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

The short answer: in Nevada, the only way to restore your right to possess a firearm after a felony conviction is a pardon from the Nevada Board of Pardons Commissioners that expressly restores that right. Sealing your record does not do it. Completing probation or parole does not do it. And even a full Nevada pardon may not be enough if your conviction was federal, not a Nevada state conviction. That last point trips up more people than any other part of this process, so read the next section before you do anything else.

The two locks: state law and federal law are separate systems

Firearm rights lost after a conviction are governed by two independent legal systems that do not automatically talk to each other.

• State law (Nevada): NRS 202.360 makes it a crime for a convicted felon to own or possess a firearm in Nevada, unless the person has received a pardon that does not restrict the right to bear arms. Nevada's statute also bars firearm possession by people convicted of a qualifying misdemeanor crime of domestic violence and by people currently subject to certain extended domestic violence protection orders - categories that largely track federal law.
• Federal law: Separately, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) makes it a federal crime for anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison to possess a firearm or ammunition, and 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9) (the Lautenberg Amendment) does the same for anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. These federal bars apply nationwide, regardless of what your state does.

This is the single most important thing to understand: restoring your rights under Nevada law does not, by itself, lift the federal firearms bar. Federal law has its own separate rule for when it will stop treating a person as "convicted" for firearms purposes. 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 - no longer counts under federal law, but only if the state action does not expressly continue to prohibit the person from possessing firearms. In Nevada, the Board of Pardons Commissioners' pardon document must explicitly state that the person's right to bear arms is restored - if that box wasn't checked or that language isn't in your pardon, federal law will treat the underlying conviction as if nothing happened, and you can still be prosecuted as a federal felon in possession.

There is a second, harder wall: if your disqualifying conviction was a federal conviction, Nevada cannot fix it at all. In Beecham v. United States, 511 U.S. 368 (1994), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a person convicted under federal law must look to federal law - not state restoration procedures - to get relief from a federal firearms disability. The federal relief mechanism for that, 18 U.S.C. § 925(c), has existed on paper for decades, but Congress has refused to fund the review process since the early 1990s, so in practice it is not available to individual applicants. If your conviction is federal, a Nevada pardon generally will not restore your ability to legally possess a firearm.

Who loses firearm rights in Nevada

Under NRS 202.360, a person cannot own or possess a firearm in Nevada if they have been convicted of a felony in Nevada, in another state, or under federal law - unless they have received a pardon that does not restrict the right to bear arms. Nevada's statute also reaches people convicted of a qualifying misdemeanor crime of domestic violence and people currently subject to certain extended protective orders in domestic violence cases. On the whole, Nevada's list of prohibited categories closely mirrors the federal categories under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) rather than adding a long list of state-only disqualifiers - but the two systems are still legally independent, for the reasons explained above.

How Nevada actually restores firearm rights

Nevada is more limited than many states here. Confirm this directly with the Board of Pardons Commissioners before relying on it, but based on Nevada law and the Board's own materials, the mechanisms work like this:

• No automatic restoration of firearm rights. Nevada does automatically restore some civil rights (such as the right to vote, serve on a jury, or hold public office) once a person completes a felony sentence, under NRS Chapter 213. Firearm rights are the exception - they are not restored automatically, no matter how much time has passed or how clean the record has been since.
• No stand-alone court petition for firearm rights. Unlike some states, Nevada does not have a separate district-court petition process specifically to restore firearm rights.
• Record sealing does not restore firearm rights. Nevada allows many convictions to be sealed after a waiting period (NRS 179.245 and related statutes), which can help with employment and housing, but sealing a felony conviction in Nevada does not restore the right to possess a firearm.
• A Board of Pardons Commissioners pardon is the mechanism. Under NRS 213.090, a full, unconditional pardon restores all civil rights, including the right to bear arms - but the statute requires that, if firearm rights are restored, the official pardon document must explicitly state that the person is restored to the right to bear arms. The Board consists of the Governor, the Justices of the Nevada Supreme Court, and the Attorney General. On the application, request restoration of firearm rights (the form has a specific section for this) and explain why; a conditional pardon can be granted without restoring firearm rights, so make sure this is addressed rather than assumed.

