DOJ system down when trying to pick up?

[Coolguy101]

It is the FFL's problem. Probably did not renew COE soon enough. I would call them out - tell them to cut the Sh and act like adults and tell you what is really going on.

No matter who's fault it is, it is still down and they can't release a firearm. Telling them off doesn't make it "come back up."

[SVT-40]

Flat out they are lying to you. It's their problem because of something they did, or didn't do.

They need to be put on notice.

[Moparmotel]

If they don’t get it back up within the 30 days isn’t the transfer void? Does the gun go to the shop or the original owner?

[TrappedinCalifornia]

The system being 'down' is likely 'legitimate.'

As everyone is indicating, the reasons for it being down may or may not be 'legitimate' from the perspective of what they are publicly telling (or not telling) people.

The hassle is in discovering the 'true' reason and how long it is going to take to rectify the situation, not to mention whether it will be 'fixed' so as to permit the completion of your business.

There are various... 'strategies'... which can be attempted in your attempts at 'discovery.' One way or the other, however, they all boil down to...

No matter who's fault it is, it is still down and they can't release a firearm. Telling them off doesn't make it "come back up."

Put another way, it comes down to the age-old: "Hurry up and wait."

Right now, six days isn't necessarily a reason for 'panic.' Last year, at about this time, virtually EVERYONE went through some form of 'delay' due to COVID creating DOJ Delays in processing background checks. Others were delayed due to the FFL not having turned in fees/paperwork in a timely fashion and, even when they had, due to COVID delays at DOJ, not all of them were processed with aplomb. As was noted above, there could be 'glitches' in the technology (of one sort or another), specific to the FFL.

In short, how hard you push for an answer isn't necessarily going to determine the validity/truth of the answer(s) you glean. Anything is possible. The feedback you're receiving is what individual members feel is most likely coupled with their attitude toward such a scenario.

That would be my advice, at the moment. Yes. As we got beyond the "15-day" point and started edging toward the "30-day" cutoff, I'd be getting increasingly 'nervous.' Right now, however, I'd only be 'irritated,' but not egregiously so to the point of 'making demands' upon an FFL which is, likely, 'nervous' itself over not only 'their system being down,' but the potential it represents in terms of 'lost sales.'

What you can legitimately ask, at this point, and reasonably expect to receive a definitive answer to would be what their policy is regarding a 'DROS delay' when the fault lies, not with you, but with their 'system being down.' Don't let them 'brush you off' with: "It should only take a few days." Ask them for specifics; just like your questions about the DROS being void, who retains/attains 'ownership/possession,' whether, should you have to re-DROS, who pays for it, etc.

They should have something more specific than... ... in the event of just such situations, particularly given that you are unlikely to be the ONLY person filling up a 'waiting list' for release of a firearm. Once you know the policy, then you will have a better idea of what your options will be and you might even get a sense for what's really going on and whether the store actually 'gives a rip' about the customers it serves. In a sense, it's a way to 'gently nudge' them without coming across as being 'overly aggressive.'

[Atlantic Firearms]

We see the system down a few times each month when we are trying to process AK47 CA DOJ Shipment approval letters for orders we are shipping out. Typically clears up in a few hours .

[TitanCi]

[Moparmotel]

Stilll down, no eta. Also contacted DOJ and no response yet. Seems strange.

[ar15barrels]

Good to know, thanks. I understand a day or two but we are going on 5 days tomorrow.

It could turn into a couple months if it is their COE renewal.
You can only renew a COE within 60 days of it's expiration.
In the past, the renewals only took a couple days so it was common to not bother renewing until a couple weeks before it expires.
Move to this year and DOJ is taking around 45 days to process renewals.
So you have the situation where dealers who were used to the way it used to be are waiting until the last couple weeks only to find out that the 45 day processing time shuts them down for 35 days if they waited until the last 10 days to do their renewal.
I renewed my COE this year 58 days before it was set to expire and I got my renewal about 10 days before it was set to expire.

[ar15barrels]

Yes.

Does the gun go to the shop or the original owner?

It does not automatically go anywhere.
It sits in the same safe it was sitting in during the 30 days.

Most shops will re-run the DROS at their expense when it was their fault that they did not get the transfer completed in time.
There was another thread about another FFL who had a COE renewal problem that caused a bunch of DROS to time out.
That shop re-ran the DROS after they got their COE renewed.

Just make sure YOU do everything in your power to pick it up before 30 days.
You should visit the shop on the 29th day and the 30th day with all your papers in hand and make an attempt so they can't claim you let the DROS expire.

[Moparmotel]

Thank you all for the info. The seller is my friend who lives 4 hours away, do we both have to come in and do the transfer in person again?

Yes.



It does not automatically go anywhere.
It sits in the same safe it was sitting in during the 30 days.

Most shops will re-run the DROS at their expense when it was their fault that they did not get the transfer completed in time.
There was another thread about another FFL who had a COE renewal problem that caused a bunch of DROS to time out.
That shop re-ran the DROS after they got their COE renewed.

Just make sure YOU do everything in your power to pick it up before 30 days.
You should visit the shop on the 29th day and the 30th day with all your papers in hand and make an attempt so they can't claim you let the DROS expire.