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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.
WASHINGTON · The state's own restoration route · on Oct 9, 2026
A route exists
- In short
- **Washington legislates directly on the federal regulation by name.** RCW 9.96.060(8)(b) provides that a vacated domestic-violence misdemeanor conviction "is not considered a conviction of such an offense for the purposes of 27 C.F.R. 478.11". The standard forms WS 900 (petition) and WS 901 (order) have been required since 1 January 2024 (RCW 9.41.041(5)); the courts' forms index showed both "Revised 06/2024" on 19 September 2026.
- Route
- Restoration of the right to possess a firearm (a superior-court petition)
- Who decides
- A superior court in a county that entered any prohibition (RCW 9.41.041(3)(a))
- Waiting period
- 5 years for a felony or listed misdemeanor; 3 years for another non-felony — counted backwards from the day you file
- Fee
- Not set by RCW 9.41.041 and not stated on the form. The $200 superior-court civil filing fee in RCW 36.18.020(2)(a) may or may not apply. Not confirmed.
- What it restores
- Yes. Vacating a conviction does not by itself restore state firearm rights. But a domestic-violence misdemeanor vacated under RCW 9.96.060 "is not considered a conviction of such an offense for the purposes of 27 C.F.R. 478.11" (RCW 9.96.060(8)(b)).
- Without this route, does the state firearm bar stay?
- Yes
- Official form
- https://www.courts.wa.gov/forms/
- Who cannot use it
- Some convictions cannot be restored this way (for example a felony with a maximum sentence of at least 20 years); read RCW 9.41.041(1) before you file.
- Other conditions
- Time is not the only test. You must also have no pending charges, have completed all sentencing conditions other than non-restitution fines and fees, have no prior felony conviction that counts in an offender score and no disqualifying out-of-state conviction, and be found by law enforcement, from available records, not subject to any other firearm prohibition and able to pass a background check (RCW 9.41.041(2)(b)).
- Effective
- —
- Next scheduled change
- None scheduled in the sources checked
- Statute / rule
- RCW 9.41.041; RCW 9.96.060 · Revised Code of Washington § 9.41.041
- 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