2025 Session Last amended: 2023 session

§ 609.165 — Restoration of Civil Rights; Possession of Firearms and Ammunition

Plain-Language Summary

When a person is discharged after a criminal conviction, that discharge restores all civil rights and full citizenship, including the right to vote, as if the conviction had not happened. A person convicted of a crime of violence (as defined in section 624.712, subdivision 5) may not ship, transport, possess, or receive a firearm or ammunition for the rest of their life unless that ability is later restored. Possessing a firearm or ammunition in violation of this ban is a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $30,000, or both. A person under the ban may petition a court to restore the right; if the petition is denied, another petition cannot be filed for three years without the court's permission.

609.165 RESTORATION OF CIVIL RIGHTS; POSSESSION OF FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION.

Subdivision 1.Restoration.

When a person has been deprived of civil rights by reason of conviction of a crime and is thereafter discharged, such discharge shall restore the person to all civil rights and to full citizenship, the same as if such conviction had not taken place, and the order of discharge shall so provide. §

Subd. 1a.Certain convicted felons ineligible to possess firearms or ammunition.

The order of discharge must provide that a person who has been convicted of a crime of violence, as defined in section 624.712, subdivision 5, is not entitled to ship, transport, possess, or receive a firearm or ammunition for the remainder of the person’s lifetime. Any person who has received such a discharge and who thereafter has received a relief of disability under United States Code, title 18, section 925, or whose ability to possess firearms and ammunition has been restored under subdivision 1d, shall not be subject to the restrictions of this subdivision. §

Subd. 1b.Violation and penalty.

(a) Any person who has been convicted of a crime of violence, as defined in section 624.712, subdivision 5, and who ships, transports, possesses, or receives a firearm or ammunition, commits a felony and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 15 years or to payment of a fine of not more than $30,000, or both.

(b) A conviction and sentencing under this section shall be construed to bar a conviction and sentencing for a violation of section 624.713, subdivision 2.

(c) The criminal penalty in paragraph (a) does not apply to any person who has received a relief of disability under United States Code, title 18, section 925, or whose ability to possess firearms and ammunition has been restored under subdivision 1d. §

Subd. 1c.

[Repealed, 1999 c 61 s 2] §

Subd. 1d.Judicial restoration of ability to possess firearms and ammunition by felon.

A person prohibited by state law from shipping, transporting, possessing, or receiving a firearm or ammunition because of a conviction or a delinquency adjudication for committing a crime of violence may petition a court to restore the person’s ability to possess, receive, ship, or transport firearms and otherwise deal with firearms and ammunition.

The court may grant the relief sought if the person shows good cause to do so and the person has been released from physical confinement.

If a petition is denied, the person may not file another petition until three years have elapsed without the permission of the court. §

Subd. 2.Discharge.

The discharge may be:

(1) by order of the court following stay of sentence or stay of execution of sentence; or

(2) upon expiration of sentence. §

Subd. 3.Applicability.

This section does not apply to a forfeiture of and disqualification for public office as provided in section 609.42, subdivision 2.

History:

1963 c 753 art 1 s 609.165; 1973 c 654 s 15; 1975 c 271 s 6; 1978 c 723 art 1 s 15; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 276 s 1; 1994 c 636 art 3 s 9; 1996 c 408 art 4 s 7; 1998 c 376 s 5; 2003 c 28 art 3 s 3-5; 2005 c 83 s 1; 2015 c 65 art 3 s 18; 2023 c 12 s 7

History: History: 1963 c 753 art 1 s 609.165; 1973 c 654 s 15; 1975 c 271 s 6; 1978 c 723 art 1 s 15; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 276 s 1; 1994 c 636 art 3 s 9; 1996 c 408 art 4 s 7; 1998 c 376 s 5; 2003 c 28 art 3 s 3-5; 2005 c 83 s 1; 2015 c 65 art 3 s 18; 2023 c 12 s 7

Practical Notes

Once you are discharged from your sentence (including expiration of the sentence or a court order after a stay), your civil rights, including the right to vote, are restored. However, if you were convicted of a crime of violence, you may never possess a firearm or ammunition again unless your ability is restored by a court order under subdivision 1d or by federal relief of disability under 18 U.S.C. 925. To restore firearm rights through subdivision 1d, you petition a court and must show good cause and that you have been released from physical confinement; if the court denies the petition, you cannot petition again for three years without the court’s permission. Possessing a firearm or ammunition after a crime-of-violence conviction is itself a felony carrying up to 15 years and a fine of up to $30,000.

Source: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes