/justtrolling
-
If you enjoy the forum please consider supporting it by signing up for a NES Membership The benefits pay for the membership many times over.
Is it legal to photocopy licenses?
- Thread starter wwit
- Start date
/justtrolling
Asked who?
Which statute or administrative code say this?
I want you to think about this. If you don't need to keep it or a copy on you, why exactly would laminating it or making a reduced copy not be allowed?
Confirmation? From who?
That is just funny right there!
I don't mean to pick on you, but I hear stuff like this a lot. People taking the word of some random person who says someone told them something so that must be the case, despite inconsistencies within those very statements as well as the total lack of anything at all supporting those claims. Not even an attempt to reference a statute, code, or legal precedent. It makes your "confirmation" nothing more than hearsay, and quite frankly, worthless hearsay at that.
My NH resident license is on thin paper and @ 4" x 6" in size. Just sitting here on my desk its already starting to curl at the corners. Only had it 3 days.
But I will say that it took very little time to get once I dropped off the application. I was told it would take 2 weeks. I was called to pick it up 5 days after I left it at the PD.
Now, that's funny right there.
KBCraig
NES Member
No one needs to elaborate, because NH law doesn't requires that anyone carry a license at all, only that they be licensed.
There is no state database of licenses, because they're issued at the town level. Because they have no resource to verify licenses, NH cops (reportedly) don't press the issue unless you're doing something with the gun other than carrying it.
If you want to reduce hassle, carry a (shrunk) photocopy of your NH license, laminated. At least then you have something in your wallet to show, other than a faded and worn equivalent to the receipt you get from the transfer station every Saturday.
Just to offer my opinion. When they delivered my PRL I asked if it had to be on me when applicable and the officer indicated he knew of no requirement that I have with me and they were accustomed to taking calls to verify from other departments. I looked for any code that would indicate otherwise and could not find any must produce on demand requirement.
Given that, I decided since it was my copy of the document, making a reduced photocopy and laminating it for wallet carry was my business and if an officer looking at it had a problem then they did not have to depend on my duplicate record and could get their own confirmation. The original is un altered in the safe if I ever need it. Now if there is a law that says I have to carry the unaltered original that I did not find I might get jammed up someday.
No where does the paperwork say "do not photocopy" , there are no holograms or embossed marks that would degrade in a copy or lamination so I don't think a reasonable person should get hung up there. Mine was from a carbonless form, and my wallet experience with that type of paper is inconsistent, sometimes they hold up other times not so well.
Given that, I decided since it was my copy of the document, making a reduced photocopy and laminating it for wallet carry was my business and if an officer looking at it had a problem then they did not have to depend on my duplicate record and could get their own confirmation. The original is un altered in the safe if I ever need it. Now if there is a law that says I have to carry the unaltered original that I did not find I might get jammed up someday.
No where does the paperwork say "do not photocopy" , there are no holograms or embossed marks that would degrade in a copy or lamination so I don't think a reasonable person should get hung up there. Mine was from a carbonless form, and my wallet experience with that type of paper is inconsistent, sometimes they hold up other times not so well.
I was told by the NH licensing authority that I didn't need to posses the license.
PeterGV
NES Member
Good heavens! This same question comes up once every couple of years here.
And the answer is precisely what KBCraig said: You don't have to carry it. If you WANT to carry something, do whatever you want. Most people in NH shrink the original to wallet size and laminate it. If you want somebody in authority to give you permission, go ask the guy at Staples who runs the lamination machine... He does exactly this all day long. Just ask him n st time you're there. But, again... Copy, shrink, laminate, engrave, tattoo, photograph, embed in lucite... it's all entirely up to you, because there's no requirement to carry it, nor is there a law that prohibits you from carrying it, nor is there a law that prohibits you from copying it.
