No. A person convicted of a felony generally cannot have a gun under federal law, and the question “can a convicted felon have a gun” has the same answer in every state because the federal ban applies everywhere. Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing a firearm or ammunition, and a violation now carries up to 15 years in prison. The ban is not automatically permanent, though. A presidential pardon, certain kinds of state-level relief, and a federal restoration program that resumed granting applications in early 2026 can all remove the disability.
The Federal Ban and What It Covers
Under the Gun Control Act, anyone convicted of a crime carrying a possible sentence of more than one year in prison is federally barred from possessing any firearm or ammunition.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts What matters is the maximum sentence the offense could have carried, not what the person actually served. Someone whose felony could have drawn 18 months but who walked out with probation is still banned for life under federal law.
The federal definition of “firearm” is broad. It covers any weapon designed to expel a projectile by explosive action, along with the frame or receiver of such a weapon, any silencer, and any destructive device.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions A stripped lower receiver counts. Antique firearms are excluded and are covered separately below.
A felon caught with a firearm faces up to 15 years in federal prison. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022 raised the maximum from the previous 10-year cap. For someone with three or more prior convictions for violent felonies or serious drug offenses, the Armed Career Criminal Act imposes a mandatory minimum of 15 years with no probation or parole.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties Those priors do not need to be recent, and a state prosecution for the same conduct can run on a separate track without a double jeopardy problem.
What Counts as Possessing a Gun
Courts recognize two forms of possession, and the second one catches people off guard. Actual possession is straightforward: the gun is on your person, in your hand, in your holster, or in a bag you are carrying.
Constructive possession means you knew a firearm was present and had the ability to exercise control over it, even if you never touched it. A felon who is the sole occupant of a car with a handgun in the glove compartment has constructive possession. So does a felon living in a home where a gun sits in an unlocked closet they can freely reach.
Living With Someone Who Owns Guns
A person with a felony conviction can legally live with someone who owns firearms, but only if the firearms are stored so the felon has zero access. In practice, that means a locked safe or secured container the convicted person cannot open, with no shared combination and no accessible key. A gun on a nightstand or in an unlocked cabinet in a shared home is a constructive possession charge waiting to happen. The gun owner in the household bears real responsibility here, and both people can face exposure if firearms are left accessible. State storage rules vary, but the federal constructive possession standard applies everywhere.
State Laws Add Another Layer
State firearm laws sit on top of federal law and can only be stricter. Some states extend their firearm ban to people convicted of certain violent misdemeanors, meaning a person cleared under federal law could still be barred at the state level. States also differ widely on restoration. A handful automatically restore gun rights after a person completes their sentence and any waiting period. Others require a petition to a court or a governor’s pardon. Some have no restoration process at all for certain offenses.
The layers work independently. State-level restoration does not automatically override the federal ban, and federal relief does not necessarily satisfy a stricter state prohibition. Both need to be addressed.
Getting Gun Rights Back
The federal ban is often called permanent, but that is only true if the convicted person takes no action. Three pathways exist.
Presidential Pardon
For federal convictions, the most established route is a presidential pardon. The process starts with a petition to the Office of the Pardon Attorney at the Department of Justice, and applicants must wait at least five years after conviction or release from confinement, whichever is later, before applying.4United States Department of Justice. Justice Manual 9-140.000 – Pardon Attorney The DOJ can waive that waiting period but rarely does. A pardon restores civil rights, including firearm rights, unless it expressly says otherwise.
State-Level Relief
For state felony convictions, the options depend entirely on the state. Common mechanisms include a governor’s pardon, expungement, having the conviction set aside, or a certificate of rehabilitation. Under federal law, if a state conviction has been expunged, set aside, or pardoned, it no longer counts as a disqualifying conviction for the federal firearm ban, as long as the restoration does not expressly prohibit firearm possession.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions A state pardon or expungement order that explicitly bars firearm possession does not help under federal law. Read the fine print.
Some states automatically restore civil rights once a person finishes their sentence. Whether that automatic restoration satisfies the federal exception has produced conflicting court decisions, so this is a place where a local attorney’s read matters.
