In a case that could have far-reaching implications, a state appeals court ruled that the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services improperly denied a concealed-weapons license for a man who said his civil rights were restored after a 1969 conviction in Illinois.

The First District Court of Appeal said the department, which handles licensing, should not have relied only on a check of a federal database known as the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, of NICS. A check of that system flagged the man’s decades-old felony conviction on a charge of stealing an eight-track tape player, leading to the department denying a license.