Missed the November Federal Firearm Rights Restoration Portal? Prepare Now for January 4, 2027

Updated November 4, 2026

The first public opening of the federal firearm rights restoration portal has already closed.

The U.S. Department of Justice accepted the first 5,000 public applicants on November 4, 2026, and announced the same day that it had reached the limit. DOJ now plans to reopen the portal on January 4, 2027—but for only 500 additional applicants nationwide.

National Security Law Firm successfully initiated DOJ applications for every portal-ready client we represented during the November opening—approximately 80 people. Our team entered the opening with client records, application responses, and supporting evidence already under development so that our clients were prepared when the limited portal became available.

DOJ alone controls portal access, and our November experience cannot guarantee that NSLF or any individual will obtain one of the 500 January openings. But our attorneys now have direct, practical experience with the portal’s workflow, questions, technical requirements, and documentary demands.

If the November portal closed before you could begin, that does not mean DOJ found you ineligible or denied your request. It means you did not obtain access before the 5,000-person limit was reached.

January’s window will be much smaller.

If you intend to apply in January, schedule your consultation now—even if you do not have your court records yet.

For the complete filing process, see How to Apply for Federal Gun Rights Restoration in January 2027.

Once retained, National Security Law Firm’s federal firearm rights restoration lawyers can evaluate your eligibility, identify possible presumptive disqualifiers, request the necessary records, prepare your application responses, and organize your supporting evidence before the portal reopens.

Book My Free Consultation Now

January 4, 2027 Portal Opening: The Essential Facts

DOJ has not announced the exact opening time. We are tracking the available evidence in What Time Will the January 2027 Federal Gun Rights Restoration Portal Open?

DOJ also has not announced when the portal will become available to the public without a numerical limit. Once the January 500-person phase closes, the next opening date may depend on DOJ’s evaluation of the application and payment systems.

Why Should You Begin Preparing Before January 4?

Successfully obtaining access to the portal is only the beginning.

Once you initiate an online application, DOJ gives you 30 days to complete and submit it. If you do not finish within that period, you must start the application process again.

Thirty days can pass quickly when records must be obtained from courts, probation departments, police agencies, state repositories, military offices, medical providers, or other government entities.

A court clerk searching for an archived judgment works on the court’s schedule—not yours. A probation department may need time to locate an old discharge record. A state criminal-history report may contain incomplete or inaccurate information that requires a second request or source-agency correction.

Starting early gives you time to identify those problems before the federal deadline begins running.

Do Not Wait Until January to Determine Whether You Should Apply

Being permitted to open an application does not mean DOJ is likely to grant relief.

Before pursuing a January spot, an applicant should determine:

• Why federal law currently prohibits firearm possession;
• Whether the person is actually prohibited;
• Whether state law creates a separate restriction;
• Whether § 925(c) is the correct remedy;
• Whether a pardon, expungement, state restoration, NICS challenge, VAF/UPIN application, or record correction would be more appropriate;
• Whether a five-year, ten-year, permanent, status-based, or reapplication presumption applies;
• When every component of the sentence was legally completed; and
• Whether the available evidence can support the required public-safety and public-interest findings.

A rushed application can be worse than waiting. DOJ’s rules create presumptions against relief for certain offenses, statuses, recent convictions, and prior denials. In some circumstances, a denial may create an additional five-year presumption against a later application.

Our guide to federal firearm rights restoration eligibility explains the threshold considerations in greater detail.

What Records Should January Applicants Begin Collecting?

DOJ requires more than a description of the conviction that originally caused the firearm prohibition.

Applicants generally must obtain criminal-history records covering the last 25 years—or since age 18, if that period is shorter—from every state where they lived during the relevant period. The records must identify arrests or establish that the applicant had no record in that state.

Depending on the basis for the prohibition and the applicant’s history, additional records may include:

• Charging documents;
• Judgments of conviction;
• Plea agreements;
• Factual bases for guilty pleas;
• Presentence reports;
• Police or investigative reports;
• Probation or parole records;
• Proof of release from incarceration;
• Proof that restitution, fines, and other monetary obligations were satisfied;
• Documentation of community-service or treatment completion;
• Expungement, set-aside, pardon, or restoration orders;
• Mental-health commitment and treatment records;
• Current evaluations from qualified mental-health professionals;
• Court-martial and military records;
• DD Forms 214, 214-1, or 215;
• Foreign criminal, military, or mental-health records; and
• Certified English translations of foreign documents.

