Can a Convicted Felon Own a Gun After 10 Years in Louisiana?

Yes, a convicted felon can own a gun in Louisiana ten years after finishing their sentence, but only if two conditions hold: no new felony convictions during that decade, and no separate federal prohibition still in force. Louisiana’s ban lifts automatically by operation of law under Revised Statutes 14:95.1(C); the federal ban under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) does not lift automatically, and that is where most people run into trouble.¹²

When the Ten-Year Clock Actually Starts

The clock does not begin on the date of your conviction, and it does not begin on the date you walked out of prison. It begins the day you complete your entire sentence, which includes probation and parole. If you served five years and then three years of parole, the ten-year period starts on the day parole ended, meaning the total time from sentencing to firearms eligibility in that example is eighteen years.

Any new felony conviction during those ten years resets the entire period. The resetting offense does not have to be one of the enumerated crimes in RS 14:95.1. Any felony conviction of any kind restarts the clock.

Louisiana does not require a court petition, a judge’s order, or any affirmative filing for the state ban to lift. Restoration happens automatically. That sounds simple, but it puts the burden of proof on you if your eligibility is ever questioned. Keep documentation: your sentence completion date, discharge from parole or probation, and a clean criminal record over the ten years. Without those records, you cannot easily demonstrate that the prohibition has ended.

Which Felonies the State Ban Covers

Not every Louisiana felony triggers RS 14:95.1. The state ban applies to specific categories:¹

Crimes of violence as defined in RS 14:2(B), a list of more than fifty offenses including murder, armed robbery, stalking, carjacking, and domestic abuse battery³
Any felony violation of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law, and possessing a firearm during a drug sale or distribution
Any crime classified as a sex offense under RS 15:541
Simple burglary, burglary of an inhabited dwelling, and unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling
Felony illegal use of weapons, and manufacturing or possessing a bomb or delayed-action incendiary device
Attempts to commit any of the above
Convictions under federal law, another state’s law, or a foreign government’s law for a crime that would qualify if committed in Louisiana

If your felony conviction falls outside these categories, the Louisiana felon-in-possession statute never applied to you at the state level in the first place. The federal ban is a different question entirely and reaches much further.

Why the Federal Ban May Still Apply

Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) prohibits firearm and ammunition possession by anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison, regardless of the offense type.² That covers nearly every felony, including ones outside RS 14:95.1’s list. The federal ban has no built-in ten-year expiration.

There is a federal exception. Under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20), a conviction is not counted for federal firearms purposes if the person has been pardoned, had the conviction expunged, or had civil rights restored, unless the restoration expressly says the person may not possess firearms.⁴ Louisiana’s automatic restoration under RS 14:95.1(C) lifts the state firearms prohibition without any express limit on future possession. There is a strong argument that once your Louisiana rights restore, the federal ban lifts through the 921(a)(20) exception.

Federal courts have not uniformly interpreted how state automatic-restoration provisions interact with 921(a)(20). The ATF and the FBI’s NICS system may not automatically recognize your restored status. If you attempt to buy a gun from a licensed dealer at year eleven, the background check may still flag your record. Getting this wrong exposes you to federal criminal charges, so treating the state ten-year point as a green light without confirming federal status is risky.

Ammunition, Antiques, and Guns in a Shared Home

Ammunition counts. Federal law prohibits a person barred under 922(g) from possessing, receiving, shipping, or transporting ammunition on the same terms as firearms.⁵ Keeping boxes of shells in a closet during the prohibition period carries the same legal risk as keeping a loaded gun.

Antique firearms are not a Louisiana exception. Federal law excludes many pre-1899 firearms from the definition of “firearm,” and some people assume this creates a black-powder loophole. Louisiana’s definition under RS 14:95.1 explicitly includes black powder weapons and covers any pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun, machine gun, or assault rifle capable of firing fixed cartridge ammunition or discharging a projectile by explosive.¹ A convicted felon caught with a black powder rifle during the prohibition period faces the same sentence as one caught with a modern handgun.

