In Michigan, a convicted felon can legally possess a firearm again three years after completing every part of the sentence for a general felony, or five years plus a successful court petition for a “specified felony.” Both timelines only restore state-level rights. Federal law imposes its own ban that remains in place until the conviction is expunged, set aside, or pardoned.
The Three-Year Rule for General Felonies
If your conviction is not a “specified felony,” Michigan restores your firearm rights automatically three years after you finish every piece of the sentence. That means every day of imprisonment served, probation or parole successfully completed, and all fines, court costs, and restitution paid in full.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 750.224f – Possession of Firearm or Distribution of Ammunition by Felon The clock starts the day all three conditions are satisfied, not when any single one is done.
No petition is needed. No court hearing. Once three years pass with every sentencing condition met, Michigan considers your state-level firearm rights restored. The same three-year period applies to ammunition.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 750.224f – Possession of Firearm or Distribution of Ammunition by Felon
The catch: this only clears the state prohibition. Federal law is a separate problem, covered further down.
Five Years and a Court Petition for Specified Felonies
Specified felonies carry a longer wait and a harder process. You must wait five years after completing every sentencing condition, and then petition the circuit court in your county of residence to have your rights restored.2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 750.224f
A felony is “specified” if any of the following is true:
- The crime involved the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against a person or property, or by its nature carried a substantial risk that physical force would be used.
- The crime involved the unlawful manufacture, possession, distribution, or dispensing of a controlled substance.
- The crime involved the unlawful possession or distribution of a firearm.
- The crime involved the unlawful use of an explosive.
- The crime was burglary of an occupied dwelling, breaking and entering an occupied dwelling, or arson.
That list captures a large share of felony convictions. Drug offenses in particular pull many people into the five-year-plus-petition track when they might assume they qualify for the simpler three-year path.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 750.224f – Possession of Firearm or Distribution of Ammunition by Felon
What the Petition Requires
You file the petition in the circuit court where you live, pay a filing fee, and can only file once every 12 months. A denial means waiting another full year before trying again.3Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 28.424
The judge can grant the petition only if you prove, by clear and convincing evidence, both of the following:
- Five years have passed since you paid all fines, served all imprisonment, and completed all probation or parole.
- Your record and reputation show you are not likely to act in a manner dangerous to the safety of other persons.
Clear and convincing evidence is a demanding standard, higher than the ordinary civil burden and lower than the criminal one. A bare petition with no supporting materials tends to fail. Judges look for concrete proof of rehabilitation: completed treatment programs, steady employment, community involvement, and character references from people who can speak to your conduct since the conviction.3Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 28.424
The Federal Ban Doesn’t Follow the State Timeline
This is the part that catches most people off guard. Federal law bans firearm possession for anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison, which sweeps in essentially every felony.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts That prohibition runs independently of Michigan’s timelines. Reaching your three-year mark, or winning a court petition after five years, does nothing to lift it.
Federal law recognizes one clear off-ramp: a conviction that has been expunged, set aside, or pardoned under state law no longer counts as a “conviction” for federal firearms purposes, unless the expungement order itself says the person cannot possess firearms.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions
The practical result is unforgiving. A general-felony conviction whose state rights automatically restored at year three still leaves you federally prohibited. A specified-felony conviction whose rights were restored by a judge after year five still leaves you federally prohibited. In both cases the only way to clear federal law is to get the conviction set aside.
A federal firearms charge carries up to ten years in prison. Possessing a gun in reliance on state restoration alone puts you squarely inside that exposure.
Expungement Clears Both Bars
Getting a conviction set aside is a separate legal process from the firearm restoration petition, and for most people it is the only strategy that actually resolves the question on both levels. Michigan law treats a set-aside conviction as no longer triggering the felon-in-possession prohibition,1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 750.224f – Possession of Firearm or Distribution of Ammunition by Felon and federal law drops the ban for the same reason.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions
You file the application with the court that handled your original case. There is a mandatory waiting period of at least five years after sentencing or after completing imprisonment, whichever is later. You also submit fingerprints and a $50 processing fee to the Michigan State Police, which runs your record through state and federal databases before the court can rule.6Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 780.621 – Application for Order Setting Aside Conviction
The judge sets the conviction aside only if your conduct since the conviction warrants it and the result is consistent with public welfare. Not every felony is eligible. Convictions carrying a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, certain sex offenses, and attempts to commit any of those offenses cannot be set aside.6Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 780.621 – Application for Order Setting Aside Conviction
Michigan’s Clean Slate law also allows some felonies to be set aside automatically ten years after sentencing or release, with significant exclusions and a lifetime cap of two felonies.7Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 780.621g Because the automatic track excludes assaultive crimes, offenses punishable by ten or more years, and several other categories, it often will not reach the people whose convictions triggered the specified-felony rules in the first place.
The Timelines at a Glance
- General felony, state rights: three years after all sentencing conditions are complete. Automatic.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 750.224f – Possession of Firearm or Distribution of Ammunition by Felon
- Specified felony, state rights: five years after all sentencing conditions are complete, plus a successful circuit court petition.3Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 28.424
- Any felony, federal rights: no fixed timeline. The ban lifts only when the conviction is expunged, set aside, or pardoned.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions
Before buying or possessing a firearm, confirm which category your conviction falls into and whether the federal prohibition still applies to you. State restoration and federal restoration are two different questions, and only expungement answers both.