Permits and Licenses

Across the known galaxy, there are many different laws and ordinances. But permits do not change as much. Generally, a blaster permit will be recognized on almost any settled planet. Whether they check for permits, of course, is a different matter. This list is complete enough to provide a good guide, yet it's loose enough to give devious GM's plenty to work around. Please notice that the meaning of a license may change on some planets; for example, on Alderaan, weapons are not allowed to be carried by civilians. Period. Whereas on Tatooine, it's doubtful that you'll ever need to show your license at all. First is a list of "F" permits, followed by "R" permits, and concluded with "X" permits. Each entry first lists the title of the permit, followed by a general description, which is in turn followed by a list of standard costs.

Universal Vehicle Permit
There are three types of this permit. One type covers the piloting of ground vehicles, the second, hover vehicles, and the last one permits the operation of repulsorlift vehicles. This permit only allows the holder to operate the listed vehicle, and does not allow the holder to mount weapons on it (that requires an "R" license). Personal sidearms are allowed to be carried in the vehicle. This permit can be acquired almost anywhere, and just requires a driving test to demonstrate that the applicant can operate the vehicle (requires appropriate skill of at least 2D). The permit usually costs 40-80 credits.

Light Weapons License
There are three levels of this license: Melee, LW #1, and LW #2. The Melee license allows the purchase and carrying of vibroweapons. LW #1 lets the holder purchase and carry sporting blasters and vibroweapons. LW #2 allows the purchase and carrying of vibroweapons, sporting blasters, and (on some planets) blaster pistols and blaster carbines. Pistols and carbines are generally only allowed on dangerous, frontier planets. Cost is usually 60-100 credits, plus 60 credits for each level beyond Melee.

Ship’s Operating License
A starship must have an operating license detailing the ship’s specifications, port of origin, manufacturer and registration code with the Bureau of Ships and Services (BoSS). The license also identifies the current owner and gives a sample of the transponder codes. Transponder codes are the fingerprints of starships – if a transponder code doesn’t match up with datafile information for a starship registry number, it’s a sure sign of illegal operation (and in most cases, a bad license forgery or data implantation). Obtaining a legitimate operating license requires 1,000 credits, a background check, a brief inspection of the ship, and a transponder code verification reading.

Captain’s Accredited License
A starship captain must have a license to pilot the particular starship class they fly. Some licenses cover several kinds of starships, depending on your training and experience. Obtaining a captain’s license requires several oral, written and flight tests, as well as 10 years of documented time in space, an extensive background check, and a 300 credit fee. However, BoSS often overlooks the flight time and most of the testing for a 200 credit “expediter fee” – bringing the total for the license to 500 credits.

Space Suit License
This license is more of a formality than anything else; it certifies that the user knows how to operate a space suit and is aware of basic safety procedures. It costs around 20-30 credits.

Security Droid License
This license allows a person to purchase security droids. Since armed droids have been proven to be very dangerous, this license is quite restricted and rather expensive. Usually only corporations will be permitted to own security droids. Starship captains, who own large ships, may also be given this license, since they are excellent guards for ships. The cost for this license is at least 300 credits, with an annual checkup of all the security droids required, and an annual fee of 20-30 credits per droid. If any of the droids have been illegally modified, fines are usually stiff.

Comlink License
This allows a person to use high quality, military-grade comlinks, and equally high-level encryption codes. Normally only businesses will need these; most civilians can get adequate privacy with commercial encryption programs. Cost is normally in the range of 60-80 credits.

Armor Permit
Most heavy, full body armor is highly illegal; however, it is recognized that bounty hunters are useful and require such equipment. This license allows the holder to use heavy body armor. It is much easier to acquire if you are affiliated with a bounty hunter's guild, which helps regulate the quality of bounty hunters. Adding weapons to the armor requires the approval of the permit issuer and additional fees. Again, it's much easier to get approval if you're part of a bounty hunter guild. The permit costs approximately 10% of the suit, or about 5% if you have joined a Guild. The annual checkup fee costs about 1% of the suit's cost. A weapon permit costs 100-300 credits, depending on the weapon added.

Heavy Weapons Permit
This permit allows the holder to carry holdout blasters, blaster pistols, heavy blaster pistols, and blaster carbines. This permit also covers bowcasters and vibroweapons. To carry grenades requires another fee, and the holder must show that he has good reason to have grenades. Cost is around 300-400 credits.

Arms Load-Out Permit
Non-military starships with weapons or usually high shield ratings require an arms load-out permit acknowledging the additional weapons and shields are authorized by BoSS. These permits are issued quite often and easily in the regions past the Colonies, as piracy and other attacks are much more common. Ships with weapons emplacements or boosted shields without one of these permits can be impounded on the grounds that it is a vessel in the service of a pirate group or the Rebel Alliance. Because boosted arms and shields are part of a starship’s spec profile, BoSS assumes authority in keeping track of augmented ordnance and tags the permit onto the ship’s operating license. Each weapon or boosted shield system aboard a ship requires a separate permit. An arms load-out permit requires a brief inspection, verification of starship and captain’s licenses, a background check, and a minimum 250 credit fee (the fee depends on the specific shielding and weapons to be carried). Existing weapons that are upgraded in power require new, upgraded permits.

Jet and Rocket Pack License
This allows the character to purchase and use jet and/or rocket packs. There are three types of this license: Jet pack, Rocket pack, and Flight pack. Flight pack is a combined license that allows the holder to use both kinds of packs. The Jet pack license costs 80-100 credits, the rocket pack license costs 100-150 credits, and Flight pack license costs 120-200 credits. This license must be presented to purchase fuel units.

"X" Licenses
Few "X" licenses are given to civilians. These licenses are primarily reserved for government personnel, and occasionally bounty hunter that belong to large, well-regulated guilds.

Unlimited Weapons Permit
The license is reserved for the Imperial or New Republic Military and Security divisions. It may also be given to certain Bounty Hunters that belong to a very well regulated guild, have been sanctioned by the Imperial or New Republic government, and have shown themselves to act with discernment when using weapons. This may also be given to large corporations, allowing them to arm a small number of bodyguards with light blaster rifles.

Unlimited Vehicle Permit
This is also usually restricted to the above groups. This allows the holder to operate combat vehicles, especially those that carry heavy weapons.

Unlimited Starship Permit
This is automatically given to all members of the Imperial or New Republic Navy and Starfighter Corps. This may be granted to certain bounty hunters, allowing them to arm their ships more heavily than normal. Again, this is occasionally offered to large corporations who show a need to protect themselves from piracy.