Pennsylvania Red Flag / Extreme Risk Protection Orders

Pennsylvania does not have an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) or "red flag" law as of 2026. Bills to create one have been introduced in successive General Assembly sessions and have passed the state House in recent years, but none has cleared the state Senate or become law. There is no Pennsylvania statute that lets a family member, household member, or law enforcement officer petition a civil court to temporarily remove firearms from a person believed to be a danger to themselves or others, the way Florida, Indiana, California, Michigan, and a number of other states do.

That does not mean Pennsylvania has no involuntary-disarmament tool. It means the available tools are narrower, slower, and tied to specific predicates. The two pathways that exist today are (1) involuntary mental-health commitment under the Mental Health Procedures Act, which can trigger a state and federal firearm prohibition, and (2) Protection From Abuse (PFA) orders under Title 23, which can require relinquishment of firearms when the order is based on domestic abuse. Neither is a true ERPO. Mental-health commitment requires clinical findings, not a generalized "risk" showing. PFA orders require an underlying domestic relationship and an act of abuse, not just dangerousness.

Instructors and students should understand all three pieces: what the existing pathways do, what an ERPO would do if Pennsylvania ever passed one, and what changes for clients who hold a License to Carry Firearms (LTCF) when any of these orders is entered.

Why this matters for License to Carry holders

If you hold a Pennsylvania LTCF, two things happen when you become a prohibited person under 18 Pa.C.S. 6105:

1. You may not possess, use, control, sell, transfer, or manufacture a firearm. Under 18 Pa.C.S. 6105(a), the prohibition attaches by operation of law. It does not depend on the sheriff acting first.
2. You are no longer eligible to hold an LTCF. Under 18 Pa.C.S. 6105(h), a person prohibited under Section 6105 is not eligible for or permitted to obtain a license under 18 Pa.C.S. 6109. The issuing authority must then revoke the license under 18 Pa.C.S. 6109(i), which provides that a license shall be revoked for any reason stated in 18 Pa.C.S. 6109(e)(1) that occurs during the term of the license.

Revocation under Section 6109(i) is done in writing, by certified mail, with notice to the Pennsylvania State Police. The licensee must surrender the physical license to the issuing authority within five days of receiving notice and may appeal the revocation to the court of common pleas in the county of residence.

Failure to surrender firearms after you become subject to a relinquishment-required PFA order is a separate offense under 18 Pa.C.S. 6105(a.1)(2), graded a misdemeanor of the second degree. A conviction under that subsection produces its own five-year firearm prohibition under 18 Pa.C.S. 6105(c)(10), which runs five years from the later of conviction, final release from confinement, or final release from supervision.

Pathway 1: Involuntary mental-health commitment (Mental Health Procedures Act)

The Mental Health Procedures Act (MHPA), the act of July 9, 1976 (P.L.817, No.143), governs Pennsylvania's involuntary commitment process. Three sections can produce a firearm prohibition because 18 Pa.C.S. 6105(c)(4) lists involuntary commitment "under section 302, 303 or 304" of the MHPA as a disqualifier.

Section 302: emergency involuntary examination

Section 302 of the MHPA (codified at 50 P.S. 7302) authorizes an emergency involuntary examination and treatment. A petition can be filed by a responsible party who has reasonable grounds to believe the person is severely mentally disabled and in need of immediate treatment, and a physician or county mental-health delegate reviews it. A police officer may also bring a person directly to a facility under Section 302 when the officer observes conduct establishing severe mental disability and a need for immediate treatment.

Critically for firearm law, a Section 302 commitment becomes a 18 Pa.C.S. 6105(c)(4) prohibitor only when the examining physician issues a certification that inpatient care was necessary or that the person was committable. This carve-out is written into the statute: 18 Pa.C.S. 6105(c)(4) states that paragraph "shall not apply to any proceeding under section 302 of the Mental Health Procedures Act unless the examining physician has issued a certification that inpatient care was necessary or that the person was committable." A person held under Section 302 and released without that physician certification is not a state-law prohibited person under Section 6105(c)(4).

