(a) Application for license; term. The judge of the probate court of each county may, on application under oath and on payment of a fee of $15.00, issue a license valid for a period of five years to any person whose domicile is in that county or who is on active duty with the United States armed forces and who is not a domiciliary of this state but who either resides in that county or on a military reservation located in whole or in part in that county at the time of such application, which license shall authorize that person to carry any pistol or revolver in any county of this state notwithstanding any change in that person's county of residence or state of domicile. Applicants shall submit the application for a license to the judge of the probate court on forms prescribed and furnished free of charge to persons wishing to apply for the license. Forms shall be designed to elicit information from the applicant pertinent to his or her eligibility under this Code section but shall not require data which is nonpertinent or irrelevant such as serial numbers or other identification capable of being used as a de facto registration of firearms owned by the applicant. The Department of Public Safety shall furnish application forms and license forms required by this Code section. The forms shall be furnished to each judge of each probate court within the state at no cost.

(b) Licensing exceptions. No license shall be granted to:

(1) Any person under 21 years of age;

(2) Any person who is a fugitive from justice or against whom proceedings are pending for any felony, forcible misdemeanor, or violation of Code Section 16-11-126, 16-11-127, or 16-11-128 until such time as the proceedings are adjudicated;

(3) Any person who has been convicted of a felony by a court of this state or any other state; by a court of the United States including its territories, possessions, and dominions; or by a court of any foreign nation and has not been pardoned for such felony by the President of the United States, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles, or the person or agency empowered to grant pardons under the constitution or laws of such state or nation or any person who has been convicted of a forcible misdemeanor and has not been free of all restraint or supervision in connection therewith for at least five years or any person who has been convicted of a violation of Code Section 16-11-126, 16-11-127, or 16-11-128 and has not been free of all restraint or supervision in connection therewith for at least three years, immediately preceding the date of the application;

(4) Any individual who has been hospitalized as an inpatient in any mental hospital or alcohol or drug treatment center within five years of the date of his application. The probate judge may require any applicant to sign a waiver authorizing any mental hospital or treatment center to inform the judge whether or not the applicant has been an inpatient in any such facility in the last five years and authorizing the superintendent of such facility to make to the judge a recommendation regarding whether a license to carry a pistol or revolver should be issued. The judge shall keep any such hospitalization or treatment information confidential. It shall be at the discretion of the probate judge, considering the circumstances surrounding the hospitalization and the recommendation of the superintendent of the hospital or treatment center where the individual was a patient, to issue the license; or

(5)(A) Any person, the provisions of paragraph (3) of this subsection notwithstanding, who has been convicted of an offense arising out of the unlawful manufacture, distribution, possession, or use of a controlled substance or other dangerous drug.

(B) As used in this paragraph, the term:

(i) "Controlled substance" means any drug, substance, or immediate precursor included in the definition of controlled substances in paragraph (4) of Code Section 16-13-21.

(ii) "Convicted" means a plea of guilty, a finding of guilt by a court of competent jurisdiction, the acceptance of a plea of nolo contendere, or the affording of first offender treatment by a court of competent jurisdiction irrespective of the pendency or availability of an appeal or an application for collateral relief.

(iii) "Dangerous drug" means any drug defined as such in Code Section 16-13-71.

(c) Fingerprinting.

(1) Following completion of the application, the judge of the probate court shall require the applicant to proceed to an appropriate law enforcement agency in the county with the completed application. The appropriate local law enforcement agency in each county shall then make two sets of classifiable fingerprints of the applicant for a license to carry a pistol or revolver, place the fingerprint required by subsection (f) of this Code section on a blank license form which has been furnished to the law enforcement agency by the judge of the probate court, and place the name of the applicant on the blank license form. The law enforcement agency shall be entitled to a fee of $5.00 from the applicant for its services in connection with the application.

(2) In the case of each applicant who is applying for a license under this Code section for the first time, the judge of the probate court shall direct the law enforcement agency to transmit one set of the applicant's fingerprints to the Georgia Crime Information Center for a search of the Federal Bureau of Investigation records and an appropriate report. In such cases, the applicant shall submit an additional fee in an amount established by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation but not to exceed $30.00 for a search of records of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and an appropriate report, payable in such form as the judge may direct, to cover the cost of the records search.

(3) Applications for renewal of licenses issued under this Code section shall be made to the judge of the probate court of the county in which the applicant is domiciled or, if the applicant is a member of the United States armed forces, the county in which he or she resides or in which the military reservation on which the applicant resides is located in whole or in part at the time of making the renewal application. In the case of an applicant for a renewal of a license, the judge of the probate court may, in his or her discretion, direct that the local county law enforcement agency request a search of the criminal history file and wanted persons file of the Georgia Crime Information Center by computer access from that county in lieu of transmitting the application and forms.

