When federal law blocks gun possession, two kinds of relief sit on different tracks. One is a statute that asks the Attorney General to remove federal firearms disabilities. The other is executive clemency decided by the President. The ordinary route for a pardon or commutation is a petition under Justice Department rules in 28 C.F.R. part 1; those regulations are advisory and do not restrict the President’s Article II power (28 C.F.R. § 1.11; DOJ FAQ).

Two powers, two paths

Relief under 18 U.S.C. § 925(c) is a congressional grant of authority. It says a person barred from possessing, shipping, transporting, or receiving firearms or ammunition may apply to the Attorney General, who may grant relief if the person’s record and reputation show they are not likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety and relief would not be contrary to the public interest. The same subsection requires notice in the Federal Register when the Attorney General grants relief.

Presidential clemency—including a pardon for offenses against the United States—rests on Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution. The ordinary DOJ petition route places pardon and commutation petitions in one part 1 process (28 C.F.R. § 1.1: a formal petition addressed to the President, submitted to the Pardon Attorney, with forms the Attorney General prescribes). 28 C.F.R. § 1.11 makes those regulations advisory only and for the internal guidance of Department of Justice personnel; they create no enforceable rights and do not restrict the authority granted to the President under Article II. DOJ’s Frequently Asked Questions state the same point: the President can make clemency decisions without a Department recommendation.

A commutation is also executive clemency. Commutation petitions have their own eligibility section in part 1 (28 C.F.R. § 1.3). Our guide on pardon vs. commutation describes how those two grants differ in ordinary terms.

How §§ 921(a)(20) and (a)(33) treat convictions

18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20) defines the term “crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.” For a conviction of such a crime, the subsection says what constitutes a conviction “shall be determined in accordance with the law of the jurisdiction” where the proceedings were held. It adds that a conviction of that kind that has been expunged, set aside, or for which a person has been pardoned or has had civil rights restored shall not be considered a conviction for purposes of the chapter unless the pardon, expungement, or restoration expressly provides that the person may not ship, transport, possess, or receive firearms.

Misdemeanor domestic-violence convictions have separate rules in § 921(a)(33). Under that subsection, a person is not treated as convicted of such an offense for chapter 44 if the conviction has been expunged or set aside, or the person has been pardoned or has had civil rights restored—and the restoration language applies if the law of the applicable jurisdiction provides for the loss of civil rights under such an offense—unless the pardon, expungement, or restoration expressly provides that the person may not ship, transport, possess, or receive firearms.

Those conviction definitions do not replace § 925(c). They also sit alongside the separate bars in 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) on who may not possess firearms in interstate commerce.

What the Office of the Pardon Attorney says about the program

The Justice Department’s Federal Firearm Rights Restoration page (Office of the Pardon Attorney) describes the § 925(c) application program, how it relates to the August 20, 2026 final rule, and how it differs from a presidential pardon. Our August post on the DOJ rule and staged application dates summarizes that rule and links the Federal Register notice.

What this means for you

  • § 925(c) relief is an Attorney General decision tied to the statute’s public-safety and public-interest tests, with Federal Register publication when relief is granted.
  • A pardon or commutation is a presidential decision. The ordinary DOJ petition route under part 1 includes Justice Department review, but 28 C.F.R. § 1.11 makes that process advisory, and DOJ’s FAQ confirms the President can act without a Department recommendation. It is not the same application as § 925(c).
  • For a “crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year,” § 921(a)(20) says when a pardon, expungement, or civil-rights restoration stops that case from counting as a conviction for chapter 44, unless it expressly keeps firearms limits. Misdemeanor domestic-violence convictions follow separate rules in § 921(a)(33).

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