Idaho Prohibited Persons: Who Can't Legally Own a Firearm

Before anything else, understand that two separate legal systems govern who can own a firearm in Idaho -- state law and federal law. They overlap in a lot of places, but they don't overlap perfectly. Per multiple Idaho firearms attorneys, federal law controls. That means even if Idaho state law has restored your firearm rights, you can still be federally prohibited. You can be legal under one system and criminal under the other. This distinction trips people up constantly, and it's exactly the kind of situation where you need an attorney, not a Google search.

Both systems define "firearm" differently, which matters more than you'd think. Under Idaho state law, a firearm includes any weapon from which a shot, projectile, or other object may be discharged by force of combustion, explosive, gas, or mechanical means -- whether operable or inoperable. Under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(3), the federal definition covers any weapon designed to or readily convertible to expel a projectile by explosive action, the frame or receiver of any such weapon, any firearm muffler or silencer, or any destructive device.

Felony Convictions

Under Idaho Code § 18-3316, any person previously convicted of a felony who purchases, owns, possesses, or has under his custody or control any firearm is guilty of a felony -- punishable by up to five years in state prison and a fine up to $5,000.

The critical nuance in Idaho's system is what happens after you've completed your sentence. Idaho Code § 18-310 sets up a two-track system. While you're incarcerated, on probation, or on parole, all firearm rights are suspended -- full stop. But upon "final discharge" -- meaning satisfactory completion of imprisonment, probation, and parole -- most Idaho felons get their firearm rights restored automatically.

The exception is the list. Idaho Code § 18-310(2) enumerates a specific set of offenses for which firearm rights are not restored upon final discharge. If your conviction is on that list, you don't get automatic restoration. Period.

The § 18-310(2) Enumerated Offense List

Convictions for treason, or any of the following offenses, permanently strip firearm rights upon final discharge -- no automatic restoration:

• Aggravated assault (§§ 18-905, 18-915)
• Aggravated battery (§§ 18-907, 18-915)
• Assault with intent to commit a serious felony (§§ 18-909, 18-915)
• Battery with intent to commit a serious felony (§§ 18-911, 18-915)
• Burglary (§ 18-1401)
• Domestic battery, felony (§ 18-918)
• Enticing of children, felony (§ 18-1509)
• Forcible sexual penetration by use of a foreign object (§ 18-6604)
• Indecent exposure, felony (§ 18-4116)
• Injury to child, felony (§ 18-1501)
• Intimidating a witness, felony (§ 18-2604)
• Lewd conduct with a minor or child under sixteen (§ 18-1508)
• Sexual abuse of a child under sixteen (§ 18-1506)
• Sexual exploitation of a child (§ 18-1507)
• Felonious rescuing prisoners (§ 18-2501)
• Escape by one charged with, convicted of, or on probation for a felony (§ 18-2505)
• Unlawful possession of a firearm (§ 18-3316)
• Degrees of murder (§ 18-4003)
• Voluntary manslaughter (§ 18-4006(1))
• Assault with intent to murder (§ 18-4015)
• Administering poison with intent to kill (§ 18-4014)
• Kidnapping (§ 18-4501)
• Mayhem (§ 18-5001)
• Rape (§ 18-6101)
• Robbery (§ 18-6501)
• Ritualized abuse of a child (§ 18-1506A)
• Cannibalism (§ 18-5003)
• Felonious manufacture, delivery, possession with intent to deliver, or possession of a controlled or counterfeit substance (§ 37-2732)
• Trafficking (§ 37-2732B)
• Threats against state officials of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch, felony (§ 18-1353A)
• Unlawful discharge of a firearm at a dwelling house, occupied building, vehicle, or mobile home (§ 18-3317)
• Unlawful possession of destructive devices (§ 18-3319)
• Unlawful use of destructive device or bomb (§ 18-3320)
• Attempt (§ 18-306), conspiracy (§ 18-1701), or solicitation (§ 18-2001) to commit any of the above

Per § 18-310(2)(ii), these restrictions generally apply only to convictions on or after July 1, 1991 -- with one exception. If you were convicted of any degree of murder or voluntary manslaughter, and the offense involved the use of a firearm, the prohibition applies regardless of when the conviction occurred.

The "Not on the List" Trap

Here's where people make a dangerous assumption: if your felony conviction isn't on the enumerated list, you might think you're fine after final discharge. That's mostly correct under state law -- your rights can restore automatically. But you're still prohibited during incarceration, probation, and parole. And as Davis and Hoskisson Law notes, you'll want an attorney to walk you through whether your specific situation qualifies for automatic restoration, because the facts matter.

Also worth being clear on: "convicted of a felony" under state law includes guilty pleas, nolo contendere pleas, and guilty verdicts. It's not just trial convictions.

Out-of-State Convictions

If you were convicted of a felony in another state, Idaho applies the same framework as it does to Idaho felons. Per § 18-310(4), out-of-state felons are not automatically restored firearms rights in Idaho the way a qualifying Idaho felon might be. The same statutory framework governs them. As Hooper Law Offices explains it: it doesn't matter where your conviction happened. A felony is a felony in Idaho's eyes.

Minors

Per Idaho Code §§ 18-3302E(1) and 18-3302F(1), a person under age 18 generally cannot possess a firearm, according to Giffords Law Center's summary of Idaho law.

Federal law casts a wider net than Idaho state law. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), it's unlawful to possess, ship, transport, or receive any firearm or ammunition for any of the following persons:

Felony convictions: Anyone convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment exceeding one year. Note this threshold -- it's not just actual felonies by name. If the crime carries more than a year of possible imprisonment, it counts under federal law.

Fugitives from justice: Active fugitive status prohibits possession.

