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• The NICS is a national system that checks available records on individuals to determine whether they are disqualified from receiving or purchasing a firearm under federal or state law. Errors in Firearm Purchase Denials or Delays. Every year, thousands of prospective gun purchasers are erroneously delayed, or outright denied the purchase of a firearm.
• Once before I got a deny on day 2, but the very next day, NICS called the FFL back and put me in delay again. I didn't even hear about it until I went to pickup the firearm (the FFL couldn't get in touch with me to tell me about the deny). The problem is, the FBI stopped processing NICS appeals back in January.

—The NICS Appeal Information For customers who are denied the purchase of a firearm based on a NICS background check. The appellant can file an appeal online or print the appeal brochure and fingerprint card to mail the appeal. Appeal packets are also available by calling the NICS Customer Service at 1-877-FBI-NICS (324-6427). Nics customer service unit attn. Nics e-check federal bureau of investigation po box 4278 clarksburg, wv.

A couple weekends ago I went into my local big-box outdoor store to pick up an SR-22 they had on sale. I dutifully fill out my 4473 and explain to the guy processing it that I'm one of those folks that just lives in delay, so we made small talk until it finally came back delayed. I told him I'd see him on Thursday to pick up my pistol and left.

The following Thursday I went by the store to pickup the pistol and was told that I had received a deny. Dumbfounded, I took the NTN, went home, filled out the online appeals form and attached a copy of my fingerprints, and waited. On Friday, I received the a letter stating that the reason for the denial was a violation of question 11(c) (Have you ever been convicted in any court of a felony, or any other crime, for which the judge could have imprisoned you for more than one year, even if you received a shorter sentence including probation?). I called NICS support and spoke to a lady who supposedly looked into it again and came back telling me that the system shows that me (or someone like me) was convicted of a crime that prohibits me, but she couldn't tell me any details.

Now, I can prove that the record is wrong. I've never worried about it before because it was just an inconvenience, but in the end, I still got a default proceed. Once before I got a deny on day 2, but the very next day, NICS called the FFL back and put me in delay again. I didn't even hear about it until I went to pickup the firearm (the FFL couldn't get in touch with me to tell me about the deny). The problem is, the FBI stopped processing NICS appeals back in January. Normally, I'd just wait for the appeals process to finish, get a UPIN, and move on with my life, but with no appeals process in place, how am I supposed to clear this up?

Even though I've bought firearms before, I've never had the ATF come knocking on the door looking to retrieve any of them because I was a prohibited person. Since my last purchase, I haven't had so much as a speeding ticket. To be on the safe side, I've moved my firearms out of my possession, but this has got me pretty freaked out since I have no idea where to even begin to get them back without an appeals process.

What can I possibly do in this situation? I've even got a Form 1 submitted right now for a suppressor, though it is under a Trust, so I don't know what's going to happen with that. Is it worth it to try to contact the NRA? Could a lawyer do anything in this situation, like sue the DOJ or something? I'm just at a complete loss here..

EDIT: Called the NRA. They told me that it's political and that there's nothing they can do. He said my best bet would be to 'wait and see if they start processing appeals again'. Wow.. just.. wow.

I also called a local gun lawyer. They want $150 just to schedule a consultation. Looks like I'm just screwed here.

EDIT 2: For everyone that's telling me to just buy it from another person rather than an FFL, I'd like to point this out.

I decided to write this as an FAQ entry to lend a hand to folks that have received a denial from NICS. Anyone that spends a good amount of time on /r/guns has probably read the story about my denial and the things I've gone through to clear my name, up to and including suing the United States of America (thanks to my attorney, /u/2ALitigator). This post is going to spell out what happens when you receive a denial and what you can do before contacting an attorney.

This process is not cheap or fast. Be prepared to fork out at least $200 and about 10 hours of your time. Also, be prepared to wait about up to 6 months for the process to run its course. Considering that the FBI is processing NICS appeals from June 2015 right now, 6 months will seem like nothing compared to what you're going to wait for NICS to do it themselves.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of things you can do, and it is simply my opinion on what you can do. I've been through the ringer on this and I feel I have a unique outlook on the situation. I've also devoted countless hours of research into the subject. I am not a lawyer and nothing you're going to read should be construed as legal advice. It is simply my OPINION on what you can do. These things may work, they may not. If you are actually a prohibited person, just stop reading now. This isn't going to help you get your rights back. This is also specifically about NICS denials, and not state POC denials, though some of these methods might work for state POC denials as well.

