In most cases, yes — you can buy a gun with a DUI on your record if the conviction is a standard first-offense misdemeanor. Federal law only blocks the purchase when the DUI is a felony, when the offense carries a possible sentence above the federal cutoffs, when charges are still pending, or when a drug-related pattern makes you a “prohibited person.” A handful of state rules and paperwork traps can also stop the sale even when federal law technically wouldn’t.
What Federal Law Actually Looks At
The Gun Control Act of 1968 bars anyone convicted of a “crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year” from buying or possessing a firearm.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts The trigger is the maximum sentence the law allows, not the sentence you actually served. A first-offense DUI in most states is a misdemeanor with a maximum of six months to a year in jail, which sits below the threshold. You can walk into a licensed dealer, pass the background check, and buy a firearm.
A DUI usually becomes a felony after multiple convictions within a set timeframe or when the incident caused serious injury or death. Once the offense carries a possible sentence beyond one year, the federal ban applies whether the judge gave you prison time or probation. That ban covers buying, receiving, possessing, and transporting firearms and ammunition.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922(g)
The Two-Year Misdemeanor Trap
This is where people get caught off guard. Federal law carves out state offenses that are classified as misdemeanors, but only if the maximum punishment is two years or less.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions If your state labels the offense a misdemeanor but attaches a maximum sentence over two years, federal law treats it the same as a felony for firearm purposes.
The practical effect: a second or third DUI in a state with steep sentencing ranges can activate the federal ban without any felony label. An elevated blood alcohol level that pushes a repeat DUI into a higher sentencing tier can quietly cross the two-year line. The determination turns entirely on the maximum sentence allowed under the law of the state where you were convicted.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions
Pending DUI Charges Can Block the Sale
You don’t need a conviction to be denied. Federal law prohibits firearm transfers to anyone under indictment or formal charges for a crime punishable by more than one year.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts If you’ve been charged with a felony DUI and the case is still open, an attempt to buy a firearm will be flagged. In 2021, pending indictments accounted for more than 20,000 NICS denials nationally.4Bureau of Justice Statistics. Background Checks for Firearm Transfers, 2021
ATF Form 4473, which every buyer at a licensed dealer signs, asks directly whether you’re under indictment for a felony or any crime punishable by more than one year. That question covers pending charges, not just convictions. If your DUI case is still working through the courts and the possible sentence crosses that line, you must answer yes, and the sale will not go through.5Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Firearms Transaction Record – ATF Form 4473
Drug-Related DUIs
Federal law separately prohibits anyone who is an “unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance” from possessing firearms.6ATF. Identify Prohibited Persons This applies even to substances legal under state law. Marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law, so a DUI involving marijuana raises a firearm question separate from the conviction itself.
In January 2026, the ATF issued an interim final rule narrowing the definition of “unlawful user” to require evidence of regular and recent use over an extended period. The revised standard removes earlier guidance that treated a single drug-related arrest or conviction within the past year as evidence of unlawful use. Isolated or sporadic use no longer qualifies.7Federal Register. Revising Definition of Unlawful User of or Addicted to Controlled Substance Under this standard, a single drug-related DUI on its own is unlikely to cause a denial. Someone with a pattern of drug-related offenses or ongoing use documented in court records still faces a real risk.
