Gun Rights Restoration in Texas: What the DOJ’s “New” Federal Rule Does

On August 17, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice finalized a rule that opens a real path to federal firearm rights restoration for the first time in more than three decades.

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The DOJ calls it the Federal Firearm Rights Restoration program, or FFRR. Here’s what it changes, what it doesn’t, and why gun rights restoration in Texas still takes more than one step.

Quick Facts

• DOJ finalized the rule on August 17, 2026
• AG Todd Blanche launched the program
• DOJ calls it Federal Firearm Rights Restoration (FFRR)
• DOJ’s Office of the Pardon Attorney now runs the process, not the ATF
• The rule takes effect 30 days after it publishes in the Federal Register

Why This Rule Exists Now

• Congress created 18 U.S.C. § 925(c) back in the 1960s to let the Attorney General grant individual relief from federal firearm prohibitions
• Congress cut ATF’s funding to process these applications in 1992
• That funding freeze lasted 34 years
• The Supreme Court closed the door further in 2002, ruling in United States v. Bean that courts can’t grant relief when ATF never acts on an application
• Blanche’s rule moves the process to DOJ’s Pardon Attorney and sidesteps the old funding freeze entirely

Who Qualifies

FFRR covers more than felons. Anyone the federal government currently bars from possessing a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) can apply. DOJ reviews every application case by case and weighs the applicant’s record, reputation, and conduct since the disqualifying event. Eligible categories include:

• Felony convictions — § 922(g)(1)
• Certain drug users
• Specific mental health adjudications
• Dishonorable military discharges
• Domestic violence protective orders

The Disqualifiers That Matter Most

DOJ built in strict limits. Three tiers determine who gets a fair shot:

1. Permanent bar (absent extraordinary circumstances): felonies involving violence, sexual assault, kidnapping, arson, robbery, burglary, and similar offenses
2. 10-year bar: felonies involving drug trafficking, threats of violence, or firearms and explosives offenses
3. 5-year bar: any other felony not covered above

Clear your tier’s waiting period with a clean record, and FFRR can actually help you.

Texas Has Three Separate Paths — and They Don’t Fix the Same Thing

This is where gun rights restoration in Texas gets complicated. Three distinct mechanisms exist, and each one solves a different piece of the problem.

1. Texas Penal Code § 46.04 — automatic, but limited

• Restores possession at your own home only, five years after release or the end of supervision
• The exception stops at your front door — no carrying, no transporting in a vehicle, no taking it to a range
• The Fifth Circuit, in United States v. Huff and United States v. Rodriguez, ruled that Texas’s home-only restriction doesn’t count as a full restoration of civil rights under federal law
• Federal law keeps treating a Texas felon as a prohibited person even at home, because Texas never fully lifted the restriction
• A Texas felon can violate federal law by keeping a gun at home, five years past release, without knowing it

2. FFRR — fixes federal law only

• Clears the § 922(g)(1) disability completely
• You can pass a background check and buy from a licensed dealer
• FFRR does not touch Texas § 46.04 — the home-only restriction stays in place
• FFRR alone doesn’t get you a License to Carry or the right to carry outside your home

3. Full Pardon + Restoration of Firearm Rights — the only path that fixes both

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles governs this route under 37 Tex. Admin. Code § 143.12:

• The Board considers restoration “only in extreme and unusual circumstances which prevent the applicant from gaining a livelihood,” and the burden of proving that falls on the applicant
• You can’t request firearm-rights restoration on its own — the rule requires you to request it together with a full pardon application for the same conviction
• The rule also requires proof that you applied for federal relief under 18 U.S.C. § 925(c) and copies of ATF’s response. That requirement sat effectively dead for over 30 years, since ATF wasn’t processing § 925(c) applications at all. FFRR reopens that door, so it now unblocks this Texas pathway too, not just the federal side
• A pardon that restores firearm rights doesn’t carry Texas’s home-only limitation, so it satisfies the federal restoration exception under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20) and clears the federal disability as well
• Approval is uncommon, and the process runs long. Talk to your attorney about realistic timelines and what evidence the Board expects before you file

Two narrower routes exist outside these three: expunction or nondisclosure occasionally helps, but only in limited circumstances like dismissal or acquittal, and rarely restores firearm rights on its own. Post-Bruen constitutional challenges to felon-in-possession laws are also emerging nationally, but remain unsettled and litigated case by case.

Application Timeline

DOJ is rolling out FFRR out in stages during 2026:

• Day 30 after Federal Register publication: DOJ invites candidates to apply
• Day 75: the portal opens to the first 5,000 public applicants
• Day 120: 500 more slots open, and the $30 application fee begins

Required documents:

• Certified court records
• A 25-year criminal history report (or since age 18)
• Three character references
• Electronic fingerprints, submitted through USPS

What To Do Now

• Gather your certified judgment and proof of sentence completion
• Pull your criminal history report
• Identify which disqualifier tier applies to your conviction
• Figure out which of the three pathways actually fits your situation — § 46.04, FFRR, or a full pardon with firearm-rights restoration
• Talk to an attorney who handles both the federal FFRR process and Texas pardon and restoration law before you file anything

If you’re pursuing gun rights restoration in Texas, don’t wait for the portal to open before you start building your file.

Bottom Line

• FFRR clears the federal § 922(g)(1) disability on its own — background checks, dealer purchases, and general possession
• Texas § 46.04 offers only a home-only fix, and it doesn’t independently satisfy federal law either
• A full pardon with Restoration of Firearm Rights is the only path that can resolve both the state and federal restrictions in a single grant, and FFRR’s revival now makes the federal-application step that route requires possible again for the first time in over 30 years

Contact The Meyers Firm

The Meyers Firm handles both tracks — federal FFRR applications and Texas pardon and restoration matters. Call Paul at 936-766-5171 or email meyerspaulesq@gmail.com to find out where you stand./practice-areas/pardons-clemency/