What Will Disqualify You From Buying a Gun in Michigan?

Several things can disqualify you from buying a gun in Michigan: a felony conviction, certain misdemeanor convictions (domestic violence in particular), specific mental health adjudications, an active protection order or extreme risk protection order, regular use of a controlled substance including marijuana, pending charges for serious offenses, and failing the age, residency, or citizenship rules. Both federal law and Michigan law apply, and falling into any single prohibited category on either list is enough to block the sale.

Felony Convictions

Any felony conviction disqualifies you. Federal law bars firearm possession for anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison, and the word that matters is “punishable” — the maximum possible sentence for the offense, not the time you actually served.¹ A suspended sentence or probation still counts if the underlying crime carried more than a year.

Michigan then sets its own waiting periods on top of that. For an ordinary felony, the ban runs for three years after you’ve finished every part of your sentence: prison time served, fines paid, and probation or parole completed. After that three-year window your rights automatically restore under state law.²

“Specified felonies” are treated more harshly. These are felonies where an element involves the use or threat of force, controlled substances, illegal firearm possession, explosives, or certain burglaries and arsons of occupied buildings. For those, the ban is at least five years after full sentence completion, and your rights do not come back automatically. You have to petition the circuit court in your county of residence under MCL 28.424, and the court will grant restoration only on clear and convincing evidence that the waiting period has passed and your record and reputation show you are unlikely to endanger others.³

Domestic Violence Convictions

This is where the state and federal rules split, and it catches people. Federal law prohibits firearm possession for anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence involving a spouse, cohabitant, co-parent, or — since the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022 — a current or former dating partner. Federal law defines a dating relationship as a continuing serious romantic or intimate relationship, evaluated by length, nature, and how often the people involved interacted.¹ The federal ban has no built-in expiration.

Michigan imposes its own eight-year ban for misdemeanor domestic violence convictions, including domestic assault, aggravated domestic assault, stalking, and several related charges. The eight-year clock starts only after you’ve paid all fines, served any jail time, and completed probation. Comparable convictions from other states or the federal system trigger the same ban.²

Michigan’s ban eventually lifts, but it does not lift on its own. You have to petition for rights restoration or pursue expungement of the underlying conviction. And a state restoration does not automatically clear the federal bar under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), which operates on its own terms. If both apply to you, resolving one side still leaves you prohibited under the other, and a federal violation carries serious prison time. Talk to a lawyer before you attempt a purchase if you have a domestic violence conviction in your past.

Protection Orders and Extreme Risk Protection Orders

A Michigan personal protection order can include a provision that specifically prohibits you from buying or possessing firearms. Domestic-relationship PPOs — covering spouses, former spouses, co-parents, dating partners, or household members — can carry that restriction, and so can non-domestic stalking PPOs. The firearm prohibition lasts as long as the order is in effect, and the order becomes enforceable statewide the moment a judge signs it.⁴

A domestic PPO that meets the federal criteria — issued after a hearing with notice and the chance to participate, with a credible-threat finding or an explicit prohibition on force — also triggers the separate federal disqualifier under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8).¹

Michigan’s extreme risk protection order law, enacted in 2023, adds another route to disqualification. Family members, household members, and law enforcement can petition a circuit court to temporarily prohibit someone from possessing or buying firearms if that person poses a significant risk of injury to themselves or others.⁵ An ERPO lasts up to one year and can be extended for additional one-year periods. A court can issue an emergency order without advance notice; the restrained person then has the right to request a hearing within seven days of being served. While the order is in effect, you cannot legally buy a firearm or qualify for a pistol license or concealed pistol license.⁶

Mental Health Disqualifications

Federal law prohibits firearm possession for anyone a court or other authority has found to be a danger to themselves or others due to mental illness, or who has been involuntarily committed to a mental institution at age 16 or older. Voluntary admissions generally do not count.¹

Michigan adds three specific state-level bars. You are disqualified if you have been adjudged insane in Michigan or any other state, unless a court has since restored your sanity. You are also disqualified if you are currently under an order of involuntary commitment, inpatient or outpatient, due to mental illness. And anyone adjudged legally incapacitated in any state is disqualified, though that bar lifts if a court restores your legal capacity.⁷

Marijuana and Other Controlled Substances

Michigan legalized recreational marijuana in 2018, but marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law. Federal law prohibits firearm possession by anyone who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance, and that disqualifier applies regardless of state legalization.

