DeLand, FL - Soon the DeLand branch of the Volusia County Tax Collector's Office will be your one stop shop for concealed weapons licenses. That is, once they get their equipment from the state.
Volusia County Tax Collector Will Roberts said his office—like others across the state—were given authorization to offer concealed weapons licenses (CWL) from county-run offices following the passage of Amendment 10; which established a number of different county-level roles, such as sheriff and tax collector, as constitutionally elected offices.
The office itself is set up and ready to go, but it's not quite ready to start issuing CWLs just yet. Roberts said his office in DeLand is still waiting on equipment so they can officially begin to offer CWLs. There's no timeline as to when the equipment should be available.
"We've been ready since the end of fall," said Roberts. "We went through the whole process and got everything done. Now we're just waiting on the equipment."
The hold up, according to Roberts, lies within ongoing supply shortages. The office is still waiting on computers and service stations that applicants can use to go through the process. Roberts' employees also have yet to receive any training on this equipment. That will be completed once it actually arrives.
But once everything is finally set up, Volusia County residents will be able to get all the work for their CWL done in one place. That means no more driving to the sheriff's office for fingerprints, and no driving all over town to find a place to get a passport photo taken. Everything will now be done in-house through the tax collector's office.
On Tuesday (Jan. 11), Roberts officially opened a new tax collector's office in South Daytona at the Sunshine Plaza. At the moment, the office only offers driver's license services. But, Roberts said that office will soon be the second in Volusia County to offer CWLs, giving residents options in the west and east halves of the county.
"We just happened to have the space available to be able to provide that service here," said Roberts.
But, just like DeLand's office, that will have to wait for now. Once things are set up the in-person application process for a CWL should take about 30 minutes. The hardest part after that will be the 50 to 55 days you’ll have to wait for your license to be mailed. At this time, appointments are not needed to apply, but Roberts said that could change depending on the demand.
