Restoring your gun rights after a felony or other disqualifying event is possible, but it takes work on two tracks: state law and federal law. Learning how to restore gun rights means understanding that clearing one track does not clear the other, and that the correct path depends entirely on what caused the prohibition in the first place. For most people, the route is a state petition, an expungement, or a pardon, followed by making sure the federal background check system reflects the change.
Identify Which Prohibition Applies to You
Federal law bars nine categories of people from possessing firearms or ammunition, and each category has its own way out. Before you spend a dollar on filings or attorneys, be clear about which one applies to you.
- Anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison, regardless of the actual sentence served. This is the most common disqualifier.
- Anyone who is a fugitive from justice, meaning an active warrant or flight from a jurisdiction to avoid prosecution.
- Anyone who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance, including marijuana, even in states where it is legal.
- Anyone involuntarily committed to a mental institution or found by a court to be mentally incompetent.
- Certain noncitizens, including those unlawfully in the United States and most nonimmigrant visa holders.
- Anyone discharged from the military under dishonorable conditions.
- Former U.S. citizens who renounced their citizenship.
- Anyone subject to a qualifying domestic violence restraining order that includes a finding of credible threat to an intimate partner or child. The Supreme Court upheld this prohibition in 2024.1Supreme Court of the United States. United States v. Rahimi
- Anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence against a spouse, cohabitant, co-parent, or dating partner.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
The felony category has one important carveout. Federal law excludes state-classified misdemeanors punishable by two years or less. If your state conviction is a misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of two years or less, it does not trigger the federal felony bar.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions
Check Whether Your Conviction Still Counts
Some people are already eligible and do not know it. Under federal law, a conviction that has been expunged, set aside, or pardoned is not treated as a disqualifying conviction. The same is true if your civil rights have been fully restored. The one condition: if the pardon, expungement, or restoration expressly says you cannot possess firearms, the conviction still counts against you.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions
“Civil rights restored” has a specific meaning. Federal courts read it to require restoration of the core rights lost at conviction: voting, jury service, and holding public office. Getting your voting rights back alone is usually not enough. If your state has restored all three, and there is no firearms restriction attached, your conviction may no longer trigger the federal ban.
Some states restore civil rights automatically once you complete your sentence. Others require a petition. Confirm exactly which of your rights have already been restored, and whether the restoration document says anything about firearms, before you file anything.
Prerequisites Before You Can Petition
Every jurisdiction requires you to have finished your sentence completely. That means prison or jail time served, parole or supervised release finished, probation conditions satisfied, and all fines, court costs, and restitution paid.
Most jurisdictions then impose a waiting period, ranging from a few years to a decade or more depending on the offense. Any new arrest during that window will likely derail your petition and may restart the clock. A few states restore firearm rights automatically after sentence completion for certain offenses. Others restore only in-home possession after a set period. The variation is wide enough that your first step should be reading your own state’s rules.
Filing a State Petition
If your state requires a formal petition, you file it in the county where you live. The form itself is state-specific. What matters more is the evidence you attach.
Documents You Will Need
You need certified copies of all court and criminal records related to the disqualifying conviction, obtained from the clerk of the court where you were convicted. Certified means signed and stamped by the clerk; photocopies will not do.
You also need proof that your sentence is fully completed. That usually means a discharge certificate from the department of corrections or a letter from your probation or parole officer. If your sentence included fines or restitution, get documentation from the clerk showing a zero balance.
Evidence of Rehabilitation
Certified records prove you are legally eligible. They do not prove you deserve the outcome. Judges want to see a pattern of responsible behavior since the conviction: steady employment, completion of counseling or treatment, community involvement, education, and character letters from people who know you well. Petitions that rest on “I served my time and stayed out of trouble” tend to lose. Show the court what you have built.
