Under North Carolina General Statute § 14-404, a sheriff must determine an applicant’s good moral character when they are applying for a pistol purchase permit. The sheriff can only consider an applicant’s conduct and criminal history for the five-year period immediately preceding the date of their application for purposes of determining an applicant’s good moral character to receive a permit, and this five-year period only applies to a sheriff’s evaluation of an applicant’s good moral character. When a crime or condition occurs outside of the five-year period, a sheriff can consider it if the crime or condition is independently a disqualifier for a pistol purchase permit (such as a felony conviction). The phrase “good moral character” is not defined in the North Carolina General Statutes.