Restoring Your Gun Rights in Maryland: How to Get Firearm Rights Back

Short answer for Maryland: Maryland does not automatically give firearm rights back to someone with a disqualifying conviction. The only two paths are (1) a statutory expungement of the conviction — but only for a limited list of offenses, after a waiting period — or (2) a fully discretionary governor's pardon obtained through the Maryland Parole Commission. There is no general court petition just to "restore firearm rights" separate from those two routes, and there is no automatic restoration simply because you finished your sentence. Even if you clear one of those state hurdles, you still have to clear a completely separate federal hurdle before you can legally possess a gun.

Before anything else: fixing this under Maryland law does not automatically fix it under federal law. These are two different systems with two different locks, and both have to open. A lot of people learn this the hard way — after they've already bought a gun.

Who loses firearm rights in Maryland

Two separate legal systems can take away your right to have a gun, and Maryland's is broader than the federal floor:

• Federal law (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)): anyone convicted in any state or federal court of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison (in practice, most felonies) is barred from possessing any firearm or ammunition, anywhere in the country, unless and until that disability is lifted.
• Federal domestic-violence bar (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), the "Lautenberg Amendment"): a misdemeanor conviction for a crime of domestic violence carries the same federal firearm ban as a felony — even though it's "just a misdemeanor."
• Maryland's own bar is broader than the federal one. Under Maryland's regulated-firearms law (Public Safety Article § 5-133), a "disqualifying crime" includes not only felonies and crimes of violence, but also any misdemeanor classified in Maryland that carries a statutory penalty of more than two years, certain domestically-related offenses (including second-degree assault against a family or household member), and other specified offenses — regardless of the sentence actually imposed. That means some people who are not barred under the federal felon-in-possession statute are still barred under Maryland law, and vice versa.

Because the two lists don't match exactly, it is possible to be legal under one law and still barred under the other. You have to check both, every time.

The two locks: why fixing Maryland doesn't fix federal

This is the single most important thing to understand, so read it twice.

Federal law only stops treating a person as "convicted" for gun-ban purposes if the relief they received satisfies a specific federal test — not just any state paperwork. Under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20), a conviction doesn't count if it has been expunged, set aside, or pardoned, or if the person has had civil rights restored — but only if that relief does not expressly provide that the person may not possess firearms. If Maryland's expungement or pardon leaves a firearms restriction in place, or doesn't genuinely restore civil rights, the federal disability survives untouched, no matter what your Maryland paperwork says.

It gets worse if your conviction was federal rather than a Maryland state conviction. In Beecham v. United States, 511 U.S. 368 (1994), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a person convicted of a federal crime cannot use a state's restoration-of-rights process to lift the federal firearms bar — a federal conviction can only be relieved through federal law. There is a federal mechanism for that — 18 U.S.C. § 925(c) — but for decades it was effectively unavailable, because Congress barred the ATF from spending any funds to process these applications. In 2025 the U.S. Justice Department began moving to revive the program under its Office of the Pardon Attorney, but as of publication it is not yet operational, and its final rules, scope, and eligibility limits remain uncertain. If your conviction is federal, do not assume this relief is available to you — confirm its current status, because state-level relief in Maryland will not help a federal conviction at all.

Net effect: a person can do everything right in Maryland — get an expungement, get a pardon — and still be a federal felon in possession the moment they touch a gun, if the federal test in § 921(a)(20) isn't satisfied or if the underlying conviction was federal.

How Maryland actually restores firearm rights

Maryland offers two mechanisms. It does not offer automatic restoration after completing a sentence, and it does not have a stand-alone court petition specifically to "restore firearm rights" the way some other states do.

• Expungement of the conviction. Maryland law expanded conviction expungement through the 2016 Justice Reinvestment Act and the 2023 REDEEM Act, but it still only covers a specific, limited list of offenses — for example certain theft, burglary, drug, and second-degree-assault convictions — and generally requires staying conviction-free for a period of years after completing the sentence. Because Maryland's firearm law defines a "disqualifying crime" so that it does not include a case that has been expunged, a conviction that is actually expunged by the court is no longer a state firearm disqualifier. Many of the most serious disqualifying convictions, however, cannot be expunged at all.
• Governor's pardon. For convictions that are not eligible for expungement (including most felonies and crimes of violence), the only route to restoring firearm rights under Maryland law is a pardon from the Governor, applied for through the Maryland Parole Commission. Firearm rights are not restored automatically just because a pardon is granted for other purposes — the relief has to actually reach the firearm disqualification, and a pardon may not lift every statutory or regulatory firearms restriction.

Maryland does not offer a certificate of rehabilitation and does not have automatic restoration tied merely to completing probation or parole. If you don't fit expungement eligibility and can't get a pardon, Maryland currently gives you no path back.

