Under Arkansas gun laws for felons, anyone convicted of a felony is barred from owning or possessing a firearm by state statute, and a separate federal law imposes the same ban in parallel. A state violation can carry five to twenty years in prison depending on your record. Rights can be restored, but the process runs through the Governor’s office, and clearing the state ban does not always clear the federal one.
Who Is Barred From Possessing a Firearm
Arkansas Code 5-73-103 prohibits three groups from owning or possessing any firearm: people convicted of a felony, people a court has formally adjudicated as mentally ill, and people who have been involuntarily committed to a mental institution.1Justia. Arkansas Code 5-73-103 – Possession of Firearms by Certain Persons
The felony prohibition attaches the moment a court or jury enters the felony finding. A suspended sentence does not sidestep the rule. If the judge enters a felony conviction on the record and then suspends the prison time, you are still treated as a convicted felon for firearm purposes.
Two narrow state exceptions exist. You are not treated as a convicted felon for firearm purposes if your case was dismissed and expunged under the first offender statutes (Arkansas Code 16-93-301 and related sections) or under Arkansas Code 16-98-303(g). You also escape the prohibition if you receive a pardon that explicitly restores your ability to possess a firearm. A general pardon without that specific language is not enough.2Arkansas General Assembly. House Bill 1057 – 95th General Assembly 2025 Regular Session
Penalties for Illegal Possession
Arkansas uses a three-tier system that escalates based on criminal history and the circumstances of the possession.
The most serious tier is a Class B felony, which applies if you have a prior violent felony conviction, if your current firearm possession involves committing another crime, if you have a prior felony where the offense involved a deadly weapon, or if you have a prior conviction for felon-in-possession under this statute or a similar law from another state. A Class B felony carries five to twenty years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.1Justia. Arkansas Code 5-73-103 – Possession of Firearms by Certain Persons3Justia. Arkansas Code 5-4-401 – Sentence4Justia. Arkansas Code 5-4-201 – Fines – Limitations on Amount
If you have a prior felony but none of the Class B triggers apply, the charge drops to a Class D felony, carrying up to six years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.3Justia. Arkansas Code 5-4-401 – Sentence4Justia. Arkansas Code 5-4-201 – Fines – Limitations on Amount
If you have no prior felony conviction and no Class B circumstances apply, the charge is a Class A misdemeanor carrying up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.1Justia. Arkansas Code 5-73-103 – Possession of Firearms by Certain Persons3Justia. Arkansas Code 5-4-401 – Sentence
Federal charges are a separate risk. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), it is illegal for anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison to possess a firearm or ammunition, which covers virtually every felony.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts The federal charge carries up to fifteen years in federal prison, a maximum raised from ten years by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022. Someone convicted under § 922(g) with three or more prior violent felony or serious drug convictions faces a mandatory minimum of fifteen years with no possibility of probation under the Armed Career Criminal Act.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 924 – Penalties
State and federal charges are not mutually exclusive. A single incident can lead to prosecution in both systems, and a federal sentence runs on top of whatever the state imposes.
How to Restore Your Firearm Rights
Arkansas offers two routes to restore state firearm rights, both running through the Governor’s office. The starting point for either is the Executive Clemency Application from the Arkansas Department of Corrections.7Arkansas Department of Corrections. Executive Clemency
Pardon With Firearm Rights Restored
A full pardon can restore firearm rights, but only if you specifically request it on the application. The Governor’s clemency application lists “Pardon (with firearm rights restored)” as a distinct checkbox. A standard pardon without that option checked will not restore your right to possess firearms.8Arkansas Department of Public Safety. Arkansas Governor’s Pardon Application This is where people get tripped up. A full pardon feels like total forgiveness, but the paperwork does not treat firearm rights as automatic.