Controlled substance users: Anyone who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance as defined in § 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. § 802). Idaho's marijuana status doesn't change this -- federal law treats marijuana as a controlled substance.

Mental health adjudications: Anyone adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental institution. Under § 922(g), this is a hard prohibition. Idaho law does allow a petition to the court to remove this disability at the state level, and per Davis and Hoskisson, a successful Idaho petition should also address the federal disability -- but you need an attorney to navigate this.

Illegal aliens and certain visa holders: Anyone illegally or unlawfully in the United States, or admitted under a non-immigrant visa (with limited exceptions per subsection (y)(2)).

Dishonorable discharge: Anyone discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions.

Renounced citizenship: Any former U.S. citizen who has formally renounced citizenship.

Domestic violence restraining orders: Anyone subject to a qualifying protective order -- specifically one issued after a hearing with actual notice, restraining the person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or their child, and either finding a credible threat to physical safety or explicitly prohibiting physical force.

Misdemeanor domestic violence convictions: Anyone convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. This is the one that catches people off guard. It's not a felony. It's a misdemeanor. But under federal law, it permanently prohibits firearm possession. Idaho doesn't have a comparable state-level misdemeanor prohibition that mirrors this, which means the gap between state and federal law is widest right here.

A federal conviction under § 922(g) carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison, per multiple Idaho attorneys who cite this statute.

The prohibition isn't just about ownership or carrying. As Hooper Law Offices explains, if you're a prohibited person, you can't purchase a firearm, carry one, or discharge one. If you're at a party and someone hands you a gun to shoot in the air, pulling that trigger is the same crime as if you owned the gun. That framing is useful -- think of it as any meaningful contact with a firearm being off-limits, not just the paperwork.

The same applies to ammunition under federal law. § 922(g) prohibits possession of ammunition, not just firearms. State law focuses on firearms, but federal law covers both.

State-Level Restoration

Idaho has two pathways for restoring firearm rights at the state level.

The first is automatic. If your felony conviction is not on the § 18-310(2) enumerated list, your rights restore upon final discharge -- completion of imprisonment, probation, and parole. You don't petition anyone. It happens by operation of law.

The second is the petition process. If your conviction is on the enumerated list, you can apply to the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole to restore your civil right to ship, transport, possess, or receive a firearm. Per § 18-310(3), the Commission won't accept any application until five years after the date of final discharge.

There are hard limits on what the Commission can do. Per § 18-310(3), the Commission cannot restore firearm rights to anyone convicted of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, or any enumerated § 18-310(2) felony where the sentence was enhanced for use of a firearm during commission of the offense. If you're in one of those categories, the Commission's hands are tied.

Also per Davis and Hoskisson Law, firearm disability doesn't apply to someone whose conviction has been nullified by expungement, pardon, setting aside the conviction, or other comparable procedure in the jurisdiction where the conviction occurred.

The Idaho State Bar has written that someone convicted of a § 18-310(2) enumerated felony whose conviction was later reduced to a misdemeanor may have additional options. Conviction-reduction pathways turn hard on the specific facts of your case, so take yours to an attorney.

Federal Restoration and the Gap Problem

This is where it gets complicated. Per Davis and Hoskisson Law, if your Idaho petition for restoration is successful, or if your case qualifies for automatic restoration, that result should also restore your federal firearm rights -- because under federal law, the restoration question is evaluated under the law of the jurisdiction where the conviction was entered.

But "should" is doing a lot of work in that sentence. Federal courts have applied this inconsistently, and the interplay between state restoration and federal disability is genuinely unsettled in some circumstances. This is not a situation to navigate without an attorney.

For misdemeanor domestic violence convictions -- a federal-only prohibition in many cases -- there is no straightforward Idaho state petition that addresses it. The federal prohibition stands independently.

Idaho's framework is more generous than federal law in some ways and narrower in others. The most important gaps:

Idaho does not have a standalone state prohibition on misdemeanor domestic violence convictions the way federal law does. But federal law applies to everyone in Idaho regardless. So if you're prohibited federally but not under state law, you're still prohibited -- and state-law compliance is irrelevant.

Idaho does not have a red flag law or Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) statute. There is no state-law mechanism to temporarily remove firearms from someone deemed a risk. This doesn't affect federal prohibited-person status.

Idaho does not have a waiting period, universal background check requirement for private sales, or permit-to-purchase system that would catch prohibited persons at the point of acquisition for private transfers. Federal law requires licensed dealers to run NICS checks, but private party sales in Idaho don't trigger a mandatory background check under state law. A prohibited person who buys from a private seller is still committing a federal crime -- the background check just isn't there to catch it.

Talk to an attorney before you touch a firearm. This isn't a hedge -- it's the only practical answer. The interaction between state felony lists, out-of-state convictions, federal categories, and restoration status is fact-specific enough that general information can get you sent to federal prison. An Idaho firearms attorney can pull your record, run it against both § 18-310 and § 922(g), and tell you exactly where you stand.

The bottom line: Idaho's prohibited-person laws have real teeth -- a state conviction alone can mean five years in prison, and the federal charge doubles that to ten. If there's any question about your status, get legal advice before you find out the hard way.

• https://codes.findlaw.com/id/title-18-crimes-and-punishments/id-st-sect-18-310/
• https://www.youridattorney.com/firearm-offenses
• https://www.davishoskissonlaw.com/restoration-of-firearm-rights/
• https://giffords.org/lawcenter/state-laws/firearm-prohibitions-in-idaho/
• https://www.hooperlawoffices.com/blog/2020/july/can-a-convicted-felon-carry-a-firearm-in-boise-i/
• https://isb.idaho.gov/blog/preserving-and-restoring-firearms-rights-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-government-by-adam-j-ondo/

Last Updated: March 05, 2026