Michigan Firearm Rights Restoration After a Felony: What Changed in 2026

What Changed in Federal Firearm Rights Restoration in 2026?

Federal law has long contained a provision allowing a prohibited person to ask the Attorney General for relief from federal firearm disabilities. The problem was that, beginning in 1992, Congress prevented the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from using appropriated funds to process most individual applications. For decades, the statutory remedy existed but was effectively unavailable to most applicants.

That changed with the Department of Justice’s new Federal Firearm Rights Restoration Program. The Attorney General now has a formal regulatory framework for evaluating applications under § 925(c). The Department’s Federal Firearm Rights Restoration Program rule directs the Office of the Pardon Attorney to administer the process.

The final rule was published in the Federal Register on August 20, 2026, as 91 Fed. Reg. 54054. It becomes effective September 21, 2026.

When Can People Begin Applying for Federal Firearm Rights Restoration?

The effective date of the regulation and the opening of the public application system are not the same thing. DOJ is launching the program in stages.

• September 21, 2026: The final rule becomes legally effective.
• September 25, 2026: DOJ states that applications will open to invited candidates as part of the initial rollout.
• November 4, 2026: The application system is scheduled to open to the public for the first 5,000 applicants on a first-come, first-served basis.
• January 4, 2027: DOJ plans another public application stage involving 500 applicants, and the application fee is scheduled to begin during that stage.

Because DOJ is testing a program that has not functioned in this form for more than 30 years, application capacity and procedures may continue to evolve. Anyone considering an application should confirm the current instructions on the Department of Justice Federal Firearm Rights Restoration website before filing.

How Does a Michigan Felony Affect Firearm Rights?

Michigan has its own firearm-disability statute, MCL 750.224f. The statute distinguishes between felonies generally and what Michigan calls a “specified felony.”

For a felony that is not a specified felony, Michigan law generally prohibits firearm possession until three years have passed after all applicable fines have been paid, all imprisonment has been served, and all probation or parole conditions have been successfully completed.

A specified felony is treated more severely. The person generally must satisfy a five-year waiting period after completing the statutory requirements and must also obtain restoration through the circuit-court procedure in MCL 28.424.

What Is a “Specified Felony” Under Michigan Firearm Law?

Michigan’s definition includes several categories of offenses considered more serious for firearm-restoration purposes. The statute can encompass offenses involving the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force; offenses presenting a substantial risk of force; certain controlled-substance offenses; firearm or explosive offenses; and certain burglary and arson offenses.

The label attached to the conviction does not always tell the entire story. Before determining when Michigan firearm rights may return, the actual statute of conviction and its elements should be reviewed against the definition contained in MCL 750.224f.

How Are Firearm Rights Restored After a Specified Felony in Michigan?

A person prohibited because of a specified felony may petition the circuit court in the county where the person resides. Under MCL 28.424, the court must determine by clear and convincing evidence that the statutory conditions have been satisfied and that the person’s record and reputation indicate that the person is not likely to act in a manner dangerous to the safety of others.

The five-year period runs only after the person has paid the required fines, served the imposed term of imprisonment, and successfully completed probation or parole.

This is a legal proceeding, not simply an administrative request. Records concerning the conviction, sentence completion, later conduct, criminal history, and reputation can materially affect the outcome.

Why Michigan Restoration and Federal Restoration Are Different

This is the point most likely to cause serious legal problems. Michigan and federal firearm laws are separate bodies of law. A person should not assume that satisfying one automatically satisfies the other.

Federal law prohibits several categories of people from possessing firearms or ammunition. One of the best known is 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), which generally concerns convictions for crimes punishable by imprisonment for more than one year.

Federal law also contains rules determining whether a particular conviction continues to count for purposes of the federal prohibition. Those rules may take into account pardons, expungements, set-asides, and restorations of civil rights. The analysis can become complicated because the federal statute looks not simply at what Michigan calls the relief, but at its legal effect and any continuing firearm restrictions.