If the certification is issued, the person is prohibited under both:

• State law: 18 Pa.C.S. 6105(c)(4), with relief available only through the 18 Pa.C.S. 6105(f) restoration petition to the court of common pleas.
• Federal law: 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(4), as a person who has been committed to a mental institution.

Neither prohibition expires automatically after a set number of years. They remain in effect until the person obtains relief.

Sections 303 and 304: extended involuntary commitment

Section 303 of the MHPA (50 P.S. 7303) authorizes extended involuntary emergency treatment following a Section 302 admission, after a hearing before a mental-health review officer or judge. Section 304 (50 P.S. 7304) authorizes court-ordered involuntary treatment for a longer fixed period. Both are 18 Pa.C.S. 6105(c)(4) prohibitors on entry of the order. The Section 302 physician-certification carve-out applies only to Section 302, not to Section 303 or Section 304. A person committed under Section 303 or Section 304 is a state and federal firearm prohibited person.

Restoration of rights under 18 Pa.C.S. 6105(f)

Pennsylvania provides a state-court restoration mechanism for the mental-health prohibitor. Under 18 Pa.C.S. 6105(f)(1), a person prohibited under Section 6105(c)(4) may apply to the court of common pleas, and the court "may grant such relief as it deems appropriate if the court determines that the applicant may possess a firearm without risk to the applicant or any other person." A successful petition removes the state prohibition.

It does not, by itself, remove the federal 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(4) prohibition. Lifting the federal disability requires participation in the federal relief program established under the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 (NIAA), which Pennsylvania has implemented to update the federal record after a Section 6105(f) restoration.

Practical reality: Section 6105(f) relief is granted at meaningful rates in some Pennsylvania counties and almost never in others. The procedure and typical wait time vary widely county by county. Advise clients accordingly.

What Section 302 does NOT do

A Section 302 commitment is not an ERPO. It is a clinical determination that can produce a firearm prohibition as a consequence. Specifically:

• It cannot be initiated against a person whose only warning signs are statements, social-media posts, threats to others, or stockpiling. The petitioner must show severe mental disability and need of immediate treatment.
• It does not authorize a search warrant for firearms in the person's home.
• It does not contain an ERPO-style judicial order directing seizure of firearms. Section 6105 makes possession illegal once a qualifying certification or commitment exists, but the MHPA does not direct law enforcement to go retrieve firearms.
• It produces a binary outcome: either a qualifying certification or commitment exists, and the prohibition attaches indefinitely, or it does not, and no Section 6105 prohibition attaches. There is no time-limited order with renewal hearings the way an ERPO works.

Pathway 2: Protection From Abuse (PFA) orders with relinquishment

PFA orders are governed by the Protection From Abuse statute at 23 Pa.C.S. Ch. 61. They are domestic-violence civil orders, not red-flag orders, but they are the most commonly used Pennsylvania tool for removing firearms from a person who poses an articulable danger to a household member.

Who can petition

A PFA petition can be filed only by a "family or household member" as defined in 23 Pa.C.S. 6102. That category covers spouses and former spouses, parents and children, persons related by blood or marriage, current or former sexual or intimate partners, and persons who share biological parenthood. A neighbor, coworker, classmate, or unrelated friend cannot file a PFA petition. This is the central reason a PFA is not a substitute for an ERPO.

Predicate: an act of abuse

The petitioner must allege "abuse" as defined in 23 Pa.C.S. 6102, which includes attempting or causing bodily injury, placing the petitioner in reasonable fear of imminent serious bodily injury, false imprisonment, child sexual abuse, and a course of conduct that constitutes stalking under 18 Pa.C.S. 2709.1. A bare statement that "I am afraid he will hurt himself" does not meet the predicate. The conduct must be directed at a family or household member.

Temporary (ex parte) PFAs: 23 Pa.C.S. 6107(b)

Under 23 Pa.C.S. 6107(b)(1), if a plaintiff petitions for a temporary order and alleges immediate and present danger of abuse, the court conducts an ex parte proceeding and may enter a temporary order the same day, without notice to the defendant. Under 23 Pa.C.S. 6107(a), a hearing on the petition is held within ten business days, where the plaintiff must prove abuse by a preponderance of the evidence. The temporary order remains in effect until modified or terminated by the court after notice and hearing.

