Whether a convicted felon can own a gun in Arizona depends on what the felony was. A single non-violent, non-dangerous felony can lead to automatic restoration of firearm rights once the sentence is finished. A “serious” offense means waiting ten years and then asking a judge. A “dangerous” offense means never — Arizona bars those individuals from ever possessing a firearm again, and from even filing a petition to try.
Federal law adds a second ban on top of the state one, and the two have to be cleared separately.
Why a Felony Makes You a Prohibited Possessor
Arizona law calls anyone convicted of a felony whose firearm rights have not been restored a “prohibited possessor,” and that status applies whether the conviction happened in Arizona or elsewhere.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-3101 – Definitions People currently on felony probation or parole are also prohibited possessors, as are people a court has found to be a danger to themselves or others.
Federal law runs in parallel. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison cannot possess a firearm or ammunition anywhere in the country.2Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Identify Prohibited Persons Clearing one ban does not clear the other.
First-Time, Non-Violent Felony: Automatic Restoration
For a single felony conviction that is not classified as dangerous or serious, Arizona restores firearm rights automatically. Under A.R.S. § 13-907, if you have no prior felony convictions, your civil rights — firearm rights included — restore by operation of law once you complete probation or are discharged from prison and have paid all victim restitution.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-907 – Automatic Restoration of Civil Rights for First Offenders; Firearm Rights No application, no hearing.
The catch is that automatic firearm restoration does not apply if the felony was dangerous or serious, even for a first offense. Voting and jury rights still restore automatically in those cases, but gun rights follow a stricter track.
Serious Offenses: A Ten-Year Wait and a Judge’s Discretion
If the conviction qualifies as a “serious offense,” you cannot even petition for firearm rights until ten years have passed from your absolute discharge from prison or probation.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-910 – Restoration of Right to Possess a Firearm When the decade is up, the petition goes to a judge, and the judge is not required to grant it.
Serious offenses under A.R.S. § 13-706 include:5Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-706 – Serious Offenses
- First-degree murder, second-degree murder, and manslaughter
- Aggravated assault causing serious physical injury or involving a deadly weapon
- Sexual assault, sexual conduct with a minor under fifteen, and child sex trafficking
- Armed robbery, kidnapping, first-degree burglary, arson of an occupied structure, and dangerous crimes against children
Out-of-state convictions that would qualify as serious offenses if committed in Arizona trigger the same ten-year wait.
Dangerous Offenses: A Permanent Ban
A conviction for a “dangerous offense” ends the question. A.R.S. § 13-910 bars those individuals from ever filing a petition for firearm restoration.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-910 – Restoration of Right to Possess a Firearm There is no waiting period and no judicial discretion to grant relief.
Under A.R.S. § 13-105, a dangerous offense is any crime that involved the discharge, use, or threatening display of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument, or the intentional or knowing infliction of serious physical injury.6Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-105 – Definitions What matters is how the crime was committed, not just what it was called. A robbery committed with a gun is a dangerous offense; the same robbery without a weapon is not. The facts of the case decide the label.
Some crimes land on both lists. Armed robbery is a serious offense by name, and it also becomes a dangerous offense when a weapon was used. Where both apply, the permanent ban controls.
The Federal Ban Is Separate
Getting firearm rights restored in Arizona does not automatically lift the federal ban under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing firearms or ammunition, and it covers ammunition explicitly in a way Arizona’s statute does not.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts
Federal law does recognize some state actions as lifting the federal disability. If a state expunges, pardons, or sets aside the conviction, or restores civil rights, and the state action does not expressly bar firearm possession, the conviction generally stops counting for federal purposes. The key word is firearms: the state restoration has to cover gun rights specifically, not only voting or jury service. A full Arizona restoration under § 13-907 or § 13-910 should lift the federal ban in most situations. A partial restoration that leaves the firearm restriction in place does not.
Anyone whose situation is ambiguous — a conviction in one state while living in another, or an Arizona restoration that only covered some rights — should talk to an attorney before buying or touching a firearm. The federal penalties are much steeper than Arizona’s.
Penalties for Possessing a Gun Anyway
Under Arizona law, a prohibited possessor caught with a firearm is charged with misconduct involving weapons under A.R.S. § 13-3102, a Class 4 felony.8Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes 13-3102 – Misconduct Involving Weapons; Defenses; Classification; Definitions For a first-time felony offender, a Class 4 felony carries a presumptive sentence of 2.5 years in prison, with a range from 1 year (mitigated) to 3.75 years (aggravated).9Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-702 – First Time Felony Offenders; Sentencing; Definition A conviction for this new felony also makes future restoration harder, because you would no longer qualify as a first-time offender under § 13-907.
Federal prosecutors can bring their own charge under § 922(g). A standard federal conviction carries up to ten years in prison. Someone with three or more prior violent felony or serious drug convictions faces a mandatory fifteen-year minimum with no parole under the Armed Career Criminal Act. The average federal sentence for a § 922(g) conviction in fiscal year 2024 was 71 months.10United States Sentencing Commission. Section 922(g) Firearms Federal and state charges are not mutually exclusive, and the same act of possession can be prosecuted in both systems.
Domestic Violence Is Its Own Separate Ban
A felony is not the only thing that strips gun rights. A misdemeanor domestic violence conviction triggers a separate federal ban under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), and it catches people by surprise because no felony is required. If the offense involved the use or attempted use of physical force against a spouse, former spouse, parent, guardian, cohabitant, or co-parent, federal law prohibits firearm and ammunition possession regardless of the sentence.11Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence Prohibitions
A pardon, expungement, or restoration of civil rights can lift this ban only if the relief does not expressly restrict firearm possession. Someone with both a felony conviction and a domestic violence misdemeanor is subject to two independent federal prohibitions, and clearing one leaves the other in place.