SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The FRRERD is a new system of records that will leverage an existing information system and technology—the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Electronic Departmental Order (eDO) service, which resides within the FBI's Next Generation Identification (NGI) system (JUSTICE/FBI-009, 84 FR 54182 (Oct. 9, 2019))—to collect material in connection with federal firearms rights restoration applications. The eDO and NGI will also host the FRRERD where the collected material will be stored and maintained. The FRRERD system of records will be maintained by PARDON, who will receive, track, and adjudicate applications to restore federal firearms rights. Further, PARDON will initiate the necessary investigations concerning these applications and prepare recommendations for the Attorney General, or designee, to determine if, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 925(c), relief from disability is warranted. As part of this process, PARDON will collect, store, and maintain the records pertaining to an applicant seeking the restoration of federal firearms rights. PARDON will also act as a liaison to the public for inquiries about the federal firearms rights restoration process.

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(12), records maintained in this system of records may be disclosed to a consumer reporting agency without the prior written consent of the individual to whom the record pertains. Such disclosures will only be made in accordance with 31 U.S.C. 3711(e).

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), the Department has provided a report to OMB and Congress on this new system of records.

JUSTICE/OPA-002

SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:

Firearms Rights Restoration Electronic Records Database (FRRERD).

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

Unclassified.

SYSTEM LOCATION:

Records described in this notice will be maintained by PARDON in the FRRERD and hosted on FBI's eDO, within the NGI system and is maintained by the FBI, Criminal Justice Information Services Division (CJIS). The FRRERD will also interface with other FBI systems, including, but not limited to, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) for the adjudication of the applications.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S):

Pardon Attorney/Chief Information Officer, Office of the Pardon Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20530.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

Authorities for the maintenance of these records include 5 U.S.C. 301; 18 U.S.C. 922(g) and 925(c); 28 U.S.C. 509-510; Public Law 107-296, 116 Stat. 2135; Executive Order 12988—Civil Justice Reform; Executive Order 14206—Protecting Second Amendment Rights; 28 CFR 25 and 107; 90 FR 13,080 (Withdrawing the Attorney General's Delegation of Authority); 91 FR 54,054 (Application for Relief From Disabilities Imposed by Federal Laws With Respect to the Acquisition, Receipt, Transfer, Shipment, Transportation, or Possession of Firearms); and 28 CFR 107.1 et seq.

PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:

Federal law prohibits several categories of persons from “possess[ing] in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition.” 18 U.S.C. 922(g). At the same time, the law also provides that any “person who is prohibited from possessing, shipping, transporting, or receiving firearms or ammunition may make application to the Attorney General for relief from th[at] disabilit[y]” and that “the Attorney General may grant such relief if it is established to his satisfaction that the circumstances regarding the disability, and the applicant's record and reputation, are such that the applicant will not be likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety and that the granting of the relief would not be contrary to the public interest.” 18 U.S.C. 925(c). Prior to March 2025, the process was handled by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”). However, since 1992, Congress has restricted the ATF from expending its appropriated funds to conduct § 925(c) investigations, rendering ATF's relief from disabilities program unusable. The Attorney General seeks to reinvigorate § 925(c) as an appropriate avenue to restore firearm rights to certain individuals who have demonstrated that they are unlikely to pose a danger to public safety. The FRRERD, which will be administered by PARDON, is a new system of records with the principal purpose of collecting, storing, and maintaining the records of applicants seeking the restoration of their federal firearms rights, thereby enabling PARDON to comprehensively review, assess, evaluate, and make recommendations to the Attorney General, or designee, on an applicant's eligibility and suitability for relief from disabilities under 18 U.S.C. 922(g) and 925(c) and 28 CFR 107.1 et seq.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

A. Individuals who have applied for or have been granted or denied relief from disabilities under 18 U.S.C. 922(g) and 925(c) and 28 CFR 107.1 et seq.

B. Individuals who have corresponded with PARDON concerning persons who have applied for or who have been granted or denied relief from disabilities under 18 U.S.C. 922(g) and 925(c) and 28 CFR 107.1 et seq.

C. Individuals who have provided character references for people who have applied for relief from disabilities under 18 U.S.C. 922(g) and 925(c) and 28 CFR 107.1 et seq.

