Illinois gun dealers were unable to sell ammunition Tuesday after a portion of the Illinois State Police website used for verifying firearm owner ID cards was shut down for maintenance.
The state police said the website will remain inactive until 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Ammunition will not be able to be sold until the site is back up, state police spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said. The state police began alerting users May 7 that the system would be down for the 24-hour period, she said.
Retailers depend on the website portal to determine whether a customer’s firearm owner’s Identification card is valid, making it legal to sell a gun to that person.
Arnold said retailers can still sell firearms while the system is down, as the maintenance will take less time than the statutory 72-hour hold required before a purchaser can take possession of the firearm.
Arnold said the update is necessary as the system the state police uses for FOID card verification is 11 years old. The upgrade is a part of a larger effort to improve the state’s firearms safety systems and efficiencies for lawful firearms owners.
“While enhancements have been made over the years, the system will be down temporarily for an overall upgrade that will help us ensure law enforcement, firearms retailers, and residents are able to access FOID information expeditiously,” Arnold said.
Illinois’ law requiring FOID cards for purchasing guns and ammunition faces legal challenges in the courts.