Washington Recruits Trainers For Gun-Buy Permits

Washington residents will soon need a government-approved training certificate — logged electronically into a state database — before they can legally buy a firearm or get a concealed pistol license.

State of play: The Washington State Patrol is now accepting applications from firearms instructors who want to become "certified firearm safety training providers" under House Bill 1163, passed last year on a party-line vote with zero Republican support. Starting May 1, 2027, anyone seeking a permit-to-purchase or a new/renewed CPL in Washington will have to complete one of these state-blessed courses first.

According to a letter from Kevin Baird, assistant commander of WSP's Firearms Background Division, the agency plans to start vetting training providers in September 2026 and start reviewing curriculums the following month. The electronic certification system that ties it all together is targeted for a January 2027 rollout — four months before residents actually need it.

What the course covers: RCW 9.41.1132 spells out nine mandatory topics, including basic safety rules, secure storage, suicide prevention, state and federal transfer laws, use-of-force law, and a live-fire proficiency demonstration. Training has to come from a law enforcement agency, a college, or an instructor certified by a "nationally recognized organization that customarily offers firearms training" — language that will likely determine who's allowed to teach this course and who isn't.

Here's the part drawing the most fire from gun-rights advocates: certification won't be a paper card you tuck in your wallet. Per Baird's memo, the state's vendor is building a fully electronic system so completion data "can directly update the permit to purchase background check system" and feed CPL-issuing agencies automatically. Critics call that a de facto registry of who's trained, who's certified, and by extension, who's exercising their right to keep and bear arms.

The legal question: Both the Second Amendment and Washington's own constitution — Article I, Section 24 — protect the right to bear arms without qualifiers about prior government permission. Opponents argue that conditioning a constitutional right on completing a state-curated course, tracked in a state database, doesn't survive that scrutiny. A court challenge is widely expected before the May 2027 deadline arrives.

The intrigue: This buildout is happening as Washington Democrats publicly admit they're not done. Seattle Rep. Liz Berry told the Seattle Times in late August that more "gun reform" work remains, and that a stalled safe-storage bill has caused friction within her own caucus. Meanwhile, after a fatal July shooting at Seattle's Bite of Seattle festival, the Bellevue-based Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms pushed back hard on the narrative that guns — rather than crime — are the problem.

"Deflecting blame to guns is a non-starter because they just don't commit crimes by themselves. We don't blame cars for fatal crashes, and we shouldn't infer guns are to blame for violent crime." — CCRKBA Executive Director Andrew Gottlieb

What to watch: The Washington Supreme Court is shaping up as the real battleground. Gun-rights groups in the state are pouring resources into electing more constitutionally-minded justices, betting that a reshaped court could gut HB 1163 — or at least the permit-to-purchase piece — if a challenge reaches it. Until then, expect the certification pipeline to keep moving on schedule: provider vetting this September, curriculum review in October, and the electronic system going live in January 2027, four months ahead of the mandate.