Waiting periods and eligibility

Exact waiting periods depend on which route applies and change as the legislature amends the law, so treat any specific number as a starting point to verify, not a guarantee:

• Expungement: waiting periods vary by offense. Under the 2023 REDEEM Act, many eligible misdemeanors can be petitioned roughly five years after completing the sentence, with longer waits for some offenses (for example, second-degree assault or common-law battery), and eligible felonies generally require about seven years (and up to ten for certain burglary and felony-theft offenses). Some offenses are excluded from expungement entirely, regardless of how much time has passed.
• Pardon: Maryland Parole Commission guidance describes crime-free waiting periods before the Commission will even consider recommending a pardon — generally about five years for a misdemeanor and about ten years for a felony (reducible to seven with a Commission waiver), with a much longer wait — on the order of twenty years (reducible to about fifteen with a waiver) — for crimes of violence and controlled-substance felonies. A pardon is discretionary at every stage; meeting the waiting period does not entitle you to one.

Because these numbers are set by statute and by Parole Commission policy that can change, confirm the current figures directly with the Maryland Judiciary, the Maryland Parole Commission, or a Maryland criminal-defense attorney before you rely on them.

Steps to restore your gun rights in Maryland

1. Get your full record. Obtain certified copies of every docket entry and disposition for every conviction — not just the one you think matters — from the Maryland Judiciary Case Search and the clerk of court where you were convicted.
2. Check whether your conviction is expungement-eligible. Compare it against the current list of expungable convictions and waiting periods maintained by the Maryland Judiciary and the Maryland People's Law Library. Eligibility and waiting periods are offense-specific and have changed multiple times in recent years.
3. If eligible, file the expungement petition in the court where the conviction occurred, using the required court form, once the waiting period has run. The prosecutor (State's Attorney) is served with the petition and may object; if there is no timely objection the court can grant it without a hearing, but a hearing can happen if it's contested. Processing commonly takes weeks to a few months depending on the county and whether the state objects.
4. If not expungement-eligible, apply for a governor's pardon through the Maryland Parole Commission. This requires a formal application, certified copies of your conviction records, and typically a personal statement addressing rehabilitation. The Commission reviews the file and makes a recommendation; the Governor makes the final, fully discretionary decision. This process commonly takes many months to over a year, and there is no guarantee of a grant.
5. Confirm the pardon or expungement order actually reaches your firearm rights. A pardon for other purposes (voting, occupational licensing) does not automatically restore firearm rights unless it does so, and a pardon may not lift every firearms restriction. Ask the court or the Governor's office to confirm the firearms effect in writing.
6. Before you buy or possess anything, get a federal read from a lawyer. Ask specifically whether your Maryland relief satisfies 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20) and, if your conviction was federal, understand that Maryland relief will not help at all (Beecham v. United States).

Permanent and serious exclusions

Maryland does not have a simple published list of convictions that can "never" be restored, because a pardon is always theoretically possible for a state conviction. In practice, though:

• Crimes of violence and sex offenses are generally excluded from expungement entirely, no matter how much time has passed — pardon is the only theoretical route, and the Parole Commission's own guidance treats these as requiring the longest waiting periods and the most scrutiny.
• A pardon is never guaranteed. There is no legal right to one; the Governor can deny an application for any reason or no stated reason, and can decline to restore firearm rights even while granting other relief.
• A federal conviction cannot be fixed through Maryland at all. If the disqualifying conviction was federal, no Maryland expungement or pardon changes your status under federal law.

Caution: even after Maryland restores your rights, you are not automatically clear under federal law. Federal law only recognizes the restoration if it genuinely restores your civil rights and does not preserve a firearms restriction (18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20)), and a federal conviction can never be fixed through a state process (Beecham v. United States). Possessing or buying a firearm while you are still federally barred is itself a serious federal felony, even if your Maryland paperwork looks clean. Confirm your federal status in writing with a qualified attorney before you ever touch a gun.

Practical takeaways before you act

• Get every restoration — expungement order or pardon — in writing, and read it closely for whether it specifically addresses firearm rights.
• Have a Maryland criminal-defense or firearms attorney review both your state paperwork and your federal exposure before you buy or possess a firearm. Don't rely on a gun shop's background-check clearance alone; a background check can miss disqualifiers or, just as dangerously, pass someone who is still federally barred.
• Never assume time alone fixes this. Completing your sentence, finishing probation, or even years of a clean record does not, by itself, restore firearm rights in Maryland.
• If any part of your history includes a federal conviction, treat Maryland relief as irrelevant to your federal status and get a federal-specific legal opinion.

This article is general legal information about Maryland law as of publication, not legal advice for your specific situation — confirm current statutes and get a Maryland attorney's opinion before acting.