Restoring Firearm Rights in Delaware
A Delaware pardon, expungement or other legal relief may affect firearm eligibility, but the result depends on the conviction, the relief granted, federal law and whether any other firearm prohibition remains. Learn the difference before attempting to purchase or possess a firearm.
Important
Expungement: Record removal
Federal law: Separate analysis required
Other prohibitions: May still apply
Last reviewed: Sept. 22, 2026
There is no single “restore my gun rights” procedure
The correct path depends on why the person is prohibited. A felony conviction, qualifying domestic-violence conviction, protective order, mental-health-related prohibition, federal conviction and other restrictions may require different forms of relief.
Identify the Prohibition
Determine exactly which Delaware or federal law currently prevents firearm possession.
Determine Available Relief
Possible relief may include a pardon, expungement, expiration or termination of an order, or another legal procedure.
Check Federal Law
Relief under Delaware law does not automatically resolve every federal firearm disability.
Confirm Eligibility
Do not attempt a firearm purchase until all potentially applicable prohibitions have been resolved.
Jump to a section
What is a Delaware pardon?
A pardon is an act of executive clemency that forgives a conviction and restores certain civil rights.
A pardon does not erase the conviction
The Delaware Board of Pardons explains that the historical fact of the conviction remains on the state’s official arrest and conviction records after a pardon. The record instead reflects that a pardon was granted.
Can a pardon restore firearm rights?
For a Delaware conviction, an unconditional gubernatorial pardon has a specific statutory effect. Under 11 Del. C. § 4364, an unconditional pardon fully restores civil rights, expressly including the right to purchase or possess deadly weapons. A conditional pardon must be read according to its terms.
Check the exact pardon and every remaining prohibition
The Governor may impose lawful conditions on a Delaware pardon. In addition, restoration of the Delaware disability caused by the pardoned conviction does not eliminate a different conviction, active protective order, mental-health disability, federal conviction or another independent state or federal prohibition.
Federal law also recognizes certain pardons, expungements and restorations of civil rights when determining whether a conviction continues to create a federal firearm disability, but the wording and legal effect of the relief matter.
Section 4364 expressly lists “the right to purchase or possess deadly weapons” among the civil rights restored by an unconditional Delaware pardon. The remaining analysis is whether some separate state or federal prohibition still applies.
How does someone apply for a Delaware pardon?
A Delaware pardon begins with an application to the Board of Pardons. The Board reviews the application and may recommend that the Governor grant a pardon. Under the Delaware Constitution, a gubernatorial pardon generally requires a written recommendation from a majority of the Board after a full hearing.
Obtain Criminal History
A certified Delaware criminal history is required.
Obtain Court Records
Certified dockets and sentencing orders are generally required for relevant convictions.
Submit Application
Follow the current Board of Pardons application checklist and filing instructions.
Board Hearing
The Board considers the application and determines whether to recommend clemency.
Governor
The Governor makes the ultimate pardon decision.
What is an expungement?
An expungement provides statutory record relief for a qualifying Delaware arrest, charge or conviction under Delaware’s expungement statutes.
Delaware now provides mandatory and discretionary expungement procedures for qualifying records, including a Clean Slate system that automatically processes some eligible records.
Eligibility depends on the record
The State Bureau of Identification and Delaware Courts provide procedures for determining whether a particular criminal record qualifies for expungement. Some records may require a pardon before expungement becomes available.
Pardon vs. expungement
Forgives the conviction
A pardon is executive clemency. It may restore civil rights but does not itself erase the historical conviction from the record.
Removes the record
An expungement is record relief authorized by statute and removes qualifying criminal-history information from the record.
A pardon is not the restoration procedure for every § 1448 prohibition
Delaware law provides a separate relief procedure for certain firearm disabilities arising from an involuntary mental-health commitment or specified findings of not guilty by reason of insanity or guilty but mentally ill. Section 1448A(l) establishes a Relief from Disabilities Board for this purpose.
The Board considers the circumstances of the firearm disability, mental-health evidence, criminal history and character evidence. It may require a clinical evaluation and risk assessment. Relief is granted only if the statutory findings are established after a hearing.
This is legally distinct from seeking a gubernatorial pardon for a criminal conviction. The correct procedure depends on the specific basis for the person’s prohibition.
Does Delaware relief automatically restore federal firearm rights?
Federal law determines the continuing effect of many state convictions by looking to the law of the jurisdiction where the conviction occurred and the legal effect of a pardon, expungement or restoration of civil rights.
The wording of the relief matters
Under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20) and 27 C.F.R. § 478.142, a qualifying pardon, expungement, set-aside or restoration of civil rights can cause a conviction to stop counting as a federal disabling conviction, unless the relief expressly preserves a firearm restriction or does not fully restore firearm rights under the law of the convicting jurisdiction.
One pardon may not resolve every firearm prohibition
A person can be prohibited for more than one reason. Relief from one conviction does not necessarily eliminate another independent prohibition.
What about a misdemeanor domestic-violence conviction?
Federal law contains a separate firearm prohibition for qualifying misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence.
Pardon or expungement may matter—but details control
ATF states that an otherwise qualifying pardon, expungement or restoration may eliminate the federal domestic-violence firearm disability unless the relief expressly continues a firearm prohibition. This area is highly fact-specific.
Protective orders are different from criminal convictions
A pardon addresses criminal convictions. It is not the ordinary procedure for terminating an active PFA, LVPO or other civil protective order. Effective September 14, 2026, HB 342 also makes certain qualifying out-of-state domestic-violence protection orders relevant to Delaware’s prohibited-person law.