I. 'I tried to buy a firearm and was denied by NICS. What does that mean?'

A 'Denied' message from the NICS indicates the subject of a NICS background check has been matched with a similar name and similar descriptive information of a record containing a state or federal prohibition. (Source: FBI.gov)

NICS, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, was mandated by the Brady Act to handle the background checks for anyone purchasing a firearm from a Federal Firearm Licensee (FFL). Link: About NICS

Receiving a NICS denial can be a pretty jarring experience, especially if you know you've never even been arrested for a prohibiting offense. What is a prohibiting offense? Answering 'YES' to any of the questions in section 11 of the Form 4473, other than 11a, will mean that the FFL probably won't even bother contacting NICS to begin with; they'll just deny you on the spot. But, let's go over what the federal prohibitions are:

A federal prohibition would exist for any person who:

• Has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year (see /u/halo00to14's explanation below)
• Is a fugitive from justice
• Is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance
• Has been adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental institution
• Is an alien illegally or unlawfully in the United States or who has been admitted to the United States under a non-immigrant visa
• Has been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions
• Having been a citizen of the United States, has renounced U.S. citizenship
• Is subject to a court order that restrains the person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child of such intimate partner
• Has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence
• Is under indictment for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year
(Source: FBI.gov)

Any of those things will cause you to be a prohibited person and there's nothing in this article that can help you. But, how does NICS know if you're prohibited or not? When an FFL initiates a NICS background check, a name and descriptor search is conducted to identify any matching records in three nationally held databases managed by the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division and requests a search of the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) if applicable. The following contains statistical data regarding the databases searched:

Interstate Identification Index (III): The III maintains subject criminal history records. As of December 31, 2015, the III records available to be searched by the NICS during a background check numbered 71,510,790.

National Crime Information Center (NCIC): The NCIC contains data on persons who are the subjects of protection orders or active criminal warrants, immigration violators, and others. As of December 31, 2015, the NCIC records available to be searched by the NICS during a background check totaled 5,935,689.

NICS Index: The NICS Index, a database created specifically for the NICS, contains information contributed by local, state, tribal, and federal agencies pertaining to persons prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm pursuant to state and/or federal law. Typically, the records maintained in the NICS Index are not available via the III or the NCIC. As of December 31, 2015, there were 14,159,611 records in the NICS Index.

Odbc text driver windows 10. This might require tweaking driver's inf files. Uhh, I've been also struggling with this topic time ago. If I remember well, it asks for x64 driver first, and then for x86 driver. I also remember that there was a problem when driver name was different for x64 and x86 version - it must have been exactly the same, otherwise print management will refuse accepting the driver. The solution you found also didn't work for me.Did you try starting (on server) print management, rmb on drivers, add drivers, select both x64 and x86 and so on?

ICE: The relevant databases of the ICE are searched by the NICS for non-U.S. citizens attempting to receive firearms in the United States. In 2015, the NICS Section and the Point-of-Contact (POC) states (states that have implemented a state-based NICS program) sent 151,010 such queries to the ICE. From February 2002 to December 31, 2015, the ICE conducted more than 749,781 queries in support of the NICS.

If the search comes back with something that means you might be prohibited, they'll deny the transaction. That doesn't mean that you're actually prohibited. It just means that NICS thinks you're prohibited.

II. 'I've received a NICS denial. What are my next steps?'

Did you put your SSN in box 8 on the 4473? If not, try again with your SSN. It could be a case of misidentification and the SSN might clear that up.

There are actually a lot of different types of educational software, including:. Advantages of software firewall.

Nics Denied Appeal Form Pdf

Then, it's time for you to file an appeal. When you were denied, the FFL should have given you this brochure. Before you file an appeal, go get fingerprinted. This will save time in the long run. Your local police department can normally roll your fingerprints for you. You'll need to have them done on the FBI Standard Fingerprint Card, FD-258.

Once you have your prints, scan them into your computer and head over to this link to file your appeal. You'll upload your scanned fingerprints as a file attachment. Once you file the appeal, NICS will send you a letter about a week later stating the reason for your denial. It'll look something like this. One you receive that letter, the fun starts..

III. 'The information in the FBI Response letter is wrong! What can I do?'

If you've received the response from your NICS appeal, and like the letter above it says your federal prohibition is under 18 USC 921(a)(20) and 922(g)(1), or any other prohibition, and you think they're wrong, here's what you can do.

