Restoration of Gun rights Lawyers
FEDERAL 925(c) restoration:
Background: If you are convicted of a felony, a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, or various other prohibiting criteria, you are prohibited by 18 U.S.C. § 922 from possessing firearms federally. If your conviction was a state conviction, and the state that convicted you provides you a full restoration, expungement, or sets aside the conviction completely restoring your gun rights at the state level, for most folks, the federal government will automatically recognize your rights as restored. This process is governed by what the federal government considers to be a qualifying conviction for purposes of the definitions in 18 U.S.C. 921.
However, if you live in a state that does not provide a clear path towards restoration, or worse, you were convicted of a federal felony, then for many years you would have had no clear path to restoring your gun rights federally. The main option you could have considered would have been a timely and expensive as-applied legal challenge. Alternatively, if you had a federal felony, you could have applied for a presidential pardon. These were the only options for individuals, despite 18 U.S.C. § 925(c) providing a statutory path toward gun rights restoration at the federal level. This is because back in 1992 Congress started prohibiting the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) from using funds to permit prohibited persons under the Gun Control Act of 1968 (“GCA”) from seeking the restoration of their firearms rights. This prohibition has prevented millions of people from regaining their firearms rights.
At least this was the case until March of 2025, when President Trump’s Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued an Interim Final Rule that removed the ATF’s delegated authority to process applications for federal firearms rights restorations and returned that authority to the DOJ. That means the pathway under § 925(c) has been restored and prohibited persons that meet certain criteria can apply for and seek restoration of their federal firearms rights. To be clear, while the attorneys in our firm can provide you advice and support to restore your gun rights federally, they cannot provide you information on how federal restoration might affect your ability to possess a firearm in any given state in which we are not licensed in. More on this below...
The Process Now:
Although the DOJ has only issued a proposed rule regarding federal restoration, we have actively begun preparing applications using the criteria from the proposed rule. In an effort to ensure our clients are "in line" for this process, our firm has been accepting clients for these matters and has been helping people understand whether under the proposed rule they will be presumptively eligible, or presumptively ineligible for restoration. Even if you are presumptively ineligible under the proposed rule, you may still receive restoration if you can differentiate yourself from others who fall under the presumptive disqualifier. Because this is a federal administrative process, we are able to access and help individuals in all 50 states put together and apply for federal restoration with a compelling petition that addresses the emotional and legal reasons that an individual's gun rights should be restored. We must caution you, however, that even if you receive a federal restoration, you must still ensure that your state does not have any additional barriers to your possession of a firearm - and depending on your jurisdiction, this may be something we are unable to assist you with.
For example, along with the process under § 925(c), Pennsylvania residents will likely also need to comply with the requirements under the Pennsylvania Uniform Firearms Act (“UFA”), specifically the restoration of rights outlined in 18 Pa. C.S. § 6105(d). Meaning that a Pennsylvania resident will first need to apply for firearms restoration under the federal law, the pathway under 18 U.S.C. 925 (c), and then subsequently petition their local court of common pleas under 18 Pa. C.S. § 6105(d) to comply with both federal and state law to restore their firearms rights. Likewise, in Virginia, we are awaiting guidelines to determine whether Virginia state police will recognize a federal gun rights restoration for purposes of interpreting Virginia's state ban on firearms possession by previously convicted felons. Notably, however, our firm has successfully litigated this issue previously and helped an individual with a pre-1992 federal restoration receive gun rights under Virginia laws.
If you made it this far, you probably are getting the picture that this is a very complicated process. If you have any questions related to firearms rights, or you are interested in applying for a gun rights restoration, please contact one of our experienced firearms attorneys at Ambler Law Offices (540) 550-4236 for a short phone consultation. Due to high demand, we currently charge $50 for a consultation on the subject, and should you retain our firm to assist you, we will credit that payment toward our fees on your case.