In Ohio, the only misdemeanor that actually strips your right to own a gun is a domestic violence conviction, and the ban comes from federal law rather than Ohio law. Ohio’s own possession statute reaches only felony convictions and a short list of other disabilities. Several misdemeanors will, however, block you from legally carrying concealed. So the real answer to what misdemeanors disqualify you from owning a gun in Ohio depends on whether you’re asking about keeping a firearm at home or carrying one on the street.
The One Misdemeanor That Bans Possession: Domestic Violence
Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9) prohibits anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from possessing, purchasing, or receiving any firearm or ammunition.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts This covers every firearm you own, including rifles and shotguns kept at home, and it extends to ammunition. The ban applies regardless of when the conviction occurred. This is the Lautenberg Amendment, and it reaches state misdemeanors that meet the federal definition.2U.S. Marshals Service. Lautenberg Amendment
Two things have to be true for the ban to apply. The offense must involve the use or attempted use of physical force or the threatened use of a deadly weapon. And the victim must have a specific relationship with you: a current or former spouse, a parent or guardian, someone you share a child with, a cohabitant, or someone in a similar domestic role.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions An Ohio conviction under ORC 2919.25 for domestic violence almost always qualifies.
Dating Partners Now Count
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, passed in 2022, extended the federal ban to convictions involving a current or recent former dating partner.4U.S. Department of Justice. Fact Sheet – Two Years of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act A dating relationship means a continuing serious romantic or intimate relationship, judged by how long it lasted and how often you interacted.
The dating-partner version comes with one difference from the traditional ban. If you have no more than one qualifying conviction involving a dating partner, your firearm rights restore automatically five years after the later of your conviction or the completion of your sentence, provided you commit no further violent offenses in that period.5Senator Cornyn. Bipartisan Safer Communities Act The spouse, cohabitant, and co-parent categories have no automatic restoration.
What Ohio State Law Says About Possession
Ohio’s firearms disability statute, ORC 2923.13, prohibits possession only for people convicted of a felony offense of violence or a felony drug offense, plus fugitives, people who are drug-dependent, and people subject to certain mental health adjudications.6Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 2923.13 – Having Weapons While Under Disability No misdemeanor conviction triggers Ohio’s possession ban on its own. A misdemeanor assault conviction, standing alone, does not make it illegal under state law for you to keep a firearm at home.
Federal law still applies in Ohio. So a qualifying domestic violence misdemeanor means you’re committing a federal offense by possessing a firearm, even though Ohio wouldn’t charge you under its own disability statute.
Misdemeanors That Block You From Carrying Concealed
Ohio adopted permitless carry in June 2022, but the disqualifying conditions that apply to a concealed handgun license also apply to permitless carry.7Ohio Legislature. Senate Bill 215 If a misdemeanor blocks your CHL eligibility, it also blocks your ability to legally carry concealed without a license.
ORC 2923.125 sets out the specific misdemeanor convictions that disqualify you, and the lookback period varies by offense.
- Domestic violence under ORC 2919.25 is a permanent CHL disqualifier with no time limit, on top of the federal possession ban.8Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 2923.125 – Application and Licensing Process
- A misdemeanor offense of violence, such as assault, aggravated menacing, menacing, menacing by stalking, inciting violence, riot, or inducing panic, carries a three-year disqualification from the date of conviction.
- Two or more convictions for assault (ORC 2903.13) or negligent assault (ORC 2903.14) disqualify you for five years.
- A resisting arrest conviction carries a ten-year disqualification.
- Any conviction involving illegal possession, use, sale, or distribution of drugs under ORC Chapters 2925, 3719, or 4729 is a permanent disqualifier, whether misdemeanor or felony.
- A misdemeanor assault conviction where the victim is a peace officer is a permanent disqualifier.
The statute also disqualifies anyone convicted of any misdemeanor punishable by more than one year of imprisonment, even if the actual sentence imposed was shorter.8Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 2923.125 – Application and Licensing Process
Pending Charges and Protection Orders Count Too
You don’t need a conviction to lose eligibility. A pending charge for any misdemeanor offense of violence, negligent assault, or drug offense is enough to deny a CHL application under ORC 2923.125, and that reach includes charges of attempting or being complicit in those offenses.8Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 2923.125 – Application and Licensing Process
Civil protection orders are a separate problem. Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8) prohibits firearm possession while you are subject to a qualifying domestic violence protection order, and Ohio’s standard protection order forms include language prohibiting the respondent from possessing or using any deadly weapon while the order is in effect.9Portage County Clerk of Courts. Form 10-C – Warning Concerning the Attached Protection Order or Consent Agreement The restriction lifts when the order expires or is terminated.
What Happens If You Possess Anyway
Violating the federal ban under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) is a federal felony carrying up to 15 years in prison. Ohio treats a violation of its own disability statute, ORC 2923.13, as a third-degree felony with a potential prison sentence of 9 to 36 months.6Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 2923.13 – Having Weapons While Under Disability
Getting Your Rights Back
For time-limited Ohio CHL disqualifiers, waiting is the simplest route. The three-year, five-year, and ten-year disabilities expire on their own, and you can apply for a CHL once the period passes with no new convictions.
For permanent Ohio disqualifiers, record sealing is the main tool. Ohio allows you to apply to seal a misdemeanor conviction one year after your final discharge from all parts of your sentence, including probation and payment of fines.10Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 2953.32 – Sealing of Conviction Record You file in the court where you were convicted, and the court weighs your interest in sealing against the government’s interest in keeping the record open, along with your rehabilitation. A sealed record can restore CHL eligibility under Ohio law.
Lifting the federal domestic violence ban is harder. The federal statute recognizes certain state-level actions that remove the prohibition: if your conviction has been expunged or set aside, or if you’ve received a pardon or had your civil rights restored, federal law generally stops treating you as a convicted person for firearms purposes.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions There’s an important catch. If the expungement, pardon, or restoration order specifically says you cannot possess firearms, the federal ban stays in place.11Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence
Whether Ohio’s record sealing qualifies as expungement under this federal provision is a contested legal question. Some federal courts have treated state sealing orders as equivalent to expungement; others have not. Talk to a firearms attorney before you rely on a sealed Ohio record to possess a firearm, because getting it wrong is a federal felony.
For dating-partner convictions specifically, the five-year automatic restoration described above applies if you had only one qualifying conviction and no further violent offenses during the period. There is no automatic restoration for the traditional categories involving spouses, cohabitants, or co-parents, and Congress has not funded any federal mechanism for individuals to petition for relief, which leaves state-level expungement or pardon as the only realistic options.