Waiting period and eligibility

Nevada's pardon process generally requires a significant waiting period after you complete your sentence (including any probation or parole) before the Board will consider an application, and the required wait varies by the type of offense - the Board's published criteria describe minimum waits in a range of roughly five to twelve years from release depending on the offense category, with a clean-record requirement and a possible waiver of the minimum wait in limited circumstances. Do not rely on any specific number of years without confirming it first - these Board criteria can change, and the exact current requirement for your specific offense should be confirmed directly with the Board of Pardons Commissioners or a Nevada post-conviction attorney before you file.

Some categories face much steeper odds or outright exclusion. People required to register as sex offenders are generally not eligible for a pardon while the registration requirement remains in effect. Cases with a pending appeal or an open criminal investigation, and applicants still under court supervision, also face additional scrutiny or disqualification under Board practice. Pardons are also highly discretionary and rarely granted - the Board receives a large volume of applications each year and grants hearings in only a small fraction of them. Again, confirm the current eligibility criteria for your specific conviction with the Board before applying.

Steps to restore your gun rights in Nevada

1. Get your complete record together first. Certified judgments of conviction, proof of sentence completion (including discharge from probation or parole), and any prior record-sealing order.
2. Confirm whether your conviction is state or federal. If it's federal, stop and talk to a lawyer before doing anything else - Nevada's pardon process cannot fix a federal conviction (Beecham v. United States).
3. Confirm current eligibility and waiting-period rules with the Nevada Board of Pardons Commissioners for your specific offense. The Board is made up of the Governor, the Supreme Court Justices, and the Attorney General; its applications are handled through the Board's Executive Secretary, and background investigations are conducted by the state Division of Parole and Probation.
4. File the Application for Pardon with the Board of Pardons Commissioners, and affirmatively request restoration of the right to bear arms on the form - a conditional pardon can leave firearm rights out, so do not treat it as automatic.
5. Expect notice to the prosecution and victims. The court of conviction and the relevant prosecuting attorney's office are typically given advance notice of a pardon application, and victims are generally notified before any hearing, consistent with Nevada's victims' rights provisions.
6. Attend a hearing if one is required. The Board meets periodically throughout the year and agrees to hear only a portion of the applications it receives; contested or more serious cases typically require a hearing before the Board.
7. Get the decision in writing - and read it closely. If firearm rights are restored, the official pardon document must say so explicitly. If that language is missing, your firearm rights have not been restored under Nevada law, no matter what else the pardon says.
8. Before you buy or possess a firearm, confirm the federal effect with a lawyer. A Nevada pardon that properly restores firearm rights for a Nevada or other-state felony conviction can lift the federal bar too, under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20) - but a lawyer should confirm this applies to your specific conviction before you act on it.

Nevada does not publish a standard fee schedule for pardon applications on its public materials, and processing times vary with the Board's schedule and hearing calendar - budget for a process that can take many months from filing to a decision, and confirm current forms, timelines, and any costs directly with the Board.

What can never be restored in Nevada

Based on the Board's own stated practice, people currently required to register as sex offenders are not eligible for a pardon while that registration obligation continues, which in practice makes firearm-rights restoration unavailable to them as well unless and until the registration requirement ends. Separately, no state mechanism - pardon or otherwise - can restore firearm rights lost because of a federal conviction; only the federal government can grant that relief, and as explained above, the federal relief process has been unfunded for individual applicants for decades. Because Board criteria can change and are not fully spelled out in public statutes, confirm current permanent exclusions with the Board of Pardons Commissioners for your specific situation.

Do this before you touch a firearm

Never assume you are legal to possess a firearm based on the passage of time, a sealed record, probation ending, or a partial pardon. Possessing a firearm while you are still barred under federal law is a serious federal felony under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), even if Nevada law no longer treats you as prohibited. Before you buy, receive, or possess a firearm, get written confirmation of your restoration and have a lawyer confirm the federal effect of that specific Nevada action on your specific conviction. A background check denial or an ATF Form 4473 error is not a place to find out you guessed wrong.

Where to go for help

Contact the Nevada Board of Pardons Commissioners directly for current application forms, criteria, and any fee information - the Board maintains an official state website (pardons.nv.gov) with the current application packet and instructions. Consider consulting a Nevada criminal-defense or post-conviction attorney who handles pardon and firearms-restoration matters, particularly if your conviction involves a federal charge, a domestic violence element, or a sex offense registration requirement.

This article is general legal information about Nevada and federal firearms law, not legal advice for your situation - confirm current rules with the Nevada Board of Pardons Commissioners or a licensed Nevada attorney before you rely on anything here.