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Documents › Agency rules › 2026-16981

Justice Department, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Bureau, Office of the Attorney General

Application for Relief From Disabilities Imposed by Federal Laws With Respect to the Acquisition, Receipt, Transfer, Shipment, Transportation, or Possession of Firearms

Published August 20, 2026. Takes effect September 21, 2026, printed at 91 FR 54054, amending 27 CFR 478, 28 CFR 0, 28 CFR 107, 28 CFR 25. 43,960 words.

In plain English

Some people are barred from owning a gun. This sets how they may ask for relief.

Read it at the Federal Register →

What the Rule Says It Does

The Department of Justice ("the Department") is implementing criteria to guide determinations for granting relief from disabilities imposed by federal laws with respect to the acquisition, receipt, transfer, shipment, transportation, or possession of firearms. The criteria are designed to ensure that the fundamental right of the people to keep and bear arms is not unduly infringed, that those people granted relief are not likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety, and that granting such relief would not be contrary to the public interest.

This is the rule's own summary, as the Federal Register prints it.

The Order It Names

The rule names this order itself. What it does about it is a reading, and none is recorded here.

On the Face of the Rule

As filed

[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 160 (Thursday, August 20, 2026)] [Rules and Regulations] [Pages 54054-54093] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 2026-16981]

Vol. 91

Thursday,

No. 160

August 20, 2026

Part IV

Department of Justice

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives

Office of the Attorney General

27 CFR Part 478

28 CFR Parts 0, 25, and 107

Application for Relief From Disabilities Imposed by Federal Laws With Respect to the Acquisition, Receipt, Transfer, Shipment, Transportation, or Possession of Firearms; Final Rule

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives

27 CFR Part 478

Office of the Attorney General

28 CFR Parts 0, 25, and 107

[Docket No. OAG191; AG Order No. 7109-2026] RIN 1105-AB78

Application for Relief From Disabilities Imposed by Federal Laws With Respect to the Acquisition, Receipt, Transfer, Shipment, Transportation, or Possession of Firearms

AGENCY

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Office of the Attorney General, Department of Justice.

ACTION

Final rule.

DATES

This rule is effective September 21, 2026. Starting on September 21, 2026, the Department will begin soliciting applications from individuals.

ADDRESSES

To learn more about how the Department will accept applications, please go to https://www.justice.gov/ffrr.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

Kira Gillespie, Deputy Pardon Attorney, Office of the Pardon Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20530; telephone: (202) 514- 9251.

The fields the Federal Register prints at the head of the rule, quoted as printed. Its summary is quoted above.

Why the Agency Says It Is Doing This

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

This final rule provides a brief overview of the relevant history of federal firearms prohibitions, a recitation of the background that has motivated the issuance of this rule, a summary description of the earlier published interim final rule and notice of proposed rulemaking, a description of the final rule as adopted after consideration of the comments received on the interim final rule and the notice of proposed rulemaking, a summary of the public comments received, and the options for relief for the individuals impacted by this rule.

The passage that opens the rule's preamble, where the agency sets out what it is doing and on what authority. Every heading that follows it is listed below.

What the Rule Contains

Every heading the Federal Register prints in this rule, in the order it prints them. 51 headings, 43,960 words in all.

