Federal law makes it a crime for anyone convicted of a felony to possess a firearm or ammunition. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), a “felon in possession” charge applies to anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison who then possesses a gun, receiver, silencer, or destructive device with any connection to interstate commerce. A conviction carries up to 15 years in federal prison, and repeat offenders with three qualifying priors face a 15-year mandatory minimum under the Armed Career Criminal Act.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
Who Counts as a Felon Under This Law
The statute looks at the maximum possible sentence for your prior offense, not the sentence you actually received. If the crime carried a potential term of more than one year, you are a prohibited person under federal law — even if you got probation, a suspended sentence, or no jail time at all.2Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Identify Prohibited Persons
Two categories of prior convictions do not count. Business-related offenses like antitrust violations and unfair trade practices are excluded. So is any state offense that the state itself classifies as a misdemeanor and punishes by two years or less, even if the equivalent federal offense would be a felony.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions
A conviction that has been expunged, set aside, pardoned, or followed by a restoration of civil rights also does not count — with one important catch. If the pardon, expungement, or restoration order specifically says you still cannot possess firearms, the conviction continues to disqualify you.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions
What Counts as a Firearm
The federal definition sweeps in more than complete, working guns. It covers any weapon designed to expel a projectile by explosive force — handguns, rifles, shotguns — along with the frame or receiver of such a weapon, any firearm silencer, and any destructive device.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions The statute also treats ammunition as a prohibited item, so possessing loose rounds without a gun can still trigger a charge.
Antique firearms are excluded from the definition entirely. A prohibited person who possesses a genuine antique firearm as federal law defines that term is not violating § 922(g). The statutory definition is narrow, though, and collectors regularly misjudge whether an old gun qualifies.
What “Possession” Means
You do not need to be holding a gun to be charged. Federal law recognizes two forms of possession.
Actual possession is physical control: the firearm is on your person, in your hand, in your waistband, or in a bag you are carrying.
Constructive possession is where most trials are won or lost. It applies when you do not have physical control but you know the firearm is there and you have the ability and intention to control it. A gun in a locked safe in your bedroom that only you can open is the textbook example. A firearm in the center console of a car you are driving can support the same theory.
Mere proximity is not enough. Prosecutors must prove both knowledge and control beyond a reasonable doubt. A passenger in someone else’s car, unaware of a gun hidden under the driver’s seat, is not in constructive possession. More than one person can constructively possess the same firearm at the same time if each of them knows about it and has the ability to control it.
What the Government Has to Prove
In 2019, the Supreme Court decided Rehaif v. United States and added a knowledge element to every § 922(g) prosecution. The government must now prove two things: that you knew you possessed a firearm, and that you knew you belonged to a category of people banned from possessing one.4Supreme Court of the United States. Rehaif v United States
For a felon-in-possession charge, that means proof you knew your prior conviction was one punishable by more than a year in prison. This matters more than it sounds. Some defendants were told their plea was to a misdemeanor. Some have old foreign convictions or decades-old offenses they never understood as disqualifying. Convictions have been overturned when the trial record showed no evidence the defendant knew about their prohibited status.
Federal jurisdiction also requires that the firearm was “in or affecting commerce.” The Supreme Court has held that the government only needs to show the gun traveled across a state line at some point, not that it did so around the time of the charged possession.5Legal Information Institute. Scarborough v United States Because nearly every commercially made firearm crosses a state line between the factory and the buyer, this element is met in almost every case.
Penalties
A conviction under § 922(g) is itself a federal felony. The standard maximum is 15 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties The court will also add a term of supervised release of up to three years after prison.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3583 – Inclusion of a Term of Supervised Release After Imprisonment Standard supervised-release conditions include regular reporting, drug testing, a bar on possessing any weapon, travel restrictions, and limits on associating with people who have criminal records. A violation can send you back to prison.
The Armed Career Criminal Act
The Armed Career Criminal Act imposes a mandatory minimum of 15 years for anyone convicted under § 922(g) who has three or more prior convictions for a “violent felony” or a “serious drug offense,” committed on separate occasions. The court cannot suspend the sentence or grant probation.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties
A “violent felony” is a crime punishable by more than one year that either has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against another person, or is one of the specifically listed offenses: burglary, arson, extortion, or a crime involving explosives. The statute originally included a broader catch-all covering any crime that “presents a serious potential risk of physical injury,” but the Supreme Court struck that language down as unconstitutionally vague in Johnson v. United States in 2015.8Justia US Supreme Court. Johnson v United States, 576 US 591 (2015)
A “serious drug offense” is a federal or state drug crime carrying a maximum sentence of ten years or more. On the state side, it must involve manufacturing, distributing, or possessing with intent to distribute a controlled substance.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties
Second Amendment Challenges to the Felon Ban
The constitutionality of the felon-in-possession ban is being actively litigated. The framework comes from the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which held that when the Second Amendment’s text covers a person’s conduct, the government must show its regulation is consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.9Supreme Court of the United States. New York State Rifle and Pistol Association Inc v Bruen
In 2024, the Court applied that framework in United States v. Rahimi and upheld the ban on firearm possession by people subject to domestic violence restraining orders. The Court reaffirmed earlier language from Heller describing prohibitions on felon firearm possession as “presumptively lawful.”10Supreme Court of the United States. United States v Rahimi
The most significant direct challenge so far is the Third Circuit’s decision in Range v. Attorney General, which ruled § 922(g)(1) unconstitutional as applied to a man whose only qualifying conviction was a false statement to obtain food stamps. The court found no historical tradition supporting disarmament for that kind of nonviolent offense.11United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Range v Attorney General That ruling binds only courts in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, and it was limited to the plaintiff’s specific circumstances. The broader prohibition remains fully enforceable, especially for people with violent records, but as-applied challenges from defendants with nonviolent histories are becoming more common.
Getting Firearm Rights Back
Restoration is possible but difficult, and the available paths depend on whether the conviction is federal or state.
A presidential pardon can remove the firearm disability for a federal conviction. A full pardon from the governor or another state authority can do the same for a state conviction. The pardon has to actually restore firearm rights; if it specifically excludes them, the conviction still counts.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions
Expungement, set-aside, or a full restoration of civil rights under state law can also remove the federal ban, subject to the same caveat. Many states restore some civil rights automatically after a sentence ends but do not restore firearm rights, so what your state actually restores is the critical detail.
Federal law also allows prohibited persons to petition the Attorney General directly for relief under 18 U.S.C. § 925(c). Relief can be granted if the applicant shows they are not likely to act dangerously and that restoration would not be contrary to the public interest, with judicial review in federal district court if the petition is denied.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 925 – Exceptions: Relief From Disabilities For decades, Congress blocked funding to process these applications, and the program was effectively shut down. In 2025, the Department of Justice proposed a rule to establish a formal review process, but as of early 2026 the rulemaking is not finalized and applications are not yet being accepted.13Department of Justice. Federal Firearm Rights Restoration The pathway exists on paper but is not yet operational.