Information on the Law Enforcement Release Program

Information on the Law Enforcement Release Program | State of California - Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General

Information on the Law Enforcement Release Program | State of California - Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General Skip to main content Information on the Law Enforcement Release Program Home Firearms Information on the Law Enforcement Release Program Attention Beginning December 1, 2021, applicants must electronically submit a Law Enforcement Release (LER) application for the return of firearm(s), ammunition, and/or ammunition feeding device(s) via the California Firearms Application Reporting System (CFARS). Applicants that do not already have a CFARS account will be required to create an account in order to directly communicate with the Department and to check the status of an application. The Department will no longer accept paper LER application (BOF 119) submissions. Paper applications received via US mail, UPS, FedEx., etc., postmarked after November 30, 2021, will be returned unprocessed with instructions on how to submit the application via CFARS. For more information about CFARS, please visit the Firearms Reporting & Law Enforcement Release Application webpage. The Law Enforcement Release process requires any person who claims title to any firearm, ammunition or ammunition feeding device that is in the custody or control of a court or law enforcement agency and who wishes to have the aforementioned items returned, to submit a LER Application form to the California Department of Justice (the Department) to determine eligibility to possess a firearm, ammunition and/or ammunition feeding device.  (Penal Code section 33850) LER Application Submission Process Individuals seeking the return of a firearm, ammunition and/or ammunition feeding device that is in the custody or control of a court or law enforcement agency must submit a LER Application along with the appropriate fees to the Department. Additionally, if an individual is seeking the return of a long gun purchased prior to January 1, 2014 which has not been subsequently recorded in their name by either a self reporting application, or registered as an assault weapon or .50 BMG rifle, should submit a Firearms Ownership Report application (BOF 4542A), pdf , along with the appropriate fees. An eligibility check will be conducted to determine if the applicant is lawfully eligible to possess firearms, ammunition and/or ammunition feeding devices. A notice of the results will be sent to the applicant via U.S. mail. The notice must be presented to the court or law enforcement agency within thirty (30) days of the date of the notice. Notices over 30 days are considered expired.  If you allow your notice to expire, you will need to submit a new application and fees to initiate a new eligibility check.