As of January 2026, ATF revised its regulatory definition of “unlawful user” to require “regular use over an extended period of time continuing into the present, without a lawful prescription.” The revision dropped older enforcement shortcuts like treating a single positive drug test or one prior conviction as proof of current use.⁸

The practical effect for marijuana users is limited. Marijuana has no federally recognized prescription — medical marijuana cards are state-issued recommendations, not federal prescriptions — so anyone who regularly uses marijuana still fits the definition. Isolated or sporadic past use no longer triggers the prohibition, but ongoing, regular use does. Answer “yes” to the drug question on ATF Form 4473, or have records that show a pattern of current use, and expect a denial.

Age, Residency, Citizenship, and Pending Charges

You have to clear the eligibility thresholds before any of the above even comes up. Under MCL 28.422, you must be at least 18 to buy a long gun. To buy a pistol from a federally licensed dealer, you must be at least 21. For a private pistol sale, the minimum is 18.⁷

You also need to be a legal Michigan resident. The law treats you as a resident if you hold a valid Michigan driver’s license or state ID, are registered to vote in the state, or are active-duty military stationed in Michigan or claiming it as your home of record. Non-U.S. citizens can qualify if they are lawfully admitted and meet the residency criteria, but federal law separately prohibits firearm purchases by anyone unlawfully present in the United States and by most people admitted on nonimmigrant visas, with narrow exceptions for diplomats and people with valid hunting licenses.¹ Anyone discharged from the military under dishonorable conditions, and anyone who has renounced U.S. citizenship, is also federally prohibited.

You do not need a conviction to be blocked. A pending felony charge, or a pending charge for any of the specific offenses listed in MCL 28.422, disqualifies you from a firearm license while the case is open.⁷ Federal law adds fugitives from justice — anyone who has fled a jurisdiction to avoid prosecution or giving testimony — to the prohibited list.¹

What Happens If You Try Anyway

Attempting to buy a gun while you know you are prohibited is itself a federal crime. Knowingly making a false statement on ATF Form 4473 is a felony punishable by up to ten years in federal prison, and the fact that the background check blocked the sale is not a defense.⁹

Straw purchases — buying a firearm on behalf of someone who could not pass a check themselves — carry even steeper consequences under 18 U.S.C. § 932, enacted in 2022. A conviction can bring up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and if the firearm is later used in a felony, terrorism, or drug trafficking crime, the maximum rises to 25 years.¹⁰

If You Were Denied by Mistake

Background checks are not perfect. Mistaken identity, outdated records, and database errors do produce false denials. If you were denied and you believe it was wrong, request the reason in writing from the FBI’s NICS Appeal Services Team — by mail, fax, or the online appeal portal at fbi.gov/nics-appeals. The Privacy Act prevents them from giving the reason over the phone. Include your full name, mailing address, and the NICS or state transaction number from your attempted purchase. The appeal team should respond with the general reason within five business days.¹¹

If the denial was based on a record that belongs to someone else with a similar name, you can submit a set of rolled fingerprints taken by law enforcement or an authorized agency to prove you are not that person. If the underlying record issue is resolved in your favor, you will receive documentation to present to the dealer who ran the original check.¹¹

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
2
Michigan Legislature. MCL 750.224f
3
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 28.424 – Restoration of Rights
4
Michigan Legislature. MCL 600.2950 – Revised Judicature Act of 1961
5
Michigan Legislature. MCL Act 38 of 2023 – Extreme Risk Protection Order Act
6
State of Michigan. Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO)
7
Michigan Legislature. MCL 28.422 – Firearm Licenses
8
Federal Register. Revising Definition of Unlawful User of or Addicted to Controlled Substance
9
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Federal Prosecutors Aggressively Pursuing Those Who Lie in Connection With Firearm Transactions
10
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Don’t Lie for the Other Guy
11
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Guide for Appealing a Firearm Transfer