What the 925(c) application costs, and how the fee waiver works

The fee: $30, and not yet

The application fee is $30. It is non-refundable, and it does not begin until 4 January 2027 — the Department's third stage. Applications in the 4 November 2026 public stage come before the fee starts.

Payment is through Pay.gov after you submit, by bank transfer (ACH), credit or debit card, or PayPal.

The Department adds that the Attorney General "will periodically review the cost of processing applications and may adjust the application fee accordingly", and that any change "will be published in the Federal Register".

The costs the Department does not set

Its FAQ is direct about this: "there may be additional fees associated with the application process, e.g. fingerprints, criminal records, etc. Fees may vary by jurisdiction, so please contact your local servicing agency to determine the actual cost."

In practice that means:

• Fingerprints. Taken at a participating United States Post Office, after you submit the application and receive a QR code by email. You cannot do this step first.
• Certified court records. The charging document, the judgment, and proof of the date you completed your sentence. Costs are set by each clerk of court. (One example worth knowing: Florida requires its clerks to supply clemency documents "free of charge and without delay" under Fla. Stat. § 940.04. We did not read the other states' laws on this.)
• Criminal history reports from the FBI or your state police.

We do not publish a total. Any figure would be invented, because the two largest variables are set county by county.

The waiver

You may ask for the fee to be waived or reduced. The rule and the Department's page both require you to say why: "When requesting waiver or reduction, the applicant must state the reason why a waiver or reduction should be granted." The FAQ adds the ground: the fee "may be waived or reduced because of indigency".

The two pages say nothing more about the waiver. The Department's own words, on both pages: more information "will be made available soon". The two pages name no form, no evidence standard and no deadline for the request (read October 8, 2026). We check DOJ's pages before every update and show the date of the last check.

Free things people pay for anyway

• You do not need to pay anyone to tell you the rules. They are published at justice.gov/ffrr and in 28 CFR part 107, and we quote them here with their paragraph numbers.
• The character references are free. Three people who have known you three years, unrelated by blood or marriage, not themselves prohibited under 922(g).
• Checking your own criminal history before you apply is worth doing; your state police agency sets its own fee, if any.

See the stage dates →

This is a private website, not a government site. The official site is justice.gov/ffrr. Information with sources and check dates — not legal advice, and never a decision about you.