D. Department of Justice personnel, to include contractors, who are authorized to access and use the system.

E. Victim(s) of applicants, if the applicant has a criminal arrest or conviction that involves a victim. ( printed page 64184)

F. Spouse or partner, former spouse(s) or partner(s), and children of applicants.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

A. Applicant's identifying information, e.g., name, tax identification number, social security number, alien registration number (if applicable), sex, prior names (if applicable), Federal firearms license number, FBI universal control number (if applicable), and passport number.

B. Applicant's biometric data, e.g., fingerprints and the results of fingerprint verification searches.

C. Applicant's demographic information, e.g., date of birth or age, place of birth, race, ethnicity, citizenship, and religion.

D. Applicant or legal representative contact information, e.g., personal or business mailing address, residential address, personal or business email address, and personal or business phone number.

E. Applicant records pertaining to mental health incompetency adjudications or commitment, as well as records pertaining to recovery of competency.

F. Applicant medical records, including information concerning past or present treatment for substance abuse.

G. Applicant military records.

H. Applicant consular records.

I. Applicant arrest records.

J. Applicant records regarding firearms prohibitors, as listed in 18 U.S.C. 922(g).

K. Legal documents, i.e., publicly available litigation and bankruptcy records.

L. Applicant criminal records information, e.g., information regarding an applicant's federal, military, state, tribal and other locality criminal conviction(s), performance and service of their criminal sentence(s), prison adjustment files, and other criminal history.

M. Applicant records from foreign jurisdictions related to criminal conduct, mental health determinations, or service in foreign military bodies.

N. Applicant juvenile criminal records information.

O. Civil law enforcement information, e.g., civil suits/judgments pertaining to § 922(g) litigation for applicant or others.

P. Identifying information of an applicant's spouse or partner, former spouse(s) or partner(s), and children, e.g., name or sex.

Q. Identifying information for personal character references.

R. Identifying information about the victim(s) of an applicant.

S. System administrative/audit data regarding DOJ personnel and contractors, e.g., user ID, user passwords/codes, IP address, date/time of access.

T. Unique case numbers, personal identifying numbers, secure links, or other identifying information assigned to applicants.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

A. Individual applicants seeking the restoration of their federal firearms rights and their representatives. This information will be collected utilizing the following PARDON electronic webforms:

1. Application to Restore Federal Firearms Rights: which will apply to individuals seeking relief from federal firearms disabilities under 18 U.S.C. 925(c) and 28 CFR 107.1 et seq.

2. Authorization for Release of Information: which will authorize investigators, special agents or other duly accredited representatives of DOJ to obtain a range of academic, residential, employment, criminal and other information about an applicant seeking restoration of his/her federal firearms rights.

3. Authorization for Release of Medical Information (Mental Health): which will authorize the release of information relating to mental health counseling/psychotherapy to the Pardon Attorney in connection with an application for relief from federal firearms disabilities under 18 U.S.C. 925(c) and 28 CFR 107.1 et seq.

B. Records, assessments, and reports of the FBI and/or other government agencies.

C. Records of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

D. Records and reports of the U.S. Parole Commission.

E. Records and reports of the Armed Forces.

F. Records and reports provided by other federal, state, local, territorial, tribal, foreign, and international governmental agencies.

G. Non-governmental sources, such as hospital and medical professionals.

H. Employees of the Department of Justice, to include contract personnel.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 552a(b), all or a portion of the records in this system of records may be disclosed as a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) under the circumstances or for the purposes described below, to the extent such disclosures are compatible with the purposes for which the records were collected:

A. To any person or entity, whose knowledge or views about a particular firearms rights restoration application are solicited by PARDON in connection with its investigation and review of an application, to the extent deemed by PARDON to be necessary in order to enable such persons or entities to respond to the request or take other appropriate action.

B. To a federal, state, local, or tribal agency in order to verify and supplement information in applications to determine eligibility and suitability for relief, to consult with these entities regarding information necessary to the Attorney General's determination on the granting of relief, or to record the restoration decisions of the Attorney General.