For example, a judgment may show that restitution was ordered but not establish when the final payment was made. If that date determines when a five- or ten-year waiting period began, the applicant may need both the judgment and a separate court or probation record proving completion.

Learn more about how DOJ calculates the five- and ten-year waiting periods.

For detailed answers about eligibility, records, references, waiting periods, and DOJ review, read our Federal Firearm Rights Restoration FAQ: 50 Questions Answered.

What If a Court or Police File Is Missing?

An old record does not necessarily disappear merely because the applicant cannot obtain a copy.

DOJ permits an applicant to submit a sworn statement when certain required government records are genuinely unavailable. The statement must generally explain:

• The information that would have appeared in the missing record;
• The steps taken to obtain it;
• Why the record is unavailable; and
• What other reliable evidence supports the applicant’s account.

That makes the record-search process important even when it is unsuccessful. Emails, certified requests, clerk correspondence, archive searches, destruction notices, and other documentation may establish that the applicant made serious efforts to obtain the official file.

NSLF helps clients pursue records from the correct sources, identify what is missing, follow up on incomplete responses, and develop an appropriate sworn explanation when a document can no longer be obtained.

Read more about missing court and police records in § 925(c) applications.

You Will Need Three Qualified Character References

The DOJ application requires three character references. Each reference must:

• Be unrelated to the applicant by blood or marriage;
• Have known the applicant for at least three years; and
• Not be prohibited from possessing firearms under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g).

The references are not being asked merely to say that the applicant is a good person. They must be prepared to make detailed representations under penalty of perjury concerning matters such as:

• The applicant’s character and reputation;
• Criminal conduct during the preceding five years;
• Drug and alcohol use;
• Mental-health concerns affecting judgment or behavior;
• Violence or threats of violence;
• Suicide attempts or threats;
• Community contribution and dependability; and
• Whether firearm possession would create a danger to the applicant or others.

Applicants should identify appropriate references and confirm their willingness to participate before entering their names into the portal.

NSLF helps clients understand DOJ’s requirements, identify potential concerns, and select references who have sufficient firsthand knowledge to provide credible and complete responses.

Do Not Obtain Generic Fingerprints in Advance

DOJ requires applicants to use its designated electronic fingerprint process.

After submission, the applicant should receive an email from Criminal Justice Information Services containing a case number and QR code. The applicant must then use that information to obtain electronic fingerprints through a participating U.S. Postal Service location.

Fingerprints obtained elsewhere—including ordinary fingerprint cards—will not satisfy DOJ’s current requirement.

You can identify a nearby participating USPS location in advance, but you should wait for DOJ’s case-specific instructions and QR code before being fingerprinted.

Review Everything Before You Submit

The DOJ application warns applicants that:

• Required sections must be completed in order;
• Materially false statements or omissions may result in denial, criminal exposure, or the voiding of a later grant;
• The applicant should download and review a PDF copy before submission;
• A submitted application cannot be edited; and
• Additional documents generally cannot be added afterward unless requested by the adjudicator.

This is not a process in which an applicant should submit quickly and plan to correct the record later.

The application must be accurate, complete, internally consistent, and supported by the available documents before the final submission button is used.

What If You Already Started a November Application?

If you successfully initiated an application before the November portal closed, DOJ says you may continue working on it.

Take these steps now:

1. Preserve your application link and PIN. DOJ currently warns that it may not be able to recover them.
2. Confirm the date you initiated the application.
3. Calendar the 30-day completion deadline.
4. Gather every required document immediately.
5. Download and carefully review the application PDF before submission.
6. Confirm that the application is consistent with the underlying records.
7. Do not wait until the final day to address technical or documentary problems.

If the portal closed before you could start, DOJ did not deny your application or decide that you were ineligible. You will need to wait for another opening unless DOJ provides different instructions.

Check DOJ’s current application status.

What NSLF Learned From Preparing Approximately 80 November Applications

During the November 4 public opening, National Security Law Firm successfully initiated DOJ applications for every portal-ready client we represented for that opening—approximately 80 people in total.

That experience matters.

Our team did not encounter the portal for the first time on November 4. We had already reviewed DOJ’s final rule, studied the approved application, evaluated presumptive disqualifiers, gathered records, prepared responses, developed supporting evidence, and organized client files before the limited public window opened.

When access became available, those clients were positioned to act.

Past performance does not guarantee that NSLF—or any firm—can obtain one of the 500 January openings. DOJ alone controls the portal and its availability. But the November experience gave our team direct, practical knowledge of the application’s questions, workflow, documentary demands, and technical process.

