About
A proof mark is the stamp struck into a firearm after it has been tested and found sound. It is the oldest certification in the trade, and it is granted, never assumed. We think a person can earn the same.
Mission
Congress wrote the right to apply for relief into 18 U.S.C. § 925(c) and then defunded the process for more than three decades. The door is open again. Our work is making sure it is open in practice and not just on paper — for people who have done their time, stayed clean, and have no realistic way to assemble a federal application on their own.
Method
We screen applicants, assemble the evidentiary file, cover the costs, and retain and coordinate counsel who files. We are not counsel of record and we do not take a fee from applicants. Every dollar in this program comes from donors.
Advisory board
The advisory board reviews program standards, screening criteria, and the cases we take. It has no management role and no vote on individual applications.
Announced Labor Day weekend · September 5–7, 2026
We would rather post five complete entries at once than trickle out names. If you need to know who sits on this board before then — a funder doing diligence, a reporter, a prospective applicant — write to Info@operationproofmark.org and we will tell you directly.
Governance
Operation Proof Mark is a program of a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, EIN 93-1417599, and is funded entirely by donors. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Fiduciary responsibility sits with the operating board; the advisory board named above reviews program standards and has no management role and no vote on individual applications.
Form 990 and audited financials are filed publicly each year under EIN 93-1417599 and are available on request.
We never charge an applicant. If someone asks you to pay Operation Proof Mark, it is not us.
Attorneys we retain owe their duty to the client, not to the program. We do not direct legal strategy.
Before you go
The first public window opens November 4, 2026 and closes at 5,000 applications. Whether someone who qualifies makes that number comes down to whether their file was ready — and that comes down to money.
$30 covers one applicant’s federal filing fee. $150 covers a complete certified records file. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.