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

The most important thing to understand before you do anything else: Nebraska and the federal government run two completely separate systems for taking away — and restoring — your right to possess a firearm. Getting your rights back under Nebraska law does not automatically make it legal for you to possess a gun under federal law. If you get this wrong, you are risking a federal felony charge for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Do not buy, receive, or possess a firearm based on a guess. Confirm your status with a lawyer first.

In Nebraska, there is essentially one door back to lawful gun ownership after a disqualifying conviction: a pardon from the Nebraska Board of Pardons, with the Governor expressly restoring firearm rights as part of that pardon. Nebraska has no automatic restoration of firearm rights after a felony sentence is completed, and its judicial "set-aside" procedure — the closest thing Nebraska has to expungement — explicitly does not restore firearm rights on its own. If someone tells you a set-aside, a completed probation term, or the mere passage of time gets your gun rights back in Nebraska, that is incorrect.

Who loses firearm rights in Nebraska

Two separate systems can strip someone of the right to possess a firearm, and they overlap but are not identical:

• Federal law (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)): Any felony conviction — from Nebraska, another state, or federal court — bars firearm possession under federal law, everywhere in the country.
• Federal law (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), the "Lautenberg Amendment"): A misdemeanor conviction for a crime of domestic violence also triggers a federal firearm ban, even though it is not a felony.
• Nebraska law (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-1206): Nebraska independently criminalizes firearm possession by a "prohibited person" — anyone previously convicted of a felony (any U.S. jurisdiction), a fugitive from justice, someone knowingly violating a protection order, someone on probation for a deferred felony judgment, or someone convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence within the preceding seven years.

On the felony side, Nebraska's ban tracks the federal one closely. On misdemeanor domestic violence, Nebraska's ban is actually narrower: it cuts off after seven years, while the federal Lautenberg bar has no built-in expiration. That gap matters — someone can be legal under Nebraska's own statute while still committing a federal crime.

The two locks: why Nebraska relief doesn't automatically clear the federal bar

This is the concept that trips people up more than any other: restoring your rights under Nebraska law and clearing the federal firearm disability are two different locks, and turning the state key does not automatically turn the federal one.

Federal law has its own rule for when a prior conviction stops counting as disqualifying. Under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20), a conviction that has been expunged, set aside, or pardoned, or for which civil rights have been restored, is not counted against the person under federal law — unless that relief expressly provides that the person may not possess firearms. If Nebraska restores your civil rights but the paperwork preserves a firearms restriction (which is exactly how Nebraska's pardon process works — firearm rights are restored only if the Governor expressly says so), you have not cleared the federal bar.

There is a second, harder wall: if the underlying conviction was a federal conviction, a Nebraska pardon has no effect on it at all. The Supreme Court held in Beecham v. United States, 511 U.S. 368 (1994), that only federal law can remove the disability created by a federal conviction. The federal relief mechanism for this, 18 U.S.C. § 925(c), sat unfunded for decades. As of 2026 DOJ's Office of the Pardon Attorney has begun reviving it — a proposed rule was published and DOJ has moved to stand up an application process — but that process was still being finalized as of this writing, and DOJ has signaled violent felons, registered sex offenders, and people unlawfully in the country will presumptively not qualify. If your disqualifying conviction is federal, check current status directly at the DOJ Office of the Pardon Attorney before assuming any state process helps you.

How Nebraska restores firearm rights

Nebraska offers one real path for firearm restoration after a felony, plus one related process people often confuse with it:

• Pardon from the Nebraska Board of Pardons (the actual mechanism). The Board — the Governor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General — can grant a pardon for a state conviction and, separately and expressly, empower the Governor to authorize the person to "receive, possess, or transport in commerce" a firearm. Firearm authorization is not automatic just because a pardon is granted; it must be specifically requested and granted.
• Judicial set-aside (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 29-2264) — does NOT restore firearm rights. After completing a sentence, including probation, fines, and restitution, a person can petition the sentencing court to have the conviction set aside. This removes many civil disabilities, but Nebraska courts must advise applicants that a set-aside does not, by itself, restore the right to possess a firearm. Treat it as record relief, not gun-rights relief.

