Armed criminal action penalties in Missouri start at a three-year mandatory minimum and run up to fifteen years for a first offense, and that sentence is served on top of whatever the underlying felony carries. The charge under RSMo 571.015 is its own felony count, not a sentencing enhancement, so a conviction produces a separate sentence that stacks. Parole, probation, and conditional release are all off the table during the early years of that sentence, and the numbers climb steeply for repeat convictions.
What Triggers the Charge
Prosecutors have to prove two things: that you committed a felony under Missouri law, and that you used a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument to do it. The weapon must play an actual role in how the crime was carried out. A gun sitting in a glove compartment during a drug deal, for example, does not automatically trigger the charge unless the prosecution can tie it to the commission of the offense.
Because this is a standalone charge, a jury has to separately decide the weapon element beyond a reasonable doubt. The underlying felony conviction alone does not carry armed criminal action with it.
First-Offense Sentence Range
Armed criminal action is an unclassified felony. A first conviction carries three to fifteen years in the Missouri Department of Corrections.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 571.015 – Armed Criminal Action, Offense of – Penalty The judge picks within that range, but cannot go below three years for any reason.
If you were unlawfully possessing the firearm at the time of the offense, the floor rises from three years to five. The ceiling stays at fifteen.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 571.015 – Armed Criminal Action, Offense of – Penalty This provision typically catches people already barred from possessing firearms under state or federal law, such as prior felons.
Second and Third Offenses
The escalation ladder applies specifically to prior armed criminal action convictions, not to prior felonies generally.
- Second offense: five to thirty years. If the firearm was unlawfully possessed, the minimum rises to fifteen years.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 571.015 – Armed Criminal Action, Offense of – Penalty
- Third or subsequent offense: ten years minimum with no statutory maximum. If the firearm was unlawfully possessed, the minimum is fifteen years.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 571.015 – Armed Criminal Action, Offense of – Penalty
No stated maximum on a third-offense sentence gives the judge wide latitude. Combined with the stacking rule below, a third conviction on top of a serious violent felony can mean decades.
The Sentence Stacks on Top of the Underlying Felony
The statute requires the armed criminal action sentence to run consecutively to the sentence for the underlying felony. One finishes before the other starts. Eight years for robbery plus five years for armed criminal action equals thirteen years in custody, not eight.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 571.015 – Armed Criminal Action, Offense of – Penalty
Judges cannot order concurrent service. The rule is mandatory at every offense level. This is where the practical weight of the charge lands: a felony that might otherwise carry a manageable term often doubles once the weapon count is added.
No Probation, Parole, or Early Release During the Restricted Period
Beyond the length of the sentence, the statute locks out every form of early release during a set window. The restriction scales with the offense level:
- First offense: no probation, parole, or conditional release for three calendar years.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 571.015 – Armed Criminal Action, Offense of – Penalty
- Second offense: no probation, parole, or conditional release for five calendar years.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 571.015 – Armed Criminal Action, Offense of – Penalty
- Third or subsequent offense: no probation, parole, or conditional release for ten calendar years.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 571.015 – Armed Criminal Action, Offense of – Penalty
Suspended imposition of sentence is also unavailable. In many felony cases a judge can withhold entering a conviction and place the defendant on probation; armed criminal action removes that option. Every conviction produces actual prison time with no workaround. For a third offense, the ten-year lockout alone means a decade before any release mechanism even becomes available.
Which Weapons Qualify
Missouri law splits qualifying weapons into two categories. A “deadly weapon” includes any firearm, loaded or unloaded, along with switchblade knives, daggers, blackjacks, and metal knuckles.2Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 556.061 – Code Definitions A firearm counts regardless of whether it was loaded during the offense.
A “dangerous instrument” is broader and depends on use. It covers any object that, in the way it was actually used during the crime, is capable of causing death or serious physical injury.2Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 556.061 – Code Definitions A baseball bat in a closet is not a dangerous instrument; the same bat swung at someone during a robbery is. That gives prosecutors room to bring the charge even when no traditional weapon is in play.
Can You Be Punished for Both the Felony and Armed Criminal Action?
Yes. The U.S. Supreme Court settled the question in Missouri v. Hunter (1983), holding that the Double Jeopardy Clause does not prevent a legislature from authorizing cumulative punishments under two statutes for the same conduct, so long as the legislative intent is clear.3Justia. Missouri v. Hunter, 459 U.S. 359 (1983) Missouri’s statute expressly makes the armed criminal action sentence “in addition to and consecutive to” the underlying punishment, and RSMo 571.017 reinforces the point. The dual conviction stands.
Firearm Rights After Conviction
A conviction under this statute is a felony with the long-term consequences felonies carry. You lose the right to possess firearms under both Missouri law and federal law. 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) prohibits anyone convicted of a felony from possessing firearms or ammunition, and the ban is permanent unless specific relief is obtained.
Two paths can potentially restore gun rights in Missouri. A governor’s pardon restores rights under both state and federal law. Missouri’s expungement statute, RSMo 610.140, allows certain felony convictions to be sealed after a three-year waiting period, which also restores rights lost as a collateral consequence. Serious violent felonies and many assault-related offenses are not eligible, so people convicted of armed criminal action often find the underlying charge locks expungement off the table even where the weapon count itself might qualify.
At the federal level, the Department of Justice is building out a formal process under 18 U.S.C. § 925(c) for restoring federal firearm rights.4Department of Justice. Federal Firearm Rights Restoration As of early 2025, the application process was not yet fully available.