MAYVILLE — If you wanted to get a pistol permit in Chautauqua County but haven’t filed an application yet, it’s going to be a while before you can apply.

According to a news release from the Sheriff’s Office, they received about 1,000 applications over the past six weeks and are waiting until the state has a new safety course in place before accepting any new ones.

The 1,000 applications are much higher than normal. They usually receive about 1,200 a year. “We will be processing these applications in the order that they were received,” they stated.

The Sheriff’s Office is asking applicants to not call their office, even if they haven’t heard yet. “We ask for everyone’s patience as we got no funding or assistance from New York State to handle the influx or changes to the application process,” they said.

The three main changes in the pistol permit process include revealing any social media accounts an applicant has or had, disclosing all individuals who reside with the applicant, and the requirement of taking a 16-hour safety course.

“The Sheriff’s Office is working on updating our application forms to meet these requirements,” they said.

Since the new regulations are now in effect, the Sheriff’s Office is not able to accept any new applications until the state finalizes the 16-hour safety training curriculum.

“Once the course is finalized we will then be able to start accepting new applications under the new laws,” the Sheriff’s Office said.

In Erie County, the County Clerk’s Office handles pistol permits. In Chautauqua County, it’s the Sheriff’s Office that handles them. State law permits either department to be in charge.

Erie County saw long lines of people waiting in line ahead of Thursday’s deadline. In a phone interview Thursday, Sheriff Jim Quattrone said they avoided long lines because they allowed applicants to drop off their applications and be processed at a later date. “We will be scheduling many of these applications throughout the next several months to have our personal meetings with them,” he added.

Quattrone said applicants should expect an interview with the pistol permit clerk and with Surrogate Court Judge Stephen Cass. “It’s going to take quite a long time to get the applications done,” he said.

Quattrone said it is his understanding that everyone who applied before Thursday won’t be subject to the new regulations to get a pistol permit, even though their application will be processed after Sept. 1.

Quattrone was asked how long it might take to process these applications, but he was weary about giving a guess. “I really don’t know,” he said.

The sheriff believes the state won’t have a 16-hour course available until July. That should give the county time to process the applications before they have to deal with new pistol permit applications next year.

Quattrone also said that it is his understanding that anyone who already has a pistol permit in Chautauqua County and needs to recertify won’t have to follow the newly implemented regulations, including taking a 16-hour course or showing all their social media accounts, but that could change.

“The recertification is done on the New York State Police website and I don’t anticipate them adding that to that. But again, there’s much of the law that is being challenged and much of the law is being interpreted. There seems to be a lack of an agreement at the state level on what some of the legislation actually means,” he said.

Quattrone asks for patience from those who are waiting to get their permits. “Our pistol permit clerks are working as hard as they can. Much of the delay, I put the blame on the legislation causing some of these delays without the additional funding,” he said.

At this point, the sheriff said he doesn’t anticipate asking the county legislature for additional funds to cover their costs. “We are just going to continue to plug away with our current staff. Unfortunately, it’s going to be a delay in some people getting their permits just because of the excess work placed upon our pistol permit office,” he said.