Georgia's firearm restrictions track the federal framework closely. The state prohibits firearm possession by convicted felons and first-offender...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
Georgia's firearm restrictions track the federal framework closely. The state prohibits firearm possession by convicted felons and first-offender probationers under O.C.G.A. § 16-11-131, prohibits handgun possession by persons under 18 with statutory carve-outs under § 16-11-132, and bans certain NFA-style weapons (machine guns, sawed-off shotguns and rifles, silencers, and "dangerous weapons" like rocket launchers and grenades) under § 16-11-122 unless they are federally registered under the National Firearms Act. The full federal 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) "prohibited persons" list applies in Georgia. Georgia has no state-level assault weapon ban, no magazine capacity limit, no universal background check requirement, no waiting period, and no firearm registration.
This section covers Georgia's PEOPLE-based prohibitions (who may not possess) and Georgia's weapon-category restrictions (what items the state prohibits absent federal registration). General storage rules are covered in STORAGE. NFA item registration mechanics are covered in NFA_ITEMS. Location-based prohibitions are covered in PROHIBITED_PLACES.
Georgia's signature state-level prohibition. The statute reaches three classes of people:
"Felony" is defined in subsection (a)(1) as any offense punishable by imprisonment for one year or more, and the definition explicitly includes a court-martial conviction under the Uniform Code of Military Justice for an offense that would constitute a felony under U.S. law. "Firearm" is defined broadly in subsection (a)(2) to include handguns, rifles, shotguns, and any other weapon that can expel a projectile by explosive or electrical action.
The prohibited conduct is broad: a covered person who receives, possesses, or transports a firearm commits a felony. There is no element of intent to use the firearm criminally. Mere possession is the offense.
Read § 16-11-131 carefully. The grading depends on prior history and whether the underlying felony was a "forcible" one.
| Conviction posture | Sentence range |
|---|---|
| First conviction, non-forcible underlying felony | 1 to 10 years |
| Second or subsequent conviction | 5 to 10 years |
| First conviction, forcible-felony predicate | 5 years (mandatory) |
| Attempt to purchase or obtain transfer, forcible-felony predicate or first-offender forcible predicate (§ 16-11-131(b.1)) | 1 to 5 years first conviction; 5 to 10 years subsequent |
Per subsection (g), each firearm in a multi-firearm violation is a separate offense.
"Forcible felony" is defined in subsection (e) and includes murder, murder in the second degree, burglary in any degree, robbery, armed robbery, home invasion in any degree, kidnapping, hijacking of an aircraft or motor vehicle in the first degree, aggravated stalking, rape, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sexual battery, arson in the first degree, the manufacture or possession of explosives with intent to injure or destroy a public building, terroristic threats, and acts of treason or insurrection.
Subsection (c) makes the prohibition inapplicable to a person who has been pardoned by the President of the United States, by the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles, or by the comparable authority in another jurisdiction, and whose pardon expressly authorizes the receipt, possession, or transport of firearms. The express-authorization language matters: a generic pardon that does not specifically restore firearm rights does not lift the § 16-11-131 disability.
Subsection (d) creates a parallel relief track for persons who have obtained federal § 925(c) relief from disabilities. The applicant must present proof to the Georgia Board of Public Safety, and the Board must find that restoration would not present a threat to public safety and would not be contrary to the public interest. A record of the granted relief is entered on the criminal history maintained by the Georgia Crime Information Center, and a public list is maintained. Note that ATF § 925(c) relief has been unfunded by Congress since the early 1990s for individual relief applications, so this pathway is largely theoretical for most applicants.
Subsection (f) provides automatic relief for first-offender probationers who are discharged without adjudication of guilt under § 42-8-60 or under § 16-13-2.
Georgia does not automatically restore firearm rights when other civil rights (voting, jury service) are restored after sentence completion. A Georgia felon who has completed sentence still carries the § 16-11-131 disability unless one of the statutory relief pathways has run. The same person remains separately disabled under federal 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) and must clear both layers to lawfully possess.
The general rule in subsection (b): a person under 18 may not possess or have under their control a handgun. Note this is a handgun-only prohibition. Long-gun possession by minors is not prohibited by § 16-11-132 (federal 18 U.S.C. § 922(x) imposes a separate handgun-and-handgun-ammunition prohibition for persons under 18, with comparable carve-outs).
A handgun is considered "loaded" for purposes of this section if a cartridge is in the chamber or cylinder (§ 16-11-132(a)).
| Offense | Grade |
|---|---|
| First violation | Misdemeanor. Fine up to $1,000 or up to 12 months imprisonment, or both. |
| Second or subsequent violation | Felony. $5,000 fine or 3 years imprisonment, or both. |
The prohibition does not apply to a person under 18 who is:
Two additional carve-outs sit in subsections (c)(2) and (c)(3):
The subsection (c) carve-outs do not apply to a minor who has been convicted of a forcible felony or forcible misdemeanor as defined in § 16-1-3, or who has been adjudicated delinquent for an act that would constitute one of those offenses if committed by an adult. A minor with that history is prohibited from handgun possession with no exceptions.
