Restoring your Second Amendment rights after a felony conviction is possible, and how to restore 2nd Amendment rights as a felon depends on three things: whether the conviction was in state or federal court, whether the offense was violent, and what relief your state or the federal government currently offers. The main routes are a state expungement, pardon, or judicial petition for state convictions; a presidential pardon or the recently revived federal relief program under 18 U.S.C. § 925(c) for federal convictions; and, in some parts of the country, a constitutional challenge to the ban itself. Each route has its own eligibility rules, waiting periods, and traps, and none of them is automatic.
Why the Ban Exists in the First Place
The Gun Control Act of 1968 makes it a federal crime for anyone convicted of an offense punishable by more than one year in prison to ship, transport, receive, or possess a firearm or ammunition.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts What triggers the ban is the maximum possible sentence for the offense, not the sentence you actually received. A felony carrying a two-year maximum disqualifies you even if the judge gave you probation.
The ban also reaches anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence involving physical force or the threatened use of a deadly weapon against a spouse, former spouse, coparent, or similar partner.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts The penalty for violating the ban runs up to 15 years in federal prison, raised from 10 years by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties Getting this wrong is not a small mistake.
State-Level Restoration for State Convictions
If your conviction was in state court, restoration generally runs through the state that issued it. Options vary widely, and not every state offers every one.
Expungement or Record Sealing
If a court erases the conviction, the underlying basis for the federal ban may disappear along with it. Effectiveness depends on the wording of the state statute and the order. An expungement that fully wipes the conviction without preserving any firearm restriction can lift both the state and federal bans. An order that reserves any firearm restriction leaves the federal ban intact.
Governor’s Pardon
A pardon from the state’s governor or pardoning authority relieves the legal consequences of a conviction. In some states, a pardon automatically restores all civil rights including firearm rights. In others, the pardon must say so expressly. A pardon that is silent on firearms may not be enough to clear you.
Judicial or Administrative Petition
Some states let you petition a court directly for restoration of firearm rights, separately from expungement. These petitions typically require evidence of rehabilitation, a clean record since the conviction, and a showing that you would not pose a danger to public safety.
Automatic Restoration After a Waiting Period
A smaller group of states restores firearm rights automatically for certain nonviolent felonies once the sentence, including probation and parole, is fully complete and a waiting period has passed. Those waiting periods range from five to fifteen years.
Making Sure Your State Restoration Actually Clears the Federal Ban
This is the step that catches people. Getting your rights back under state law does not automatically clear you under federal law, because federal law applies its own test.
Under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20), a conviction that has been expunged, pardoned, or followed by a restoration of civil rights is not treated as a disqualifying conviction, but only if the restoration does not expressly bar the person from possessing firearms.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions The ATF regulation implementing this section reaches the same conclusion: a pardon, expungement, or civil rights restoration removes the federal firearm disability unless the order either expressly prohibits firearm possession or fails to fully restore firearm rights under the law of the state where the conviction occurred.4ATF eRegulations. 27 CFR 478.142 – Effect of Pardons and Expunctions of Convictions
Read the language of any restoration order carefully before relying on it. If it contains a carve-out limiting firearm possession, the federal ban stays. The same rule applies to relief from a qualifying domestic violence misdemeanor.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions
Federal Convictions: Presidential Pardon
A state governor cannot restore rights lost through a federal conviction. The traditional route is a presidential pardon, an act of executive clemency that can restore all civil rights, including firearm rights, when granted without conditions. The Department of Justice’s Office of the Pardon Attorney processes applications and makes recommendations, but the final decision belongs to the President.5Department of Justice. Pardon Information and Instructions
You must wait at least five years after release from confinement before applying. If no prison time was imposed, the five years run from the date of conviction. Waivers of the waiting period are granted only in exceptional cases.5Department of Justice. Pardon Information and Instructions Presidential pardons are rare, and the process can take years without a response. But for someone with a federal conviction and no other options, it may be the only established path.
Federal Convictions: The Revived 925(c) Relief Program
A separate federal statute, 18 U.S.C. § 925(c), allows anyone subject to the firearm ban to apply to the Attorney General for relief. The standard is that the applicant’s record and circumstances show they are unlikely to endanger public safety and that granting relief would not be contrary to the public interest. If the application is denied, the applicant can seek judicial review in federal district court.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 925 – Exceptions: Relief From Disabilities
For more than three decades this program was effectively dead. Starting in 1992, Congress attached a rider to every annual appropriations bill barring ATF from spending money to investigate or act on these applications.7Federal Register. Withdrawing the Attorney General’s Delegation of Authority Applications sat with no one to review them.