Under 23 Pa.C.S. 6107(b)(3), the court may direct the defendant to temporarily relinquish firearms, other weapons, or ammunition to the sheriff for the duration of the temporary order if the petition demonstrates abuse involving a firearm or other weapon, or an immediate and present danger of abuse. For a temporary order, relinquishment may be made to the sheriff under 23 Pa.C.S. 6108(a)(7) or to a qualifying third party under 23 Pa.C.S. 6108.3 (the licensed-dealer route under Section 6108.2 is available for final orders). This is the fastest civil firearm-removal pathway in Pennsylvania.

Final PFAs: 23 Pa.C.S. 6108

After a hearing where both parties may appear, the court may issue a final PFA. Under 23 Pa.C.S. 6108(a)(7), the final order may prohibit the defendant from acquiring or possessing any firearm for the duration of the order, order the defendant to temporarily relinquish firearms to the sheriff or appropriate law enforcement agency, and require relinquishment of any firearm license. The order may also reach other weapons or ammunition that were used or threatened to be used in an incident of abuse. Under 23 Pa.C.S. 6108(d), a PFA order is for a fixed period not to exceed three years and may be amended on a later petition.

Relinquishment mechanics and deadline

When a PFA order requires relinquishment, 23 Pa.C.S. 6108(a)(7)(i)(A) sets the deadline: the defendant must relinquish the firearms, other weapons, ammunition, and any firearm license within 24 hours of service of a temporary order or entry of a final order, or by the close of the next business day if sheriffs' offices are closed, except for cause shown at the hearing. There are three ways to comply:

• To the sheriff (default): Under 23 Pa.C.S. 6108(a)(7), the defendant relinquishes to the sheriff or the appropriate law enforcement agency, which stores the firearms for the duration of the order.
• To a licensed dealer, 23 Pa.C.S. 6108.2: In lieu of relinquishment to the sheriff, the defendant may relinquish to a dealer licensed under 18 Pa.C.S. 6113 for consignment sale, lawful transfer, or safekeeping, then file the dealer's affidavit with the sheriff. The dealer may charge a reasonable fee.
• To a third party, 23 Pa.C.S. 6108.3: The defendant may relinquish for safekeeping to a qualifying third party who is not a family or household member. Under 23 Pa.C.S. 6108.3(b)(3), the third party must be either an attorney at law (in an attorney-client relationship with the defendant) or a commercial armory, and the sheriff must confirm the third party is not prohibited under federal or state law before issuing a safekeeping permit.

A person who fails to relinquish in compliance with the order can be prosecuted under 18 Pa.C.S. 6105(a.1)(2), a misdemeanor of the second degree, and a conviction triggers the five-year prohibition under 18 Pa.C.S. 6105(c)(10).

State and federal consequences of an active PFA

• State: 18 Pa.C.S. 6105(c)(6) prohibits a person who is the subject of an active final PFA issued under 23 Pa.C.S. 6108, or any other active PFA issued under 23 Pa.C.S. 6107(b) that provided for the relinquishment of firearms during the period the order is in effect, or who is otherwise prohibited under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(8). By the plain text of Section 6105(c)(6), a temporary 6107(b) order that contains a relinquishment provision is itself a state prohibitor, not merely an administrative flag. The prohibition terminates upon expiration or vacation of the order or the relinquishment portion of it.
• Federal: 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(8) prohibits a person subject to a qualifying domestic-violence restraining order that satisfies the federal criteria (notice, opportunity to participate in a hearing, and either a finding of credible threat or an explicit prohibition on the use of physical force against an intimate partner or child). The federal prohibition is independent of the state one.

What the PFA pathway is good for, and what it is not

A PFA can produce same-day, ex parte firearm relinquishment, which makes it functionally similar to an ERPO temporary order. But it requires both an underlying domestic relationship and an act of abuse. It does not cover:

• Non-domestic threats. A person who tells a coworker, classmate, neighbor, or social-media audience that they intend to commit a mass shooting is not subject to a PFA unless the threat is directed at a family or household member.
• Suicide risk against oneself with no act of abuse against a household member. A spouse worried that her husband will use his firearm to kill himself, with no qualifying abuse against her, has no clear PFA route.
• Generalized danger to self. A person with active suicidal ideation who has not committed an act covered by the Section 6102 abuse definition cannot be reached by a PFA.