55% of all NICS denials are for 'convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year or a misdemeanor punishable by more than two years.' (Source: 2015 NICS Operations Report)

First off, you need to contact an FBI Channeler and have them run a background check on you (I personally use nationalbackgroundcheck.com, but your can use any of them on that page). You can also do this yourself, but the channeler is quicker. This will tell you what's in your FBI record and you'll be able to see most of what the NICS investigator is seeing when they run their check. The cover page of the results will look like this.

If you look at the results and you see something that you may have conveniently 'forgotten' about that would cause you to be a prohibited person, it's time to contact an attorney and try to get that record expunged. If the results are 14 pages long and include 3 felony convictions, you're just screwed and you've wasted 10 minutes reading the preceding 1,300 words.

If you look at the results and say 'Wait a minute.. this isn't right!', it's time to try to correct that record. To do this as quickly as possible, you need to understand how the FBI's database is built, so here's your crash course.

When someone is arrested, the arresting agency turns in the arrest info to the State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation or Identification. The BCI in turn updates the FBI. This is how the FBI knows you've been arrested. As the case goes on, your charges may be dropped, or you might have charges reduced. Once the case is over, it's usually the Clerk of Court's duty to update the State Police BCI with the final disposition. BCI will then update the FBI. Many times, these is where the breakdown occurs. In every single case I've assisted people with in the past 6 months, this has been the case, so it might be pretty easy to fix.

Contact the State Police where the case occurred. Due to the Privacy Act, they might not be willing to talk to you over the phone, but nearly all states have a 'Right to Review', which means you can get a copy of your record from the state. This is just like the FBI Channeler check, but at the state level.

When you get your results back from the Right to Review, see if the FBI record and the State record match. In the case that the FBI doesn't have the final disposition of the case, you go back down the line to the local Clerk of Court where the case occurred. Get the clerk to send the final disposition of the case to the State Police, and then beat up on the State Police to update the FBI. This process is not fast! It will take some time to do this, but it'll be a hell of a lot faster than waiting for NICS to process your appeal. Also, request a certified copy of the final disposition of the case from the Clerk for your own records. This could come in handy later. Once you're sure that the clerk has updated the state, and the state has updated the FBI, it's time to run another FBI Channeler check.

Another way to go about doing this is, instead of contacting the state police and the clerk yourself, go ahead and have the FBI do this for you. When you get your background check back from them or the channeler, there will be instructions on how to appeal and correct information in the record.

WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT TELL CJIS THAT THIS IS IN RESPONSE TO A NICS DENIAL!!!!! If you mention that this has to do with a NICS denial, they WILL then send your ass to NICS and you'll have to go through the NICS appeal process. Again, DO NOT tell CJIS that you're trying to correct your records due to a NICS denial.

After things are corrected, run another background check on yourself to verify that everything has been updated. If it hasn't, keep pushing to get it corrected.

IV: 'I've corrected the record and my FBI background check now comes back clean. Now what?'

Now it's time to head to your favorite FFL and try again, but whatever you do, don't get your hopes up. There's a good chance that, even though you've gone through all this work and expense to get your records corrected, you may still receive a NICS denial. I know because it's happened to me. At this point, you've done everything that I know how to do to get this cleared up, so it's time to consult an attorney. Be prepare though.. suing the FBI under 18 USC 925A is not cheap. Costs can reach over $10k with the quickness.

Your other option here is to kick back and wait for NICS to process your appeal. This is much cheaper, but it's going to take a while..

V: 'I wasn't denied for a criminal prohibitor, I was denied for something else.'

If you are an illegal alien, have renounced your US Citizenship, or been dishonorably discharged, it's time to face the fact that you're not going to be able to own a firearm. Being a fugitive from justice can be something as simple as having a bench warrant out for you for failing to appear or pay for a traffic ticket. This is an easy fix; show up for court and pay your fines. Hp ipibl lb drivers. Make sure the court recalls the warrant and the Clerk updates the needed agencies.

Being an unlawful user of a controlled substance should be self explanatory, but some folks seem to forget that marijuana is still illegal at a federal level. According to the ATF, even if you have a medical marijuana card, you are an unlawful user of a controlled substance. It doesn't matter what your state laws are. If you walk into your local gun store reeking of weed, don't be surprised if they won't sell you a firearm. The FFL has to cover his ass, and the rules he has to follow are Federal rules, not State.

