Federal Firearm Rights Restoration Under § 925(c)
The DOJ’s final rule is published. Here is what it actually says — and what to do before the application window opens.
Yes — as of August 17, 2026, the Department of Justice has finalized a process for restoring federal firearm rights under 18 U.S.C. § 925(c). The application is not open yet. It opens to the public roughly 75 days after the rule’s publication in the Federal Register — and only for the first 5,000 applicants. Restoration is not automatic: each applicant must show, with documents and references, that they are not likely to be a danger to public safety and that relief would not be contrary to the public interest. Federal relief does not remove state restrictions — your state’s law is a separate question. The smartest move right now is getting application-ready before the window opens.
Why This Door Was Closed for 34 Years
Section 925(c) has been part of federal law for decades. It allows a person prohibited from possessing firearms to apply to the Attorney General for relief. But beginning in 1992, Congress stopped funding ATF review of those applications. The law stayed on the books; the process went dormant. Courts held they could not force a decision on applications the agency was barred from processing.
On August 17, 2026, Attorney General Todd Blanche signed the final rule that rebuilds the process inside the Department of Justice, administered through the Office of the Pardon Attorney. The U.S. Pardon Attorney estimates 30 million Americans live with a federal firearm prohibition.
The Timeline — and Why Preparation Wins
Status as of August 18, 2026: the application is not yet open. The rollout is phased:
- About 30 days after publication: DOJ begins inviting selected candidates to apply.
- About 75 days: the online application opens to the public — for the first 5,000 applicants.
- About 120 days: 500 additional applicants, and the $30 application fee begins (payable via Pay.gov; fee waivers and reductions may be requested).
Five thousand public slots. Thirty million affected Americans. Those are the DOJ’s own numbers — and they are why the applicants who get through the first window will be the ones whose files were assembled before it opened. The records the application requires can take weeks to gather.
Who Can Apply
Anyone prohibited under any provision of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) is eligible to apply, including people prohibited because of: a felony conviction; fugitive status; unlawful drug use; certain mental-health commitments or adjudications; certain immigration statuses; a dishonorable discharge; renounced citizenship; a domestic-violence protective order; or a misdemeanor domestic-violence conviction.
Eligibility to apply is not likelihood of success. The rule pairs broad eligibility with a demanding standard of proof — and a published list of presumptive disqualifiers.
Presumptive Disqualifiers: The Five Categories
An application from anyone in these categories will be denied absent extraordinary circumstances:
- Current-status disqualifiers — currently incarcerated, awaiting sentencing, in a diversion program, a fugitive, unlawfully using controlled substances (marijuana-only use is expressly excluded), subject to certain restraining orders, or required to register as a sex offender for a firearm-prohibiting offense, among others.
- Permanent disqualifiers — ever convicted of a felony involving death, sexual assault, human trafficking, kidnapping, domestic violence, robbery, burglary, arson, carjacking, extortion, gang activity, terrorism, stalking, witness tampering, or brandishing or discharging a firearm, among others.
- 10-year disqualifiers — within the last 10 years, convicted of or served any part of a sentence for drug-trafficking felonies, threats of violence, explosives offenses, certain firearm offenses, animal abuse, or a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
- 5-year disqualifiers — within the last 5 years, convicted of or served any part of a sentence for any other felony, or misdemeanor assault, battery, stalking, or threatened violence.
- Reapplication bars — prior denials can block or delay a new application.
The disclosure rule: applicants must disclose all presumptive disqualifiers — including convictions that were expunged, pardoned, or set aside. A cleaned state record does not remove it from this federal application.
Read the full plain-English breakdown of the disqualifiers →
What You Must File
The DOJ requires true digital copies of official records. For most applicants that means:
- State criminal records covering the last 25 years (or since age 18) from every place you have lived
- The charging document, judgment of conviction, and proof you completed every part of your sentence — supervision, restitution, community service
- Electronic fingerprints
- Character references
- Veterans: DD-214 / 214-1 / 215; separate rules for court-martial convictions
- If you ever sought a state expungement or set-aside: a copy of that application and any decision
If a required document no longer exists, the rule allows a sworn statement describing its contents and your efforts to obtain it — done correctly, this keeps an application viable.
The Federal–State Gap Everyone Misses
The DOJ says it plainly: this process “does not automatically restore state or tribal firearm rights.” Federal relief removes the federal disability only. If your state’s law independently bars you, a federal grant does not change that — and state relief does not remove a federal bar.
Cleared by the state, still denied by the feds — or the reverse — are both real outcomes. Before you invest in either application, you need to know which restriction is actually blocking you.
Why state restrictions still apply→
Michigan residents: state restoration is available right now — no federal window required →
How We Help
We prepare and file § 925(c) applications, federal pardon petitions, and state restoration cases. The decision belongs to the Attorney General — no lawyer can promise an outcome, and you should be skeptical of any who does. What a lawyer controls is the file: complete records, disqualifier analysis done before the government does it, references that address the actual legal standard, and the state-law strategy federal relief won’t cover.
Find Out Where You Stand
Every case is different, and relief is never guaranteed. What we do is prepare and file the strongest application your record supports — and tell you honestly what your state’s law still requires, because federal relief alone may not finish the job.
Clear pricing before you commit. Payment plans available.
Program status as of August 18, 2026. Source: justice.gov/ffrr. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Not legal advice.