That changed in 2025. The Department of Justice withdrew ATF’s delegated authority over the program and moved it to the Office of the Pardon Attorney.7Federal Register. Withdrawing the Attorney General’s Delegation of Authority Because the appropriations rider names ATF specifically, shifting the program to a different office sidesteps the funding prohibition. By early 2026, the Office of the Pardon Attorney had begun granting relief to individual applicants and publishing those decisions in the Federal Register.8Federal Register. Granting of Relief; Federal Firearms Privileges A formal online application is under development but not yet available.9U.S. Department of Justice. Federal Firearm Rights Restoration Under 18 U.S. Code 925(c) For the first time in over 30 years, this pathway is functional.
Constitutional Challenges After Bruen
The Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen requires firearm regulations to be consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearms regulation. That standard has opened the door to “as-applied” challenges to the felon-in-possession ban, in which an individual argues the ban is unconstitutional as applied to their specific circumstances.
The most significant result so far came from the Third Circuit in Range v. Attorney General. Bryan Range had been convicted of a nonviolent offense (making a false statement on a food stamp application) and challenged his lifetime firearm ban. The full court ruled in his favor, holding that the government failed to show a historical tradition of disarming people with similar nonviolent backgrounds. The DOJ chose not to seek Supreme Court review, making the ruling final law in the Third Circuit, which covers Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.
This is not a reliable win everywhere. Courts around the country are reaching different conclusions on when the felon ban survives constitutional scrutiny, and the Supreme Court has not directly resolved the question. For someone with an old, nonviolent conviction, an as-applied challenge is worth discussing with an attorney familiar with Second Amendment litigation in your circuit.
Where the Household You Live In Comes In
You do not have to be holding a firearm to violate the federal ban. Constructive possession applies when you know where a gun is and have the ability to access or control it. For a felon living with a spouse, family member, or roommate who legally owns firearms, that creates real exposure. Locking guns in a safe is not enough if you know the combination or where the key is. Until your rights are restored, firearms in a shared home should be stored somewhere you cannot access, or removed from the home entirely.
A Note on Antique and Black Powder Weapons
Federal law defines “firearm” to exclude antique firearms, meaning weapons manufactured in or before 1898, certain non-modern-ammunition replicas, and muzzle-loading rifles, shotguns, and pistols designed to use black powder and incapable of firing fixed ammunition.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions The federal felon-in-possession ban technically does not reach these items. State law often does. Many states define “firearm” more broadly and include muzzleloaders and black powder weapons in their felon-in-possession statutes, making possession a separate state crime regardless of federal law. Check your state’s statute before relying on the federal exemption.
Steps to Begin the Restoration Process
- Pin down your conviction details. Determine whether the conviction was state or federal, the specific offense, the maximum sentence it carried, and the date you finished every component of the sentence, including probation, parole, and supervised release.
- Get certified records. Obtain certified copies of the judgment of conviction and proof of sentence completion from the court. If you were incarcerated, a certificate of discharge from the facility helps.
- Research your state’s options. For state convictions, find out whether your state offers expungement, judicial petition, pardon, or automatic restoration for your offense type. Requirements, waiting periods, and eligibility criteria vary widely.
- Confirm the federal interaction. Before paying for a state process, confirm the resulting order will meet the federal standard under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20). An order that restores state rights but expressly restricts firearms will not help under federal law.
- Consider a federal petition. For a federal conviction, monitor the DOJ’s Office of the Pardon Attorney for updates on the 925(c) application. A presidential pardon application can be submitted now once the five-year waiting period has passed.
- Consult an attorney. Fees for restoration cases generally run from $1,000 to $5,000, with complex multi-jurisdiction cases costing more. Court filing fees for expungement petitions are usually modest.
If You Get Denied at Purchase After Restoration
Even after your rights are legally restored, the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System may still deny you because the databases it uses have not caught up to your restoration order. You can challenge a denial electronically at edo.cjis.gov, upload documentation such as your restoration order, and the FBI must respond within 60 calendar days.10Federal Bureau of Investigation. Challenges / Appeals If the FBI sustains the denial and the underlying record is wrong, you can contact the agency maintaining that record or file a civil action under 18 U.S.C. § 925A. To avoid repeated false denials, you can apply through the same system for a Voluntary Appeal File entry, which stores your identifying information so future checks resolve without delay.
The landscape for firearm rights restoration has moved more in the past few years than in the previous three decades, between the revived federal 925(c) program, evolving constitutional challenges under Bruen, and continuing state-level reforms. Options exist today that did not five years ago. The penalty for guessing wrong is still a new federal felony carrying up to 15 years, so confirm your legal status in writing before touching a firearm.