Fbi Gov Nics Appeals Delay Today

The mental health rule is one that I can't really cover because I've found that it's incredibly difficult to navigate. Between HIPAA, the Privacy Act, and all the other laws surrounding medical records, it may be near impossible to work through that. My suggestion would be to contact an attorney and ask them what you can do.

VI: 'My record is updated and everything is clear, but I'm still being denied/delayed every time I buy a firearm.'

You've jumped through all the hoops. You've waited, you've paid, you've lost sleep, yet you're being denied/delayed every time you buy a firearm. Chances are there's someone out there that has the same/similar name and/or similar descriptors as you and this is causing your problem. This is where the Voluntary Appeal File comes in.

The Voluntary Appeal File (VAF) permits the NICS Section to maintain information about persons with their permission to document their eligibility to receive firearms. As of December 31, 2015, the VAF contained approximately 32,000 entries with an active Unique Personal Identification Number (UPIN). From July 2004 through December 31, 2015, more than 113,500 background checks have been processed using a UPIN.

Federal law forbids the FBI or ATF from creating a 'National Firearm Registry', and the Brady Act forces the FBI to purge all approved transactions from their system rather quickly, so NICS has no idea if you've ever been approved before. The VAF was created for those people that are consistently delayed/denied due to a case of mistaken identity. You are telling the FBI that you're OK with them saving your information for future purchases.

The VAF is processing appeals from January 2015 at this point, so this is going to take a while. Suing them will likely get it done quicker, but you're back at that $10k attorney bill. Sure, you can represent yourself, but as President Abraham Lincoln said, 'He who represents himself has a fool for a client'.

When your VAF application has been processed and approved, you'll receive a letter with your UPIN in the mail. From this point on, whenever you fill out the 4473, you'll need to put the UPIN in box 9. Having a UPIN isn't a guarantee that you won't be delayed though.. I've seen it happen.

VII. Final Thoughts

Let's face it folks.. the system is broken. According to the FBI's own reports, 1.19% of the NICS background checks processed by the NICS Section received a final transaction status of deny. In 2015, the NICS Section’s research resulted in the overturn of 3,625 deny transactions. The primary reason for the overturned deny decisions in 2015 was the appellant's fingerprints not matching the fingerprints of the subject of the firearms-disqualifying record. Another chief reason deny decisions are overturned on appeal pertain to criminal history records that do not contain current and accurate information. And keep in mind, they only processed appeals for about half the year.

Fbi Gov Nics Appeals Delay Form

The vast majority of people won't follow through with the appeals process. It's a pain in the ass and it's usually easier to just buy from someone face to face. So, we have no idea of knowing just how many people are unjustly denied and their case would be overturned on appeal. When they finally processed my appeals, they approved transactions from as far back as 2010! Those were transactions where either I abandoned the appeals process or NICS just didn't process them.

The reason for the backlog of NICS appeals comes down to headcount. The FBI is processing more firearm transactions than ever and they moved folks from doing appeals to processing instant checks (Source: NRAILA.org - 'No Way Out: Feds Stop Processing NICS Denial Appeals' - Jan. 22, 2016). They're adding headcount and training people up, so this problem may solve itself in time, but there is something else that can be done.

H.R. 4980 - The Firearm Due Process Protection Act is currently in committee and has 50 cosponsors. This purpose would be 'To require the National Instant Criminal Background Check System to make a final disposition of requests to correct its records within 60 days, and for other purposes.' If they don't, and you sue (and here's the best part)..

*If the government does not so prove the ineligibility, the court *shallorder the Attorney General to correct or remove the erroneous records of the national instant criminal background check system with respect to the individual within 5 business days, andshallaward the individual the costs of bringing the action and a reasonable attorney’s fee.

This makes bringing the $10k case against the government a little easier to swallow. They would be REQUIRED to provide attorney's fees.

So, we can wait and hope the FBI will solve the problem themselves by hiring more people, and that Congress will approve funding for the same, or we can push our representatives to pass H.R. 4980 to force their hand.

I hope this 3,250 word Tolstoy-esque wall of text helps people that have been denied their rights to better understand how the system works and what they can do to fix the problem. If it helps just one person get their rights back, then the countless hours of research I've put into the subject was worth it.

Fbi Nics Appeal Request Form

-KC

Fbi Gov Nics Appeals Delay Office