Can You Legally Buy a Gun in Illinois? FOID, Dealers, and Sellers

To legally buy a gun in Illinois, you need a Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) Card issued by the Illinois State Police before you set foot in a gun shop or agree to a private sale. Every firearm and ammunition purchase in the state runs through this system, and every sale is subject to a 72-hour waiting period. Some firearms cannot be purchased at all under the Protect Illinois Communities Act, regardless of what card you hold.

Start With a FOID Card

Illinois is one of the few states that requires a state-issued card just to possess a firearm or ammunition. The Firearm Owner’s Identification Card Act sets up the system, and the Illinois State Police runs it.¹ Without a valid FOID card, you cannot legally buy, possess, or receive a firearm or ammunition anywhere in the state. Everything else about buying a gun in Illinois follows from having this card in hand.

Who Qualifies for a FOID Card

You must be an Illinois resident and at least 21 years old to apply on your own. Applicants under 21 can still get a card if a parent or legal guardian who holds a valid FOID card sponsors the application.²

The Illinois State Police checks each application against a list of disqualifiers:³

Any felony conviction under Illinois law or the law of another state, which is a permanent bar.
A conviction for domestic battery or aggravated domestic battery, whether charged as a felony or misdemeanor, which is also permanent.
A conviction for battery, assault, aggravated assault, or violation of an order of protection within the past five years, if a firearm was used or possessed during the offense.
Having been a patient in a mental health facility within the past five years, or having been adjudicated as a danger to yourself or others.
Being the subject of an existing order of protection or a no-contact or no-stalking order.
Use of or addiction to a controlled substance within the past year.
Immigration status: non-citizens who are unlawfully present or admitted on a non-immigrant visa are generally ineligible, with limited exceptions.

Cannabis Use and FOID Eligibility

This is one of the more confusing corners of Illinois gun law. Under state law, holding a medical cannabis card or using cannabis legally in Illinois will not get your FOID card denied or revoked. The Illinois State Police treats medical cannabis licenses as state-issued documents that cannot be the sole basis for denying a right or privilege.³

Federal law sees it differently. Under the Gun Control Act, any person who uses cannabis is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition, regardless of state legalization. The Illinois State Police explicitly warns that this federal prohibition applies until you revoke or relinquish your medical cannabis card, or until one year after you last used cannabis, whichever comes later.³ In practice, the state will issue you a card, but you could still face federal prosecution for possessing a firearm while using cannabis.

How to Apply for a FOID Card

Applications go through the Illinois State Police Firearms Services Bureau online. You’ll need a valid Illinois driver’s license or state ID number, a head-and-shoulders photo taken within the last 30 days, and basic personal information.³

The application fee is $10, payable by credit card or electronic check. Credit and debit card payments carry an additional service fee of 2.25% (minimum $1).² After you submit, the Illinois State Police runs a background check. New applications are generally processed within 30 days, and you should allow another 7 to 10 days for the physical card to arrive by mail.

Submitting fingerprints through a licensed live scan vendor is optional. Applicants who fingerprint benefit from a streamlined process: the card remains active for 10 years from the most recent firearm transfer approval, and the holder becomes eligible for automatic renewal without submitting a new application.³

Buying From a Licensed Dealer

Once your FOID card is in hand, you can walk into any federally licensed dealer in Illinois. The dealer runs a point-of-sale background check through the Illinois State Police Firearms Transfer Inquiry Program, which also queries the federal National Instant Criminal Background Check System.⁴ The dealer may charge a fee of up to $2 for this check.

You cannot take the firearm home until the 72-hour waiting period has passed. Illinois requires the seller to withhold delivery of any firearm for at least 72 hours after you and the seller agree to the purchase, and this applies to handguns, rifles, and shotguns alike.⁵ The clock starts when the agreement is made, not when paperwork is filed or when the background check clears. Narrow exceptions exist for law enforcement officers and certain licensed security professionals, but the waiting period applies to virtually all civilian purchases.

Buying From a Private Seller

Private sales between individuals carry more obligations than many buyers expect. Before completing the transfer, the seller must either run the sale through a licensed dealer or contact the Illinois State Police directly to verify that your FOID card is valid under both state and federal law. If your card checks out, the Illinois State Police issues an approval number, and that approval is good for 30 days.⁶

After the transfer, the seller must keep a written record for at least 10 years. As the buyer, you have your own obligation: within 10 days, provide a copy of the transfer record to a licensed dealer, who then maintains it for 20 years. The dealer can charge up to $25 for this record-keeping service.⁶ The 72-hour waiting period applies here too.

What You Cannot Buy

Even with a valid FOID card, some firearms, accessories, and ammunition are off the table under Illinois’s assault weapons ban. The Protect Illinois Communities Act took effect on January 10, 2023, and it defines a prohibited assault weapon by features rather than by name.⁷

A semiautomatic rifle with a detachable magazine becomes an assault weapon if it also has a pistol grip, thumbhole stock, or certain other attachments. A semiautomatic pistol with a detachable magazine qualifies if it has a threaded barrel, among other features. Semiautomatic shotguns with features like a revolving cylinder or a fixed magazine holding more than five rounds are also covered.⁸

Large-capacity magazines are banned as a separate category. Any magazine capable of holding more than 10 rounds for a long gun, or more than 15 rounds for a handgun, is a prohibited large-capacity feeding device. Tubular magazines designed only for .22 caliber rimfire ammunition, and tubular magazines in lever-action firearms, are exempt.⁹

Owners who possessed a covered item before January 10, 2023 were allowed to keep it, but only if they submitted an endorsement affidavit through their FOID account by the January 1, 2024 deadline. No endorsement is required if those items are stored outside Illinois. Grandfathered items still cannot be sold or transferred to another person inside the state.⁷

If You Live Outside Illinois

Non-residents cannot obtain an Illinois FOID card and therefore cannot buy firearms in the state through the normal purchase process. The FOID Act does let non-residents possess firearms in Illinois in specific circumstances: while hunting with a valid non-resident hunting license, while at a recognized shooting range or firearm show, or while transporting an unloaded firearm enclosed in a case. Non-residents holding a firearm license or registration from their home state also qualify for this exemption.²

Keep Your Card Current After the Purchase

Once you own a firearm, letting your FOID card lapse is not a paperwork issue. Illinois grades the offense by how long the card has been expired and why:¹⁰

Card expired six months or less, otherwise eligible: petty offense.
Card expired longer than six months, otherwise eligible to renew: Class A misdemeanor, up to one year in jail.
No FOID card but otherwise eligible to have one: Class A misdemeanor for a first offense; a second or subsequent violation is a Class 4 felony carrying one to three years in prison.
Card revoked, or ineligible for a card: Class 3 felony, two to five years in prison.

If your card lapses while you still have firearms at home, you are technically in violation from the day it expires. Track the renewal date the same way you track a driver’s license.

1
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 430 ILCS 65 – Firearm Owners Identification Card Act
2
Illinois State Police. Illinois State Police – FOID Frequently Asked Questions
3
Illinois State Police. Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID)
4
Illinois State Police. Firearms Services Bureau
5
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 720 ILCS 5/24-3 – Unlawful Sale of Firearms
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Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 430 ILCS 65/3 – Firearm Owners Identification Card Act
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Illinois State Police. Protect Illinois Communities Act, Regulation on Assault Weapons
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Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 720 ILCS 5/24-1.9 – Manufacture, Delivery, or Sale of Assault Weapons and Enforcement
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Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 720 ILCS 5/24-1.10 – Regulation of Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Devices
10
Justia Law. Illinois Code 430 ILCS 65 – Firearm Owners Identification Card Act