It all depends on the state that you live in. On another forum that I'm on they were saying that some took just a few minutes to a few months. I just got my CCW in AZ and I sent mine in on 5/29/2013 and I got it in the mail on 1/16/2013. And they were a little backlogged at the time. The one that said that it only took a few minutes they were able to go down in person and get theirs. I don't know where you live but it will all depend on where you live and how they process and issue the CCW's for your area. You might be able to ask your class instructor on how the process works in your area. They might know. Have fun in the class. I really enjoyed the one that I took. At the start of my class the instructor had hidden on him around 15 firearms in places that you could not see most of them. and in some places that you would never think of carrying one. but every place was in a G or PG rated place. I hope that this helps.