Restoring Firearm Rights - Felony

Required Documents:

  • An original petition to restore firearm rights; initiating document is not provided by the Clerk’s Office
  • Cover sheet for filing civil actions, CC-1416 (PDF)
  • Two additional copies of the completed petition
  • Fingerprints to be filed with the Clerk’s Office prior to entry of an order

The copies will be used for the following:

A copy of the petition shall be served on the Commonwealth Attorney.  The Commonwealth may file an objection or answer to the petition within twenty-one (21) days after it is served.  A second copy of the petition will be used by the petitioner to take to a law enforcement agency to obtain petitioner’s fingerprints.

Filing Fee: $98.00 (includes service fee)

Fees must be paid by cash, certified check, money order or personal check (no starter checks will be accepted) made payable to the Clerk of Circuit Court.

Filings may be submitted in person or by mail:

In person, bring your completed paperwork, copies and filing fee to the third floor Civil Division window of the Circuit Court during normal business hours. Or send your completed paperwork, copies and filing fee to:

Send via U.S. Postal Service:                                         Send via FedEx, UPS, etc.:

Loudoun Circuit Court                                                     Loudoun Circuit Court

Attn: Civil Division New Case Filing                                Attn: Civil Division New Case Filing

P.O. Box 550                                                                   18 East Market Street

Leesburg, VA 20178                                                        Leesburg, VA 20176

The case will be assigned a civil action case number.  This is a number by which the court references your case and must appear on any future documents regarding your petition.

The petitioner will have fingerprints taken and provided to the Clerk pursuant to 18.2-308.2 (C) of the Virginia Code. Fingerprints must be filed with the Clerk’s Office prior to the entry of an order.  After the fingerprints have been filed with the court, an order to restore firearm rights shall be filed with the Clerk’s Office.

Virginia Code § 18.2-308.2 (C)

Any person prohibited from possessing, transporting, or carrying a firearm, ammunition for a firearm, or a stun weapon under subsection A may petition the circuit court of the jurisdiction in which he resides or, if the person is not a resident of the Commonwealth, the circuit court of any county or city where such person was last convicted of a felony or adjudicated delinquent of a disqualifying offense pursuant to subsection A, for a restoration order that unconditionally authorizes possessing, transporting, or carrying a firearm, ammunition for a firearm, or a stun weapon; however, no person who has been convicted of a felony shall be qualified to petition for such an order unless his civil rights have been restored by the Governor or other appropriate authority. A copy of the petition shall be mailed or delivered to the attorney for the Commonwealth for the jurisdiction where the petition was filed who shall be entitled to respond and represent the interests of the Commonwealth. The court shall conduct a hearing if requested by either party. The court may, in its discretion and for good cause shown, grant such petition and issue a restoration order. Such order shall contain the petitioner's name and date of birth. The clerk shall certify and forward forthwith to the Central Criminal Records Exchange (CCRE), on a form provided by the CCRE, a copy of the order to be accompanied by a complete set of the petitioner's fingerprints. The Department of State Police shall forthwith enter the petitioner's name and description in the CCRE so that the order's existence will be made known to law-enforcement personnel accessing the computerized criminal history records for investigative purposes. The provisions of this section relating to firearms, ammunition for a firearm, and stun weapons shall not apply to any person who has been issued a restoration order pursuant to this subsection.