, So I highly suggest get references to call in, I was 36 days from application received to licence issued so you don't have to wait the 45 days before calling in, I do realize each case is different and some provinces are longer than others.
 
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