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Read. Follow. Verify.North Carolina Replaces Full Mental Health Records Disclosure for Concealed Handgun Permits with Simple Yes/No Statements
Last action · April 8, 2025: Re-ref Com On Health (House action)Sponsors: Keith Kidwell and 4 others
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What This Bill Would Do
North Carolina House Bill 427 eliminates the requirement for applicants to authorize full disclosure of their mental health records to the sheriff. Instead, health providers and entities will only submit a "Yes" or "No" statement indicating whether they possess information of a mental illness diagnosis, effective October 1, 2025.
The measure limits the personal health information shared during background checks for s by replacing full medical record access with a binary confirmation.
- Concealed handgun permits in North Carolina are issued by county sheriffs after applicants meet specific background and training criteria set by state law. context
- House Bill 427 was introduced in the North Carolina General Assembly for the 2025-2026 session by primary sponsor Representative Kidwell. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Concealed Handgun Permit Applicants
Sheriffs
Sheriffs must request mental health statements within 10 days of receiving an application, process permit determinations within 45 days, and include specific respondent details in any denial notices.
Medical and Mental Health Providers
Providers are required to respond to sheriffs with a "Yes" or "No" statement regarding mental illness diagnoses, and must provide written grounds to the applicant within 15 days if they answer "Yes".
Key Facts
- Entities or persons queried must respond with a "Yes" or "No" statement indicating whether they have information that the applicant has been diagnosed by a medical professional with a mental illness.
- If an entity responds "Yes", it must provide the applicant with the grounds for responding "Yes" in writing within 15 days of providing the statement to the sheriff.
- Entities responding with a statement are protected from civil liability for damages if the statement is inaccurate, in the absence of fraud or malice.
- The bill explicitly states that nothing in the new subsection requires the actual disclosure of underlying records to the sheriff.
Show all 9 facts
- Sheriffs must make requests for the mental health statement within 10 days of receiving a complete application, and issue or deny the permit within 45 days.
- No person, company, mental health provider, or governmental entity may charge additional fees to the applicant for background checks conducted under this provision.
- If a permit is denied, the written notice must identify any person or entity who provided a statement, specify whether they answered "Yes" or "No", and provide their contact information.
- The Administrative Office of the Courts must update the required release form no later than September 30, 2025.
- The act applies to concealed handgun permit applications submitted on or after October 1, 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if a medical provider or entity answers "Yes" to having mental health information about an applicant?
Does the sheriff still receive the applicant's actual mental health records under this bill?
Can providers or entities charge a fee to the applicant for conducting these background checks?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
5 actions- Apr 8, 2025HouseRe-ref Com On Health
- Apr 8, 2025HouseReptd Fav Com Substitute
- Mar 19, 2025HouseRef to the Com on Judiciary 2, if favorable, Health, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
- Mar 19, 2025HousePassed 1st Reading
- Mar 18, 2025HouseIntroducedFiled
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Transition from Full Record Access to Binary Disclosure
The bill shifts state concealed carry background checks away from full mental health records release toward a limited yes/no confirmation model.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.ncleg.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance65How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy70Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz45Current news / social attention level
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