Can Delaware pardon a federal conviction?
No.
Delaware’s Governor and Board of Pardons deal with Delaware convictions. A federal conviction is governed by federal clemency and federal firearm law.
ATF regulations provide that a Presidential pardon for a qualifying federal conviction can remove the federal firearm disability associated with that conviction, subject to the terms of the pardon and any other applicable prohibition.
Can an individual simply apply to ATF to restore firearm rights?
Federal law contains a statutory process under 18 U.S.C. § 925(c), but ATF’s current published guidance continues to state that Congress has not appropriated funds for ATF to process applications from prohibited individuals.
Do not rely on § 925(c) as an available individual application process
ATF currently accepts that form of restoration application from qualifying corporations, but not from prohibited individuals because of the continuing appropriations limitation.
Can I immediately buy a firearm after receiving a pardon?
Even when an unconditional Delaware pardon has restored the state firearm right affected by the pardoned conviction, do not assume that an immediate firearm transaction will necessarily receive an electronic approval.
The person’s criminal-history record, pardon, expungement status and other eligibility information may need to be accurately reflected in the systems used during the Delaware FTAP and federal background-check process.
Keep certified documentation
Retain copies of the pardon, expungement order and related court or government records. They may be important if a firearm transaction is delayed or denied because an older record has not been updated correctly.
A pardon does not bypass the firearm background check
A person whose rights have been restored must still complete the legally required transaction procedures that apply to other purchasers, including Form 4473 and the applicable Delaware FTAP/federal background-check process for a dealer transfer.
Purchasing after a pardon or expungement
Coastal Firearms
DelawareGunLaws.com is supported by Coastal Firearms, a Delaware federally licensed firearms dealer.
A dealer can process a firearm transaction only under the eligibility information and approvals provided through the applicable federal and Delaware systems. An FFL cannot independently declare that a person’s firearm rights have been restored.
A purchaser with a prior prohibition should confirm the legal effect of any pardon, expungement or court order before attempting a transaction and should keep certified copies of the relevant documents.
Frequently asked questions
Can a Delaware felon ever regain firearm rights?
Potentially. Under 11 Del. C. § 4364, an unconditional Delaware gubernatorial pardon restores civil rights including the right to purchase or possess deadly weapons. The person must still determine whether any other Delaware or federal prohibition remains and whether the pardon itself contains conditions.
Does a Delaware pardon erase my criminal record?
No. The Board of Pardons states that a pardon does not remove the historical conviction from the official record. A person may separately qualify to seek expungement after receiving a pardon.
Is an expungement the same as a pardon?
No. A pardon is executive clemency that forgives a conviction and may restore rights. An expungement is statutory record relief that removes qualifying criminal-history information.
Do I need both a pardon and an expungement?
Not in every case. Eligibility for expungement depends on the record. Some convictions may require a pardon before expungement becomes available, while other records may qualify independently.
Is a pardon the way to remove a Delaware mental-health firearm disability?
Not ordinarily. Delaware § 1448A(l) provides a separate Relief from Disabilities Board process for specified mental-health-based firearm disabilities. The correct remedy depends on the exact basis for the prohibition.
Does a pardon automatically restore federal gun rights?
Federal law gives legal effect to certain pardons and other restoration measures, but the exact conviction, jurisdiction, wording of the pardon and any remaining firearm restrictions matter. Another independent federal prohibition may still apply.
Can Delaware pardon a federal felony?
No. Delaware’s pardon process addresses Delaware convictions. Federal convictions are governed by federal clemency and federal law.
Can I apply directly to ATF to restore my firearm rights?
Federal law contains a relief procedure under 18 U.S.C. § 925(c), but ATF currently states that Congress has not funded ATF to process individual applications for restoration of firearm privileges.
Does a pardon terminate a PFA or LVPO?
No. A pardon concerns a criminal conviction. An active protective order is a separate legal matter and must be addressed through the procedures governing that order.
Can I buy a gun immediately after getting a pardon?
Do not assume so. First confirm that the pardon actually removes the relevant firearm prohibition, that no other prohibition remains, and that the applicable criminal-history and background-check records accurately reflect the relief.
Related Delaware firearm-law topics
Official sources
Delaware Board of Pardons
Official Delaware pardon, commutation and expungement information.
Delaware Constitution — Article VII
Constitutional authority and procedure for pardons.
11 Del. C. §§ 4371–4375
Delaware adult criminal-record expungement statutes.
Delaware Courts — Expungements
Official court information regarding expungement procedures.
27 C.F.R. § 478.11
Federal treatment of pardoned, expunged and civil-rights-restored convictions.
27 C.F.R. § 478.142
Effect of pardons and expunctions on certain federal firearm disabilities.
Legal information, not legal advice.
DelawareGunLaws.com is an independent educational resource and is not affiliated with the Delaware Board of Pardons, Delaware Courts, ATF or any government agency. Firearm-rights restoration is highly fact-specific. An unconditional Delaware pardon expressly restores state civil rights associated with the pardoned conviction, including the right to purchase or possess deadly weapons, but a pardon, expungement or termination of one prohibition does not necessarily eliminate every separate state or federal firearm disability. A person with a prior firearm prohibition should obtain individualized legal advice before possessing, receiving or attempting to purchase a firearm.
Persons Prohibited From Possessing Firearms in Delaware
Identify the Delaware and federal restrictions that can make a person ineligible to possess firearms or ammunition before determining whether restoration is necessary or available.