In Washington, you lose your right to possess and own a firearm if you have a felony conviction or a misdemeanor domestic violence (DV) conviction.
To restore your gun rights, you must meet the following 5 requirements, which are laid out in RCW 9.41.041.
- There are no pending criminal charges against you
- You have completed all the conditions of your sentence (except non-restitution fines)
- You have been crime-free for the past 3-5 years before filing your petition (depending on the type of crime)
- All your felony convictions have washed out
- You have never been convicted of a class A felony or sex offense
Learn more about these requirements below:
1. You have no pending criminal charges
You cannot restore your firearm rights if you are currently facing criminal charges in any state or federal jurisdiction anywhere in the country. This includes military court or tribal court.
Only criminal charges matter. A pending bankruptcy, personal injury lawsuit, or traffic ticket, for example, won't stop you from getting your rights back.
2. You have completed all sentencing conditions (other than non-restitution fines)
You must have completed all court-ordered sentencing conditions for each felony or DV conviction on your record.
Typical sentencing conditions include:
- Prison or jail sentence
- Alcohol and drug treatment
- DV treatment
- Restitution (principal and interest)
- Community service hours
- Department of Correction (DOC) community custody conditions
You do not, however, have to pay your court-ordered, non-restitution fines and fees to be eligible.
Example: You have a conviction for felony theft out of King County Superior Court for damaging a commercial building. As part of the sentence, the judge imposed $1,000 in restitution (to reimburse the building's owner) and $2,000 in court costs. You have paid back the restitution but still owe the court money. You meet this requirement.
In our experience, this requirement trips up many potential clients with felony convictions. DOC typically sends you a letter when you are off community custody supervision, but this doesn't necessarily mean you have completed all your sentencing conditions, such as paying restitution or doing your required community service.
3. You have been crime-free for the past 3-5 years
5 Years Crime Free (felony, DV, special misdemeanors)
You must spent the last five consecutive years "in the community" (i.e., out of prison or jail) without being convicted of a felony or any of the following misdemeanor crimes:
- All DV-related crimes
- Driving under the influence (DUI) (alcohol or drugs)
- Reckless driving (if you were originally charged with DUI)
- Negligent driving in the first degree (if you were originally charged with DUI)
- Animal cruelty in the second degree (with limited exceptions)
- Aiming or discharging a firearm
- Stalking or harassment (includes cyberstalking and cyber harassment)
3 Years Crime Free (simple misdemeanors)
You must have spent the last three (3) consecutive years in the community without being convicted of any other misdemeanor crime not included in the previous section.
Example #1: You filed a petition to restore your firearm rights in August 2026. Your last felony conviction was over five years but you were not released from prison until 2022. You are not eligible because you have not spent five crime-free years in the community.
Example #2: You filed a petition to restore your firearm rights in August 2026. Your last felony conviction was over five years ago and you were released from prison in June 2021. Your last misdemeanor conviction (theft in the third degree) was in July 2023, and you did not serve any jail time. You meet this requirement because you have been felony crime-free for over 5 years and misdemeanor crime-free for over 3 years.
Many firearms restoration attorneys, unfortunately, don't fully explain this requirement on their websites. They say you are eligible if you have no felonies in the past 5 years and no misdemeanors in the past 3 years--which is simpler to understand if you're not an attorney, but it's not 100 percent accurate.
4. All your felony convictions have washed out
In general, class B felonies wash out after 10 years, and class C felonies wash out after 5 years.
(Felonies that have "washed out" are not part of your offender score, which is a numerical representation of your criminal history that courts use to determine your sentence if you have been convicted of a felony).
Class A felonies never wash out (see below).
To determine whether you have satisfied the required wash-out period, you start from the date you were sentenced or last released from confinement (whichever is later) and end the date you committed any new crime that results in a conviction.
Example #1: You were convicted of a class B felony in 2004, and you got out of prison in 2008. You file a petition to restore your firearm rights in 2026. You meet this requirement because your felony washed out in 2018.
Example #2: You were convicted of a class C felony in 2018. You were released from prison in 2020. You violated community custody in 2023 and served one week in jail, You filed a restoration petition in 2026. You are not eligible because you have not spent five crime-free years in the community since 2023.
Whether you meet this requirement is hard to figure out if you have a lengthy record, if you have violated terms of your community custody, or whether you have out-of-state convictions (see below).
5. No class A felony or felony sex offense
You cannot restore your firearm rights in state court if you have been convicted of any class A felony or felony sex offense.
Class A felony
These are the most serious crimes in Washington state, which carry a maximum possible penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole:
- Aggravated murder
- Murder in the first degree
- Murder in the second degree
- Manslaughter in the first degree
- Burglary in the first degree
- Robbery in the first degree
- Assault in the first degree
- Assault of a child in the first degree
- Arson in the first degree
- Vehicular homicide
You also cannot restore your firearm rights for if you have been convicted of conspiracy or solicitationto commit a Class A felony. That is, you agreed to help someone else commit the crime, or your assisted in the crime, even if you were not the main actor.
Sex Offense
Most felony sex offenses are found in RCW 9A.44. (Many felony sex crimes, not surprisingly. are also class A felonies).
- Rape in the first degree
- Rape in the second degree
- Rape in the third degree
- Rape of a child in the first degree
- Rape of a child in the second degree
- Rape of a child in the third degree
- Child molestation in the first degree
- Child molestation in the second degree
- Child molestation in the third degree
- Commercial sexual abuse of a minor
- Incest in the first degree
- Incest in the second degree
- Indecent liberties
- Sexual misconduct with a minor in the first degree
- Sexual misconduct with a minor in the second degree
- Failure to register as a sex offender (if it's a felony)
You may, however, be able to restore your Washington or federal gun rights if you secure a pardon from the governor, but you can't ever restore your rights through the courts.
FAQ: Restoring Firearm Rights in Washington
Can I restore my firearm rights if I have multiple felony convictions?
Yes.
Your eligibility to restore your firearm rights under RCW 9.41.041 depends primarily on the seriousness of your conviction and when you were convicted. Not the number of your prior convictions.
In theory, you could have 50 non-violent class C felonies and meet all the requirements for firearm restoration.
Can I restore my firearm rights if my my felony conviction is outside Washington State?
Yes.
All that matters under RCW 9.41.041 is the seriousness and the timing of your convictions, not what jurisdiction.
The more difficult question is whether your out-of-state crime is considered a felony under Washington law. You might assume any felony outside Washington is a felony inside Washington, but not so. In fact, some out-of-state misdemeanors are classified as felonies in Washington.
The determining factor is whether the crime you committed out-of-state would be a crime if you committed the crime in Washington.
Example: You broke into a commercial building in California to steal money. You are arrested, charged, and convicted of burglary in California. Under Washington law, you are guilty of burglary in the second degree if you enter a building unlawfully with the specific intent to commit a crime while inside the building. Therefore, your California crime counts as a Washington felony.
Do I have to vacate my felony or DV conviction to restore my firearm rights?
No.
So long as you meet the 5 requirements of RCW 9.41.041, you can restore your firearm rights in Washington.
Does the court have to restore my firearm rights if I meet the five statutory requirements?
Yes.
The Washington Supreme Court has made this crystal clear. Trial judges do not have the discretion to deny your request, regardless of your background, so long as you satisfy all the requirements of RCW 9.41.041.
Can I restore my firearm rights if I have been involuntarily committed to a treatment facility?
Yes.
You have to follow a separate procedure laid out in RCW 9.41.047.