The rule took effect on January 22, 2026. The ATF is accepting public comments through June 30, 2026, and a pending Supreme Court case could reshape the standard again. For now, the narrower definition governs NICS determinations and ATF enforcement.7Federal Register. Revising Definition of Unlawful User of or Addicted to Controlled Substance
At the Counter: Background Check and Form 4473
Every firearm purchase from a licensed dealer runs through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), operated by the FBI. The dealer submits your information; NICS searches criminal records, mental health adjudications, and other databases for prohibiting factors. A felony DUI will show up and result in a denial. A misdemeanor DUI that falls under the sentencing thresholds generally will not.8Federal Bureau of Investigation. About NICS
Form 4473 requires you to certify your answers under penalty of law. Two questions matter for a DUI: whether you’re currently under indictment for a qualifying crime, and whether you’ve ever been convicted of one. The form defines qualifying crimes as felonies or any offense where a judge could have sentenced you to more than a year, even if you actually got probation or a shorter sentence.5Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Firearms Transaction Record – ATF Form 4473
Lying on the form is a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison. If you’re a prohibited person who knowingly receives a firearm, the penalty rises to up to 15 years.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 924 – Penalties The ATF has flagged Form 4473 fraud as a federal prosecution priority.10Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Federal Prosecutors Aggressively Pursuing Those Who Lie in Connection With Firearm Transactions
Private Sales Are Not a Workaround
Federal law does not require private, non-dealer sellers to run background checks in most states. Some people assume that means a prohibited person can legally buy through a private sale. That’s wrong. The federal ban on possession applies to the buyer regardless of how the firearm was acquired. If you’re prohibited under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) because of a felony DUI, buying from a private seller is just as illegal as buying from a licensed dealer. The only difference is that no background check catches the violation at the point of sale.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922(g) A number of states have enacted universal background check laws that require private sellers to go through a licensed dealer, but the underlying federal prohibition doesn’t change based on the sales channel.
State Rules and Existing Firearms
States can go further than federal law. Some impose temporary firearm-rights suspensions after a DUI, mandatory waiting periods for people with a criminal record, or extra scrutiny during state-level checks that run alongside NICS. Many states also deny or revoke concealed carry permits after a DUI, though the specifics vary widely — a single conviction triggers suspension in some states, while others act only after multiple offenses.
Extreme risk protection orders (sometimes called “red flag” laws) let family members or law enforcement petition a court to temporarily remove firearm access from someone who poses a serious risk. A pattern of DUI convictions can be cited as evidence in those proceedings, and an order in effect requires surrender of firearms.
If you already own guns when a felony DUI conviction lands, the federal possession ban means you can no longer legally keep them. That applies to firearms in your home, in your vehicle, or anywhere you control. Federal law makes no distinction between buying new and holding onto guns you’ve owned for years. A prohibited person in possession faces up to 15 years in federal prison.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 924 – Penalties
Restoring Gun Rights After a Felony DUI
If a felony DUI has already cost you your firearm rights, restoration is possible in some states but rarely simple. The route depends on whether you can clear the conviction itself or restore the civil rights that trigger a federal exception.
Expungement or Set-Aside
Federal law says a conviction that has been expunged, set aside, or pardoned is not counted as a conviction for firearm purposes, as long as the expungement or pardon doesn’t explicitly say you still can’t possess firearms.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions That makes expungement one of the most effective paths. State rules vary sharply, and not every state allows felony DUI convictions to be expunged.
Pardons
A governor’s pardon can restore civil rights including firearm ownership, depending on the terms of the pardon and state law. The process typically runs through a state parole board and involves demonstrating rehabilitation and maintaining a clean record. Pardons are uncommon and often take years, and felony DUI cases involving injury or death are rarely treated as routine.
Restoration of Civil Rights
Some states offer a separate mechanism to restore specific civil rights like voting, jury service, and holding public office. Under the federal framework, a person whose civil rights have been fully restored is no longer treated as a convicted felon for firearm purposes, unless the restoration expressly bars firearms.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions Some states also issue certificates of rehabilitation that can support a firearm rights petition, granted at a court’s discretion.
Why Federal Relief Isn’t Really an Option
Federal law includes a provision at 18 U.S.C. § 925(c) allowing the ATF to grant individual relief from firearms disabilities. In theory, a person with a felony DUI could apply directly.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922(g) In practice, Congress has defunded the ATF’s ability to process these applications every year since 1992 through appropriations riders. The program exists on paper but does not function. Restoration has to happen at the state level, and the state remedy must match the federal definition to actually lift the § 922(g) ban. A state certificate that falls short can leave you thinking you’re legal when you aren’t, which is why it’s worth running a proposed restoration past a firearms attorney before assuming your rights are back.