FAQs FROM TICS

I thought I would pass along some questions and answers from an email that I received from TBI. It might answer some questions you might have or clear up something you've experienced while trying to purchase a firearm:

Q1. Why was I denied?

A1. You must complete an "Appeal of Denial of Attempted Firearm Transfer" form and send it to TICS before the reason for your denial can be discussed with you. TICS must protect the confidentiality of your transaction and will not discuss it with other parties, including your firearm dealer, your spouse or your attorney. Once the appeal form is received, TICS begins a review process and attempts to obtain information it may need to review in order to overturn the denial or uphold it. TICS contacts arresting agencies and clerks of court on your behalf, seeking the missing information and continues to seek the information for 15 days from the date your appeal is received unless it receives the requested information before 15 days have expired.

Q2. I previously attempted to purchase a firearm and was denied, but upon filing an appeal, it was overturned and I was allowed to get the firearm. I just tried to buy another firearm and was denied again. What is going on—this was supposed to be cleared up months ago?

A2. If your previous denial was overturned, it became an approved transaction and under existing state and federal law, TICS cannot retain information on approved firearm purchases. Documentation previously submitted by you or either the arresting agency or clerk of court, may have been sufficient for TICS to overturn the denial but not sufficient for the TBI’s Records & Identification Unit and/or the FBI’s Criminal History Records Information Data Correction Unit to make permanent changes to their records on you. Submission of the proper forms by the arresting agency or clerk of court will eventually result in your record being posted by TBI and the FBI. Such documentation may be the R-84 Final Disposition Report Form, or an official Order for Expunction.

Q3. Why am I asked to provide my Social Security Account Number? The federal form 4473 that I filled out lists the SSAN as optional?

A3. Tennessee law states that if the purchaser has been provided with a SSAN, the gun dealer (FFL) must furnish that number to TICS. Provision of the SSAN to TICS does not mean that the number will be retained in TBI’s files. As stated above, if the transfer is approved, all records of the transfer must be destroyed. That includes the SSAN. All records are destroyed nightly at 10:45 PM. By furnishing your SSAN to the FFL and TICS, you are helping speed up the data search and to eliminate false matches. It may help speed up the search by providing an additional identifier that can be used to help eliminate false name search "hits".

Q4. I have a Tennessee Handgun "Carry" Permit. Why do I have to have a TICS/NICS check done to be able to purchase a firearm?

A4. Tennessee’s Handgun "Carry" Permit does not meet the requirements of the federal Brady Bill because it lacks a requirement for an annual re-check of the permit holder’s criminal history, and it does not require a check through the National Instant Check System (NICS). Therefore, purchasers holding a valid TN Handgun "Carry" Permit still have to have a TICS/NICS check performed when purchasing a firearm. NOTE: the "Carry" Permit may be used as a Primary source of identification for a person attempting to purchase a firearm if, and only if, it contains the purchaser’s photograph, date of birth, and current address.

Q5. Why do I have to show proof of address if the address on my identification doesn’t match where I live, and why isn’t a Post Office Box good enough for an address?

A5. A Post Office Box is not a sufficient address because you don’t live at the Post Office. The federal form 4473, Section A, No. 2, requires your residence address. If you furnished primary identification that did not have your current address on it, you must show proof of your current residence through a secondary form of identification that is acceptable. All federal firearm dealers are supposed to make sure that the purchaser’s correct and current address is listed on the form.

Q6. I sent TICS an Appeal Form a while back and haven’t heard anything back. Why haven’t I heard anything?

A6. You may have sent the Appeal Form to the wrong address
or to the wrong FAX number. You may also have waited too long to appeal the denial. A firearm transaction is valid for only 30 days and if you waited longer than that to appeal, your appeal is invalid. TICS has 15 days from receipt of an appeal to make a decision. During that time, TICS contacts the arresting law enforcement agency and/or the clerk of the court in an attempt to obtain a final disposition of any outstanding charges against you. If TICS receives a response during the 15 day period, TICS will review the documentation and make a decision. If the denied transaction can be overturned, both you and the gun dealer will be notified by telephone. If TICS does not receive the necessary documentation, TICS will issue a CONDITIONAL PROCEED and advise the gun dealer that he/she may, at his/her discretion, transfer the firearm.

