(WHBC) – The Ohio Attorney General’s Office has released the 2018 Concealed Carry Report

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost says the Law on Concealed Handguns annual report shows that 168,302 concealed carry licenses were issued in Ohio in 2018.

County sheriffs issued 69,375 new licenses and 98,927 renewals.

1,436 applications were denied.

The number of new licenses issued is a 10 percent drop from the previous year.

The number of renewals is a jump of 83 percent from the year before, which is a record number of renewals.

In Stark County, 1,495 licenses were issued in 2018, down from 1,857 in 2017.

2,421 licenses were renewed in 2018, a jump from 1,366 in 2017.

71 licenses were denied and 41 revoked.

Under Ohio law, county sheriffs are responsible for issuing concealed-carry licenses and renewing them, as well as suspending and revoking licenses.

Permit holders who wish to renew their licenses must do so every five years.

The Attorney General’s Office compiles the annual report, as is required by law.

Each sheriff must report concealed handgun license statistics quarterly to the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission within the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

Ohio county sheriffs began issuing concealed carry licenses in 2004.