Concealed Pistol Licenses and Firearm Purchases After a Domestic Violence Charge in Michigan

A domestic violence case affects two Michigan licenses at different moments. A concealed pistol license (CPL) is suspended as soon as the county clerk is notified of the charge, and a new license to purchase a firearm cannot be issued while the charge is pending.^[1][3] After a domestic assault conviction, a CPL cannot be issued for 8 years, and neither license can be issued while the person is barred from possessing firearms under MCL 750.224f.^[2][4]

This page follows the licensing rules through each stage: charge, bond or personal protection order (PPO), conviction, and afterward. The possession bans themselves are explained in Michigan's 8-year firearm ban and the federal firearm ban.

Two different licenses

A CPL authorizes carrying a concealed pistol. A purchase license is the document needed to buy a firearm in the first place. Since February 13, 2024, Michigan law has required a license to purchase a firearm that is not a pistol, not only a pistol; that requirement does not apply to purchases or acquisitions before that date.^[6]

The two licenses have separate statutes and the rules do not match line for line. The CPL qualifications are in MCL 28.425b, the purchase-license qualifications are in MCL 28.422, and CPL suspension and reinstatement are in MCL 28.428.^[2][3][1]

What happens to a CPL when a charge is filed?

When the county clerk is notified that a CPL holder has been charged with a felony, or with a misdemeanor on the CPL statute's 8-year or 3-year lists, the clerk "shall immediately suspend the individual's license until there is a final disposition of the charge for that offense."^[1] Domestic assault is on the 8-year list.^[2]

Three practical rules follow from the statute:

1. Surrender. The licensee must promptly surrender the license to the county clerk after notice of the suspension or revocation. Failing to do so is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days in jail, a fine of up to $500, or both.^[7]
2. Notice before arrest. A suspension order is effective immediately, but a person is not criminally liable until he or she receives notice. A person found carrying without prior notice must be informed of the order and given an opportunity to properly store the pistol or otherwise comply before an arrest is made.^[8] The Court of Appeals has treated verbal notice from a police officer as sufficient.^[8]
3. Reinstatement. If the person is acquitted or the charge is dismissed, the person notifies the county clerk, who must automatically reinstate the license if it is not expired and the person is otherwise qualified. The clerk may not charge a fee.^[1]

A CPL suspension removes the authority to carry concealed. It is not, by itself, an order about firearms kept at home. That depends on the bond: a release order may include a condition that the defendant not purchase or possess a firearm, and if the court orders an electronic monitoring device it must also impose that condition.^[9] See firearms while the case is pending and bond conditions in domestic violence cases.

Can a person buy a firearm while a charge is pending?

Not with a new Michigan purchase license. An applicant is not qualified while "a felony charge or a criminal charge listed in section 5b" is pending at the time of application.^[3] Section 5b is the CPL statute, and its lists include domestic assault under MCL 750.81, aggravated assault under MCL 750.81a, and stalking under MCL 750.411h.^[3][2]

A bond order with a firearm condition is a separate disqualifier for a purchase license, as long as the person received notice and an opportunity for a hearing and the order was entered into LEIN.^[10]

How a PPO or other court order affects each license

The two statutes treat court orders differently, and the difference is notice.

Order	Concealed pistol license	Purchase license
PPO under MCL 600.2950 or 600.2950a	Disqualifies; the provision does not depend on notice or a hearing[11]	Disqualifies only if the person had notice and an opportunity for a hearing and the order is in LEIN[10]
Bond order under MCL 765.6b with a firearm condition	Disqualifies[11]	Disqualifies on the same notice, hearing and LEIN conditions[10]
Extreme risk protection order	Disqualifies[11]	Disqualifies on the same notice, hearing and LEIN conditions[10]

If a CPL was suspended because of a PPO or an extreme risk protection order and was surrendered, then on expiration of the order and notification to the county clerk, the clerk must automatically reinstate it at no fee if the license has not expired and the State Police verification is complete.^[12]

A PPO can also contain its own firearm term. A judge may restrain the respondent from "purchasing or possessing a firearm," but that restriction is discretionary, not automatic.^[13] The details are in PPOs and firearms, and extreme risk orders are covered in extreme risk protection orders in Michigan.

After a conviction: the CPL look-back periods

The CPL statute uses look-back periods measured from the date of the application.^[2]

Look-back	Offenses on the list that often arise in domestic cases
8 years before the application	MCL 750.81 (assault or domestic assault), 750.81a(1) or (2) (aggravated assault or aggravated domestic assault), 750.115 (breaking and entering or entering without breaking), 750.136b(7) (fourth-degree child abuse), 750.145n (vulnerable adult abuse), 750.411h (stalking)[2]
3 years before the application	MCL 750.167 (disorderly person), 750.377a (malicious destruction of property), 750.380 (malicious destruction of real property), 750.540e (malicious use of a telecommunications service or device)[14]

Both lists also apply to a substantially corresponding law elsewhere and to charges that are still pending when the person applies.^[2][14] Note that the 8-year list names MCL 750.81 as a whole, so ordinary assault is on it as well as domestic assault.^[2]

The CPL clock is not the possession clock

The CPL period runs 8 years back from the application date to the conviction. Michigan's possession ban runs 8 years forward from the point at which fines are paid, imprisonment is served and probation is completed.^[2][15] Because a person prohibited under MCL 750.224f cannot be issued a CPL or a purchase license, the later of the two dates is the one that matters for a qualifying domestic violence misdemeanor.^[4]

Neither Michigan period answers the federal question. The federal ban for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence has no time limit in its text.^[16] A Michigan license is not a ruling that federal law permits possession.

Felony convictions and the CPL

A CPL applicant must have "never been convicted of a felony in this state or elsewhere," and must have no felony charge pending.^[5] The Court of Appeals has held that a convicted felon is disqualified from obtaining a CPL even if the person has had other firearm rights restored.^[5] That is relevant to felony domestic violence charges such as a third-offense domestic assault.

Set-aside convictions are treated differently depending on the offense, according to a 2003 Attorney General opinion quoted in the Michigan benchbook. A person whose felony conviction was set aside may not be denied a CPL on the felony ground. A person whose conviction for one of the listed misdemeanors was set aside may still be denied a license if the licensing authority determines that denial is warranted under the statute's general safety provision.^[17] Attorney General opinions are not binding on courts.^[5] See can gun rights be restored?

For people seeking protection: the emergency CPL

The licensing statutes also have a provision for the protected side of a case. A county clerk must issue an emergency CPL to a person who has obtained a PPO, unless a background check shows a listed disqualification.^[18] An emergency license is valid for 45 days or until the clerk issues a notice of statutory disqualification, whichever comes first, and a person may not obtain more than 1 emergency license in any 5-year period.^[18] How to obtain the order itself is covered in how to get a PPO in Michigan.

What people get wrong

• "Being charged takes away your guns." A charge suspends a CPL and blocks a new purchase license.^[1][3] Possession of firearms already owned is restricted during the case if the judge imposes a bond condition, which the judge may do and, with electronic monitoring, must do.^[9]
• "A dismissed case means the CPL is gone for good." The clerk must reinstate an unexpired license automatically, at no fee, once notified of the acquittal or dismissal, if the person is otherwise qualified.^[1]
• "Any PPO blocks a gun purchase." For a purchase license the statute requires notice, an opportunity for a hearing, and LEIN entry; the CPL provision has no such condition.^[10][11]
• "Once 8 years pass from the conviction, a CPL is available." Only if the person is also outside the possession ban, which is counted from the end of the sentence, and is not otherwise disqualified.^[4][15]