Q7. Where can I get an Appeal Form?

A7. All federal firearm licensees have the forms in stock. The dealer you attempted to purchase the firearm from should have given you a form and assisted you in filling it out. The dealer should also have furnished you with your Firearm Transaction Number to place on the form. Many dealers will fax the form to TICS for you.

Q8. What is a Conditional Proceed?

A8. If during the TICS/NICS search of your name and descriptor data through TBI and FBI files, TICS locates a record with outstanding felony charges or charges that are undeterminable as a felony, TICS will initially deny the transaction. Once you file an appeal, TICS begins a process of trying to obtain final disposition information on the charge(s) to help with making a final decision as to your eligibility or ineligibility to purchase or possess a firearm. If TICS cannot obtain the information within the mandatory 15 day time limit, TICS assigns the transaction a CONDITIONAL PROCEED status and advises the dealer that he/she may, at his/her discretion, transfer the firearm. This status does not mean the dealer must complete the transfer. That decision is, at this point, solely up to the dealer who may choose not to transfer the firearm to you. If the dealer chooses not to transfer the firearm to you, your only appeal of that decision is to the FBI’s NICS Appeals Services Unit—TICS did not deny the transfer.

Q9. How long does an appeal take?

A9. The time it takes to appeal a denied transfer must be completed in 30 days or less. The transaction is only valid for 30 days. For this reason, you should immediately appeal a denial if you feel the denial was in error or if you feel that there is information available that could clear up the reason you were denied.

Q10. Why isn’t my record already cleared up? I have been through this process of attempting to purchase, getting denied, appealing the denial, submitting documentation and having the denial overturned. Why does this keep coming up?

A10. Perhaps the documentation you submitted was sufficient for TICS to be able to overturn its’ denial of your transaction but was not in the proper format for posting to your criminal history record maintained by the TBI’s Records & Identification Unit and/or the FBI’s Interstate Identification Index criminal history files. Both units require a standardized reporting form for final disposition information (the R-84 Final Disposition Report) and the form must be properly completed, signed and submitted to those units for processing. Upon receipt of this form, both units will post any final disposition to your arrest history so that it clearly shows what happened on the case/charge(s) the next time your criminal history record is reviewed. Expunction orders must also be in the proper format and must clearly identify the individual and the arrest information (date of arrest, exact wording of the charge(s), arresting agency, etc.) before the TBI and FBI will accept the data for processing. Finally, time is also a factor. Perhaps your record is part of a large backlog of records awaiting processing – the FBI receives several thousand paper documents to process each day.

Q11. I have purchased firearms several times in the past and each time I get denied. I have previously furnished TICS with documentation and the denial has been overturned. Subsequent purchases were denied, but TICS had the documentation available for review and quickly overturned the denials and let me purchase a firearm. I just tried to purchase another firearm and got denied again and was told that I would have to submit all the paperwork again. Why?

A11. Until about 2003, TICS maintained information submitted with appeal forms and information gathered by TICS during its research of denials. It was helpful to have in situations such as yours. TICS could quickly review the documents and determine if the reason for the current denial was the same as the previous one. If it was for the same reason and TICS had documentation that cleared the matter up, it was a quick decision to overturn the current denial. However, it has been determined that once a denial is overturned, it becomes an approval. No information may be retained on approved transfers. Therefore, the previously retained information was destroyed and is no longer available. Until your record is completely cleared up in state and federal criminal history databases, any firearm purchases you attempt will likely be denied. However, the FBI’s NICS has developed a Voluntary Appeal File that you can submit information into so as to help in situations where you repeatedly get denied. Have your firearm dealer contact TICS on your behalf and ask for a VAF packet to be sent to you.

HOPE THIS HELPS - IF YOU NEED CLARIFICATION ON ANY OF THIS, DON'T HESITATE TO STOP IN THE SHOP, CALL US, OR EMAIL US!!!!