The Part 2 framework (§§ 16-11-120 through 16-11-125.1) bans possession of a defined list of "dangerous weapons." § 16-11-122 states the rule in a single sentence:
No person shall have in his possession any sawed-off shotgun, sawed-off rifle, machine gun, dangerous weapon, or silencer except as provided in Code Section 16-11-124.
The definitions in § 16-11-121 control:
The bite of § 16-11-122 is materially blunted by the exemptions in § 16-11-124. The statute does not apply to:
Paragraph (4) is the operative carve-out for civilian possession. A Georgia resident who has completed the federal NFA registration process for a short-barreled rifle, short-barreled shotgun, machine gun (lawfully transferable per the 1986 Hughes Amendment cutoff), silencer, or destructive device may lawfully possess that item in Georgia. The state defers to the federal NFA scheme rather than imposing a separate state ban on top of it. This is why authoritative third-party summaries describe Georgia as a state that does not restrict NFA items beyond the federal baseline.
A separate statute, § 16-11-160, imposes enhanced penalties when machine guns, sawed-off shotguns, sawed-off rifles, or silencer-equipped firearms are possessed during the commission of certain offenses. That enhancement is distinct from the bare-possession offense under § 16-11-122 and is a sentencing rule, not a definitional one.
The federal "prohibited persons" list at 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) applies in Georgia in full and reaches a broader set of people than § 16-11-131 alone. A person in any of the following categories may not ship, transport, possess, or receive a firearm or ammunition:
A separate provision, 18 U.S.C. § 922(n), prohibits a person under indictment for a felony from acquiring a firearm but does not prohibit possession of a pre-existing one. Federal § 922(g) penalties reach 10 years imprisonment under § 924(a)(8). Under the Armed Career Criminal Act (§ 924(e)), three qualifying "violent felony" or "serious drug offense" priors carry a 15-year mandatory minimum.
Georgia's restrictions framework is notable for what is absent. Be deliberate about these gaps; they are the source of frequent misconceptions for students who have moved from stricter states.
If your students have moved from California, Massachusetts, New York, Illinois, Maryland, Connecticut, New Jersey, Hawaii, or Washington, make the contrast clear. None of those state-specific restrictions follow them into Georgia.
| Question | Answer | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Can a Georgia felon possess a firearm? | No. State and federal prohibitions both apply. | O.C.G.A. § 16-11-131; 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) |
| Can a 17-year-old possess a handgun for self-defense at home? | Yes, with parental permission and for the purpose of exercising § 16-3-21 / § 16-3-23 rights. | O.C.G.A. § 16-11-132(c)(3) |
| Can a 17-year-old possess a long gun in Georgia? | Yes under state law. Federal age-18 rules apply for FFL purchase. | O.C.G.A. § 16-11-132 (handgun-only); 18 U.S.C. § 922(b)(1) |
| Can a Georgia resident possess a federally-registered silencer? | Yes. | O.C.G.A. § 16-11-124(4); 26 U.S.C. §§ 5841-5862 |
| Can a Georgia resident possess a federally-registered short-barreled rifle? | Yes. | O.C.G.A. § 16-11-124(4) |
| Can a Georgia resident possess an unregistered short-barreled rifle? | No. Felony under § 16-11-122. | O.C.G.A. §§ 16-11-122, 16-11-124(4) |
| Is there a Georgia assault weapon ban? | No. | No statute. |
| Is there a Georgia magazine capacity limit? | No. | No statute. |
| Are background checks required for private sales? | No state requirement. Federal requirement applies only to FFL transactions. | 18 U.S.C. § 922(t); no GA add-on |
| Is there a waiting period? | No. | No statute. |
| Is Georgia firearm possession registered with the state? | No. | No statute. |
| Does Georgia have a red flag / ERPO law? | No. | No statute. |
| Does a Georgia pardon restore firearm rights automatically? | No. The pardon must "expressly" authorize possession. | O.C.G.A. § 16-11-131(c) |
| Does completion of a Georgia felony sentence automatically restore firearm rights? | No. | O.C.G.A. § 16-11-131; no automatic-restoration provision |
The operative rule for a student: in Georgia, the state restrictions sit on top of the federal § 922(g) framework, the state adds little beyond the felon and under-18 prohibitions and the NFA-style ban tempered by the federal-registration exemption, and what is not prohibited by either layer is generally lawful to possess.
This page covers one part of our Georgia concealed carry guide.
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