C. To local, state, tribal, territorial, or federal law enforcement or criminal justice agencies or other authorized federal agencies where such disclosure:

1. May assist the recipient in the performance of its law enforcement, criminal justice, or national security functions;

2. May assist the FBI in performing a law enforcement or national security function;

3. May promote, assist, or otherwise serve the mutual efforts of the law enforcement, criminal justice, and national security communities; or

4. May serve a comparable civil law enforcement purpose.

D. To federal, state, local, territorial, tribal, foreign, or international law enforcement agencies and licensing agencies or associations that conduct firearms eligibility checks and/or that require information concerning the suitability or eligibility of an individual for a firearms license or permit.

E. To a Member of Congress or staff acting upon the Member's behalf when the Member or staff requests the information on behalf of, and at the request of, the individual who is the subject of the record or acting pursuant to congressional oversight functions.

F. To a federal, state, local, tribal, foreign, or international agency, as required by federal statutes, treaties, executive orders and other presidential and executive directives, federal regulations, federal rules, or Attorney General Guidance. Such agencies may include federal and state probation and/or parole systems, the Department of War, and federal, state, and tribal penal departments that require such information to determine the eligibility of a person to access and/or possess firearms or explosives and/or when ( printed page 64185) necessary to accomplish the agency's duties.

G. To the public via the Federal Register , identifying, by name, those applicants for whom a grant of the restoration of federal firearms rights has been approved.

H. Where a record, either alone or in conjunction with other information, indicates a violation or potential violation of law—criminal, civil, or regulatory in nature—the relevant records may be referred to the appropriate federal, state, local, territorial, tribal, or foreign law enforcement authority or other appropriate entity charged with the responsibility for investigating or prosecuting such violation or charged with enforcing or implementing such law.

I. To complainants and/or victims of an offense(s) perpetrated by an applicant to the extent necessary to provide such persons with information and explanations concerning the progress and/or results of the investigation or case arising from the matters of which they complained and/or of which they were a victim.

J. In a proceeding before a court, grand jury, or administrative or adjudicative body, when the Department determines that the records are relevant to the proceeding; or in a proceeding before an administrative or adjudicative body when the Department determines the records to be relevant to the proceeding.

K. To officials of civil or criminal courts for use in proceedings under 18 U.S.C. 925(c), 922(g), and other related litigation, domestic violence and stalking cases, and/or matters related to prospective protective court orders and custody disputes.

L. To the news media and the public, including disclosures pursuant to 28 CFR 50.2, unless it is determined that release of the specific information in the context of a particular case would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

M. To contractors, grantees, experts, consultants, students, and others performing or working on a contract, service, grant, cooperative agreement, or other assignment for the Department, when necessary to accomplish an agency function related to this system of records.

N. To designated officers and employees of state, local, territorial, or tribal law enforcement or detention agencies in connection with the hiring or continued employment of an employee or contractor, where the employee or contractor would occupy or occupies a position of public trust as a law enforcement officer or detention officer having direct contact with the public or with prisoners or detainees, to the extent that the information is relevant and necessary to the recipient agency's decision.

O. To appropriate officials and employees of a federal agency or entity that requires information relevant to a decision concerning the hiring, appointment, or retention of an employee; the assignment, detail, or deployment of an employee; the issuance, renewal, suspension, or revocation of a security clearance; the execution of a security or suitability investigation; the letting of a contract, or the issuance of a grant or benefit.

P. To the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for purposes of records management inspections conducted under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.

Q. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when (1) the Department suspects or has confirmed that there has been a breach of the system of records; (2) the Department has determined that as a result of the suspected or confirmed breach there is a risk of harm to individuals, the Department (including its information systems, programs, and operations), the Federal Government, or national security; and (3) the disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably necessary to assist in connection with the Department's efforts to respond to the suspected or confirmed breach or to prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.

R. To another federal agency or federal entity, when the Department determines that information from this system of records is reasonably necessary to assist the recipient agency or entity in (1) responding to a suspected or confirmed breach, or (2) preventing, minimizing, or remedying the risk of harm to individuals, the recipient agency or entity (including its information systems, programs, and operations), the Federal Government, or national security, resulting from a suspected or confirmed breach.

