How long you can be in jail for a gun charge runs anywhere from no time at all for a low-level misdemeanor to life in federal prison. Where a specific case lands depends on three things: the exact offense charged, whether a prohibited person was involved or a gun was used in another crime, and whether the case is prosecuted in state or federal court. Federal firearm convictions tend to carry the longest sentences because several of them trigger mandatory minimums the judge cannot go below.
Federal Charges Carry the Longest Sentences
A single act can violate both federal and state law, and either sovereign can bring charges independently. Federal jurisdiction typically kicks in when firearms cross state lines, when the defendant is a prohibited person under federal law, or when a gun is connected to drug trafficking or organized crime. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigates most federal firearms cases, which are prosecuted under statutes like the Gun Control Act and the National Firearms Act.1Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Gun Control Act
State charges cover the everyday offenses: carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, possessing a firearm in a restricted location, violating registration rules. Penalties vary widely by state, and about half of all states now allow permitless concealed carry, which has effectively decriminalized that conduct for people who are not otherwise prohibited from having a gun.
Prohibited Person in Possession: Up to 15 Years
The most commonly prosecuted federal gun charge is being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. Under the Gun Control Act, several categories of people are barred from having any gun or ammunition: anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison, anyone subject to a domestic violence restraining order, anyone involuntarily committed to a mental institution, and anyone who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.2Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Identify Prohibited Persons
A conviction carries up to 15 years in federal prison. That ceiling was raised from 10 years by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022.3Congress.gov. Text – 117th Congress (2021-2022): Bipartisan Safer Communities Act The 15-year maximum applies to every category of prohibited person, including the drug-user prohibition, which continues to apply to marijuana users even in states where marijuana is legal. Marijuana remains a Schedule I substance under federal law as of early 2026, and the Department of Justice has told the Supreme Court that the firearms ban applies regardless of ongoing rescheduling efforts.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
Straw Purchases and Trafficking: Up to 25 Years
Two federal offenses created in 2022 target the supply side of illegal gun markets. A straw purchase is when someone buys a firearm on behalf of another person who is prohibited from buying one or who wants to avoid the paper trail. Trafficking is selling or transferring firearms knowing or having reason to believe they will be used illegally or will end up with a prohibited person.
A straw purchase conviction carries up to 15 years. If the buyer knew or had reason to believe the firearm would be used in a felony, an act of terrorism, or a drug trafficking crime, the maximum jumps to 25 years.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 932 – Straw Purchasing of Firearms Trafficking carries the same 15-year maximum.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 933 – Trafficking in Firearms
Unregistered NFA Weapons: Up to 10 Years
The National Firearms Act covers machine guns, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, silencers, and destructive devices. These must be registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, and possessing an unregistered NFA item is a federal crime.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 US Code 5861 – Prohibited Acts The penalty is up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 US Code 5871 – Penalties These charges are often stacked alongside other counts, which can push total exposure much higher.
Using a Gun During Another Crime: Mandatory Time on Top
Federal law treats guns used during violent crimes or drug trafficking as a separate offense layered on top of the underlying crime. Under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), the mandatory minimum depends on what the defendant did with the gun:9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 924 – Penalties
- Possessing or carrying a firearm: 5 years minimum
- Brandishing it to intimidate: 7 years minimum
- Discharging it: 10 years minimum
- Using a machine gun, silencer, or destructive device: 30 years minimum
Every one of those sentences must be served consecutively, added on after the sentence for the underlying crime. A defendant convicted of a drug trafficking offense carrying 10 years who also brandished a firearm faces a minimum of 17 years total, with no overlap.
A second or subsequent conviction under § 924(c), after a prior conviction has become final, triggers a 25-year mandatory minimum. If the weapon is a machine gun or destructive device, a repeat offender faces mandatory life imprisonment. Before the First Step Act of 2018, prosecutors could stack multiple counts from a single case to reach the 25-year enhancement. That is no longer permitted; the prior conviction must already be final before the new offense occurs.
The Armed Career Criminal Act: 15-Year Floor
The Armed Career Criminal Act applies when someone convicted of illegally possessing a firearm has three or more prior convictions for violent felonies or serious drug offenses. The minimum prison sentence then jumps to 15 years, and the judge cannot suspend the sentence or grant probation.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties In practice, the ACCA turns what might otherwise be a mid-range possession sentence into something closer to what you would expect for a violent crime itself.
Mandatory minimums under both the ACCA and § 924(c) are the floor a judge cannot go below, no matter how sympathetic the defendant’s circumstances. The only way around one is for the prosecution to drop or reduce the charge, which sometimes happens in plea negotiations.
State Unlawful Carry Charges
Carrying a concealed weapon without the required permit is primarily a state offense, and penalties span an enormous range. In states that still require permits, a first offense is often a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail, a fine, or both. Repeat offenses or aggravating circumstances, such as carrying near a school or while intoxicated, can elevate the charge to a felony with multi-year prison exposure.
Possessing a firearm in a federally designated gun-free school zone is a separate federal offense that carries up to five years in prison. It applies to anyone who knowingly brings a gun within 1,000 feet of a school, with exceptions for licensed individuals and certain other circumstances.
How Much of a Federal Sentence Is Actually Served
Federal prisoners serving more than one year can earn up to 54 days of credit for each year of their sentence by maintaining a clean disciplinary record. That works out to roughly 85 percent of the sentence actually being served behind bars; a 10-year sentence translates to about eight and a half years in custody if everything goes well.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 3624 – Release of a Prisoner The Bureau of Prisons calculates good time based on time actually served rather than the sentence imposed, which reduces the effective credit to closer to 47 days per year in practice.
There is no federal parole. Congress abolished discretionary parole for federal offenses committed after November 1, 1987. What exists instead is supervised release, which begins after the prison term ends and functions similarly to probation.
Mandatory minimums must be served in full. Good conduct credits cannot drop a sentence below the mandatory floor, so a defendant sentenced to a 15-year ACCA minimum will serve at least 15 years regardless of behavior.
The Lifetime Firearms Ban
A felony gun conviction strips away the right to possess firearms for life under federal law. The ban applies even after the sentence, supervised release, and any probation are complete, and it covers any firearm and any ammunition, anywhere in the country.
Getting those rights back is difficult. A state-level pardon or expungement may remove the state conviction, and federal law generally does not treat expunged or pardoned convictions as disqualifying, but a federal restoration does not automatically override a state prohibition, or vice versa. The federal program for restoring firearm rights under 18 U.S.C. § 925(c) was effectively frozen for decades due to congressional funding restrictions on the ATF’s ability to process applications. In early 2025, the Department of Justice transferred processing authority to the FBI to revive the program. Applicants have to show that restoration poses no danger to public safety and serves the public interest.
For many people convicted of federal gun charges, the lifetime firearms ban ends up being the consequence that outlasts every other part of the sentence.