Who Can't Own a Gun? Federal Rules

Federal law, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), bars several groups of people from shipping, transporting, possessing, or receiving guns or ammunition. They include people convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year, people convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence, people under certain domestic violence restraining orders, unlawful drug users and addicts, people adjudicated mentally defective or committed to a mental institution, fugitives, people in the country unlawfully, people dishonorably discharged from the military, and people who renounced U.S. citizenship. People under felony indictment may not ship, transport, or receive guns (§ 922(n)). States can add their own bans on top of these; see the felon-in-possession rules by state.

What the law says

• It is unlawful for a person in any of the § 922(g) groups to ship or transport a firearm or ammunition in interstate or foreign commerce, to possess one in or affecting commerce, or to receive one that has been shipped or transported in such commerce. 18 U.S.C. § 922 (uscode.house.gov, current through Pub. L. 119-134)
• Felony conviction: anyone convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year is barred (§ 922(g)(1)). Under § 921(a)(20), this does not include business-regulation offenses such as antitrust or unfair trade practices, or a state offense classified as a misdemeanor and punishable by two years or less. 18 U.S.C. § 921 (uscode.house.gov, current through Pub. L. 119-134)
• Whether someone has a conviction is decided under the law of the place where the case was heard, and a conviction that was expunged, set aside, or pardoned, or for which civil rights were restored, does not count, unless the pardon, expungement, or restoration "expressly provides" that the person may not have firearms (§ 921(a)(20)). 18 U.S.C. § 921 (uscode.house.gov, current through Pub. L. 119-134)
• Misdemeanor domestic violence: anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence is barred (§ 922(g)(9)). The offense must involve the use or attempted use of physical force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon, by someone such as a current or former spouse, parent, or guardian, a person who shares a child with the victim, a cohabitant, or a person in a current or recent former dating relationship with the victim (§ 921(a)(33)). 18 U.S.C. § 921 (uscode.house.gov, current through Pub. L. 119-134)
• For a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction to count, the person must have had a lawyer or knowingly waived one, and, if entitled to a jury trial, must have had one or knowingly waived it. For a single dating-relationship conviction, the bar ends five years after the later of the judgment or the end of the sentence if there is no later qualifying conviction; this does not apply to spouses, parents, guardians, people who share a child with the victim, or cohabitants (§ 921(a)(33)). 18 U.S.C. § 921 (uscode.house.gov, current through Pub. L. 119-134)
• Restraining orders: a person subject to a court order that restrains them from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or the partner's child is barred if the order was issued after a hearing the person had notice of and a chance to take part in, and the order either finds the person a credible threat to the partner's or child's physical safety or explicitly prohibits the use or threatened use of physical force expected to cause bodily injury (§ 922(g)(8)). An "intimate partner" includes a spouse or former spouse, a parent of the person's child, and someone who lives or has lived with the person (§ 921(a)(32)). 18 U.S.C. § 922 (uscode.house.gov, current through Pub. L. 119-134)
• Drug users: anyone who is an unlawful user of, or addicted to, any controlled substance is barred (§ 922(g)(3)). 18 U.S.C. § 922 (uscode.house.gov, current through Pub. L. 119-134)
• Mental health: anyone who has been adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental institution is barred (§ 922(g)(4)). 18 U.S.C. § 922 (uscode.house.gov, current through Pub. L. 119-134)
• Fugitives: anyone who is a fugitive from justice is barred (§ 922(g)(2)). The statute defines this as a person who "has fled from any State to avoid prosecution for a crime" or to avoid giving testimony in a criminal proceeding (§ 921(a)(15)). 18 U.S.C. § 921 (uscode.house.gov, current through Pub. L. 119-134)
• Immigration status: anyone illegally or unlawfully in the United States is barred, and so is a person admitted on a nonimmigrant visa (§ 922(g)(5)), except groups listed in § 922(y)(2), such as people admitted for lawful hunting or sporting purposes or holding a valid U.S. hunting license, accredited foreign government representatives, certain designated foreign officials and visitors, and foreign law enforcement officers on official business. 18 U.S.C. § 922 (uscode.house.gov, current through Pub. L. 119-134)
• Military discharge and citizenship: anyone discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions is barred (§ 922(g)(6)), as is anyone who, having been a U.S. citizen, has renounced that citizenship (§ 922(g)(7)). 18 U.S.C. § 922 (uscode.house.gov, current through Pub. L. 119-134)
• Felony indictment: a person under indictment for a crime punishable by more than one year may not ship or transport a firearm or ammunition in interstate or foreign commerce, or receive one that has been shipped or transported in such commerce (§ 922(n)). Unlike § 922(g), this subsection does not list possession. 18 U.S.C. § 922 (uscode.house.gov, current through Pub. L. 119-134)
• Selling or giving a gun to a barred person is also illegal: § 922(d) makes it unlawful to sell or otherwise dispose of a firearm or ammunition to someone you know, or have "reasonable cause to believe," falls into one of the barred groups, including people under felony indictment. 18 U.S.C. § 922 (uscode.house.gov, current through Pub. L. 119-134)
• Knowingly violating § 922(g) is punishable by a fine, up to 15 years in prison, or both (§ 924(a)(8)). 18 U.S.C. § 924 (uscode.house.gov, current through Pub. L. 119-134)
• Restoring rights: under § 925(c), a barred person may apply to the Attorney General for relief, which may be granted if the circumstances and the person's record and reputation show the person "will not be likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety" and relief would not be contrary to the public interest. A denied applicant may petition the federal district court where they live, and each grant must be published in the Federal Register with the reasons. 18 U.S.C. § 925 (uscode.house.gov, current through Pub. L. 119-134)

Related

• Gun Laws by state

Last verified against official sources: October 31, 2026.

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General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.