Pathway 3: What an ERPO would do (proposed legislation, not law)

Pennsylvania ERPO bills track the structure used in Connecticut, Indiana, Florida, and Michigan. Common elements across drafts:

• Petitioners: A family or household member, or a law enforcement officer.
• Standard: Preponderance of the evidence for a final order, or a lower probable-cause-type showing for an ex parte order, that the respondent poses a significant risk of injury to self or others by possessing a firearm.
• Ex parte order: Available without notice for a short period, pending a full hearing.
• Final order: Effective for up to one year, renewable on a renewed showing.
• Relief: Surrender of firearms and temporary suspension of the right to acquire firearms or hold a license to carry.
• Due-process protections: Right to counsel, a hearing within a fixed window, the right to petition for early termination, and criminal penalties for false swearing.

None of this is current Pennsylvania law. ERPO legislation has passed the state House in recent sessions but has not cleared the Senate. Treat ERPO as proposed, not enacted, when teaching a Pennsylvania CCW class.

Reciprocity considerations: out-of-state ERPO orders

Pennsylvania has not enacted full-faith-and-credit legislation specific to out-of-state ERPOs. Practical effect:

• A Pennsylvania resident who was the subject of an ERPO in another state is not automatically a prohibited person under 18 Pa.C.S. 6105 by virtue of that order alone, because Section 6105 does not list "subject to an ERPO" as a prohibitor.
• The same person may still be federally prohibited if the order satisfies 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(8). That provision requires a hearing with notice and opportunity to participate, a finding of credible threat or an explicit prohibition on the use of force, and that the order run against an intimate partner or child. ERPOs that do not involve an intimate partner usually do not satisfy 922(g)(8), although the underlying findings could trigger other federal prohibitors.
• An out-of-state ERPO can still surface on a background check. A Pennsylvania resident with an active out-of-state order may be denied at a point of sale, or denied an LTCF on background-check grounds, even when Section 6105 does not directly list the order.

If you advise a client moving to Pennsylvania who has an active ERPO from another state, do not tell them the order will not follow them. Federal prohibitions follow, and a background check will see the order.

Quick-reference table

Practical guidance for instructors and licensees

1. If a student tells you they were held briefly under Section 302 and released, ask whether the examining physician issued a committability certification. The certification, not the hold itself, is what triggers 18 Pa.C.S. 6105(c)(4). The records are obtainable from the receiving facility, and firearm-eligibility determinations turn on those records.

2. If a student is served with a PFA that orders relinquishment, the 24-hour clock under 23 Pa.C.S. 6108(a)(7)(i)(A) starts at service of a temporary order or entry of a final order, not at some later hearing. Counsel them to relinquish to the sheriff, to a licensed dealer under Section 6108.2, or to a qualifying third party under Section 6108.3. Self-storage at another address, an off-site safe deposit box, or a handoff to a household member who does not qualify under Section 6108.3 does not satisfy the order.

3. If a client is restored under 18 Pa.C.S. 6105(f), the federal 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(4) prohibition is not automatically lifted. The federal record must be updated through Pennsylvania's NIAA relief process before a background check will return a proceed.

4. If a household member is at risk to themselves but has not committed abuse against anyone and is not committable under Section 302, the available state-law tools may not reach the situation. The federal Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022 funds state ERPO implementation but does not create any federal authority to seek an ERPO. Outside of Section 302 and the PFA process, the realistic options are voluntary surrender, voluntary commitment, and persuasion.

Federal context

United States v. Rahimi (2024). In United States v. Rahimi, 602 U.S. 680 (2024), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal firearm prohibition at 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(8) for persons subject to a qualifying domestic-violence restraining order, holding that the disability survives the historical-tradition test of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022). Rahimi is the controlling Supreme Court authority on the constitutionality of federal firearm disabilities tied to domestic-violence findings, and it bears on any state red-flag or ERPO analysis to the extent those frameworks borrow the 922(g)(8) prohibitor mechanics.