NSLF Was Working on Federal Restoration Matters Before the Public Portal Existed

NSLF began preparing and submitting federal firearm rights restoration matters more than a year before DOJ opened the public portal.

When DOJ announced its new procedures, Duane “DAK” Kees, the former United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas who leads our federal firearms practice, contacted the Office of the Pardon Attorney to determine how DOJ would treat the firm’s pre-portal matters.

On August 19, 2026, DOJ confirmed in writing that NSLF’s list of approximately 25 pre-portal clients was being reviewed and instructed the firm not to resubmit those matters through the public portal.

Those clients were separate from the approximately 80 clients for whom NSLF successfully initiated applications during the November public opening.

This does not guarantee approval, preferential treatment, or a particular decision timeline. It demonstrates that NSLF was actively developing federal restoration matters before the public portal opened and has worked directly with DOJ concerning the transition into the new process.

Why Choose National Security Law Firm?

A § 925(c) application is not simply an online form.

DOJ must determine whether the circumstances surrounding the original prohibition, together with the applicant’s record, reputation, and subsequent conduct, establish that the applicant is not likely to act dangerously and that granting relief would not be contrary to the public interest.

NSLF’s federal firearms practice is built around that burden.

Former U.S. Attorney leadership

DAK Kees was nominated by the President and confirmed by the United States Senate to serve as United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas.

His experience helps NSLF anticipate how federal decision-makers may examine criminal records, inconsistent accounts, rehabilitation evidence, witness credibility, public-safety concerns, and the applicant’s reasons for seeking relief.

Remedy selection before application preparation

Not every firearm problem requires § 925(c). Some clients need a NICS challenge, source-agency correction, VAF/UPIN application, pardon, state restoration proceeding, or determination that they are not actually prohibited.

We analyze the possible remedies rather than assuming the newest federal process is automatically the right one.

Our guide to federal versus state firearm rights restoration explains why relief in one system may not resolve the other.

Record development—not form transcription

Our work may include:

• Identifying every potential federal and state prohibition;
• Calculating applicable waiting periods;
• Requesting court, police, probation, military, and administrative records;
• Comparing criminal-history reports with source documents;
• Following up on missing or inconsistent records;
• Preparing sworn explanations for unavailable documents;
• Developing evidence of rehabilitation and current reputation;
• Assisting with the selection and preparation of character references;
• Reviewing the application for accuracy and internal consistency;
• Preparing the submission for the DOJ portal;
• Responding to government requests for additional information; and
• Advising the client concerning the decision and possible next steps.

We work to develop an application that can withstand serious federal review—not merely complete the visible fields.

Nationwide federal representation

The DOJ process is federal. NSLF represents clients throughout the United States and coordinates federal and state firearm issues when both systems must be addressed.

Transparent flat fees

NSLF generally charges a $5,000 flat fee for federal firearm rights restoration representation under § 925(c). Certain matters involving additional legal or factual complexity—including some domestic-violence, mental-health, military, multiple-prohibition, or extensive criminal-history cases—require a $7,500 flat fee.

Learn more about federal firearm rights restoration lawyer fees and what representation includes.

Start Preparing for January Now

January 4 is the date DOJ currently plans to reopen the portal for 500 additional applicants. It should not be the date you begin searching for a decades-old judgment, trying to determine when probation ended, or asking whether your conviction creates a five- or ten-year presumption.

You can begin preparing now.

Book a free, confidential consultation and tell us that you want to prepare for the January 2027 opening. If all you remember is the county, approximate year, and nature of the case, start there. We can discuss the representation, explain the records and information likely to be required, and determine the appropriate next step.

DOJ controls access to the January portal and decides every request for restoration. NSLF cannot reserve a spot, guarantee access, promise approval, or control the government’s timeline.

What we can do is help you avoid beginning a demanding federal application from scratch when the next limited window opens.

Book My Free Consultation Now or call (202) 600-4996.

Official DOJ Resources

• Federal Firearm Rights Restoration Program and January Opening Schedule
• Current Application Status
• Required Application Documents
• DOJ Frequently Asked Questions
• Electronic Fingerprint Requirements
• Character Reference Requirements

This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Federal firearm rights restoration is discretionary. Eligibility, strategy, timing, fees, and potential outcomes depend on the individual facts and applicable federal and state law. No lawyer can guarantee portal access, relief, or a decision timeline. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This website is an attorney advertisement.