(d) Investigation of applicant; issuance of license. Each law enforcement agency, upon receiving such applications and obtaining such fingerprints, shall promptly conduct a thorough search of its records and records to which it has access and shall notify the judge of the probate court within 50 days, by telephone and in writing, of any findings relating to the applicant which may bear on his eligibility for a license under the terms of this Code section. When no derogatory information is found on the applicant bearing on his eligibility to obtain a license, a report shall not be required. The law enforcement agency shall return the application and the blank license form with the fingerprint thereon directly to the judge of the probate court within such time period. Not later than 60 days after the date of the application the judge of the probate court shall issue the applicant a license to carry any pistol or revolver if no facts establishing ineligibility have been reported and if the judge determines the applicant has met all the qualifications, is of good moral character, and has complied with all the requirements contained in this Code section.

(e) Revocation, loss, or damage to license. If, at any time during the period for which the license was issued, the judge of the probate court of the county in which the license was issued shall learn or have brought to his attention in any manner any reasonable ground to believe the licensee is not eligible to retain the license, the judge may, after notice and hearing, revoke the license of the person upon adjudication of falsification of application, mental incompetency, chronic alcohol or narcotic usage, conviction of any felony or forcible misdemeanor, or for violation of Code Section 16-11-126, 16-11-127, or 16-11-128. It shall be unlawful for any person to possess a license which has been revoked, and any person found in possession of any such revoked license, except in the performance of his official duties, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. It shall be required that any license holder under this Code section have in his possession his valid license whenever he is carrying a pistol or revolver under the authority granted by this Code section, and his failure to do so shall be prima-facie evidence of a violation of Code Section 16-11-128. Loss of any license issued in accordance with this Code section or damage to the license in any manner which shall render it illegible shall be reported to the judge of the probate court of the county in which it was issued within 48 hours of the time the loss or damage becomes known to the license holder. The judge of the probate court shall thereupon issue a replacement for and shall take custody of and destroy a damaged license; and in any case in which a license has been lost, he shall issue a cancellation order and notify by telephone and in writing each of the law enforcement agencies whose records were checked before issuance of the original license. A fee of $3.00 shall be charged by the judge for such services.

(f) License specifications. Licenses issued as prescribed in this Code section shall be printed on durable but lightweight card stock, and the completed card shall be laminated in plastic to improve its wearing qualities and to inhibit alterations. Measurements shall be 3 1/4 inches long, and 2 1/4 inches wide. Each shall be serially numbered within the county of issuance and shall bear the full name, residential address, birth date, weight, height, color of eyes, sex, and a clear print of the right index finger of the licensee. If the right index fingerprint cannot be secured for any reason, the print of another finger may be used but such print shall be marked to identify the finger from which the print is taken. The license shall show the date of issuance, the expiration date, and the probate court in which issued and shall be signed by the licensee and bear the signature or facsimile thereof of the judge. The seal of the court shall be placed on the face before the license is laminated. The reverse side of the license shall have imprinted thereon in its entirety Code Section 16-11-127.

(g) Alteration or counterfeiting of license; penalty. A person who deliberately alters or counterfeits such a license card commits a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment for a period of not less than one nor more than five years.

(h) Licenses for former law enforcement officers. Except as otherwise provided in Code Section 16-11-130, any person who has served as a law enforcement officer for at least ten of the 12 years immediately preceding the retirement of such person as a law enforcement officer shall be entitled to be issued a license as provided for in this Code section without the payment of any of the fees provided for in this Code section. Such person must comply with all the other provisions of this Code section relative to the issuance of such licenses. As used in this subsection, the term "law enforcement officer" means any peace officer who is employed by the United States government or by the State of Georgia or any political subdivision thereof and who is required by the terms of his or her employment, whether by election or appointment, to give his or her full time to the preservation of public order or the protection of life and property or the prevention of crime. Such term shall include conservation rangers.

(i) Temporary renewal licenses.

(1) Any person who holds a license under this Code section to carry a pistol or revolver may, at the time he applies for a renewal of the license, also apply for a temporary renewal license if less than 90 days remain before expiration of the license he then holds or if his previous license has expired within the last 30 days.

(2) Unless the judge of the probate court knows or is made aware of any fact which would make the applicant ineligible for a five-year renewal license, the judge shall at the time of application issue a temporary renewal license to the applicant.

(3) Such a temporary renewal license shall be in the form of a paper receipt indicating the date on which the court received the renewal application and shall show the name, address, sex, age, and race of the applicant and that the temporary renewal license expires 90 days from the date of issue.

(4) During its period of validity the temporary renewal permit, if carried on or about the holder's person together with the holder's previous license, shall be valid in the same manner and for the same purposes as a five-year license.

(5) A $1.00 fee shall be charged by the probate court for issuance of a temporary renewal license.

(6) A temporary renewal license may be revoked in the same manner as a five-year license.