In an effort to help individuals restore their gun rights, our expert attorneys have compiled a list of frequently asked questions asked by our clients. You can take our free online eligibility test to check if you are eligible to restore your rights. Upon determining that you are eligible, you can use our Illinois firearm rights restoration service to have our attorneys get your rights restored.
Simply click on a question to view its answer:
Assessing an individual success rate is nearly impossible. Each situation, court, and state's attorney are different. Illinois has been particularly stringent in the grant of firearm rights restoration in recent years, especially in Cook County. These cases are rarely ever agreed to by the State and it will likely be an adversarial process. To strengthen your case, be prepared to provide supporting documentation concerning your rehabilitation since your last conviction and how you would be a responsible firearm owner. Even with strong evidence of your rehabilitation, success is not guaranteed.
Unfortunately, you cannot currently restore your firearm rights in Illinois. In order to petition to restore your rights, you must first be denied an Illinois Firearm Owner Identification Card (FOID Card). You must be a resident of Illinois to apply for a FOID Card. Since you live out-of-state, you cannot apply for the Illinois FOID Card to begin the process of restoring your rights.
No. Both dispositions are considered convictions.
No. If you are eligible for your gun rights restoration and to have your case sealed/expunged at the same time, then we must file the two cases separately.
You are prohibited if you have been convicted of a felony in the State of Illinois or any other jurisdiction, you are under 18 and have a firearm of any size that can be concealed upon the person, you are under 21 years old and have been convicted of a misdemeanor other than a traffic offense, you are a narcotic addict, you have been a patient in a mental hospital within the past 5 years, or you are intellectually disabled.
A firearm rights restoration can be denied if: (1) the judge/Department of State Police find that it would be contrary to the public interest, (2) you have been convicted of a forcible felony within the last 20 years or at least 20 years have not passed since the end of any period of imprisonment, or (3) the nature of the offense, the criminal history, or your reputation show that you may act in a manner dangerous to public safety.
Possibly; however, the Department of State Police must find that you will not likely act in a manner dangerous to public safety and that restoring your firearm rights would not be contrary to public safety.
Yes, in addition to the state laws regarding firearm possession, there is also a lifetime ban (under the Lautenberg Amendment) from the federal government. The Lautenberg Amendment prohibits firearm ownership for individuals who have been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence as defined by federal law. If you would like us to evaluate your case and determine if the federal ban will apply against you then we can do so for a small fee. Please contact us to get started on a firearm rights analysis.
We can file attempt to file them in one petition, however, we must charge an additional reduced charge for the additional cases.
If you have convictions in multiple states, we must evaluate the laws of each state (the states you have convictions in and the state in which you currently reside) to determine what your options are to restore your gun rights. If you would like us to evaluate your case and determine if it is possible to restore your rights, then we can do a firearm rights analysis for a small fee.
There is no average Illinois firearm rights restoration case because each case is different. Depending on the facts of the case, whether the DA is objecting, and the age of the case, the process can take a year or more. We will work on your case as fast as we can on our end to get it filed, and then we will assist the court, Department of State Police and DA with anything they need to get your case heard and decided.
The Department of State Police and the court work on a first-come, first served basis. We will work to get your application prepared and filed as quickly as possible. If you are obtaining your firearm rights for a job, we would be glad to write a letter to your employer or potential employer letting them know we are in the process of filing to have your firearm rights restored.
If you are prohibited from possessing a firearm, denied a Firearm Owner’s Identification Card, the agency fails to respond to your application within 30 days, or your card is revoked or seized then you file an appeal (restoration of the right) with the Department of State Police unless it was due to a forcible felony, stalking, aggravated stalking, domestic battery, any violation of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act, the Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act, the Cannabis Control Act that is classified as a Class 2 or greater felony, any felony violation of Article 24 of the Criminal Code of 1961 (Deadly Weapons), or any adjudication as a minor for the commission of an offense that would be a felony if committed as an adult. If it was due to any of the charges listed then you must file with the circuit court for the county you reside in.
A Firearm Owner’s Identification Card is a requirement for any resident of Illinois that wishes to possess or purchase a firearm. A person must fill out an application for the card and the applicant’s identification and criminal history are reviewed. If a person is prohibited from possessing a firearm or has lost their firearm rights, then the application for the card will be denied.
No, we will attend any scheduled hearings on your behalf.
You will receive a court or Department of Public Safety order stating your firearm rights are restored. The court and state databases will update their records and send the order to the agencies do to so as well.
The issuer (either the court or the Department of Public Safety) updates their records within a few dates. However, the other agencies (police departments) might take a month or two do so.
If your restoration is denied, we will evaluate the reason for the denial and determine the best way to proceed. The next step can be refilling the application or we may recommend that you wait longer to refile.
We are unable to offer a money back guarantee on our Illinois firearm rights restoration service, because the process involves a large amount of preparation and can sometimes require several appearances in court by our attorneys. We cannot afford to offer this low of a price and a money back guarantee.