Firearm-Only Restoration
If you don’t need a full pardon, the Governor can restore firearm rights alone. Two hard requirements apply: the underlying felony must not have involved a weapon, and it must have occurred more than eight years ago.1Justia. Arkansas Code 5-73-103 – Possession of Firearms by Certain Persons
You also need a recommendation from the chief law enforcement officer where you live. In practice, that means having your county sheriff fill out and notarize the designated recommendation page on the clemency application.8Arkansas Department of Public Safety. Arkansas Governor’s Pardon Application If your sheriff won’t sign, the firearm-only path is effectively closed and you would need to pursue a full pardon instead.
The same firearm-only restoration is available to people with juvenile delinquency adjudications, as long as the adjudication did not involve a weapon and happened more than eight years ago.9Arkansas Department of Public Safety. Weapons – Possession and Use Code 5-73-101 Through 133
Expungement Under the First Offender Act
Arkansas Code 5-73-103 does not treat you as a convicted felon for firearm purposes if your case was dismissed and expunged under the first offender statutes at Arkansas Code 16-93-301 and related sections, or under Arkansas Code 16-98-303(g).2Arkansas General Assembly. House Bill 1057 – 95th General Assembly 2025 Regular Session
Timing matters. While you’re still on probation under the first offender act, the firearm prohibition remains in effect. The statute explicitly preserves the felon-in-possession rule during probation. Only after you successfully complete probation and the case is dismissed and expunged does the firearm prohibition fall away.10FindLaw. Arkansas Code 16-93-303 People on first-offender probation sometimes assume they’ve already cleared the firearm hurdle because the conviction will eventually be expunged. That’s not how the statute works. The expungement has to actually happen first.
Why State Restoration Doesn’t Always Lift the Federal Ban
Restoring firearm rights under Arkansas law does not automatically remove the parallel federal ban, and this is where the most damaging misunderstandings happen. Whether federal law honors a state-level restoration depends on whether your original conviction was in state or federal court.
For state convictions, the news is relatively good. Federal law provides that a conviction which has been expunged, set aside, or pardoned, or for which civil rights have been restored, does not count as a conviction for federal firearm purposes. The exception: if the pardon or restoration expressly says you still cannot possess firearms, the federal ban stays.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 921 – Definitions An Arkansas pardon that explicitly restores firearm rights should, in most cases, also remove the federal disability tied to a state felony conviction.
For federal convictions, the picture is different. The U.S. Supreme Court held in Beecham v. United States that state-level restoration of civil rights cannot undo a federal firearm disability stemming from a federal conviction. Federal convictions are governed by federal law, and only a federal remedy such as a presidential pardon can lift the federal ban.12Justia. Beecham v. United States, 511 U.S. 368 (1994) An Arkansas governor’s pardon has no effect on a federal felon-in-possession charge rooted in a prior federal conviction.
If your conviction was in federal court, the path to restoring firearm rights is extremely narrow. The ATF’s process for relief from federal firearms disabilities has been unfunded by Congress for decades, effectively closing that administrative route. A presidential pardon remains available in theory but is granted rarely.
Antique and Black Powder Firearms
Federal law carves out an exception for antique firearms. The definition of “firearm” under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(3) explicitly excludes antique firearms, so the federal felon-in-possession ban does not apply to them.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 921 – Definitions An antique firearm under federal law includes any firearm manufactured in or before 1898, replicas that cannot fire modern ammunition, and muzzle-loading weapons designed to use black powder that cannot accept fixed ammunition. Under federal law, a felon may lawfully possess a qualifying muzzleloader or black powder firearm and may also possess up to fifty pounds of black powder for sporting or recreational use in those firearms.14Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Most Frequently Asked Firearms Questions and Answers
The catch for Arkansas residents is that the state statute uses the word “firearm” without defining it to exclude antiques. Arkansas Code 5-73-103 contains no equivalent of the federal antique exemption. A weapon that qualifies as an antique under federal law could still be treated as a firearm under state law, exposing a felon to state prosecution even while in compliance federally. Treat the federal antique exception as unreliable protection against state charges until the question is resolved with an attorney.