You generally cannot buy a gun while on probation. Whether the bar comes from federal law, your state’s statutes, or the conditions written into your probation order depends on your underlying offense, but for almost everyone on active supervision at least one of those three applies. Attempting the purchase will usually be blocked by the background check system, and if it isn’t, the consequences are far worse than whatever put you on probation in the first place.
Felony Probation and the Federal Ban
The Gun Control Act prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing, receiving, shipping, or transporting any firearm or ammunition.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts The word “punishable” is what matters. The question is the maximum sentence the offense could have carried, not what the judge actually imposed. If you received probation instead of prison for a felony, the ban still applies.
The prohibition does not end when probation ends. It is permanent unless the conviction is later expunged, set aside, or pardoned, or your civil rights are formally restored, and even then the restoration cannot expressly prohibit firearms.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions Finishing supervision, paying every fine, and keeping a clean record for years does not, by itself, give the right back.
Because nearly every commercially available firearm has at some point crossed state lines, the statute’s interstate commerce element catches essentially every weapon you could buy. For someone on felony probation, that means no dealer purchase, no private sale, and no gun in the home.
Misdemeanor Probation and the Federal Carveout
Federal law excludes from the felon-in-possession ban any state offense classified as a misdemeanor and punishable by two years or less. The same exclusion applies to federal and state offenses involving antitrust violations, unfair trade practices, and similar business regulation matters.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions
If your probation stems from one of those offenses, you are not a federally prohibited person on the basis of the conviction alone. That is not the same as being free to buy a gun. Your probation conditions and your state’s laws still apply, and both usually prohibit it.
Misdemeanor Domestic Violence Convictions
One category of misdemeanor carries its own federal firearms ban regardless of the maximum sentence. Under the Lautenberg Amendment, anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence — meaning an offense involving the use or attempted use of physical force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon, against a protected person — cannot possess firearms.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
Protected relationships include current and former spouses, parents, guardians, people who share a child with the victim, cohabitants, and, since the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022, anyone with a current or recent dating relationship with the victim.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions For a first-time conviction involving a dating partner only, the firearms prohibition lifts five years after the later of the conviction or the completion of any custodial or supervisory sentence, provided there are no later qualifying convictions.3United States Congress. Bipartisan Safer Communities Act – Text For convictions involving spouses, cohabitants, or co-parents, the ban is permanent.4Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence Prohibitions
The conviction only counts if you were represented by counsel or knowingly waived counsel, and, if you were entitled to a jury trial, the case was actually tried by a jury or you knowingly waived that right.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions
What Your Probation Order and State Law Say
Even when no federal ban applies, your probation conditions almost certainly prohibit firearms. Federal courts routinely impose a standard condition reading, “You must not own, possess, or have access to a firearm, ammunition, destructive device, or dangerous weapon.”5United States Courts. Chapter 2 – Possession of Firearm, Ammunition, Destructive Device, or Dangerous Weapon State courts impose similar conditions. Violating one does not just open a new criminal charge; it triggers a revocation hearing, where the judge can send you to serve the original suspended sentence.
State statutes layer on their own rules. Some bar anyone on active probation from possessing a firearm regardless of the offense. Others restrict possession after specific categories of misdemeanors — violent crimes, drug offenses, stalking — for a set period or for the duration of supervision. The two documents that actually control your situation are your probation order and your state’s prohibited-possessor statute. Read both, and if anything is unclear, ask your probation officer or a defense attorney before doing anything else.
Deferred Adjudication and Diversion
Not every probation sentence rests on a formal conviction. Some states offer deferred adjudication or pretrial diversion, where you plead guilty or no contest but the court withholds final judgment. Complete the program and the charge may be dismissed with no conviction on your record.
Federal firearms law looks to the law of the state where the proceeding took place to decide what counts as a “conviction.”2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions In states that do not treat a deferred adjudication as a conviction, you may not be federally prohibited. In states that do, you are. The same conduct can produce opposite results across state lines, and the stakes of guessing wrong are high. A defense attorney who knows both your state’s deferred adjudication rules and federal firearms law is the right person to answer this. In every case, the probation conditions attached to the deferred program itself will almost certainly prohibit firearms during supervision.
Living in a Household With Firearms
A related question comes up often: can someone else in your home legally keep guns there? Federal courts have read “possession” to include not only physically holding a firearm but also having access to or control over one. A gun in an unlocked closet in a home you share with a spouse can support a constructive possession charge against you.
What probation officers typically expect is that any firearm in the household be completely inaccessible to you: locked in a safe or cabinet you have no key or combination to, with ammunition stored separately. Some officers go further and require that firearms be removed from the residence entirely. If this applies to you, raise it with your probation officer before relying on any storage arrangement. Clearance in advance is better than an explanation after a home visit.
What Happens If You Try Anyway
The penalties stack. Possessing a firearm in violation of the federal ban is punishable by up to 15 years in federal prison.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties Buying from a licensed dealer requires completing ATF Form 4473, which asks directly whether you have a qualifying conviction. Answering falsely is a separate federal crime also carrying up to 15 years.7Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF Form 4473 – Firearms Transaction Record Revisions
On top of those, possession violates your probation conditions. The probation officer or the court can initiate revocation, and the judge can impose the suspended sentence that was hanging over the probation. The new federal time and the revoked state time run concurrently or consecutively at the court’s discretion.
The dealer check itself is run through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which pulls from criminal history databases and a dedicated index of prohibited persons.8Federal Bureau of Investigation. National Instant Criminal Background Check System A qualifying conviction or active probation status shows up and the sale is denied. NICS applies only to licensed dealers; private sales are not subject to a federal background check in most states, though a growing number of states require one by state law. Buying through a private sale while prohibited is still a federal crime. The background check is the detection mechanism, not the source of the prohibition.
Getting Firearm Rights Back
Completing probation does not, on its own, restore the right to own a gun. For someone with a qualifying conviction, the federal ban is permanent unless the conviction is expunged or set aside, you receive a pardon, or your civil rights are formally restored by the jurisdiction that convicted you, and the expungement, pardon, or restoration does not expressly prohibit firearms.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions
Federal law also allows a direct petition to the Attorney General for relief from firearms disabilities, available on a showing that the applicant’s circumstances and record are such that restoring the right would not endanger public safety or be contrary to the public interest. For decades, a rider in ATF’s annual appropriations blocked the agency from spending money to process these applications. In early 2025 the Attorney General announced an interim rule to resume processing through the Department of Justice rather than ATF, though a final rule had not been issued as of this writing. Whether the path stays open depends on future appropriations and administrative decisions. A denial can be challenged by seeking judicial review in federal district court.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 925 – Exceptions – Relief From Disabilities
Many states also have their own procedures: expungement petitions, certificates of rehabilitation, gubernatorial pardons. A state-level restoration can satisfy the federal exception if it meets the statutory criteria. Timelines and eligibility vary widely, and none of these options can be pursued until every term of the original sentence, including probation, restitution, and fines, is fully satisfied.