Guides
Federal firearm rights restoration: the stages, the cap, and what the application asks for
As of 8 October 2026: the rule is effective 21 September 2026, invited candidates apply from 25 September, the public from 4 November capped at the first 5,000, and 500 more from 4 January 2027 when the $30 fee begins.
Updated Oct 9, 2026
After a decision: what a grant does, and what a refusal costs you
As of 8 October 2026: there are four outcomes — Grant, Deny, Indeterminate and No Action. A grant updates NICS and may come with an RPIN. A refusal for 'other reasons' adds a five-year presumptive disqualifier.
Updated Oct 9, 2026
What a person barred from guns may and may not do under federal law
As of 8 October 2026: the federal bar at 18 U.S.C. 922(g) covers any firearm or ammunition, with no stated exception for a range, a rental or a borrowed gun. A muzzleloader that meets the federal 'antique firearm' definition is not a 'firearm'. Your state may be stricter.
Updated Oct 9, 2026
Does a pardon restore gun rights? Federal pardons, state pardons, and the gap between them
As of 19 September 2026: a full presidential pardon removes the disability from a federal conviction. A state pardon cannot reach a federal conviction; for a state conviction it can lift the federal bar unless it expressly reserves firearm rights, but it may not restore state firearm rights.
Updated Oct 9, 2026
Does an expungement restore gun rights? The federal test, and why the answer is not the same in every state
As of 19 September 2026: 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(20) sets a three-part test, and ATF's own regulation adds a condition the statute does not state. A state remedy never reaches a federal conviction.
Updated Oct 9, 2026
Misdemeanor domestic violence and firearm rights: the ten years, and what restarts it
As of 8 October 2026: a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence carries a ten-year presumptive disqualifier, an arrest inside the window counts, and a further qualifying event starts the ten years again.
Updated Oct 9, 2026
Do I need a lawyer to apply under 925(c)?
As of 8 October 2026: the Department's programme pages do not require an attorney and do not mention one. Here is where people actually get advice, and where this site stops and hands over.
Updated Oct 9, 2026
How to get your gun rights back: the two questions you have to answer separately
As of 19 September 2026: there is a federal route and a state route, they are separate, and neither one fixes the other. Here is how to tell which you need.
Updated Oct 9, 2026
What 18 U.S.C. 925(c) is, and what changed in 2026
As of 8 October 2026: 925(c) lets the Attorney General lift a federal firearm prohibition. Congress stopped funding it for individuals in 1992. A final rule published 20 August 2026 rebuilt the process at the Office of the Pardon Attorney, effective 21 September 2026.
Updated Oct 9, 2026
What the 925(c) application costs, and how the fee waiver works
As of 19 September 2026: the fee is $30 and does not begin until 4 January 2027. Fingerprints and certified records cost extra and vary by jurisdiction. A waiver can be requested for indigency.
Updated Oct 9, 2026
Can a felon get gun rights back in 2026?
As of 8 October 2026: yes, a federal route is open again after what the Department calls over 30 years without a functioning programme. It is capped, staged, and it does not restore state rights.
Updated Oct 9, 2026
Who is barred under 18 U.S.C. 922(g), and the five presumptive-disqualifier lists in the Department's own words
As of 8 October 2026: the five presumptive-disqualifier tiers at 28 CFR 107.50 and 107.70, quoted, with the qualifier the rule attaches to every one of them — 'absent extraordinary circumstances'.
Updated Oct 9, 2026
What FFRR means
As of 8 October 2026: FFRR is the Department of Justice's own name for Federal Firearm Rights Restoration, the 18 U.S.C. 925(c) process it restarted in 2026.
Updated Oct 9, 2026
Firearm rights after a mental-health commitment: the 922(g)(4) route, and the trap in it
As of 8 October 2026: 28 CFR 107.60 presumptively denies an application both where you have not used your state's relief programme AND where you used it and were refused. Seven jurisdictions have no programme at all.
Updated Oct 9, 2026