Misdemeanor domestic violence and firearm rights: the ten years, and what restarts it

A misdemeanor crime of domestic violence is its own prohibition under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9), and the restoration rule treats it specifically. It is also the tier where the wording matters most, so everything below is quoted.

Which misdemeanors bar gun ownership under federal law

Most misdemeanors do not. Two kinds of misdemeanor conviction do, by themselves:

• A misdemeanor crime of domestic violence (18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9)). The definition is a misdemeanor that "has, as an element, the use or attempted use of physical force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon", committed by a current or former spouse, parent or guardian of the victim, a person who shares a child with the victim, a person who lives or lived with the victim as a spouse, parent or guardian, a person similarly situated, or "a person who has a current or recent former dating relationship with the victim" (18 U.S.C. 921(a)(33)(A)).
• A state misdemeanor punishable by more than two years. The felony-type bar at 922(g)(1) reaches "a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year", and the definition leaves out "any State offense classified by the laws of the State as a misdemeanor and punishable by a term of imprisonment of two years or less" (18 U.S.C. 921(a)(20)(B)). The words are "punishable by". Ask a lawyer licensed in your state how this applies to your offence.

Other federal bars can apply without any conviction, for example a qualifying protective order (922(g)(8)). Your state may bar more. See your state's route →

Ten years, not five

28 CFR 107.50(b)(2) places a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence in the ten-year tier, alongside drug trafficking and explosives offences — not in the five-year tier with other misdemeanors.

The ten years runs from later than people think

From the conviction, or from the end of any part of the sentence, whichever is later. And the rule's definition of "sentence" reaches a long way: probation, parole, home confinement, community service, electronic monitoring, and "a period during the pendency of other unsatisfied penalties such as monetary obligations". An unpaid fine or restitution balance keeps the clock running.

Two things restart or extend it

1. A further qualifying event restarts the whole ten years. 28 CFR 107.50(b)(2)(iii): "If such conduct as described in paragraph (b)(2)(ii)(A) or (B) of this section occurs, the 10-year period begins anew."
2. An arrest counts, not only a conviction. Within the ten years the rule also reaches an arrest for a felony, for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, or for an offence involving acts or threats of violence, brandishing or discharging a firearm, or using an explosive. It does not count if you submit evidence of "a judicial determination that no misconduct occurred or of a dismissal on the merits of any resulting charges" (28 CFR 107.50(b)(2)(ii)(B)).

"Intimate partner or domestic violence" as a felony is on the permanent list

Note the difference. The permanent tier at 107.50(a)(1)(ii) covers a felony involving "intimate partner or domestic violence" with no time limit. The ten-year tier covers the misdemeanor. Which one applies depends on how the offence was graded.

A current restraining order is a separate, current-status bar

28 CFR 107.50(c) covers a person "under a court-issued restraining order for harassment, stalking, or threatening of an intimate partner or intimate partner's child". That is a status, so it ends when the order ends.

What the definition covers

The rule uses the definition in 27 CFR 478.11, and extends it to a general or special court-martial conviction that would meet that definition had it been entered by a state, local or tribal court.

Extra documents for this route

Beyond the usual charging document and judgment, the Department asks for the underlying investigative reports, a document showing the relationship of the victim to you, and "any police report of your involvement in domestic violence since the date of your original arrest". If a conviction has been rendered nugatory or civil rights restored, it asks for that document too.

The state question is separate, and narrower here

For a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence the federal "civil rights restored" route at 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(33)(B)(ii) only works if that jurisdiction takes civil rights away for that misdemeanor in the first place. Check your state's route for that. The other routes that the statute names are expungement, set-aside and a pardon.

A misdemeanor crime of domestic violence against a person in a dating relationship follows its own rule, 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(33)(C). It asks whether the person "has had firearm rights restored", not civil rights. And for a person with "not more than 1" such conviction who "is not otherwise prohibited", the federal bar ends when "5 years have elapsed from the later of the judgment of conviction or the completion of the person's custodial or supervisory sentence, if any", as long as there has been no later conviction of the kinds the statute lists.

Run the tier checker →

This is a private website, not a government site. The official site is justice.gov/ffrr. Information with sources and check dates — not legal advice, and never a decision about you.