Recently, the Illinois State Police issued a reminder to Federal Firearms License (FFL), FOID card and Concealed Carry License (CCL) holders regarding the provisions of the emergency rules pertaining to expiration extensions of FOID cards and CCLs.

In April, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ISP adopted emergency rules to help firearm owners with expired Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) cards. Then on Sept. 3, ISP once again updated emergency rules for CCL and FOID card holders. The adopted rules aimed to help firearm owners during the COVID-19 pandemic and related FOID renewal backlog.

The following rule changes were adopted:

· FOID card holders who submit their renewal applications will remain valid during the duration of the state’s disaster proclamation and for a period of 18 months following the termination of the disaster, provided they have submitted their renewal applications.
· CCL licensees, who submit their renewal applications, will remain valid during the duration of the state’s disaster proclamation and for a period of 18 months following its termination, provided they have submitted their renewal applications.

ISP encourages FOID card holders to print confirmation of their submitted renewal applications to demonstrate compliance to the Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) Card Act and Firearm Concealed Carry Act.

Firearms dealers can also submit a firearm transfer inquiry via the Firearm Transfer Inquiry Program (FTIP) to verify eligibility. The ISP encourages the use of the Person-to-Person Firearms Transfer Inquiry portal to check the validity of a FOID card.