We do not replace the Department of Justice portal. We make sure that when you reach it, the file is complete, consistent, and honest — because an incomplete or premature filing can lock you out for years.
You complete the secure questionnaire: identity, every prohibition, every court, sentence-completion dates, residence history, work history, and three proposed references. Upload whatever records you already have.
We map your facts onto the final rule’s presumption tiers and your state’s separate firearm laws. If the case is not viable, we say so before you pay for certified copies.
Court clerks, probation offices, departments of corrections, and state repositories move slowly. We give you the exact request language and track what is still missing.
You draft the rehabilitation statement. We pressure-test it. References get a plain-English briefing on the seven sworn points DOJ asks them to address — they must use their own words.
When your public or invited slot opens at justice.gov/ffrr, you submit OMB Form 1123-0017. After submission you receive the CJIS email with barcode and QR code for USPS electronic fingerprints. Other fingerprint vendors are rejected.
If DOJ finds the file incomplete you get one 30-day cure window. There is no published decision deadline and no internal appeal. A denial can be taken to the U.S. district court where you live.
The Department describes the public process as: prepare, complete the application, wait for a decision.
DOJ has said the first public opening is capped at 5,000 applications, with 500 more at the next mark. Estimates of first-year volume have ranged from about 330,000 applications to much larger eligible populations. Completeness matters more than speed-for-its-own-sake; a denied file can carry a five-year or effectively permanent reapplication bar.