Once someone has had their right to possess firearms restored in state court, often there is another step needed of notifying the FBI that the person is no longer prohibited from possessing firearms. Prohibited persons are usually listed in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) as ineligible to purchase and possess firearms. Most often, if a state restores a person’s right to possess firearms due to a state criminal conviction, federal law also considers the person restored for purposes of federal firearms laws. But who tells the feds? The answer is that a person may open a Voluntary Appeal File (VAF) with the FBI. A Voluntary Appeal File involves sending the FBI a certified copy of the state court order restoring the right to possess firearms, a set of the person’s fingerprints – rolled at a local police station (usually costing around $20.00), and a VAF application. The Voluntary Appeal File application is found on the FBI’s website. Once those items are sent to the FBI, ideally, the FBI responds with a letter indicating the person has been removed from the NICS database as a prohibited person and has been entered into the VAF. The person is also given a UPIN – a “Unique Personal Identification Number” – that expedites the purchase of a firearm at a local retailer or from a Federally Licensed Firearm Dealer.
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