How We Can Help

Why get an attorney?

In a perfect world, there would be no need to get an attorney for a gun permit. However, I have received a lot of anecdotal evidence that permits have been denied on “technical grounds”. A decision regarding a gun permit must be made within 30 days. Nevertheless, clients have waited for over a year just to get any number of excuses such as: your prints haven’t come back yet, we are too busy, we switched people who handle the permits, the Chief has been out, your references haven’t called us back, we are too busy, etc. In addition, permits have also been denied for old DWI’s, minor criminal offenses and domestic violence charges where the applicant was found not guilty or the charges were dismissed.

In fact, I had one guy call me recently that said that he was denied based upon a report that an ex-girlfriend made with the police many years ago.  Since no charges were filed, he didn’t even know that was out there.

I have been able to help many clients with the permit process and avoid most of these problems.  I monitor every step of the process to make sure that everything is in order and a decision is made within the mandatory 30 day time limit. This saves you money as an appeal can be costly.

For example, I recently helped a client, Robert B. with a permit. He was denied by his local chief of police. I fought hard at the appeal hearing and won. Afterwards, the Chief told me that if I was involved from the beginning, he would have approved Robert’s permit application. This would have saved Robert thousands of dollars. While it may seem like an odd thing for an attorney to say, my goal is to always get you the best result for the best price.

How we can help

While I can get involved at any point in the permit process, my fee is generally the same regardless of when I get involved, so I prefer to be retained before the application is made.  This way, I can discuss all possible issues that may give you problems and how we can deal with them.  In other words, it is better to be proactive then reactive.  I can also help you with the application itself.

Once the application is made, I take over.  I make sure thatt everything is handled in a timely manner.  I notify the Police Chief that I represent you and that I am fully aware of all of the controlling law and that I expect it to be followed.  A letter from any attorney causes just about anyone to take notice.  For lack of a better term, my letter tends to freak out many police departments.  While I don’t intend to scare anyone, I’m glad that they realize that I mean business.  It makes the rest of the process must easier.  Over the next month or so, I continue to follow up with them to make sure that there are no delays.

There is more to this than just making sure there is no delay.  I also want to make sure that there are no other issues that will prevent you from getting your permit.  Thus, I discuss and handle any and all concerns that the police have before the final decision is made.  Again, this prevents an appeal.

Cost Savings

As I previously mentioned, an appeal is expensive because it requires legal research, briefs and a hearing that is essentially a trial.  My retainer for gun permit applications is less than what I charge for a speeding ticket.  However, an appeal can cost several thousand dollars.  I do this because I believe it should not be expensive to have your Constitutional rights enforced.  I also know that if you need any legal services in the future, you will use our services again.

Resolving disabilities

If you have been denied before or if I discover any possible disabilities, I will work with you to resolve the issue before the application is made.  One of the most common disabilities is a previous arrest of a criminal offense.  Regardless of the final outcome, the arrest itself can be used to deny your application.  An expungement is a legal process where the records of the arrest and conviction are essentially erased from your record.  When I lower my fees for handling the expungement and permit application together since there is some work that only needs to be done once for both issues which saves time.

No office appointment needed

A gun permit application is fairly straightforward.  I have a number of  offices in New Jersey and you are always welcome to meet with me in any one of them.  However, everything can be handled over the phone.  Thus, you can call me at 1-855-9JEFLAW (1-855-953-3529). If you get my voicemail, leave me a message and I will call you back, usually within a few hours.

For payment, I accept Amex, Visa and Mastercard which I can take right over the phone.  Otherwise, it is check or money order.  Obviously, cash is only accepted in person.

  1. Hi,

    Wondering, if you could answer this for me? I filed paperwork with my local police department and also had my fingerprints done. So I could get permits to purchase a handgun. To my surprise within 30 days I received my 3 permits. I then went to go and purchase one gun and found out I had to do paperwork. The store owner said he had to call and get an instant background check (NICS). Which struck me as weird since I have my permits to purchase handguns.
    Anyway, the store owner told me that they’ll be calling back soon.
    Well, they didn’t and I left and kept after the store owner. Only to find out that I have Now Been Denied……How can I have my permits and be denied at the same time?
    Thanks for listening. Has this ever happened to anyone else?

    • Wow, that’s pretty good without an attorney. That is a NICS denial, it happens. I might be able to help you but I would need to know the exact reason for the denial.

