What Disqualifies You From Buying a Gun?
By AGO
September 22, 2026
Federal law lists nine categories of people who cannot legally buy a firearm, and ordinary records like traffic tickets are not among them.
Most people searching this have something small in mind. An old speeding ticket, a citation from college, a charge that got dropped. The worry is usually less about the answer than about having to ask the question at a counter with a line behind you.
So here's the list, in plain English, along with the things people worry about that aren't on it. The federal criteria are narrower and more specific than most summaries suggest. If you want the wider picture of how checks work, our guide to whether you need a background check to buy a gun covers that side.
Key takeaways
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Federal law lists nine prohibiting categories, set out in 18 U.S.C. section 922(g).
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The felony threshold is about the possible sentence, more than one year, not the label or the time actually served.
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Domestic violence is the one misdemeanor category on the federal list.
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Traffic tickets, most misdemeanors, arrests without conviction, debt and civil judgments are not on the list.
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States can add their own criteria on top of the federal nine, so where you live matters.
The short version
Nine federal categories, and none of them is ordinary. They cover convictions where the possible sentence exceeded a year, fugitive status, current unlawful drug use, certain mental-health adjudications, some immigration statuses, a dishonorable discharge, renounced citizenship, qualifying protective orders, and misdemeanor domestic violence. Everything else people commonly worry about sits outside the list.
Where this comes from. The nine categories below are quoted from 18 U.S.C. section 922(g) as published by Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute, read on September 1, 2026. This page reports what the statute says. It doesn't assess anyone's situation, and if your own history sits close to one of these lines, that's a conversation for a licensed dealer or an attorney who can look at the actual records.
What disqualifies you from buying a gun?
Federal law lists nine categories of prohibited persons in 18 U.S.C. section 922(g), covering convictions, legal status, and certain court orders. That statute is the backbone of the background check, and it's what the questions on Form 4473 are designed to surface.
Two things about the list surprise people. It's shorter than expected, and it's more technical than expected. The categories are defined by specific legal conditions rather than by a general sense of whether someone seems like a suitable buyer, which means the answer usually turns on a precise definition rather than on judgment.
Our walkthrough of ATF Form 4473 covers how these translate into the boxes you'll actually tick.
The nine federal categories
The nine categories run from felony-level convictions through court orders and immigration status, each defined by statute rather than by judgment. Below is the statutory language beside a plain-English reading, because the exact wording carries a lot of weight here.
| Cat. | Statutory language | Plain English |
|---|---|---|
| (1) | "convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year" | A conviction where the possible sentence was more than a year |
| (2) | "who is a fugitive from justice" | Fleeing prosecution or a court appearance |
| (3) | "who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance" | Current unlawful use of a federally controlled substance |
| (4) | "who has been adjudicated as a mental defective or who has been committed to a mental institution" (the statute's own dated wording) | A court or authority has made a mental-health adjudication, or there has been an involuntary commitment |
| (5) | Aliens unlawfully present, or admitted under a nonimmigrant visa, with statutory exceptions | Certain immigration statuses, with exceptions written into the statute |
| (6) | "discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions" | A dishonorable discharge specifically, not other discharge types |
| (7) | "having been a citizen of the United States, has renounced his citizenship" | Formally renounced US citizenship |
| (8) | Subject to a qualifying protective order involving harassment, stalking, or threats to an intimate partner or child | An active protective order meeting the statute's criteria |
| (9) | "convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" | The one misdemeanor category on the federal list |
There's also subsection (n), which is separate and often conflated with category (1). Being under indictment for a crime punishable by more than a year bars receiving a firearm, and that's a different condition from having been convicted of one.
What does not disqualify you
Traffic tickets, most misdemeanors, arrests that didn't lead to conviction, debt and civil judgments don't appear anywhere on the federal list. This is the part almost nobody publishes, and for most people searching this question, it's the actual answer.
| Common worry | On the federal list? |
|---|---|
| Speeding, parking, and other traffic tickets | No |
| Most misdemeanors other than domestic violence | No |
| An arrest that didn't lead to a conviction | No |
| A dismissed or expunged charge | Not as such, though treatment can vary by jurisdiction |
| Debt, bankruptcy, or a civil judgment | No |
| A poor credit history | No |
| Having sought voluntary mental-health treatment | No. Category (4) turns on an adjudication or involuntary commitment |
One qualifier applies to every row: this table describes the federal list only. States add their own criteria, so a "no" here doesn't automatically settle the question where you live.