Does a Michigan Expungement Restore Federal Firearm Rights?

Sometimes the better question is not whether to file a firearm-restoration petition, but whether the underlying Michigan conviction can be set aside.

A Michigan expungement or set-aside can have significant consequences under state law. Federal law, however, applies its own definitions when deciding whether a conviction remains disqualifying. Under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20), a conviction that has been expunged, set aside, pardoned, or followed by restoration of civil rights may be treated differently for federal purposes, subject to statutory limitations including continuing firearm restrictions.

That means neither of two categorical statements is safe: that every Michigan expungement automatically restores federal firearm rights, or that a Michigan expungement can never affect federal firearm eligibility. The legal effect of the particular conviction and the particular relief must be examined.

Who Can Apply Under the New Federal Firearm Rights Restoration Rule?

The federal rule is broader than a program limited only to people with felony convictions. It states that a person who is currently federally prohibited from possessing, shipping, transporting, or receiving firearms or ammunition may apply for relief.

That can potentially include individuals prohibited because of certain felony convictions, misdemeanor domestic-violence convictions, qualifying mental-health adjudications or commitments, dishonorable military discharges, and other federal firearm disabilities.

Being permitted to submit an application does not mean the application is likely to be granted. The final rule creates substantial presumptions against relief for specified categories of conduct and status.

What Are the Federal Five-Year, Ten-Year, and Permanent Presumptions?

The 2026 rule does not simply divide applicants into “violent” and “nonviolent” felons. Its framework is more detailed.

Offenses requiring extraordinary circumstances regardless of age

Absent extraordinary circumstances, relief is presumptively unavailable for applicants whose convictions or underlying conduct include offenses such as homicide, rape or sexual abuse, human trafficking, kidnapping, intimate-partner or domestic violence, burglary, robbery, extortion, carjacking, arson, certain racketeering activity involving violence, gang-related offenses, assault or battery, stalking, terrorism, witness tampering, and several related offenses.

The same stringent standard may apply when a firearm was used or fired, or an explosive was used, in connection with a qualifying offense.

Ten-year presumptive period

Other offenses generally require ten years after completion of the final component of the sentence before the presumption against relief falls away. This group includes many controlled-substance trafficking offenses, threats of violence, certain explosives offenses, and specified firearm-related conduct.

Five-year presumptive period

For many other convictions punishable by more than one year, the rule generally establishes a five-year period after completion of the final sentence requirement. Before that period expires, the applicant ordinarily must establish extraordinary circumstances to overcome the presumption against relief.

These are federal standards. They do not replace Michigan’s separate three-year and five-year rules.

The Federal Government Can Look Beyond the Name of the Conviction

One of the most significant provisions in the new rule is DOJ’s authority to examine the conduct underlying an offense rather than relying solely on its statutory title.

That means an applicant cannot necessarily determine eligibility merely by finding the conviction name on, or absent from, one of the regulatory lists. DOJ may examine charging documents, plea materials, the factual basis, investigative information, dismissed charges related to a plea, and other records concerning what actually occurred.

This makes early case analysis important. Two people with convictions bearing the same statutory label may present materially different restoration cases because the underlying conduct is different.

What Does the Federal Application Require?

The application contemplated by the rule is document-intensive. Depending upon the basis for the federal prohibition, DOJ may require:

• the charging document or indictment;
• the judgment of conviction;
• proof showing when every component of the sentence was completed;
• the plea agreement and factual basis, when applicable;
• the presentence report, when applicable;
• records concerning prior expungement, pardon, civil-rights, or firearm-restoration proceedings;
• state criminal-history records covering specified residences and arrests;
• electronic fingerprints;
• authorizations allowing federal background investigation;
• military, foreign, mental-health, or domestic-violence records where applicable; and
• three qualifying character references.

Required records ordinarily must come from a reliable official source. If a required record cannot be obtained for reasons beyond the applicant’s control, the rule permits a sworn statement describing the missing record and the efforts made to obtain it.