The Hearing
Once you file and pay the filing fee, the local prosecutor’s office receives notice and can object. At the hearing, the judge reviews your evidence and can question you directly about the original offense and your life since. The prosecutor may argue against restoration. Expect pointed questions, especially if the underlying offense involved violence. The judge has broad discretion. There is no formula.
Expungement as a Cleaner Alternative
Expungement wipes the conviction from your record for most legal purposes. Under federal law, an expunged conviction does not count as a disqualifying conviction, unless the expungement order itself prohibits firearms.4ATF eRegulations. 27 CFR 478.142 – Effect of Pardons and Expunctions of Convictions Because it addresses the underlying conviction rather than carving out an exception, expungement can resolve state and federal prohibitions in one move.
The catch is eligibility. Many states allow expungement only for lower-level offenses, first-time offenders, or cases resolved through deferred adjudication. Violent felonies and sex offenses are almost never eligible. Record sealing is more widely available but works differently: a sealed record still exists and may still trigger a background check denial, depending on how your state structures the sealing.
If you qualify for expungement, pursue it before a restoration petition. Removing the conviction is stronger than carving out a firearms exception.
Pardons
A pardon can remove the firearms disability, but the source must match the conviction. A presidential pardon addresses federal convictions. A governor’s pardon addresses state convictions, and as long as it fully restores civil rights and does not include a firearms restriction, it also lifts the federal prohibition that flowed from that state conviction.4ATF eRegulations. 27 CFR 478.142 – Effect of Pardons and Expunctions of Convictions3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions
Pardons are hard to get. Most governors grant very few each year, and application processes can drag on for years. Presidential pardons are rarer still. For someone with a federal conviction, though, a pardon may be the only realistic path right now.
If Your Conviction Was Federal
Federal law does allow a prohibited person to apply to the Attorney General for relief from firearms disabilities. Relief can be granted if the person is not likely to be dangerous and restoration would not be contrary to the public interest.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 925 – Exceptions, Relief From Disabilities
For decades, this program existed only on paper. Congress has blocked funding for ATF to process these applications every year since 1992.6Federal Register. Application for Relief From Disabilities Imposed by Federal Laws With Respect to the Acquisition, Receipt, Transfer, Shipment, Transportation, or Possession of Firearms Because the funding ban applied specifically to ATF, the Attorney General moved authority over the program to the Office of the Pardon Attorney in early 2025.
As of early 2026, the Department of Justice has published a proposed rule for the new program, but the final rule is not out and applications are not yet being accepted. DOJ has said an online application will follow the final rule.7United States Department of Justice. Federal Firearm Rights Restoration Under 18 U.S. Code 925(c) If an application is eventually denied, you can petition a federal district court for judicial review.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 925 – Exceptions, Relief From Disabilities
Until the program opens, people with federal convictions have limited options: a presidential pardon, or, if their state restoration is broad enough to trigger the federal exception discussed above, that route. Neither is easy.
Domestic Violence Convictions
The federal misdemeanor domestic violence bar, often called the Lautenberg Amendment, is one of the hardest to overcome. There is no general civil rights restoration exception for it the way there is for felonies. A pardon or expungement can remove it. Restored civil rights alone typically will not.
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022 expanded the ban to cover convictions from dating relationships, not only the traditional spouse, cohabitant, or co-parent categories.8United States Department of Justice. Fact Sheet: Two Years of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act For dating relationships specifically, the law built in a sunset. If you have one qualifying dating-relationship conviction, no other disqualifying convictions, and five years have passed since the conviction or the end of any jail time or supervised release (whichever is later), the prohibition lifts automatically. No petition required. Pick up another domestic violence conviction or a qualifying violent offense during or after that period and the automatic restoration is revoked permanently.9Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence Prohibitions
The five-year sunset applies only to dating relationship convictions. Convictions involving a spouse, cohabitant, or co-parent are a lifetime bar with no sunset. Pardon or expungement is the only way out.