      • I’m in the process of finding out the reason for the denial right now. Hopefully, within the next or two I should know. I’m crossing my fingers. Once I find out I’ll probably be in contact with you again.

        Thanks for getting back to me!

      • Alright, I found out why I was denied. I kind of had a feeling of why I was denied now I know for sure. I have 2 misdemeanor crime of domestic violence convictions from 24 years ago and I have 2 misdemeanor crime of domestic violence convictions from 18 years ago all of which were in the state of Arizona. I’m guessing I would have to get those expunged. Am I correct?

  2. Hello, I already have a gun permit from another town in new jersey. I moved and applied for a change of address in my new town Cranford, New jersey. I applied on August 4th 2010. No finger prints needed just doing a change of address, I have called a few times and i keep getting told it is still at county most likely sitting on someones desk. The town i had originally had my permit from(Rahway, NJ) the check with them already came back very fast, but Cranford told me the county has the paper work. Just wondering why does it take so long just for a change of address. Since August 4th. Thank you,Mark

    • I’ve never heard of “the county” having anything to do with permits. 90%+ of the time, if you already have a permit, you probably don’t need an attorney to help you with a second one, change of address, etc. However, they can give you a problem sooner or later. There are any number of reasons why it would take so long so it is hard to say why for this type of case. If you need my help to speed things up, just give me a call. Otherwise, I don’t hear anything yet that would lead me to think you would be denied; just that it may take a while.

  3. HELLO I RECENTLY MOVED FROM NORTH BERGEN TO MOONACHIE , SO I WENT TO TRANSFER MY FIREARMS PERMIT TO MY NEW ADDRESS. I ALSO APPLIED FOR A PISTOL PERMIT , I ALREADY HAVE A PISTOL PLUS MANY RIFLES . THE DEC. NAMED JIM TOLDED ME HE DONT SEE HOW I HAVE A FIREARMS PERMIT ALREADY , SINCE I WAS ARRESTED IN 1976 IT WAS A MISDERMEANER 150. 00 IN PROPERTY DAMAGE WAS MY FINE I WAS 18 THEN , HE WAS ASKING ME ABOUT THE TIME THE POLICE CAME TO MY HOME BACK IN 1999 CUZ OF A VIDEO . THE VIDEO CAUGHT MY LANDLORD CRASHING INTO MY CAR AND TRYING TO LEAVE MY GIRLFRIEND CALLED THE COPS I WASNT EVEN HOME I DONT SEE WHAT THAT HAS TO DO WITH MY PISTOL PERMIT BUT HE SEEMS TO THINK IT DOES. I WAS BORN IN 1958

    • When you got your first FID card, they may have had no computer system or an older one so they never caught it. It sounds like you are going to be denied. Call me anytime.

  4. I was wondering what the average time to receive a pistol permit usually is after applying. I do understand the state police is backlogged at the moment however I have a receipt from my local police department dated September 2nd, 2010 for when I handed in my application and money order.

    I made an email inquiry with the detective who handles permits for our township 3 weeks ago and I received a very generic response along the lines of “I understand your concern and will look into it.”

    At what point should I become a frustrated and look into hiring a lawyer to expedite this process. There should be no reason for my denial as I have absolutely no arrests or criminal record, I have been a lifelong resident of my town, nor do I fall under any category you list under the “will I get denied” section.

    • Well if you had a lawyer involved from the start, you may have had your permit already. Its a personal decision really. Only you can decide when this bothers you. If you don’t mind waiting a year, than you’ll never need an attorney. If you decide you do need one, feel free to give me a call. I’ve had cases where people waited several months and then they get me on the case. When I call, I often find that nothing has been done.

  5. If I call for a consultation will I be able to speak with you or will someone else do the consultation ?

    • While I have other attorneys that work with me, if you call my number, it does right to me. Unlike some other attorneys…

  6. Hello,

    I had a Final restraining order against me dissmissed three years ago. All charges were also dismissed and my ex and myself are divorced. I had my ID card seized and I sold my handgun to a licensed firearms dealer. I wanted to reapply for a new Firearms ID card and a pistol permit. Can I apply now since three years has gone by since the order was dismissed?

  7. Hi
    Hey Jef, First I would like to thank you for the excellent service you provided me. I must admit I was a amazed how smooth and painless My expungement and the FID and hand gun permit process was. Thank You.

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