Why the Three Federal Character References Matter

The references are not ordinary recommendation letters. DOJ requires three references who are not related to the applicant by blood or marriage, have known the applicant for at least three years, and are themselves not prohibited from firearm possession under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g).

DOJ may ask the references to affirm facts concerning the applicant’s recent criminal conduct, substance use, abuse of intoxicants, mental condition, threats or acts of violence, reputation in the community, and whether the applicant would pose a danger if firearm rights were restored.

Reference selection should therefore be treated as part of the legal preparation of the application rather than as an afterthought.

What Standard Does the Attorney General Apply?

The governing federal statute asks whether the applicant is likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety and whether granting relief would be contrary to the public interest.

The new rule permits DOJ to examine a broad range of information, including the applicant’s criminal history, seriousness of prior conduct, behavior while incarcerated or under supervision, time since sentence completion, conduct during that period, controlled-substance use, protection orders, threats, mental-health information, local law-enforcement information, and other individualized circumstances.

In practical terms, this is a present-risk assessment informed by the applicant’s history. Merely completing the minimum waiting period does not create an entitlement to federal restoration.

What Happens if Federal Firearm Rights Are Restored?

If the Attorney General grants relief, DOJ states that the FBI will update the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. An applicant may also receive a Restoration Personal Identification Number, or RPIN, that may be used in connection with future firearm purchases.

Federal law also requires publication of the name of a person receiving relief in the Federal Register.

The grant applies to the federal firearm disability addressed through the application. It does not nullify an independent Michigan restriction. A person must still be legally eligible under Michigan law.

What Happens if the Federal Application Is Denied?

A denial is not necessarily the end of the matter. Under § 925(c), an applicant who has actually been denied relief may seek judicial review in the United States district court for the district in which the applicant resides.

The new regulations also govern later applications. Depending on the reason for denial, a five-year waiting period or a more restrictive presumption may apply before another application can succeed.

DOJ may also issue an “indeterminate” result when it lacks sufficient information to grant or deny the application. That makes completeness and documentation particularly important.

Can Someone Possess a Firearm While a Restoration Application Is Pending?

No restoration application should be treated as temporary permission to possess a firearm. A person who remains prohibited under federal or Michigan law generally remains prohibited unless and until the applicable disability has actually been removed.

Possessing a firearm based on an incorrect assumption about restoration can itself create a new criminal case. Anyone uncertain about current eligibility should obtain a legal review before acquiring or possessing a firearm or ammunition.

How Should a Michigan Applicant Approach the New Federal Process?

For a Michigan resident, a thorough restoration analysis ordinarily begins with four separate questions.

1. What exactly is the conviction or other event creating the firearm prohibition?
2. Does Michigan law still prohibit firearm possession?
3. Does federal law independently prohibit possession?
4. Which form of relief, if any, is most effective: automatic Michigan restoration, a Michigan circuit-court petition, a set-aside, pardon, or the new federal § 925(c) application?

Those questions should be answered in that order. Applying for federal relief before understanding the underlying state and federal record can lead to unnecessary expense, delay, inconsistent filings, or disclosure of facts that have not been properly analyzed.

How Barone Defense Firm Approaches Firearm Rights Restoration

Barone Defense Firm handles firearm rights restoration matters involving the interaction of Michigan and federal law. That analysis may include determining whether Michigan rights have returned automatically, whether a circuit-court petition is required, whether a conviction may qualify for a set-aside, and whether the new federal § 925(c) program offers a realistic path to relief.

The new federal program makes historical records especially important. Before an application is filed, counsel can identify the legal basis for the prohibition, determine which presumptive federal category applies, obtain and review the relevant conviction materials, evaluate the underlying conduct, and develop evidence addressing the Attorney General’s public-safety and public-interest criteria.

If a person’s concern arises from a pending or new firearm-possession allegation rather than restoration of an old disability, the issues are different. Our Michigan firearm possession lawyers also defend criminal cases involving alleged unlawful firearm possession and other Michigan gun charges.