Quick takeaways: 1) Federal restoration of firearms rights is on the horizon, but still at least 4 months away (As of August, 2026) 2) Federal restoration of firearms rights will likely not restore your rights in Massachusetts and 3) Our firm has been in touch with DOJ and will be helping clients restore their rights as soon as the application is available to the public.
Introduction
For the first time in more than thirty years, the U.S. Department of Justice is reopening a real path for people with federal firearms disabilities to get their gun rights back. On August 17, 2026, Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that DOJ is reviving the long-dormant relief-from-disabilities process under 18 U.S.C. § 925(c) — a statute that has existed since 1968 but has been effectively unusable since 1992, when Congress stopped funding ATF’s ability to process applications under it.
If you’ve been prohibited from possessing a firearm because of a past conviction or other disqualifying event, this is significant news. But there are still important steps left before anyone can actually apply, and the details of eligibility matter a great deal. Here’s where things stand.
How We Got Here
DOJ published its proposed rule in the Federal Register in July 2025, opening a public comment period that closed in October 2025. The proposal drew an unusually high level of public engagement, with the overwhelming majority of commenters supporting the idea of restoring a functioning relief process. After a lengthy review period — and a stretch where federal rulemaking activity was slowed by a government shutdown — DOJ announced last week that it is moving forward with a final version of the rule, shifting authority over these decisions from ATF to the Attorney General.
Who the Rule Is Meant to Help — and Who It Isn’t
Restoration under this process is neither automatic nor guaranteed. Applicants will need to show that they are not likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety and that restoring their rights would not be contrary to the public interest. DOJ’s framework looks at the circumstances of the original disqualifying offense, the person’s record and reputation since then, and their conduct overall.
Individuals who have had their state firearms rights restored (in Massachusetts via the Firearms Licensing Review Board) appear to receive preferential treatment under the proposed regulations.
Certain categories are presumptively ineligible absent extraordinary circumstances, including:
1) People convicted of violent felonies (such as murder, sexual assault, kidnapping, or robbery); 2) people required to register as sex offenders; 3) people with drug distribution convictions or domestic violence convictions within roughly the last decade; 4) people with any felony conviction within the last five years; and 5) people who are current fugitives, unlawfully in the country, or subject to an active restraining order.
What this Means for Massachusetts Residents
It’s also worth remembering: this is a federal process. Someone who successfully restores their federal firearm rights will still likely be prohibited under Massachusetts state law. Generally, only individuals who have had their state rights restored by the Massachusetts Firearms Licensing Review Board will be able to fully exercise their 2nd Amendment rights in the Commonwealth. (More information about the Firearms Licensing Review Board can be found on this website).
Timeline: What’s Actually Happening and When
This is the part we’re watching most closely, because the announcement is not the same as the rule being in effect.
The rule still needs to be formally promulgated — meaning published as a final rule in the Federal Register — which we expect to happen within the next 30 to 60 days. Once that happens, the rule’s effective date and the mechanics of how DOJ will phase in applications will be locked in.
Separately, DOJ has indicated that the public-facing application website will not go live immediately. Based on DOJ’s own projected rollout, we expect the application portal to become active roughly 120 days out. Until that site is active, there is no way to file an application under this process, no matter how strong someone’s case for restoration may be.
In short: nothing can be filed yet, and applicants should be very wary of anyone claiming otherwise or offering to “get ahead of the line” before the rule is even final.
What We’re Doing
We are actively monitoring this rulemaking as it moves toward finalization, and we intend to keep tracking it through the rule’s publication, its effective date, and the eventual opening of the application website. Once the process is actually live, we fully intend to work with clients on eligibility review, documentation, and the application itself — including the separate question of what a federal restoration does and doesn’t do for someone’s status under Massachusetts law.
We’ll continue to post updates here as this develops, including when the final rule is published and when the application portal opens. If you have a past disqualifying conviction and have been waiting for a path like this, now is a good time to start thinking through your situation so you’re ready to move once the process is actually available — but there is no need to rush into anything before the rule is final.