Nebraska has no general felony expungement statute and no automatic restoration of firearm rights simply because a sentence, probation, or parole term is completed. The pardon process is the route.

Waiting period and eligibility

The Board of Pardons' stated practice is to hear felony applications only after 10 years have passed from final discharge of the sentence — completion of any incarceration, probation, or parole and full payment of fines and restitution. Misdemeanor applications are generally considered after a 3-year wait. Any new arrest or law-enforcement contact during the waiting period can reset the clock under the Board's practice. Because these are stated practices rather than a fixed statutory number, confirm the current waiting-period policy directly with the Board of Pardons before planning around a specific date.

The process

Nebraska's pardon process runs through the Board of Pardons, not a court (see the Nebraska Judicial Branch's pardons self-help page). A written application is filed with the Board, which specifically asks whether the applicant is requesting firearm-rights restoration — address it directly rather than assuming a general pardon covers it. Applicants typically submit certified court records, a personal statement, and several character reference letters. The Board meets only a handful of times a year at the State Capitol; some applications are denied without a hearing, while others are scheduled for a hearing the applicant must attend in person. Historically only a minority of applications are granted, and firearm restoration must be separately requested and approved even when a pardon is granted. This is a slow process: reported wait times from filing to a hearing have run into multiple years on top of the 10-year eligibility clock, and Nebraska's guidance does not advertise a fixed filing fee, though certified records and (commonly) attorney assistance add cost. Plan on years, not months.

Steps to restore your gun rights in Nebraska

1. Identify exactly what disqualifies you and whether the conviction is a Nebraska conviction, another state's, or a federal one — the path differs for each.
2. Confirm your sentence is fully complete, including probation/parole and all fines and restitution — the Board's clock runs from final discharge, not sentencing.
3. Optionally pursue a judicial set-aside under § 29-2264 for general record relief, but don't expect it to restore firearm rights.
4. Once the waiting period has passed, file a pardon application with the Nebraska Board of Pardons, explicitly requesting firearm-rights restoration, with references and court records.
5. Attend the hearing if scheduled, and expect a long wait between filing and any hearing date.
6. If granted with firearm rights expressly restored, keep the written pardon document permanently — you may need it for a background check.
7. Before buying, receiving, or possessing any firearm, have a lawyer confirm in writing that your conviction is clear under both Nebraska and federal law — including § 925(c) if the conviction was federal.

Permanent and serious exclusions

Nothing in Nebraska law flatly bars every violent felon or sex offender from applying for a pardon — the Governor's pardon power itself is broad, limited only by the state constitution's exclusion of treason and impeachment. In practice, though, treat violent felonies and sex offenses as near-permanent barriers: firearm authorization is discretionary, and applicants with those histories face a much steeper climb and are far less likely to have firearm rights restored even when a pardon on the underlying conviction is granted. A federal conviction is a separate, harder problem — only federal relief can fix it, and DOJ has flagged violent felons and registered sex offenders as presumptively ineligible for the revived § 925(c) process. Given how these categories keep shifting at the federal level, confirm current rules with the Board of Pardons, the Nebraska Attorney General's office, or a Nebraska firearms lawyer before assuming any conviction is or isn't restorable.

Practical guidance

• Get any restoration in writing. A verbal assurance or an assumption based on "it's been years" is not proof — keep the actual pardon certificate or court order.
• Confirm the federal effect before you touch a firearm. Have a lawyer review whether your Nebraska relief satisfies 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20), or whether you still need federal relief under § 925(c).
• Never assume. Possessing a firearm while still federally prohibited is a serious federal felony, independent of what Nebraska has done for you. When in doubt, don't possess — confirm first.

This article is general legal information about Nebraska and federal firearm law as of mid-2026, not legal advice for your specific situation — laws and DOJ procedures are actively changing, so confirm current rules with a licensed Nebraska attorney before taking any action.