Texas Weapon Restrictions

Texas Weapon Restrictions

Texas restricts firearm possession on two axes. The first axis is person: felons, certain domestic-violence misdemeanants, and people subject to qualifying protective orders cannot possess firearms during the disability period. Tex. Penal Code § 46.04 is the operative statute. The second axis is item: explosive weapons, machine guns, short-barrel firearms, armor-piercing handgun ammunition, chemical dispensing devices, zip guns, tire deflation devices, and improvised explosive devices are categorically restricted unless they fall into a narrow registration or duty exception. Tex. Penal Code § 46.05 is the operative statute. Tex. Penal Code § 46.15 carves out exemptions for peace officers, military personnel, and (for some offenses) license-to-carry holders. Federal law at 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) runs in parallel and reaches several categories that Texas does not directly criminalize, including drug users, illegal aliens, and dishonorably discharged servicemembers.

This section is the person-and-item companion to PROHIBITED_PLACES, which covers the place-based bans at § 46.02 and § 46.03. If you want to know who cannot carry or what they cannot carry, you are in the right section. If you want to know where lawful owners cannot carry, see PROHIBITED_PLACES.

Person-Based Prohibitions (§ 46.04)

Section 46.04 is titled "Unlawful Possession of Firearm." It defines four distinct prohibitions, each with its own duration and grading.

Felony conviction (§ 46.04(a))

A person who has been convicted of a felony commits an offense if he possesses a firearm:

1. After conviction and before the fifth anniversary of the person's release from confinement following conviction of the felony, or release from supervision under community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision, whichever date is later. § 46.04(a)(1).
2. After the period described by Subdivision (1), at any location other than the premises at which the person lives. § 46.04(a)(2).

The structure is unusual and worth restating in plain language. For the first five years after the latest of release, parole termination, or completion of community supervision, a Texas felon cannot possess a firearm anywhere. After that five-year window closes, the felon may possess a firearm only on the premises at which the person lives. Carrying the firearm to a friend's house, a hunting lease, or a vehicle parked off the residential premises remains unlawful.

Texas recognizes no automatic restoration of the right to carry away from home. The state-law residential-premises rule does not override 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), which continues to bar all firearm possession by anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment unless that conviction has been expunged, set aside, or pardoned, or unless civil rights have been restored under § 921(a)(20). A Texas felon relying on the at-home exception of § 46.04(a)(2) is still exposed to federal prosecution under § 922(g)(1) absent restoration of federal rights.

The operative federal definition in § 46.04(f) treats a state, federal, or out-of-state offense as a "felony" if it is designated as a felony, contains all the elements of a Texas felony, or is punishable by confinement for one year or more in a penitentiary. § 46.04(g) creates a narrow safe harbor: an out-of-state offense is not treated as a felony for § 46.04 purposes if at the time of possession the offense is no longer designated by Texas law as a felony and does not contain all the elements of a Texas felony.

Class A domestic-violence misdemeanor (§ 46.04(b))

A person convicted of an offense under § 22.01 (assault), punishable as a Class A misdemeanor and involving a member of the person's family or household, commits an offense if the person possesses a firearm before the fifth anniversary of the later of:

1. The date of release from confinement following conviction of the misdemeanor; or
2. The date of release from community supervision following conviction of the misdemeanor.

"Family," "household," and "member of a household" follow the definitions in Tex. Fam. Code Ch. 71. § 46.04(d). Unlike the federal MCDV bar at 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), the Texas bar at § 46.04(b) is time-limited at five years and is triggered specifically by a Class A misdemeanor assault under § 22.01 with a family-violence finding. The federal MCDV bar is permanent (subject to § 921(a)(33) restoration mechanisms) and reaches a broader set of qualifying convictions. A person who is past the five-year Texas window may still be federally prohibited.

Protective-order subjects (§ 46.04(c))

A person, other than a peace officer actively engaged as a sworn full-time paid employee of a state agency or political subdivision, who is subject to an order issued under Tex. Fam. Code § 6.504 or Chapter 85, under Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 17.292 or Subchapter A, Chapter 7B, or by another jurisdiction as provided by Family Code Chapter 88, commits an offense if the person possesses a firearm after receiving notice of the order and before its expiration. § 46.04(c).

