Office of Firearms Safety

The Director’s Office of Firearms Safety, and Firearms Safety Counsel, provide guidance and direction on public safety issues relating to the removal of firearms. The Office of Firearms Safety oversees all Clear and Present Reporting, as well as all programs where protective orders can be sought resulting in the revocation of an individual’s FOID Card. This includes working in conjunction with officials in public safety, health, and educational organizations to develop best practices and increase information sharing. The Office of Firearms Safety monitors all firearm safety programs and is responsible for developing protocols for evaluating risk for individuals whose access to firearms is prohibited by law. The Firearms Safety Counsel serves as the Department’s spokesperson and subject matter expert regarding firearms safety issues.

Firearms Restraining Order

Firearms Restraining Orders allow law enforcement officers and family members or household members to obtain a court order temporarily restricting an individual who is determined to be at risk of harming themselves or others from securing or maintaining access to firearms, ammunition, or firearm parts while respecting the individual’s constitutional rights and providing a judicial procedure for challenging the Order. The FRO may be an Emergency Order which will last 14 days or an order which will last one year.

An individual filing a petition (Petitioner) for an emergency or one-year FRO may be any one of the following:

  1. Law enforcement officer
  2. Spouse of the respondent
  3. Former Spouse of the respondent
  4. Parent
  5. Child or stepchild of the respondent
  6. Any other person related by blood or present marriage to the respondent
  7. A person with whom the respondent has a child in common
  8. A person who shares a common dwelling with the respondent

A FRO Petition may be filed in any county where the individual identified as posing a threat (Respondent) resides or any county where an incident occurred that involved the rRespondent posing an immediate and present danger of causing personal injury to the respondent or another by having in his or her custody or control, or purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm, ammunition, or firearm parts that could be assembled to make an operable firearm.

More information:
FRO Commission Model Policy Opens in new window
Illinois Attorney General Opens in new window
Illinois Courts – FRO Forms Opens in new window

Illinois State Police Academy

The "Pause to Heal" campaign is a partnership by the Illinois Department of Public Health, Brady: United Against Gun Violence, and the Ad Council. The campaign is designed to bring awareness about Firearm Restraining Orders and how they can pause a potentially deadly situation involving a person in crisis who has access to a firearm.

Illinois Department of Public Health:

Pause To Heal campaign announcement
Pause to Heal webpage
Mental Health Crisis and Firearm Restraining Order resources

Clear and Present Danger

Clear and Present Danger reporting is required by law enforcement officials, school administrators, and medical professionals when they determine a student or other person poses a Clear and Present Danger to themselves or others.

Clear and Present Danger is defined by statue as a person who: (1) communicates a serious threat of physical violence against a reasonably identifiable victim or poses a clear and imminent risk of serious physical injury to himself, herself, or another person as determined by a physician, clinical psychologist, or qualified examiner; or (2) demonstrates threatening physical or verbal behavior, such as violent, suicidal, or assaultive threats, actions, or other behavior, as determined by a physician, clinical psychologist, qualified examiner, school administrator, or law enforcement official.

The Illinois State Police Law Enforcement Portal shall be used by law enforcement officials and school administrators to report individuals determined to pose a Clear and Present Danger pursuant to the Firearms Owners Identification Card Act (430 ILCS 65/8.1) and Illinois Administrative Code (Title 20 Section 1230.120). The law enforcement official or school administrator shall, within 24 hours of making the determination, notify the Illinois State Police, Office of Firearms Safety via a submission through the ISP Law Enforcement Portal. This reporting duty is separate from any requests for assistance made to a law enforcement agency. For immediate police assistance, school administrators must still contact their local law enforcement agency or call 911.

Who Must Report Pursuant to 430 ILCS 65/8.1(d)(2) and 430 ILCS 66/105?

  • Law enforcement Officials
  • School Administrators – principals and chief administrative officers (or their designees) of public and private: elementary and secondary schools, community colleges, colleges, and universities.
  • Medical Professionals

When Should I Report?

  • When a school administrator or law enforcement official determines that a person demonstrates threatening physical or verbal behavior such as violent, suicidal, or assaultive threats, actions, or other behavior such that the person is posing a clear and present danger to themselves or others, they should report. (430 ILCS65/1.1)

How Do I Report?

