What Happens When a Firearm Purchase is Denied
When a California resident purchases a firearm, the applicant needs to submit proof of identification and undergo a background check before being able to receive the firearm from the dealer. All firearm purchases, including private party transactions, must be made through a California licensed dealer. The dealer is responsible for submitting the purchaser’s information to the California Department of Justice for a background check. California law requires a 10-day waiting period before the gun can be released. The process is called a Dealer Record of Sale (DROS) application.
What will the California Department of Justice check for on the applicant’s background?
Convictions or restraining orders that prohibit firearm possession. The most typical of these convictions are felonies and any conviction for domestic violence. The California Department of Justice will review the FBI record (which includes every state), and the California DOJ RAP sheet for these types of convictions, and then decide whether the person is allowed to receive the gun from the dealer.
If there is a denial, the dealer will not tell the person the reason. Instead, the applicant will receive a letter from the CA DOJ Bureau of Firearms within two weeks. This letter includes instructions on obtaining a background report and challenging the results. Gun rights attorney David Reagan can help applicants at this stage. Sometimes the record is unclear, and clarifying the actual conviction record through a response or an amendment request with the CA DOJ will solve the issue. An amendment request involves submitting documents from the record of conviction which can include the plea agreement, sentencing, court transcript of the plea or sentencing, and any subsequent clean record relief. In other circumstances, the record can be cleaned to permit firearm ownership, like reducing the felony to a misdemeanor when the person was sentenced to probation instead of prison. Not all felony code sections are eligible for reduction, but several are eligible and will restore firearm rights. In other instances, an arrest might have no disposition information. Sealing the record under Penal Code section 851.91 could prove to the DOJ that there was no conviction, or that diversion was successfully completed, and the case was dismissed in its entirety.
Rather than go through the hassle of the entire application process only to receive a denial at the dealer, gun rights attorney David Reagan encourages his clients to first file a California Personal Firearms Eligibility Check (PFEC). A PFEC will provide eligibility information without going through a dealer. Take note that a PFEC only includes California criminal history, not a Federal NICS check. If a person is concerned about out of state criminal history, they should request their FBI background report for review. Any errors can be amended through a similar process to the CA DOJ amendment process.
The Law Office of David Reagan has years of experience restoring firearm rights and working with the CA DOJ and ATF to clarify gun ownership eligibility. Contact attorney David Reagan for a free consultation today.