Living with someone who lawfully owns firearms creates real exposure. Federal courts recognize constructive possession, which means you can be charged with possessing a firearm you never physically held if you had the ability to control it. A gun stored in a common area of your home, even if it belongs to a spouse or roommate, can support a felon-in-possession charge. Mere proximity is not enough on its own; courts require additional evidence linking you to the weapon, such as plain-view storage in your living space, your fingerprints on it, or evidence the legal owner would hand it over on request. The safest arrangement is a locked container that only the lawful owner can open.

Buying a Gun After the Ten Years: Handling a NICS Denial

If your Louisiana rights have restored and you try to buy a firearm from a licensed dealer, the background check may still come back as a denial. You can challenge only denials, not delays.⁶

The process runs in two steps. First, request the reason for the denial. The FBI must respond within five business days identifying which record triggered it. Second, submit a formal challenge, either electronically through the FBI’s Electronic Departmental Order system at edo.cjis.gov or by mail to the FBI CJIS Division in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Include documentation of your sentence completion date, your clean record, and evidence that Louisiana’s automatic restoration applies to your conviction. The FBI must issue a final decision within sixty calendar days.

The process is free but often slow, and the outcome is not guaranteed. If the FBI sustains the denial, the next step is federal court. Preparing the challenge package with a lawyer familiar with the interaction between Louisiana’s automatic restoration and the 921(a)(20) exception meaningfully improves the chances of success.

The Federal Relief Program Under Section 925(c)

For decades, the federal firearms relief program under 18 U.S.C. § 925(c) sat frozen because Congress prohibited the ATF from spending money to process individual petitions. That changed recently. In February 2025, Executive Order 14206 directed the Department of Justice to build a functioning 925(c) program, and the Attorney General has begun granting relief.⁷ The DOJ is developing a web-based application system, with initial grants issued in March 2025.⁸

The standard: the applicant must show they will not act in a manner dangerous to public safety and that granting relief would not be contrary to the public interest. The program is new, processing times are unknown, and it is not yet clear how many petitions the DOJ will grant. But for the first time in over thirty years, a federal administrative pathway exists alongside any state-level restoration.

Pardons and Expungements

A Louisiana first-offender pardon does not skip the ten-year waiting period under RS 14:95.1(C). The clock still runs.

Expungement is more complicated. Congress amended 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20) so that an expunged conviction is not counted for federal firearms purposes, unless the expungement expressly says the person cannot possess firearms.⁴ Whether a particular Louisiana expungement clears you under federal law depends on the exact language of the court order. Have a lawyer read the order before relying on it to buy or possess a firearm.

Presidential pardons can lift the federal prohibition but reach only federal offenses, so they rarely help someone whose conviction is under Louisiana law.

What Illegal Possession Costs

The stakes for getting this wrong are severe. A conviction under RS 14:95.1 carries five to twenty years at hard labor, with no probation, parole, or suspension of sentence, plus a fine between $1,000 and $5,000.¹ Even an attempt carries one to seven and a half years of hard labor and the same fine range. Federal charges under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) carry separate penalties, and a person can be prosecuted in both systems for the same conduct with federal time running on top of state time.⁹

The practical path for anyone approaching or past the ten-year mark: confirm the exact date your sentence, probation, and parole ended; gather records showing no new felony convictions since; and, before buying or handling a firearm, get a legal opinion on whether federal law still prohibits possession in your specific circumstances. Louisiana’s automatic restoration answers half the question. The federal half deserves the same attention.

1
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code RS 14:95.1 – Possession of Firearm or Carrying Concealed Weapon by a Person Convicted of Certain Felonies
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
3
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code RS 14:2 – Definitions
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
6
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Challenges / Appeals
7
Federal Register. Granting of Relief; Federal Firearms Privileges
8
Department of Justice. Federal Firearm Rights Restoration
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties