Felon in Possession of a Firearm in Missouri: Charges, Penalties and the Federal Case Risk (2026)

If you have a prior felony conviction and police found a gun in your home, your car or on you, the likely charge is unlawful possession of a firearm under RSMo 571.070. Here is the short answer on the felon in possession of a firearm Missouri penalty. As of 2026, it is a class C felony, with a prison range of 3 to 10 years. It becomes a class B felony, with a range of 5 to 15 years, if the prior conviction was a "dangerous felony" or the person already has an unlawful-possession conviction.

The same facts can also be charged under federal law, 18 U.S.C. 922(g). Missouri's statute also requires that the person knowingly possessed the firearm. Whether the state can prove that is often the central question, especially when the gun was in a shared car or house. This post focuses on that one charge. Our gun crimes page covers weapons charges more broadly.

A note on older information: Missouri increased this penalty in 2024. Anything that describes the offense as a class D felony reflects the law before August 28, 2024.

Who Missouri law bars from having a firearm

Under RSMo 571.070.1, a person commits unlawful possession of a firearm if he or she "knowingly has any firearm in his or her possession" and either of these is true:

• The person has been convicted of a felony under Missouri law. A conviction for a crime under the laws of any other state or of the United States also counts if that crime, "if committed within this state, would be a felony."
• The person is a fugitive from justice, is habitually in an intoxicated or drugged condition, or is currently adjudged mentally incompetent.

Two details matter here.

• Out-of-state and federal convictions: the test is whether the crime would be a felony if it had been committed in Missouri. The label the other jurisdiction used does not decide it.
• Antique firearms: the felony-conviction category does not apply to possession of an antique firearm (RSMo 571.070.3).

Federal law reaches more people

Federal law, 18 U.S.C. 922(g), lists nine categories of prohibited persons. Some of them do not appear in Missouri's statute. These include people convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence, people adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental institution, and people unlawfully in the United States. Someone who is not barred under Missouri law can therefore still be barred under federal law. If a domestic violence case is part of your record, raise it with your attorney.

Felon in possession of a firearm: Missouri penalty ranges (as of 2026)

Senate Bill 754 changed the penalty. It was signed July 9, 2024 and took effect August 28, 2024. Under RSMo 571.070.2 as it now reads, unlawful possession of a firearm is a class C felony. It is a class B felony if either of these applies:

• the person has been convicted of a dangerous felony as defined in RSMo 556.061, or
• the person has a prior conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm.

"Dangerous felony" is a specific statutory list. It includes, among others, first-degree arson, first-degree assault, second-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree robbery, first-degree domestic assault, first-degree rape and armed criminal action. Whether a particular prior conviction is on the list should be checked against the actual judgment, not someone's memory of the case.

Ranges as of 2026.

These are the ranges the statutes authorize. They are not a forecast for any individual case. Whether probation or another alternative is realistic depends on the person's record, the facts of the case and the court. An attorney can assess that only after reviewing the file.

When a Missouri gun case becomes a federal case

The federal felon-in-possession provision is 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). For federal jurisdiction, the gun must have traveled in interstate commerce. The penalty for a 922(g) violation now appears in 18 U.S.C. 924(a)(8). Older materials point to 924(a)(2), which no longer supplies the 922(g) penalty.

Federal exposure can be much heavier for people with longer records. Under the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. 924(e), a person who has three previous convictions for a violent felony or a serious drug offense, "committed on occasions different from one another," faces imprisonment of "not less than fifteen years."

Because the same facts can fit both the Missouri statute and the federal statute, a case that starts in state court will not necessarily stay there. If federal agents or prosecutors are involved, our federal crimes page explains how federal cases differ.

Common defenses and issues an attorney will look at

Did you "knowingly" possess the gun?

Missouri's criminal code defines possession to include both actual possession (the gun is on you) and constructive possession (the gun is somewhere you have control over), with knowledge of the object's presence. When a gun is found in a car with several passengers, or in a house where several people live, questions like these tend to matter:

• Whose car, room or bag was it?
• Exactly where was the gun, and was it in plain view?
• Were your personal belongings next to it?
• Is there fingerprint or DNA evidence, and what does it show?
• What did anyone say to police?

Who owns the gun is not the legal test. The question is whether the state can prove you knowingly possessed it.

Does the prior conviction actually qualify?

An attorney will look closely at the records of the prior case. Is it a felony conviction under Missouri law? For an out-of-state or federal conviction, would that crime be a felony if committed in Missouri? Is the prior a "dangerous felony"? That last question decides whether the charge is class C or class B. If the firearm qualifies as an antique, the felony-conviction category does not apply.

How police found the gun

If the gun turned up during a traffic stop, a pat-down or a home search, the lawfulness of that stop or search is its own question. It can affect what evidence the state is allowed to use.

Constitutional challenges

Second Amendment challenges to felon gun bans continue to be raised, but courts covering Missouri have so far upheld these laws. The Missouri Supreme Court has held that 571.070:

• does not violate the state constitutional right to bear arms (State v. Merritt, 467 S.W.3d 808 (Mo. 2015));
• is constitutional as applied to a nonviolent felon (State v. Clay, 481 S.W.3d 531 (Mo. 2015)); and
• does not violate the Second Amendment as applied in Alpert v. State, 543 S.W.3d 589 (Mo. banc 2018).

In federal court, the Eighth Circuit, which covers Missouri, reconsidered the federal ban after the U.S. Supreme Court's Rahimi decision. In United States v. Jackson, No. 22-2870 (8th Cir. 2024), the court upheld 922(g)(1) and concluded there is no need for felony-by-felony litigation over its constitutionality.

Other charges that often come with it

• Unlawful use of weapons under RSMo 571.030. See our post on understanding RSMo 571.030.
• Armed criminal action under RSMo 571.015. This applies when another felony is committed with a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument. If the person was unlawfully possessing a firearm, the minimum term for a first offense is five years, served consecutively to the underlying crime, with no parole, probation or suspended sentence for three calendar years.
• Drug charges when a gun is found near drugs. See our drug crimes page.

Does an expungement or pardon restore gun rights?

This area is easy to get wrong, so it is worth being careful:

• Pardons: RSMo 571.070 contains only one written exception, for antique firearms. It contains no exception for pardons.
• Expungement eligibility: under RSMo 610.140, dangerous felonies, class A felonies and convictions under 571.070 itself are among the offenses that are not eligible for expungement. Whether an expungement of some other prior conviction affects a firearm charge is a question for an attorney to check against the specific order and the law.
• State and federal law can differ: in Alpert, the Missouri Supreme Court upheld the Missouri ban as applied to a man whose federal right to possess a firearm had been restored. Restoration under one system does not necessarily carry over to the other.

See our expungements page for more on clearing Missouri records.

What to do now

• Don't discuss the gun with police. That includes whose it is, where it came from and how it got there. Statements can become the evidence of "knowing" possession. Read why you should never talk to the police.
• Gather paperwork on the prior case. Useful documents include the judgment, sentencing papers, any out-of-state records, and any expungement, pardon or rights-restoration documents.
• Write down the details of the stop or search while you still remember them: where the gun was, who else was present and who owned the car or home.

If you or a family member has been charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, call JMH Law Firm, LLC at 314-827-6222 or contact us online. An attorney can review the specifics of the charge, the prior record and how the gun was found. You can also learn more on our gun crimes page.

This post is general information about Missouri and federal law, not legal advice for any particular situation.