Controlled Substance Use
Federal law prohibits any unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance from possessing firearms.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Marijuana counts, regardless of state legalization. Users in the roughly 40 states where marijuana is legal for medical or recreational use are still federally prohibited.
An ATF rule that took effect on January 22, 2026, narrowed the definition. A person is an unlawful user only if they regularly use a controlled substance over an extended period continuing into the present, without a valid prescription or in a way that significantly deviates from what was prescribed. Isolated or sporadic use does not trigger the bar. The rule also removed prior enforcement shortcuts that had treated a single drug conviction or a positive drug test within the past year as automatic proof.10Federal Register. Revising Definition of Unlawful User of or Addicted to Controlled Substance
The practical result: stop using, let enough time pass that you are no longer a current user, and this particular bar no longer applies. No court order. But lying about drug use on the ATF Form 4473 is a separate federal crime, and the line between “used to” and “currently” is not always obvious. Get legal advice before attempting a purchase if you have any doubt.
Mental Health Commitments
If you were involuntarily committed or adjudicated mentally incompetent, this is a separate track from a criminal conviction. The NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 encouraged states to create relief programs, and most states now have some version.
The petition typically goes to the court that issued the original commitment order or to a designated state agency. You generally need to show you no longer pose a danger to yourself or others, often with current mental health evaluations. A granted petition should update your status in the NICS database.
If your state has no relief program for mental health-based prohibitions, the federal Section 925(c) program is the fallback, once it becomes operational.
Update Your Background Check Record
A restoration order, pardon, or expungement does not automatically update the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Plenty of people win restoration and then get denied at the counter because NICS still shows them as prohibited.
Challenging a NICS Denial
If you are denied a purchase despite having your rights back, submit your restoration documentation to the FBI. You can file electronically through the FBI’s Electronic Departmental Order system at edo.cjis.gov, or by mail to the FBI CJIS Division in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Include your court order, pardon, or expungement paperwork. The FBI will verify with the originating court or agency.11Federal Bureau of Investigation. Challenges / Appeals
Getting a UPIN to Prevent Future Denials
Even after a successful challenge, you may keep getting delayed or denied if your identifying information matches a prohibited person’s. Apply for a Unique Personal Identification Number through the FBI’s Voluntary Appeal File. A UPIN is tied to your fingerprints and lets the system quickly confirm you are not the flagged person.12Federal Bureau of Investigation. Voluntary Appeal File
The application requires a Voluntary Appeal File form and a fingerprint card. Apply online at edo.cjis.gov or by mail. The fingerprint card must include your full name, date of birth, signature, the fingerprinting agency’s identifying information, and a legible signature from the person who took your prints. Including your Social Security number is optional but strongly recommended.12Federal Bureau of Investigation. Voluntary Appeal File
What This Costs
State court filing fees for a restoration petition generally run between $100 and $350. You will also pay for certified copies of court records and possibly fingerprinting.
Attorney fees for a gun rights restoration case typically run from $2,000 to $10,000. Cases with complex records, multiple convictions, or contested hearings sit at the higher end. Some attorneys charge flat fees for straightforward petitions; others bill hourly. You are not legally required to hire counsel, but the process involves compiling legal documents, meeting procedural requirements, and answering a judge’s questions. People who go it alone often stumble on incomplete documentation or fail to anticipate the prosecutor’s objections. If both state and federal prohibitions are in play, an attorney is worth the money.
Do Not Touch a Firearm Until You Are Sure
A prohibited person who possesses a firearm faces up to 15 years in federal prison. With three or more prior convictions for violent felonies or serious drug offenses, that 15 years becomes a mandatory minimum with no probation.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties
You do not need to be caught holding a gun. Federal law recognizes constructive possession: a firearm in a space you control, that you know about, can be enough. A shared closet in a household where someone else owns firearms creates real risk. A pending petition does not protect you. A state-level restoration does not protect you from a federal charge. Until you have confirmed both prohibitions are resolved and your NICS record reflects it, treat yourself as prohibited.