As a side note, I think carrying a copy is a good idea. Given that there's no central database... and the PD in my town is open just a few hours a week... and the pistol permits are kept in (random order in) a manilla envelope on a desk in the PD... I figure having a copy could be handy if somebody wants to jam me up. But that's just me.
And the answer is precisely what KBCraig said: You don't have to carry it. If you WANT to carry something, do whatever you want. Most people in NH shrink the original to wallet size and laminate it. If you want somebody in authority to give you permission, go ask the guy at Staples who runs the lamination machine... He does exactly this all day long. Just ask him n st time you're there. But, again... Copy, shrink, laminate, engrave, tattoo, photograph, embed in lucite... it's all entirely up to you, because there's no requirement to carry it, nor is there a law that prohibits you from carrying it, nor is there a law that prohibits you from copying it.
As a side note, I think carrying a copy is a good idea. Given that there's no central database... and the PD in my town is open just a few hours a week... and the pistol permits are kept in (random order in) a manilla envelope on a desk in the PD... I figure having a copy could be handy if somebody wants to jam me up. But that's just me.
Advantages of carrying your permit in Maine, even with constitutional carry, include eliminating the need to notify an LEO that you're carrying.
KBCraig
NES Member
And some towns have no PD to even call. They can either designate a selectman to issue, or the county sheriff.
Good luck getting some selectman in a town of 200 to answer the phone in the middle of the night.
Problem is that NH license is @ the size of 3 baseball cards side x side. A picture frame on a string and hung around my neck might work![[laugh]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/012.gif "Laugh [laugh]")
You two geniuses know that you can fold paper, right?
Dang.
Keeping the "copy" on your phone is a very bad idea. Why? Because you have now given the police your phone and the ability for them to make up probable cause to search your phone. All they have to do is claim they saw a notification that made them think a crime was being committed and presto, instant probable cause.
Do not give the police any reason to go through your phone because whats on it is none of their damn business.
I keep the original in my wallet folded twice. Since I rarely take it out it holds up fine. My previous one was also made of tissue paper and I kept it folded like this for 4 years with no issues.
That we know of. There is not supposed to be one officially but there is suspicion that there may be an unofficial one (which likely has erroneous and duplicate data) that the state police are keeping. You can claim it is paranoia or a "conspiracy theory" but the NSA scooping up all email and phone communication was also a "conspiracy theory" before 2013. Government power knows no limits.
There's no law that prohibits the copying of the license at least not in RSA 159. There could be another RSA that prohibits it that I'm not aware of, like the "prohibition of unapproved duplication of state document" or something to that effect.
Many license holders do the "reduce and laminate". I don't. I just make a copy of it - since my town is still using the tissue-paper thin licenses - fold up the duplicate - and put it in my wallet.
I've never had to physically present it though. I've been stopped three times by NH-based LE: Once by Chester, once by Raymond, and once by NHSP. I've informed that was indeed carrying on all three occasions. No issue and never prompted to present the license itself.
This thread seems to reek of Massachusetts-style paranoia.
Many license holders do the "reduce and laminate". I don't. I just make a copy of it - since my town is still using the tissue-paper thin licenses - fold up the duplicate - and put it in my wallet.
I've never had to physically present it though. I've been stopped three times by NH-based LE: Once by Chester, once by Raymond, and once by NHSP. I've informed that was indeed carrying on all three occasions. No issue and never prompted to present the license itself.
This thread seems to reek of Massachusetts-style paranoia.
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2005
- Messages
- 47,529
- Likes
- 33,559
This varies by state, but in general, the answer is no.
While off topic, it is notable that RI AG issued licenses come with a notice that copying them is prohibited.
While off topic, it is notable that RI AG issued licenses come with a notice that copying them is prohibited.
That could be interesting as numerous states require that you supply a copy of all current gun licenses in order to apply or renew for their license.
SpaceCritter
NES Member
This. I have to send a copy (front and back) of my CT permit in every time I renew my NH NR.
ALL towns use the paper licenses. That's a given for resident licenses.