The statute reaches:

• Family Code § 6.504 mutual restraining orders in divorce proceedings.
• Family Code Chapter 85 family-violence protective orders.
• Code of Criminal Procedure art. 17.292 magistrate's emergency protective orders entered after a family-violence arrest.
• Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 7B stalking, sexual-assault, trafficking, and other targeted protective orders.
• Family Code Chapter 88 out-of-state and tribal-court protective orders given full faith and credit in Texas.

The disability runs from notice through expiration. Federal law at 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8) applies in parallel to qualifying intimate-partner protective orders that meet the federal due-process and findings requirements. A Texas order that triggers § 46.04(c) often (but not always) also triggers § 922(g)(8); a federal order or out-of-state order that does not match § 46.04(c) may still trigger § 922(g)(8).

Criminal street gang member with a handgun in a vehicle (§ 46.04(a-1))

A person who is a member of a criminal street gang as defined by § 71.01 commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his or her person a handgun in a motor vehicle or watercraft. § 46.04(a-1). This provision sits alongside the constitutional-carry baseline at § 46.02 and forecloses the in-vehicle carry that is otherwise lawful for non-gang adults aged 21+.

§ 46.04 grading

Penalties under § 46.04 are graded under § 46.04(e):

A second-degree felony grade applies under separate statutory provisions for certain enhanced § 46.04 conduct (for example, repeat felon-in-possession with priors); confirm the current grading with the prosecutor before relying on a baseline third-degree assumption.

Relinquishment when a disability attaches

Texas does not have a unified statutory relinquishment-and-storage scheme. In practice, when a disability attaches under § 46.04, the affected person must dispose of firearms before the disability becomes effective (or before any deadline the issuing court sets in a protective order). Common methods are transfer to a non-prohibited family member who does not reside with the disqualified person, sale to a federally licensed dealer (FFL), or surrender to a law enforcement agency. Constructive possession remains unlawful: leaving firearms in a household closet that the prohibited person can access is possession for purposes of § 46.04 and 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). For protective-order respondents, family-violence courts routinely order a specific surrender procedure; comply with the court's order on its terms and timeline.

Item-Based Prohibitions (§ 46.05)

Section 46.05, "Prohibited Weapons," lists six categories of items that no person may intentionally or knowingly possess, manufacture, transport, repair, or sell unless an exception applies.

The six categories (§ 46.05(a))

1. Explosive weapons (§ 46.05(a)(1)(A)). § 46.01(2) defines this as any explosive or incendiary bomb, grenade, rocket, or mine designed, made, or adapted for inflicting serious bodily injury, death, substantial property damage, or undue public alarm; the term includes a device designed for delivery or shooting an explosive weapon.
2. Machine guns (§ 46.05(a)(1)(B)). § 46.01(9) defines this as any firearm capable of shooting more than two shots automatically, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.
3. Short-barrel firearms (§ 46.05(a)(1)(C)). § 46.01(10) defines this as a rifle with a barrel under 16 inches, a shotgun with a barrel under 18 inches, or any weapon made from a shotgun or rifle that, as altered, has an overall length under 26 inches.
4. Armor-piercing ammunition (§ 46.05(a)(2)). § 46.01(12) defines this as handgun ammunition designed primarily for penetrating metal or body armor and to be used principally in pistols and revolvers.
5. Chemical dispensing devices (§ 46.05(a)(3)). § 46.01(14) defines this as a device, other than a small chemical dispenser sold commercially for personal protection, designed for dispensing a substance that causes an adverse psychological or physiological effect on a human being. Personal-use pepper spray sold for self-defense is outside this definition.
6. Zip guns (§ 46.05(a)(4)). § 46.01(16) defines this as a device that was not originally a firearm and is adapted to expel a projectile through a barrel using the energy of an explosion or burning substance.
7. Tire deflation devices (§ 46.05(a)(5)). § 46.01(17) defines this as a device, including a caltrop or spike strip, that, when driven over, impedes or stops the movement of a wheeled vehicle by puncturing tires.
8. Improvised explosive devices (§ 46.05(a)(6)). § 46.01(19) defines this as a completed and operational bomb designed to cause serious bodily injury, death, or substantial property damage that is fabricated in an improvised manner using nonmilitary components.

(The numbering above lists eight items because the statute splits the first three under § 46.05(a)(1)(A)-(C). The Penal Code uses six numbered subdivisions.)

