OSP: As Measure 114 takes effect next week, new ‘permit to purchase’ will start as manual, paper process

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) -- If Oregon's Ballot Measure 114, one of the nation's most restrictive gun laws, takes effect next Thursday without a court halt sought by opponents, Oregon State Police will begin the required "permit to purchase" process on paper, not online, as systems are still being developed, the agency said Friday.

Here's OSP's full update on the current backlog status and plans for the FICS (Firearm Instant Check System):

M114 becomes law on December 8, 2022.  Since November 8, 2022, the FICS unit has experienced unprecedented volumes of firearms transactions never seen before in the program’s 26-year history.  OSP continues to work diligently to process and resolve as many of the pended/delayed FICS transactions as possible.

FICS transactions that are not completed with an approval number by midnight on December 7, 2022, will require the purchaser to initiate their permit application to obtain a Permit-to-Purchase before their FICS transaction can resume. This means your FICS transaction will not be canceled on December 8th.  Once the purchaser has an approved permit, the FICS transaction will resume.

It is important to note that many times pended/delayed FICS transactions are due to missing, incomplete, or incorrect information. When there is missing or incomplete information on a person’s Computerized Criminal History (CCH), OSP must contact the agency that is the owner of that information to obtain official records so that OSP can determine whether the person is approved for the firearm purchase. The agencies contacted most for missing or incomplete information are the Courts or District Attorneys’ offices throughout the United States. 

There are no required timelines for the agencies to respond to our requests for missing or incomplete information.  By statute, the information within the FICS transaction database can only be held for five years.   

Oregon State Police has worked with Permit Agents regarding the application form for the Permit-to-Purchase. The draft application is in the final review with permitting agencies and will be posted to the Oregon State Police’s website and available to those wishing to apply for a Permit-to-Purchase on December 8, 2022.

With BM114 becoming law on December 8, 2022, this gives Oregon State Police a very short window to develop a program and have technology available for use on day 1 of the new law. Because of this, the Permit-to-Purchase program at Oregon State Police will be a manual paper process until new technical systems can be designed and implemented.