I went thru this last summer, applied as soon as I was eligible, and received my renewal in 35 days. Here's some things I researched then. Interestingly, I found no statutory time frame as to when you can submit your renewal, but as a practical matter, the DPS won't let you apply for renewal, at least on line, until six months prior. To be specific, the online function will not let you apply until 180 days prior (which can be a couple days different than six calendar months). By statute, the DPS required to send you a renewal notice not later than 60 days prior to expiration, but in practice they seem to do it about about six months prior.
What the law DOES say is that you must complete your continuing education course and your shooting proficiency within six months of the date of your application. In other words, the course is NOT good for two years, at least by statute. Whether DPS will accept it or not is another thing. Statutorily, you could take the renewal course up to a year prior to your expiration, as long as you get your application in right at six months prior to expiration. Make sense?
What I did was take the course the last weekend prior to the start of the six month window prior to my license expiration. IOW, my birthday is in early November. Six months prior is in early May. I took the course right at the first of May, got all my paperwork in order, and when the day the online function noted I was eligible to renew, I mailed off the whole package with a confirmation of receipt. Thirty-five days later I had my license.
GC 5411.185. RENEWAL. (a) To renew a license, a license holder
must:
(1) complete a continuing education course in handgun proficiency
under Section 411.188(c) within the six-month period
preceding:
(A) -the date of application for renewal, for a first or second
renewal; and
(B) the date of application for renewal or the date of application
for the preceding renewal, for a third or subsequent renewal, to ensure
that the license holder is not required to complete the course more
than once in any 1 0-year period;
(2) obtain a handgun proficiency certificate under Section
411 . I8 9 within the six-month period preceding:
(A) the date of application for renewal, for a first or second
renewal; and
(B) the date of application for renewal or the date of application
for the preceding renewal, for a third or subsequent renewal, to ensure
that the license holder is not required to obtain the certificate more
than once in any 10-year period; and
(3) submit to the department:
(A) an application for renewal on a form provided by the
department;
(B) a copy of the handgun proficiency certificate;
(C) payment of a nonrefundable renewal fee as set by the
department; and
(D) two recent color passport photographs of the applicant.