NFA-registered carve-out for items (1) through (3)

The NFA carve-out is the most important practical exception in § 46.05. Explosive weapons, machine guns, and short-barrel firearms are lawful in Texas if the item is registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record maintained by ATF, or otherwise not subject to that registration requirement, or classified as a curio or relic by the U.S. Department of Justice. § 46.05(a)(1).

The practical translation:

• A federally registered Title II machine gun (post-1986 registered for dealer or government sale, or pre-1986 transferable) lawfully held under 26 U.S.C. ch. 53 is lawful in Texas.
• A federally registered short-barreled rifle (SBR) or short-barreled shotgun (SBS) is lawful in Texas.
• A federally registered destructive device or qualifying explosive item is lawful in Texas.
• A C&R-classified item is exempt from § 46.05(a)(1) regardless of registration status.

This carve-out applies only to the three items in § 46.05(a)(1). Armor-piercing ammunition, chemical dispensing devices, zip guns, tire deflation devices, and improvised explosive devices have no NFA carve-out under § 46.05(a). See the affirmative defenses in § 46.05(d) below for the narrow workarounds.

Suppressors are not in § 46.05

Suppressors (silencers) are a federally regulated NFA item under 26 U.S.C. ch. 53, but they are not listed in the current text of Tex. Penal Code § 46.05(a). Texas does not categorically prohibit suppressor possession by adults. The NFA_ITEMS section covers the federal procedure and the Texas-specific compliance points for SBRs, SBSs, machine guns, suppressors, and AOWs. See the NFA_ITEMS section before transferring or building any NFA-classified item.

Defenses and affirmative defenses

Section 46.05(b) is a flat defense to prosecution: the actor's conduct was incidental to the performance of official duty by the armed forces, the National Guard, a governmental law enforcement agency, or a correctional facility.

Section 46.05(d) provides three affirmative defenses:

1. Conduct incidental to dealing with a short-barrel firearm or tire deflation device solely as an antique or curio.
2. Conduct incidental to dealing with armor-piercing ammunition solely for the purpose of making it available to an organization listed in § 46.05(b).
3. Conduct incidental to dealing with a tire deflation device solely for the purpose of making it available to an organization listed in § 46.05(b).

Section 46.05(f) provides a defense for possession of a chemical dispensing device by a security officer who has received training from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement or a program approved by the Texas Private Security Board.

§ 46.05 grading

Section 46.05(e) grades all violations as a felony of the third degree with one exception: an offense under § 46.05(a)(5), possession of a tire deflation device, is a state jail felony. Punishment ranges:

Texas removed several historical entries from § 46.05 by repealer:

• Switchblade knives: removed by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., ch. 324 (S.B. 1488), § 15.002. Switchblades are no longer prohibited weapons under Texas state law as of September 1, 2017.
• Knuckles: removed by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., ch. 216 (H.B. 446), § 4. Brass and metal knuckles are no longer prohibited weapons under Texas state law as of September 1, 2019.
• Hoax bombs and unauthorized firearm-silencer language: subject to repealer activity in 2015 and 2019; the current § 46.05(a) text does not include them as prohibited items.

For instructors, the practical point is that the current § 46.05(a) list is the operative restriction set. Older training materials referencing knuckles, switchblades, hoax bombs, or silencers as § 46.05 prohibited weapons are out of date.

Federal § 922(g) Overlay

18 U.S.C. § 922(g) prohibits firearm or ammunition possession (and shipment, transport, and receipt in or affecting interstate commerce) by:

The federal overlay matters in three concrete situations Texas instructors see often:

1. Out-of-state felonies. A person whose Texas felony rights have run past the § 46.04(a) five-year window may rely on § 46.04(a)(2) to keep firearms at home, but § 922(g)(1) still applies absent a federal restoration of rights, an expungement, or a pardon. The state at-home rule is not a federal defense.
2. Marijuana users. Recreational and medical marijuana users are unlawful users of a controlled substance under § 922(g)(3) regardless of state law, and are barred from federal Form 4473 acquisitions and possession. Texas state law contains no parallel categorical bar at § 46.04, but federal exposure is constant.
3. Out-of-state protective orders. A protective order from another state that does not satisfy § 46.04(c)'s incorporation-by-reference list may still satisfy § 922(g)(8) if it meets the federal due-process and intimate-partner findings.

