(a)        A person who petitions the court to have the person’s firearms rights restored shall submit a full set of the petitioner’s fingerprints, to be administered by the sheriff. The petitioner shall also submit to the sheriff a form signed by the petitioner consenting to the criminal record check and use of fingerprints and other identifying information required by the State and National Repositories, and any additional information required by the State Bureau of Investigation or the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The sheriff shall forward the set of fingerprints and the signed consent form to the State Bureau of Investigation for a records check of State and national databases.

(b)        Upon receipt of the fingerprints and consent form forwarded by the sheriff pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the State Bureau of Investigation shall conduct a search of the State criminal history record file and shall forward a set of the fingerprints and a copy of the signed consent form to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history record check.

(c)        The State Bureau of Investigation shall provide a copy of the information obtained pursuant to this section to the clerk of superior court, which shall be kept confidential in the court file for the petition for restoration of firearms rights.

(d)       The Department of Public Safety may charge a fee to offset the cost incurred by it to conduct a criminal record check under this section. The fee shall not exceed the actual cost of locating, editing, researching, and retrieving the information. ?(2010-108, s. 2; 2011-2, ss. 1, 2; 2014-100, ss. 17.1(m), (o).)