  • The reporting law enforcement official, school administrator, or their designee, must have an account with the Illinois State Police (ISP) Law Enforcement portal to report. If your account is not set up, contact the Office of Firearms Safety at: ISP.OfficeofFirearmsSafety@illinois.gov to receive instructions on how to sign up, or to answer any questions or confirm receipt of a submission.
  • Within 24 hours of the school administrator or law enforcement official making the determination that a person poses a clear and present danger to himself, herself, or to others, they shall notify the ISP that the person poses a clear and present danger.
  • All Clear and Present Danger reports must be made through the Law Enforcement Portal: IL Law Enforcement Agency Portal (cclisp.comOpens in new window)
  • The reporter must login to the Portal to report the threatening behavior, then follow the prompts in the portal by completing each section in its entirety, including checking all boxes that pertain to the incident/individual, and attaching any relevant reports. All boxes describing the specific behaviors and statements leading to the determination should be appropriately checked, and the narrative section should include all relevant details, including dates and times of occurrence, as well as the names and contact information of any witnesses. Additional supporting documentation should be referenced in the narrative section and submitted with the form.
  • If you need emergency assistance related to Clear and Present Danger Reporting only from the Office of Firearms Safety after normal business hours, contact the Illinois State Police, Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center at 877-455-7842.

What Happens After I Submit a Clear and Present Danger Report?

  • Once a Clear and Present Danger determination is reported through the portal, you can check its status in the portal.
  • If the person was a FOID card holder, an Analyst from the Office of Firearm Safety will reach out to you and let you know whether the FOID holder is revoked, denied, or will remain valid.
  • If the subject of the request was not a FOID card holder, you will not receive additional notifications, unless additional information is needed to process your request. However, you can check the status of your submission within your portal account.

What Else Should I Know?

  • This reporting process is intended to prevent individuals determined to pose a Clear and Present Danger from having access to firearms or firearm ammunition by revoking the individual’s FOID Card or denying their FOID Card application.
  • Clear and Present Danger reporting shall be made consistent with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (34 CFR § 99.36) to assist the Illinois State Police with protecting the health and safety of the public by denying persons, who present a Clear and Present Danger, from having lawful access to weapons and ammunition.
  • School administrators should consider consulting with their legal counsel prior to adopting Clear and Present Danger reporting policies.
  • The physician, clinical psychologist, qualified examiner, law enforcement official, or school administrator making the determination and his or her employer shall not be held criminally, civilly, or professionally liable for making or not making the notification required under this subsection, except for willful or wanton misconduct. (430 ILCS 65/8.1)

More Information:
 Clear and Present Danger Brochure
Clear and Present Danger Reporting

FOID/CCL Revocations

The FOID Act (430 ILCS 65/9.5) requires within 48 hours of receiving notification of the revocation or suspension of your FOID Card, that you:

  1. Surrender your Firearm Owner's Identification Card to the local law enforcement agency where you reside;
  2. Transfer all firearms in your possession or control; and
  3. Complete a Firearm Disposition Record Firearm Disposition RecordOpens in new window.
    Instructions are included on the form; failure to comply with this statute constitutes a Class A misdemeanor.
  4. If your FOID Card was revoked because you no longer reside in Illinois, please destroy your FOID card and ensure you are in compliance with the laws of the state in which you reside.
  5. If you are the sponsor of a minor(s) who has a FOID card, the minor's FOID card has also been revoked and must be immediately surrendered; please have the minor complete a Firearm Disposition Record as well.

The Firearm Concealed Carry Act (430 ILCS 66/70(g)) requires within 48 hours of receiving notification of the revocation or suspension of your FOID Card, that you:

  1. Surrender your CCL to the local law enforcement agency where you reside.
  2. If you have lost, surrendered, or otherwise destroyed your CCL, you must complete an affidavitOpens in new window that you are not in possession of the revoked or suspended CCL.

Firearm Owners Identification Card Review Board

***ATTENTION: Public Act 102-237 amended the Firearm Owners Identification Card (FOID) Act to create the Firearm Owners Identification Card Review Board (FCRB). Effective January 1, 2023, certain appeals must be filed with the FCRB and not with the Illinois State Police Director. The FCRB has been appointed and will begin actioning appeals in the immediate future. No additional appeal materials meant for the FCRB are being accepted by ISP at this time. Please DO NOT mail or email them to ISP. Please contact the FCRB for additional information regarding appeals within the jurisdiction of the FCRB.

FCRB website: FOID Card Review Board

FCRB email: FCRB.ReliefRequest@Illinois.gov

Please visit this website for information regarding questions and guidance on which FOID appeals are still within the jurisdiction of the Department or CCL appeals: TypesOfAppeals