The federal definition of "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" at § 921(a)(33) does not require that the qualifying domestic relationship be an element of the convicting statute. A conviction under § 22.01 against a current or former spouse, cohabitant, parent, person sharing a child in common, or person similarly situated qualifies regardless of whether the indictment charged the family-violence element.

§ 46.15 Exemptions

Section 46.15 is the master exemption statute for §§ 46.02 and 46.03 (the place-and-public-carry rules). It does not exempt anyone from § 46.04 (the prohibited-person rules) or § 46.05 (the prohibited-weapon rules). A peace officer convicted of a qualifying felony is still a felon under § 46.04(a). A military servicemember is still subject to § 46.05 prohibitions on unregistered NFA items.

That said, § 46.15 matters for understanding how § 46.04 and § 46.05 interact with daily carry. The § 46.15(a) exemptions to §§ 46.02 and 46.03 cover peace officers, parole officers, community-supervision officers, judicial officers (active and certain retired), retired qualified law enforcement officers under 18 U.S.C. § 926C, prosecuting attorneys (federal, state, and local) licensed to carry, certain bailiffs, juvenile probation officers, volunteer emergency services personnel, and (depending on the version of § 46.15(a) currently in force after the 2023 amendments) district and county clerks.

Section 46.15(b) provides exemptions to §§ 46.02, 46.03(a)(14), and 46.04(a-1) (but not § 46.04(a), (b), or (c)) for: armed-forces and state-military personnel in the actual discharge of duty; persons who are traveling; persons engaged in lawful hunting, fishing, or other sporting activity (or en route between the activity and home); commissioned security officers performing duties in uniform; personal protection officers; LTC holders carrying a handgun concealed or in a holster (§ 46.15(b)(6)); alcoholic-beverage permit holders supervising the operation of permitted premises; and law enforcement students engaged in required class activities.

The LTC carve-out at § 46.15(b)(6) is what makes the License to Carry valuable even after constitutional carry took effect on September 1, 2021. An LTC holder receives § 46.15(b) exemptions from several § 46.03 location offenses (subject to the § 30.06/§ 30.07 sign exceptions) that constitutional-carry adults do not receive.

LTC Denial Grounds and Their Relationship to § 46.04

The PERMIT_BASICS section walks through the fourteen-prong eligibility test at Tex. Gov't Code § 411.172(a). Three of those prongs map directly onto § 46.04 disabilities:

• § 411.172(a)(3): not convicted of a felony (subject to the felony definition in § 411.172(b) that excludes certain old offenses).
• § 411.172(a)(8): not subject to a court order, including an active protective order or a restraining order affecting the spousal relationship (other than a § 6.504 mutual restraining order under specific conditions).
• § 411.172(a)(9): not currently restricted under a court protective order or subject to a restraining order affecting the spousal relationship, other than a § 6.504 mutual restraining order under specific conditions.

A person prohibited under § 46.04 will fail the § 411.172 eligibility test and cannot obtain or retain an LTC. DPS suspends or revokes existing LTCs when the holder becomes subject to a § 46.04 disability. If you are dispatched a protective order, your LTC status is among the first things to confirm with DPS.

Restoration

Texas does not provide a unified state-level restoration-of-rights petition for firearm disabilities arising under § 46.04. The available paths are:

1. Run the clock. § 46.04(a)(2) automatically permits at-home possession after the five-year window closes, subject to § 922(g)(1) federal exposure. § 46.04(b) and § 46.04(c) disabilities expire by their terms.
2. Pardon. A full pardon from the Governor of Texas based on innocence or actual rehabilitation (issued through the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles) restores firearm rights for state-law purposes. A pardon also generally restores federal rights under § 921(a)(20) if it does not expressly restrict firearms.
3. Set aside or expunge. Some Texas convictions are eligible for an order of nondisclosure or expunction under Code of Criminal Procedure provisions; the effect on § 46.04 and § 922(g) depends on the order's specific terms.
4. Federal § 925(c) relief. This federal restoration mechanism remains unfunded by Congress and is currently unavailable to most applicants.
5. Vacatur or modification of a protective order. A § 46.04(c) disability ends when the underlying order expires or is vacated.

A federal felony or a federal MCDV requires a federal pardon or federal restoration; a Texas pardon does not lift a federal disability arising from a federal conviction.

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