  1. AGENCYOn its face · 16 words
  2. ACTIONOn its face · 3 words
  3. SUMMARYOn its face · 87 words
  4. DATESOn its face · 21 words
  5. ADDRESSESOn its face · 15 words
  6. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACTOn its face · 29 words
  7. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATIONPreamble · 89 words
  8. I. BackgroundPreamble · 557 words
  9. II. Background Prompting Issuance of the RulePreamble · 883 words
  10. III. Comment Analysis and Department ResponsePreamble · 646 words
  11. A. The Department's Legal Authority To Issue and Implement This RulePreamble · 3,725 words
  12. B. Standard of ProofPreamble · 1,987 words
  13. C. Scope of RulePreamble · 1,233 words
  14. D. Public SafetyPreamble · 1,073 words
  15. E. Benefits of the RulePreamble · 587 words
  16. F. Permanent Presumptive DisqualificationsPreamble · 3,887 words
  17. Renounced CitizenshipPreamble · 3,145 words
  18. Drug UsersPreamble · 2,608 words
  19. Animal AbusePreamble · 199 words
  20. AliensPreamble · 701 words
  21. G. Time-Limited Presumptive DisqualificationsPreamble · 1,886 words
  22. H. Mental HealthPreamble · 962 words
  23. I. Application Processes and Applicant RequirementsPreamble · 1,863 words
  24. 4. Chief Law Enforcement Officer NotificationPreamble · 2,851 words
  25. J. Miscellaneous Application ProvisionsPreamble · 4 words
  26. 1. Firearms LicenseesPreamble · 1,091 words
  27. K. Economic ImpactPreamble · 626 words
  28. L. FeesPreamble · 342 words
  29. M. SeverabilityPreamble · 58 words
  30. IV. Cost Benefit AnalysisPreamble · 4 words
  31. A. Summary of CostsPreamble · 414 words
  32. 1. Methodology for Determining CostsPreamble · 811 words
  33. b. FeePreamble · 421 words
  34. d. Cost of Court Records and State Arrest RecordsPreamble · 419 words
  35. e. Time Cost of Completing ReferencesPreamble · 156 words
  36. 3. Cost to the DepartmentPreamble · 431 words
  37. B. Summary of BenefitsPreamble · 201 words
  38. V. Final Rule DescriptionPreamble · 1,345 words
  39. VI. Other Regulatory ChangesPreamble · 107 words
  40. VII. Statutory and Executive Order ReviewPreamble · 6 words
  41. A. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563--Regulatory ReviewPreamble · 751 words
  42. B. Executive Order 14294--Fighting OvercriminalizationPreamble · 69 words
  43. C. Executive Order 13132--FederalismPreamble · 74 words
  44. D. Executive Order 12988--Civil Justice ReformPreamble · 27 words
  45. E. Executive Order 14192--Regulatory CostsPreamble · 141 words
  46. F. Regulatory Flexibility ActPreamble · 791 words
  47. G. Congressional Review ActPreamble · 22 words
  48. H. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995Preamble · 99 words
  49. I. Paperwork Reduction ActPreamble · 999 words
  50. List of SubjectsRegulatory text · 221 words
  51. Subpart A--The National Instant Criminal Background Check SystemRegulatory text · 5,130 words

The Rest of the Text

This rule runs to 43,960 words. The rest of it is set out over 3 pages, split at the rule's own headings so that no heading is parted from the words printed under it.

How to cite this
  1. The rule itself

    Justice Department, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Bureau, Office of the Attorney General, “Application for Relief From Disabilities Imposed by Federal Laws With Respect to the Acquisition, Receipt, Transfer, Shipment, Transportation, or Possession of Firearms,” 91 FR 54054 (August 20, 2026). Effective September 21, 2026.
    https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/20/2026-16981/application-for-relief-from-disabilities-imposed-by-federal-laws-with-respect-to-the-acquisition

  2. This page

    “Application for Relief From Disabilities Imposed by Federal Laws With Respect to the Acquisition, Receipt, Transfer, Shipment, Transportation, or Possession of Firearms,” a final rule naming an order indexed here. Read the Mandate, https://readthemandate.org/rules/rule-2026-16981/ (retrieved October 10, 2026).

Cite the document when the claim is about what the document says. Cite this page when the indexing, the wording or the record of what has happened is what is being relied on.

How This Rule Is Set Out

Federal Register documents are United States government works and are not under copyright, so the rule is here whole rather than cut to an excerpt. It is split at the headings the Register itself prints: the line it is filed under, the captioned fields on its face, the preamble where the agency says what it is doing and why, and the amendments to the Code of Federal Regulations. No passage is shortened. This rule is long enough that its text is set out over 3 pages rather than one.

Two things the Register prints are not reproduced: the running head it repeats at every page break, and the tables it sets as pictures rather than as words. Its own marker for one of those tables, [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED], is left standing where the table was, so a reader can see that something is there and follow the link to the page it is on.