OWI, concealed pistol licenses and gun rights in Michigan

A Michigan OWI affects gun rights in three different ways. A misdemeanor OWI blocks a concealed pistol license (CPL) for 3 years, and a second-offense OWI for 8 years.^[1][2] A felony OWI is a permanent CPL bar and also brings Michigan's felon-in-possession ban and the federal felony ban.^[3][7][5]

Separately, carrying a gun while intoxicated is its own offense, for CPL holders and for everyone else.^[8][6] This page walks through each rule. It does not cover protective orders or domestic-violence gun bans, which have their own rules.

Which OWI convictions are misdemeanors and which are felonies

The gun rules turn on the level of the conviction, so it helps to start there. A first OWI is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days in jail.^[9] A second OWI within 7 years carries 5 days to 1 year in jail or 30 to 90 days of community service.^[10] A third OWI after 2 or more priors at any time is a felony, punished by 1 to 5 years in prison or by probation with jail and community service.^[11][12] OWI causing death and OWI causing serious impairment are felonies with maximums of 15 and 5 years.^[13][14] The first-offense, second-offense and felony OWI pages explain each level.

OWI and a Michigan concealed pistol license

OWI record	Effect on a CPL application
Misdemeanor OWI under MCL 257.625 (including a first offense) in the last 3 years, or such a charge pending	No CPL for 3 years[1]
Misdemeanor OWI second offense (punishable under 625(9)(b)) in the last 8 years, or such a charge pending	No CPL for 8 years[2]
Any felony conviction, including a felony OWI, or a pending felony charge	No CPL, permanently[3]
Commercial-driver test refusal (625a) or ignition interlock violations (625k, 625l)	No CPL for 3 years[1]

The 3-year list also covers operating a commercial vehicle with a 0.04 alcohol content under MCL 257.625m(3), and the 8-year list includes a second 625m offense and reckless driving.^[1][2]

The clock runs from the date of conviction, not the date of the arrest, and for CPL purposes "convicted" includes an accepted guilty or no-contest plea, payment of a fine, a finding of guilt, and a juvenile adjudication.^[2][15] A pending charge is enough to stop an application.^[1]

If you already have a CPL

When the county clerk is notified by police, a prosecutor or a court that a CPL holder has been charged with a felony or with a misdemeanor on the 8-year or 3-year lists, the clerk must immediately suspend the license until the charge is finally resolved.^[4] An OWI charge is on those lists.^[1][4] If the holder is acquitted or the charge is dismissed, the holder notifies the clerk, who reinstates the license without a fee if it has not expired and the person is otherwise qualified.^[4]

Carrying a pistol after drinking: rules for CPL holders

MCL 28.425k sets graded penalties for a CPL holder who carries a concealed pistol, or a stun device, after drinking:^[8]

Alcohol level or condition	Penalty
Under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, or 0.10 or more	Misdemeanor, up to 93 days or $100, or both; the CPL is revoked[8]
0.08 or more but under 0.10	Misdemeanor with the same penalty; the CPL is suspended for 3 years[8]
0.02 or more but under 0.08	State civil infraction, $100 fine; the CPL is suspended for 1 year[8]
Refusing a chemical test requested under this section	State civil infraction, $100 fine; the CPL is suspended for 6 months[16]

Accepting a CPL is implied consent to a chemical test, and a peace officer with probable cause may require one.^[16] This is separate from the implied consent law for drivers, explained in Michigan's implied consent law.

The intoxicated-carry rule does not stop a CPL holder with any alcohol level from transporting the pistol in the locked trunk of a vehicle or, if the vehicle has no trunk, unloaded in a locked compartment or container separated from the ammunition.^[17] That exception applies to section 425k; the general firearm-intoxication statute described in the next section, MCL 750.237, has no similar exception in its text.^[18]

Firearms and intoxication: the rule for everyone

MCL 750.237 applies to every person, licensed or not. It is a misdemeanor to carry, possess, use or discharge a firearm while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, with an alcohol content of 0.08 or more, or while visibly impaired.^[6] The penalty is up to 93 days in jail, a fine of up to $100 for carrying or possessing or up to $500 for using or discharging, or both.^[6] If discharging or using the firearm causes serious impairment of a body function of another person, the offense is a felony punishable by up to 5 years, and if it causes another person's death, up to 15 years.^[18] A firearm found in a car during an OWI stop can therefore bring a separate charge; see charges often filed with OWI.

Felony OWI and Michigan's felon-in-possession law

A person convicted of a felony may not possess, use, transport, buy, carry, ship, receive or distribute a firearm in Michigan until 3 years after all fines are paid, all imprisonment is served, and all probation or parole is successfully completed.^[7] For a "specified felony" the wait is 5 years plus a court order restoring rights.^[7] Whether a felony OWI is a "specified felony" under MCL 750.224f has not been settled in the sources used for this guide, so this page does not say which waiting period applies.

Federal gun law

Federal law, 18 USC 922(g)(1), bars possession of firearms or ammunition by anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year.^[5] The federal definition excludes a state offense classified as a misdemeanor and punishable by two years or less.^[5] Michigan's first OWI (93 days) and second OWI (1 year) fall below that line, so they are not federal prohibitors on that basis; a felony third-offense OWI, punishable by up to 5 years, is.^[5]

Federal law has a separate bar, in 18 USC 922(g)(3), for anyone who is "an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance", which does not depend on a conviction at all.^[19] Whether a particular drugged-driving case has any bearing on that bar depends on facts this page cannot assess. See driving under the influence of drugs for the state offense.

Common mistakes

• "Any OWI makes me a federally prohibited person." Not a Michigan misdemeanor OWI; only a felony OWI.^[5]
• "A misdemeanor OWI doesn't affect my CPL." It blocks a CPL for 3 years, or 8 years for a second offense.^[1][2]
• "My CPL is safe until I'm convicted." An OWI charge leads to an immediate suspension once the clerk is notified.^[4]
• "I can carry if I'm under 0.08." A CPL holder at 0.02 or more faces a civil infraction and a 1-year suspension.^[8]

Related reading

For what happens during a stop, see what happens at an OWI traffic stop. For clearing a first OWI from the public record, see setting aside an OWI conviction; how a set-aside interacts with the CPL statute is not addressed in the sources used here, so ask the county clerk or a lawyer before applying.