California CCW Training

The Peacekeeper Specialized Training Institute is on the approved list for Santa Barbara County. Our training program has been reviewed and approved by The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office. 

Residents who live within a City, may need to contact their City's Police Department to find out what training has been approved by their administration. Some cities, including the Cities of Solvang and Buellton contract with the Sheriff's Office, so this course is approved for Solvang and Buellton residents under the Sheriff's contract.  PSTI is currently working on approval from other cities on the Central Coast.

You must first contact your local law enforcement agency and start the process.  You must not have a criminal background, not have restraining orders against you, not be addicted to any narcotic or drugs, or have any serious mental health issues which prohibit you from owning or possessing a firearm. 

Once you are approved by your local law enforcement official, you can then attend a CCW training program.  Upon completion you are eligible for issuance of a CCW permit. 

This CCW course is for regular law abiding citizens who want to protect themselves and their families. It is for the real world.  We see many trainers advertising their courses wearing military tactical gear with 10 high-capacity magazines on a load bearing vest and assault weapons slung across their bodies.  Although there is a place for that, our goal is to prepare the average citizen to be safe, develop awareness and give them tools they can use in their daily lives.  Our training is designed to not  intimidate, overwhelm, or to demonstrate our abilities. It is designed to give you tools to safely carry a weapon and, to be  educated in the  legal, moral and practical aspects of CCW.

Our trainers are retired law enforcement and have decades of experience in training law enforcement officers from recruits starting their careers in law enforcement to training long-time veteran police personnel.  We subscribe to the "KISS" principle.  Keep it Simple and Safe. 

Your training starts in the classroom and then onto basic drills. We then have you train using  a force options simulator in a safe environment before moving onto live fire at a range. By the time you shoot live fire at the range, you will have already practiced function drills, basic weapons manipulation and, have shot courses of fire involving basic skills and judgement training in a simulator.  The goal is to build your skills and to prepare you in a safe environment before you shoot live rounds.  Deciding to carry a weapon for self-defense is a big decision and our goal is to give you the tools to be competent and prepared.