S. To any Federal Office of the Inspector General, or similar publicly identified official of a federal agency who has the official mission and duty to detect and deter waste, fraud, and abuse, as necessary for the purpose of identification and elimination of such waste, fraud, and abuse related to federal programs, employees, contractors, grantees, inmates, or beneficiaries.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:

The FRRERD will be hosted on the FBI's eDO platform within the NGI system, thereby providing a secure infrastructure for storage and processing of the information contained therein. All records which are part of FRRERD will be stored within the FBI's NGI system in electronic format.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:

Individual case files which are part of FRRERD are typically retrieved via the name of the person who applied for or was granted or denied relief from disabilities pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 925(c) and 28 CFR 107.1 et seq., but also may be retrieved via uniquely identifying numbers, such as Social Security number or case number assigned by PARDON.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:

The Department has drafted a schedule for the records maintained in the FRRERD and has submitted the draft to NARA for review. While awaiting approval, all records maintained in the FRRERD will be maintained without a destruction schedule. Once the records schedule is approved, all records within the FRRERD will be maintained in accordance with the records retention schedule as approved by NARA. When a case is closed, all records pertaining to the case file are maintained in the FRRERD for the period stated in the records retention schedule. Once the retention period has lapsed, all records categorized as permanent are sent to NARA. Once NARA becomes the legal custodian of the records, any remaining records within the FRRERD are destroyed.

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:

As noted above, the FRRERD will be hosted on the FBI's eDO platform within the NGI system, thus inheriting the management, operational, and technical controls related to the NGI system and operating environment. The NGI system provides a secure infrastructure for storage and processing of the information. Further, access to the FRRERD is strictly limited to trained personnel assigned to the specific task of managing firearms rights restoration applications ( i.e., internally to PARDON staff who have obtained the requisite clearance and the proper request form and/or identity validation has occurred). Access to the system is role-based and users are only authorized to access information that they need to know to perform their job duties. Mandatory ( printed page 64186) training is required of all system users before they may gain access to the database.

By using the FBI website hosting the FRRERD, individuals electronically submit their applications online. The website provides applicants a unique personal identification number and secure links and/or other secure authentication methods to lessen the possibility of an individual accessing records pertaining to another person without authority.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:

All requests for access to records must be in writing and should be addressed to the attention of the PARDON FOIA Public Liaison, Office of the Pardon Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20530 or emailed to PardonAttorneyFOIA@usdoj.gov. The envelope and letter should be clearly marked “Privacy Act Access Request.” The request must describe the records sought in sufficient detail to enable Department personnel to locate them with a reasonable amount of effort. The request must include a general description of the records sought and must include the requester's full name, current address, and date and place of birth. The request must be signed and either notarized or submitted under penalty of perjury. Some information may be exempt from the access provisions as described in the “EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM” paragraph, below. An individual who is the subject of a record in this system of records may access those records that are not exempt from access. A determination whether a record may be accessed will be made at the time a request is received.

Although no specific form is required, a requestor may obtain forms for this purpose from the FOIA/Privacy Act Mail Referral Unit, U. S. Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20530, or on the Department of Justice website at www.justice.gov/​oip/​oip-request.html.

More information regarding the Department's procedures for accessing records in accordance with the Privacy Act can be found at 28 CFR part 16 Subpart D, “Protection of Privacy and Access to Individual Records Under the Privacy Act of 1974.”

CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:

Individuals seeking to amend records maintained in this system of records must direct their requests to the address indicated in the “RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES” paragraph, above. All requests to amend records must be in writing and the envelope and letter should be clearly marked “Privacy Act Amendment Request.” All requests must state clearly and concisely which record is to be amended, the reasons therefor, and the proposed language for the amendment. Some information may be exempt from the amendment provisions as described in the “EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM” paragraph, below. An individual about whom a record in this system of records pertains may seek to amend only those records that have not been exempted from the amendment provisions of the Privacy Act. A determination of whether a record is or is not exempt from the amendment provisions will be made after a request is received.

More information regarding the Department's procedures for amending or contesting records in accordance with the Privacy Act can be found at 28 CFR 16.46, “Requests for Amendment or Correction of Records.”

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:

Individuals may be notified if a record in this system of records pertains to them when the individuals request information utilizing the same procedures as those identified in the “RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES” paragraph, above.

EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:

The Attorney General has exempted this system from subsections of the Privacy Act pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(j) and/or (k) subsections. The exemptions will be applied only to the extent that the information in the system is subject to exemption pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(j) and/or (k) subsections. Rules have been promulgated in accordance with the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 553(b), (c) and (e), and have been published in the Federal Register .

HISTORY:

None.

91 FR 64182