Under federal law, a felon cannot buy a gun in Texas. The federal prohibition on firearm possession by anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison has no expiration date and applies to every purchase through a licensed dealer. Texas offers one narrow exception that lets a person with a felony conviction keep a firearm at home five years after finishing their sentence and supervision, but that state allowance does not authorize a purchase and does not protect anyone from federal charges.
The Federal Ban Applies for Life
The Gun Control Act makes it unlawful for anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison to possess a firearm or ammunition.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts In Texas, that covers every felony, violent or not. The ban has no sunset.
Any attempt to buy a firearm from a licensed dealer runs through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, and a felony record produces a denial.2FBI. Challenges / Appeals Texas does not require background checks on private sales, but buying a firearm through a private transaction while federally prohibited is still a federal crime. The absence of a check does not make the purchase legal.
The prohibition also reaches beyond felony convictions. Federal law bars firearm possession by fugitives, people subject to certain domestic violence restraining orders, anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, and people dishonorably discharged from the military, among other categories.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts A person caught illegally possessing a firearm faces up to 15 years in federal prison.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties
The Texas Five-Year Home Exception
Texas Penal Code Section 46.04 creates a two-phase state restriction for people with felony convictions. During the first five years after you finish your prison sentence or complete parole, probation, or mandatory supervision (whichever ends later), you cannot possess a firearm anywhere for any reason.4State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.04 – Unlawful Possession of Firearm Someone who serves a five-year prison term followed by three years of parole starts the five-year clock at the end of parole, not release from prison.
After that period, the state restriction narrows. You can possess a firearm, but only at the premises where you live.4State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.04 – Unlawful Possession of Firearm Possessing a firearm anywhere else remains a third-degree felony, punishable by 2 to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.5State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.34 – Third Degree Felony Punishment The exception is about home defense. It does not authorize buying a gun, carrying one, or taking one anywhere off your property.
Section 46.04 also imposes a separate five-year ban on anyone convicted of a Class A misdemeanor assault involving a family or household member, and it prohibits firearm possession entirely for anyone currently subject to a domestic violence protective order.4State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.04 – Unlawful Possession of Firearm
What “Premises” Covers
“Premises” in this context is not limited to the inside of a house. Under the related definition in the Penal Code, it includes real property and recreational vehicles used as living quarters.4State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.04 – Unlawful Possession of Firearm That covers your yard, land, and structures on it, along with an RV or travel trailer serving as your home.
What it does not cover is anything past the property line. A firearm in your car, at your workplace, or at a friend’s house falls outside the exception and creates a new third-degree felony charge under state law. A person with a felony conviction cannot obtain a Texas License to Carry, and the state’s permitless carry law does not extend to felons.
Why Following Texas Law Does Not Protect You Federally
This is the most dangerous misunderstanding. Meeting every condition of the Texas five-year rule creates no protection against federal prosecution. Federal and state law operate independently. You can be entirely legal under Texas law, sitting in your own home with a firearm five years after supervision ended, and still be committing a federal felony carrying up to 15 years in prison.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
Federal authorities do pursue these cases. A felon found with a gun during a traffic stop, a domestic call, or any other police encounter can be referred to a federal prosecutor regardless of what state law allows. The Texas exception is a defense to state charges only.
Constructive Possession and Guns in a Shared Home
Federal prosecutors do not need to prove you were holding a firearm. Constructive possession means that if you knew about a gun and had the ability to control it, the law treats you as possessing it. A firearm in your nightstand, closet, or anywhere in the home you can access can support a possession charge.
This matters for people who live with family members who own guns. If your spouse keeps a loaded handgun in a shared bedroom and you know it is there, a prosecutor can argue you constructively possess it. The safer arrangement is a locked safe another household member controls exclusively, without your access.
Family members carry their own risk. Federal law makes it a crime to knowingly sell, give, or otherwise make a firearm available to anyone you know is prohibited from possessing one, with penalties up to 10 years in federal prison.6Department of Justice. Quick Reference to Federal Firearms Laws A spouse or parent aware of the conviction will have trouble claiming ignorance.
Antique Firearms and Black Powder Weapons
Federal law excludes “antique firearms” from its definition of a firearm, and the exclusion applies to people with felony convictions. Antique firearms include guns manufactured in or before 1898, replicas that do not use modern rimfire or centerfire ammunition, and muzzleloading rifles, shotguns, and pistols designed to use black powder that cannot accept fixed ammunition.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions
The ATF has confirmed that a person prohibited from possessing firearms can lawfully possess a qualifying antique muzzleloader, along with up to 50 pounds of black powder for sporting or recreational use.8ATF. Top 10 Frequently Asked Firearms Questions and Answers The weapon cannot be readily convertible to fire fixed ammunition by swapping the barrel, bolt, or breechblock. A muzzleloader built on the frame or receiver of a modern firearm is classified as a firearm, not an antique, and is off-limits. State law may add restrictions federal law does not.
Restoring Gun Rights in Texas
To legally purchase and possess a firearm under both state and federal law, a person with a felony conviction needs a formal restoration of rights. Federal law recognizes three paths: a pardon, an expungement of the conviction, or a state procedure that restores civil rights. If any of those documents specifically says the person still cannot possess firearms, it does not count for federal purposes.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions
Gubernatorial Pardon
The most reliable route in Texas is a full pardon from the Governor that specifically restores firearm rights. The Governor cannot act alone. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles must first recommend the pardon after reviewing a detailed application, evaluating rehabilitation and post-conviction conduct. For firearm rights specifically, the Board’s regulation states it will consider recommending restoration “only in extreme and unusual circumstances.”9Cornell Law School. 37 Texas Administrative Code 143.12 – Restoration of Firearm Rights The bar is high, and pardons are rare.
Expungement
Texas expungement law is generally not available for people who were convicted. Expunction applies primarily in cases of acquittal, dismissed charges, or certain pardons based on actual innocence.10Justia. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Title 1 Chapter 55 A person who served a sentence and completed supervision is generally not eligible. This path is effectively closed for most people asking the question.
Clearing the Background Check
A pardon does not update the NICS database automatically. You need to submit documentation to the FBI’s Appeal Services Team to correct your record. Until that update is processed, a dealer’s background check will still return a denial.11FBI. Guide for Appealing a Firearm Transfer
Where the Law Stands Now
The framework is being tested in court. In 2023, the Third Circuit ruled in Range v. Attorney General that the federal lifetime ban was unconstitutional as applied to a man whose decades-old conviction was for a nonviolent food stamp fraud offense.12Justia. Range v. Attorney General United States, No. 21-2835 (3d Cir. 2023) In June 2024, the Supreme Court decided United States v. Rahimi, upholding the federal prohibition on firearm possession by people subject to domestic violence restraining orders. The Court reaffirmed language from Heller describing prohibitions on firearm possession by felons as “presumptively lawful,” and sent Range back to the Third Circuit for reconsideration.13Supreme Court of the United States. United States v. Rahimi, No. 22-915 (2024)
For now, the federal ban on felon firearm possession remains intact and enforceable. Future challenges may succeed for specific categories of nonviolent offenders, but no court has struck down the ban in a way that applies broadly. Relying on an evolving legal theory as a defense to a charge carrying 15 years in prison is a gamble that calls for an attorney’s guidance, not a decision to make in a gun store.