How to Get a Gun License in New Jersey: Eligibility, Steps & Fees

To get a gun license in New Jersey, you apply online through the state’s Firearms Application and Registration System (FARS) for one or both of the two authorizations the state issues: a Firearms Purchaser Identification Card (FPIC), which lets you buy rifles and shotguns, and a Permit to Purchase a Handgun, which you need once for each handgun you want to acquire. Both run on the same background check under N.J.S. 2C:58-3, and a complete application should move through in about 30 days.¹²

Which Authorization You Actually Need

The FPIC is the baseline credential. Get it once and it stays valid unless revoked. It lets you buy rifles and shotguns from a licensed dealer and possess handguns in your home or place of business.¹

The Permit to Purchase a Handgun is different. You need one for every handgun. Each permit is good for 90 days from the date of issue and can be renewed once for another 90 days if you show good cause. You can request an FPIC and one or more handgun purchase permits in the same FARS submission, which is what most first-time applicants do.¹²

Neither authorization lets you carry a handgun in public. That is a separate application, described briefly at the end.

Who Can Apply

You must be at least 18 for an FPIC and at least 21 for a handgun purchase permit. The statute uses a “good character and good repute” standard and lists specific disqualifiers.¹

You will be denied if any of the following apply to you:

A conviction for any crime, or for a disorderly persons offense involving domestic violence, whether or not a weapon was involved.
Drug dependency as defined by New Jersey law.
Current confinement in a mental health facility, or any prior confinement for a mental disorder, unless you provide a clearance certificate from a licensed New Jersey doctor or psychiatrist.
Being an alcoholic or habitual drunkard, absent a medical clearance.
A physical defect or disease that would make handling firearms unsafe.
A temporary or final domestic violence restraining order against you.
Certain juvenile delinquency adjudications involving weapons or violent acts.

Knowingly falsifying information on the application is a third-degree crime, punishable by two to five years in prison.³

Federal Disqualifiers Apply Independently

Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) bars several categories of people from possessing any firearm, and passing the New Jersey requirements does not waive the federal ones. The federal list includes anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison, fugitives, unlawful users of or people addicted to a controlled substance, people involuntarily committed to a mental institution, people subject to a qualifying domestic violence restraining order, people convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, people dishonorably discharged from the military, and people who have renounced U.S. citizenship.⁴

One of these categories catches New Jersey residents by surprise. Recreational and medical marijuana are legal under New Jersey law, but marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law, and the federal prohibition on firearm possession by “unlawful users” of controlled substances applies no matter what your state allows. A revised federal rule effective January 2026 narrowed the definition to require evidence of regular, ongoing use rather than a single incident, but the prohibition still reaches anyone who uses marijuana consistently.⁵ New Jersey’s own cannabis website acknowledges the conflict, stating that the federal Controlled Substances Act prohibits marijuana possession “for any reason, regardless of state law.”⁶ If you use cannabis regularly, buying a gun in New Jersey exposes you to a federal firearms charge even when your cannabis came from a licensed dispensary.

What to Gather Before You Open FARS

Almost every delay in the process comes from missing information at the start. Have the following ready before you log in:

Your full legal name, every address you have lived at for the past 10 years, and your employment history.
Two non-relative references, with each one’s full name, address, phone number, and email. FARS will email each reference a questionnaire automatically. If they do not respond, your application stalls, so warn them in advance and confirm their email addresses.
Your local police department’s Originating Agency Identifier (ORI) number, which tells the system which agency will process your application. Entering the wrong ORI can force you to withdraw the application, and fees are not refunded.
Form SP-066, if you have lived outside New Jersey during the past 10 years or if an outside agency requests it. This form authorizes a mental health records search. Refusing to sign it results in automatic denial.

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The Application, Step by Step

Go to njportal.com and open FARS. Complete the online application with the information listed above, including your ORI, references, and disclosures. Select which authorizations you are requesting: an FPIC, one or more handgun purchase permits, or both together.²

After you submit, first-time applicants get instructions on the confirmation page and by email for scheduling a fingerprinting appointment with Identogo, the state’s third-party vendor. Identogo charges its fee directly at the appointment. If you were fingerprinted for a previous New Jersey firearms application, you skip this step entirely.⁷

Your local police department then runs the background investigation, which pulls state and federal records, including the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).⁸ The investigating agency may also interview you or make additional inquiries.

Once you’re approved, your FPIC and any handgun purchase permits are issued electronically. You’ll get an email with access to your electronic FPIC and e-permits, which you then present to a licensed firearms dealer to complete a purchase.¹

What It Costs

Initial FPIC: $50, paid to your local police department.
Handgun purchase permit: $25 for each permit.
Identogo fingerprinting: a separate fee paid to Identogo at your appointment. First-time applicants only.
Background check fee for returning applicants: $21, paid online through FARS with a debit or credit card. This applies when you have already been fingerprinted and are applying for additional permits or a replacement card.

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Some municipalities charge additional local processing fees on top of the state fees. These vary and are paid separately, either online or in person, so check with your local department before applying.⁹

How Long It Takes

The statute requires that your application be processed within 30 days of the date the agency receives your completed application if you are a New Jersey resident, or within 45 days if you are a non-resident applicant.¹

Note the word “completed.” The clock does not start until your references have responded, your fingerprints have been processed, and your application is free of errors. Incomplete applications are the single most common reason people wait far longer than 30 days. Prompting your references to watch for the FARS email is the easiest thing you can do to keep the timeline honest.

If Your Application Is Denied

A denial can be challenged. New Jersey’s Gun Permit Appeals System lets you (or an attorney on your behalf) file an appeal through the judiciary’s electronic filing system (JEDS). The case is assigned to a judge in your county for a hearing.

If the denial came from a federal NICS check rather than a state disqualifier, that is a separate track. The FBI accepts electronic challenges at edo.cjis.gov. You will need the NICS Transaction Number or State Transaction Number from the denied check, which the dealer who ran the check can give you. The FBI must respond within 60 calendar days with a decision to sustain or overturn the denial. If the underlying record is inaccurate, you can also contact the originating agency to dispute the record directly.¹⁰

Owning Is Not Carrying

An FPIC and a handgun purchase permit let you buy and possess. They do not let you carry a handgun in public. Carrying requires a Permit to Carry a Handgun, which is a separate application with more demanding requirements: a $200 fee, four non-relative references who have known you at least three years, a state-approved training course with online instruction, classroom time, and live-fire qualification, and biennial renewal.¹¹ If carrying is your goal, plan on that as a second process after your FPIC is in hand.

1
Justia Law. New Jersey Revised Statutes 2C:58-3 – Purchase of Firearms
2
State of New Jersey. Firearms Application and Registration System FARS
3
Justia Law. New Jersey Revised Statutes 2C:39-10
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
5
Federal Register. Revising Definition of Unlawful User of or Addicted to Controlled Substance
6
NJ.gov. Cannabis Related Laws
7
New Jersey State Police. Firearms Application and Registration System FARS Instructions for NJ Residents and Dual Residents of New Jersey
8
Cornell Law School – Legal Information Institute. NJ Admin Code 13:54-3.19 – Division of State Police NICS Hours of Operation
9
State of New Jersey. FARS Help Section
10
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Challenges / Appeals – Requesting Reason for and/or Challenging a NICS-Related Denial
11
Justia Law. New Jersey Revised Statutes 2C:58-4 – Permits to Carry Handguns