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State restoration routes
What your state's own remedy is, who decides it, how long it takes, what it costs, and what it does — and does not — do about the separate federal bar. One row for each jurisdiction that we have checked, with its statute and the day we checked it.
MICHIGAN · The state's own restoration route · on Oct 9, 2026
A route exists
- In short
- Michigan is the only state in the sample whose statute mirrors the federal "unless" clause. Two things are automatic and both are firearm-relevant: the three-year expiry and Clean Slate set-aside.
- Route
- Three: time alone for an ordinary felony; a circuit-court restoration for a specified felony; or a set-aside
- Who decides
- Nobody (automatic), the circuit court, or the court/automatic for a set-aside
- Waiting period
- Ordinary felony: 3 years. Specified felony: 5 years plus a court order (MCL 28.424). Domestic-violence misdemeanor: 8 years (§ 224f(5)).
- Fee
- $150.00, the general civil filing fee (MCL 600.2529(1)(a)). MCL 28.424(3) applies § 2529 without naming the subdivision, so the figure is our reading. The court "shall" waive it on an affidavit of indigency (§ 2529(5)). One petition per 12 months (MCL 28.424(3)).
- What it restores
- Yes. A set-aside, expunction or pardon takes the conviction outside MCL 750.224f: "This section does not apply to a conviction that has been expunged or set aside, or for which the person has been pardoned, unless the expunction, order, or pardon expressly provides that the person shall not possess a firearm or ammunition" (§ 224f(9)). It does not reach Michigan's other firearm rules, such as pistol purchase and concealed-pistol licences.
- Without this route, does the state firearm bar stay?
- For an ordinary felony, no: the bar ends after the 3-year period (see "Waiting period"). For a specified felony, yes, until a court restores your rights or the conviction is set aside.
- Effective
- —
- Next scheduled change
- None scheduled in the sources checked
- Statute / rule
- MCL 750.224f; MCL 28.424; MCL 780.621g · Michigan Compiled Laws — MCL 28.424 (official PDF)
- Checked
- Verified Sep 19, 2026
State law, with its statute and check date. We do not tell you whether your state's remedy cures your federal bar — that turns on your own facts and on federal case law, and it is the question to take to an attorney. Information only, not legal advice.
Sources
- 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(20) — official text — checked Oct 8, 2026
- 27 CFR 478.11 — definitions — checked Oct 8, 2026
- DOJ — 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(4) and mental health — checked Oct 8, 2026
- DOJ — Frequently asked questions — checked Oct 8, 2026