Federal Gun Rights Restoration for Fraud, Tax & White-Collar Felonies: DOJ’s 2026 Rules

The Justice Department’s 2026 federal firearm-rights restoration rule creates a particularly important question for people with nonviolent federal white-collar convictions: does a fraud, tax, embezzlement, false-statement, or similar conviction fall into DOJ’s five-year presumption rather than the permanent or ten-year categories?

What DOJ’s five-year rule says

Under the final rule at 28 C.F.R. Part 107, a person generally must show extraordinary circumstances if fewer than five years have passed since completion of the last sentence requirement for an offense punishable by more than one year that is not otherwise in DOJ’s permanent or ten-year lists.

That makes the five-year category especially relevant to many nonviolent financial offenses. DOJ’s permanent list is focused on conduct such as death, sexual violence, kidnapping, domestic violence, burglary, robbery, extortion, violent racketeering, assault, stalking, terrorism, witness tampering, firearm use, explosives, and similar conduct. Its ten-year list includes drug trafficking, threats of violence, explosives, certain firearm conduct, weapons on school property, and animal abuse.

Official source: DOJ Federal Firearm Rights Restoration Program Rule ↗.

Which white-collar crimes may fit the five-year category?

Depending on the exact conviction and facts, examples may include conventional nonviolent versions of:

• Wire fraud;
• Mail fraud;
• Bank fraud;
• Tax evasion or other tax offenses;
• False statements;
• Embezzlement;
• Health-care fraud;
• Securities or investment fraud;
• Nonviolent theft or financial-conspiracy offenses.

This is not a guaranteed classification. DOJ expressly says it can examine the conduct underlying the offense, and the presence of separate convictions or aggravating conduct can move the analysis into another category.

What white-collar conduct can create a much harder case?

Several facts commonly found in complex financial prosecutions appear directly in DOJ’s more serious presumptive categories. Examples include:

• Extortion — listed in the permanent category;
• Witness tampering — listed in the permanent category;
• Threats of violence — listed in the ten-year category;
• Firearm use during a felony — can trigger a permanent presumption;
• Violent racketeering predicates — can trigger the permanent category.

A person should therefore not classify a case as “white collar” and stop there. The indictment, plea agreement, factual basis, judgment, and presentence materials can matter to the federal restoration review.

When does the five-year clock start?

DOJ measures the five-year period from the completion of the last requirement of the sentence. Its required-document guidance specifically gives examples including supervision, restitution payments, and community service. If a sentence requirement is still outstanding, the timing analysis can be different.

Read: When Is a Sentence Complete? →   Read: Unpaid Restitution & Federal Gun Rights →

Can someone apply before five years have passed?

DOJ’s rule does not describe the five-year category as an absolute filing bar. Instead, it creates a presumption that relief will be denied unless the applicant shows extraordinary circumstances. That makes timing and case selection important. Filing early without a compelling record can create avoidable risk, especially because later applications can be affected by prior denials.

White-collar applicants still need a full record

DOJ’s application requirements are extensive even for a nonviolent offender. The current rule requires, when applicable, the charging document, judgment, proof of sentence completion, plea agreement, factual basis, presentence report, state criminal-history records for required locations and time periods, electronic fingerprints, and three qualified references.

DOJ can also evaluate dismissed conduct tied to a plea, behavior during incarceration and supervision, time since sentence completion, later criminal history, controlled-substance use, threats, protective orders, information from local law enforcement, and other relevant facts.

See the Felon Justice required-documents checklist →

The overlooked § 921(a)(20) business-practices exception

Before preparing a restoration application, counsel should confirm that the conviction actually qualifies as a federal firearm predicate. Congress excluded certain antitrust, unfair-trade-practice, restraint-of-trade, and similar business-regulation offenses from the definition used by § 922(g)(1). The current statutory language appears in 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20) ↗.

The exception is narrower than the everyday phrase “white-collar crime.” A conviction for wire fraud does not become an antitrust or unfair-trade-practices offense simply because it happened in a business setting. The exact statute and case law should be reviewed before relying on the exception.

What about the new Third Circuit rulings?

For people in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the October 2026 Third Circuit decisions add another possible legal route. Williams v. Attorney General and United States v. Bost, building on Range, distinguish nonviolent offenses from predicates demonstrating a risk of physical violence.

That court-based path is different from § 925(c). A person may have reasons to evaluate one or both routes depending on residence, conviction history, timing, and the desired remedy.

Read our white-collar Third Circuit analysis →

When can the public use the federal application?

DOJ currently says the FFRR program is launching in stages. The Department’s current schedule says the application opened to invited candidates on September 25, 2026, will open to the first 5,000 public applicants on November 4, 2026, and will open to 500 more public applicants on January 4, 2027 when the $30 application fee begins.

Because rollout details can change, applicants should confirm the live instructions on DOJ’s official FFRR page ↗ before filing.

Frequently asked questions

Next: Eligibility Review →   Presumptive Disqualifiers →   Services →