The Federal Restoration Program
For decades, Congress blocked funding for the ATF to process applications under 18 USC 925(c) from people seeking relief from the federal firearm ban. That changed in 2025, when the Department of Justice began rebuilding the program under a new administrative structure.5Department of Justice. Federal Firearm Rights Restoration The Attorney General has authority to grant relief when the applicant’s record and circumstances show they are unlikely to endanger public safety and the restoration serves the public interest.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 925 – Exceptions: Relief From Disabilities
The program is now active. In February 2026, the Attorney General granted relief from federal firearm disabilities to a group of individuals, the first such grants published in the Federal Register in decades.7Federal Register. Granting of Relief; Federal Firearms Privileges The DOJ is developing a web-based application system, and review of petitions has been assigned to the Office of the Pardon Attorney rather than the ATF.5Department of Justice. Federal Firearm Rights Restoration If an application is denied, the applicant can petition a federal district court for judicial review.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 925 – Exceptions: Relief From Disabilities
The Antique Firearm Exception
Federal law carves out one category a person with a felony conviction can possess: antique firearms. These are defined as firearms manufactured in or before 1898, including those with matchlock, flintlock, or percussion cap ignition systems.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions The exception also covers replicas of pre-1899 firearms, as long as the replica is not designed to use modern rimfire or centerfire fixed ammunition.
Muzzle-loading rifles, shotguns, and pistols built for black powder and incapable of firing fixed ammunition qualify as antiques and fall outside the federal definition of “firearm.” A convicted felon can generally possess these under federal law. The trap: any muzzleloader built on a modern firearm frame or receiver, or one that can be readily converted to fire fixed ammunition by swapping the barrel or bolt, is classified as a regular firearm and is off-limits.8ATF. Top 10 Frequently Asked Firearms Questions and Answers Several popular inline muzzleloader models fall into that category. The distinction is model-specific, so verify before relying on it.
One more warning: the antique carve-out is federal only. Some states regulate all firearms regardless of manufacturing date and do not recognize the exception. Possessing an 1890s revolver that is perfectly legal under federal law could still be a state felony. Check state law.
Other Federal Bans That May Still Apply
The felony ban gets the most attention, but federal law bars several other categories of people from possessing firearms. This matters because a person who has had a felony conviction expunged or pardoned might still be prohibited on other grounds.
- A conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence triggers a federal firearm ban identical in scope to the felony prohibition.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
- A person subject to a qualifying domestic violence restraining order is barred while the order is in effect. The order must have been issued after a hearing with notice and an opportunity to participate, and must include either a finding of credible threat or an explicit prohibition on the use of physical force.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
- Anyone who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance is prohibited. Because marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law, regular marijuana users are federally barred from gun ownership even in states where marijuana is legal. That prohibition is being challenged in court, but as of early 2026 it remains enforceable.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
Other prohibited categories include fugitives from justice, people dishonorably discharged from the military, people who have renounced U.S. citizenship, certain non-immigrant visa holders, and anyone adjudicated as mentally incompetent or committed to a mental institution.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Each prohibition has its own restoration pathway. Fixing the felony does not necessarily cure the others.
Where the Constitutional Challenges Stand
The ground under the felon firearm ban has shifted since 2022, when the Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen required the government to show that any firearm restriction is consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearms regulation. In Range v. Attorney General, the Third Circuit ruled in favor of Bryan Range, who had been convicted of a nonviolent offense (making a false statement to obtain food stamps), holding that the government failed to show a historical tradition supporting his disarmament and that he “remains among ‘the people’ protected by the Second Amendment.”9United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Range v. Attorney General of the United States
The Supreme Court has not resolved the felon ban across the board. In United States v. Rahimi (June 2024), the Court upheld the federal prohibition on firearm possession by people subject to domestic violence protective orders and repeated language from its earlier Heller decision calling prohibitions on firearm possession by felons “presumptively lawful.”10Supreme Court of the United States. United States v. Rahimi “Presumptively” is not “definitively,” but the ban remains enforceable everywhere. Relying on a constitutional challenge as a defense to a possession charge is a high-risk strategy, and anyone considering one needs a lawyer experienced in Second Amendment litigation.