What counts as a felony for this purpose?
The statute uses a sentence threshold, a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year, rather than the felony or misdemeanor label itself. That distinction does more work than any other line in section 922(g), and it's where most confusion starts.
Two consequences follow. First, what matters is the sentence the offense could have carried, not the sentence actually handed down, so probation instead of prison doesn't change the analysis. Second, because states classify offenses differently, the label alone answers nothing on its own; the question is what the maximum possible penalty was in the jurisdiction where the conviction happened.
This is exactly the kind of detail that a licensed dealer or an attorney can check against the actual record, and it's why a general article can describe the test but not apply it to anyone.
The one misdemeanor that does disqualify
A misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence is the single misdemeanor category on the federal list, and it sits alongside certain protective orders in category (8). Those two categories are the reason "I only have a misdemeanor" doesn't resolve the question in either direction.
The protective-order category is narrower than people assume. The statute describes orders meeting specific criteria involving harassment, stalking, or threats to an intimate partner or child, rather than any court order of any kind. As with everything else here, the wording is what governs.
Both categories are reported here because they're on the list. How they apply to a specific record is a question for someone who can read that record.
Can your state add its own rules?
Yes, states can and do add criteria beyond the federal nine, which is why two people with identical records can get different answers in different places. The federal list is a floor rather than the complete picture.
State additions vary widely, and they can cover permit requirements, additional waiting conditions, or criteria that reach conduct the federal statute doesn't. Our guide to knowing what's legal where you live covers how to check your own state rather than assuming the federal answer is the whole answer.
American Gun Owners builds the state layer into the process, so the catalog you see is already matched to your address and that question answers itself. The Find My Gun Kit quiz starts from where you live.
Knowing where you stand before you shop
If nothing on the federal list applies to you, the eligibility question is settled and the rest is paperwork. That's the position most people searching this are in, and it's worth saying plainly rather than leaving implied.
If something does sit close to a line, the useful move is to get it checked properly rather than guessing from an article. A licensed dealer deals with the eligibility question constantly, and an attorney can look at the actual record. Neither conversation is unusual and neither requires you to explain yourself to anyone at a counter.
Once eligibility is settled, the mechanics are ordinary. Our guide to what an FFL dealer is covers the transfer, and the Find My Gun Kit quiz covers the rest of the decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you buy a gun with a speeding ticket on your record?
Traffic citations don't appear anywhere in the nine federal categories. Section 922(g) covers convictions where the possible sentence exceeded a year, along with specific statuses and court orders, and ordinary traffic matters fall outside all of them. This is the single most common worry behind this search, and the federal list simply doesn't reach it.
Does a DUI disqualify you from buying a gun?
It depends on how the offense is classified where it happened. The federal test keys to whether the crime was punishable by more than a year in prison, not to the DUI label, and states classify these very differently. A licensed dealer or an attorney can check the maximum penalty attached to the specific conviction, which is what actually decides it.
Can you buy a gun if you were arrested but never convicted?
Category (1) is written around a conviction, so an arrest alone isn't the same thing. Subsection (n) separately covers being under indictment for a crime punishable by more than a year, which is a distinct condition. If a case is still open rather than closed, that difference matters and is worth confirming with someone who can see the file.
Does a medical marijuana card affect buying a gun?
Category (3) covers an unlawful user of a controlled substance, and cannabis remains federally controlled regardless of state legalization. That's the federal position as the statute is written. Our Form 4473 walkthrough covers how this question appears on the form itself.
Can a disqualification ever be removed?
There are federal and state processes that address this, and they vary considerably depending on the category and the jurisdiction. This is squarely a question for an attorney rather than an article, because the answer depends on the specific record and where it sits. A general guide can tell you the processes exist; it can't tell you whether one applies.
Sources
- 18 U.S.C. section 922, Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute: law.cornell.edu
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