Can You Own a Gun in Texas With a Domestic Violence Charge?

A domestic violence charge in Texas does not, by itself, take away your right to own a gun. Federal and state prohibitions attach to convictions, not accusations. But gun ownership in Texas with a domestic violence charge pending is rarely as simple as that rule suggests: judges routinely add firearm conditions to bond, and any protective order issued alongside the case triggers a separate ban that kicks in immediately. Once a conviction lands, the restrictions become serious and long-lasting, and federal and Texas law don’t line up.

What a Pending Charge Actually Does

Federal law prohibits firearm possession for anyone “convicted” of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.¹ Texas Penal Code 46.04 uses the same word.² If you’ve been arrested and charged but not yet convicted, the conviction-based prohibitions haven’t attached.

Two things commonly change that in practice. Courts often issue a protective order at the outset of a domestic violence case, and an active protective order carries its own firearm ban under both federal and Texas law. Judges can also impose bond conditions restricting gun possession while the case is pending. Many people with an open domestic violence case cannot legally have a gun even though no conviction exists.

Federal Rules After a Conviction

Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), a conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence in any court bans you from possessing a firearm or ammunition.¹ The federal definition reaches offenses involving the use or attempted use of physical force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon, when the victim is a current or former spouse, a parent or guardian, someone who shares a child with you, a cohabitant, or a person you were in a dating relationship with.³

For most qualifying convictions, the federal ban is permanent. There’s no automatic expiration. Congress carved out one narrow exception: if the conviction was based on a dating relationship, you have only that one such conviction, five years have passed since the later of the conviction or completion of your sentence, and you aren’t otherwise prohibited, the federal ban lifts on its own.⁴ That exception does not apply when the victim was a spouse, family member, cohabitant, or co-parent.

Any felony conviction carries a separate, permanent federal ban on firearm possession, covering all crimes punishable by more than one year in prison.⁵ A felony domestic violence conviction triggers that ban regardless of the misdemeanor provisions.

Texas Rules After a Conviction, and Where They Conflict With Federal Law

Texas Penal Code 46.04 sets its own timelines. A Class A misdemeanor assault against a family or household member bars firearm possession for five years after release from confinement or community supervision, whichever comes later. Once that window closes, Texas law no longer prohibits possession.²

This is where people make expensive mistakes. Federal law does not recognize that five-year restoration for family and household member offenses. The Texas State Law Library states the conflict directly: federal law does not permit the five-year restoration that Texas law provides.⁶ Picking up a gun after Texas’s clock runs still violates federal law, and federal prosecutors bring those cases.

For felony convictions, Texas splits the restriction into two phases. During the first five years after release, no possession anywhere. After five years, possession is allowed only at the premises where you live.² Federal law does not recognize that home-only exception, so a felon who keeps a gun at home under Texas law still faces federal exposure.

Protective Orders Are a Separate Trigger

An active protective order bans firearm possession on its own, whether or not a conviction ever follows. Federally, a qualifying order must have been issued after a hearing you had notice of and an opportunity to attend, must restrain you from threatening or harassing an intimate partner or child, and must either include a finding that you pose a credible threat to the physical safety of the partner or child, or explicitly prohibit the use of physical force against them.¹

Texas Penal Code 46.04(c) makes it a criminal offense to possess a firearm after you have notice of a protective order and before it expires.² Texas Family Code 85.022 authorizes courts to prohibit firearm possession in protective orders involving family violence and requires courts to suspend any license to carry a handgun held by a person found to have committed family violence.⁷

Guns in a Shared Household

You do not have to own the gun to be charged with possessing it. Texas courts recognize constructive possession, which means prosecutors only need to show you knew a firearm was in your home and had the ability to exercise control over it. A rifle in an unlocked closet or a handgun in a shared nightstand qualifies, even if it belongs to your spouse or roommate.

If you’re prohibited, secured storage that you can actually reach is not enough. The firearm needs to be somewhere you genuinely cannot access, ideally stored at another location or transferred to someone outside your household. Saying the gun belongs to someone else is not a reliable defense when you had access to it.

What Illegal Possession Costs

Federal violations of the protective order prohibition carry up to ten years in federal prison.⁸

Under Texas law, a convicted felon caught with a firearm faces a third-degree felony punishable by two to ten years in state prison. Possession in violation of the misdemeanor domestic violence ban or a protective order is a Class A misdemeanor, carrying up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000.² The same conduct can produce both state and federal charges.

Getting Firearm Rights Back

Restoration depends on which prohibition you’re trying to clear. Under Texas law, the five-year misdemeanor restriction expires automatically. No application is needed. For a felony, the restriction relaxes after five years to allow home-only possession. Full restoration in Texas is essentially limited to people who have received a governor’s pardon and then applied to the Board of Pardons and Paroles for firearm rights restoration, which the board considers only in extreme and unusual circumstances.⁹

Federal law is tougher. A conviction stops qualifying as a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence if it has been expunged, set aside, or pardoned, or if civil rights have been restored, unless the expungement or pardon specifically says you still can’t possess firearms.³ For dating-relationship convictions, the automatic five-year lift described above applies. For everyone else, the practical routes are a presidential or governor’s pardon, or getting the conviction expunged or set aside under state law. Congress has authorized the ATF to grant relief from federal firearms disabilities, but it has consistently refused to fund that program, leaving it effectively unavailable.⁹

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
2
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.04 – Unlawful Possession of Firearm
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions
4
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence
5
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Most Frequently Asked Firearms Questions and Answers
6
Texas State Law Library. Firearms – Restrictions After a Criminal Conviction
7
State of Texas. Texas Family Code 85.022 – Requirements of Order Applying to Person Who Committed Family Violence
8
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Protection Orders and Federal Firearms Prohibitions
9
Texas State Law Library. Criminal Convictions and Firearms – Reentry Resources for Former Offenders