How a Utah DUI or Impaired Driving Charge Affects Your Gun Rights and Concealed Carry Permit
If you have been arrested for DUI in Utah and you own firearms, one of the first questions that hits you is whether this costs you your guns. It is a fair question, and the honest answer has two halves.
The good news: a first-offense misdemeanor DUI in Utah does not make you a prohibited person under federal or state law. You do not lose the right to own or possess firearms. The harder news: that same conviction can absolutely cost you a Utah concealed firearm permit, and if your case escalates to a felony, the firearms consequences become permanent in ways that are very difficult to undo.
Here is how the pieces actually fit together.
Misdemeanor DUI: Your Right to Own Firearms Survives
Federal law is what disarms people, and it disarms them mainly through 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). The relevant category is anyone convicted of "a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year."
That phrase sounds like it might sweep in serious misdemeanors, but Congress carved out an exception at 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20)(B): state offenses classified as misdemeanors and punishable by two years or less do not count. In Utah, a first or second DUI is a class B misdemeanor, and even a class A misdemeanor DUI carries a maximum of 364 days. Both sit comfortably under the federal threshold.
Utah's own restricted-person statutes point the same direction. As of May 7, 2025, Utah's weapons offenses were recodified into Title 76, Chapter 11. Under Utah Code § 76-11-302 and § 76-11-303, "Category I" and "Category II" restricted persons are defined largely by felony convictions, domestic violence offenses, certain mental health adjudications, and protective orders. A garden-variety misdemeanor DUI is not on either list.
So if this is your first DUI and it stays a misdemeanor, you keep your guns.
Felony DUI Is a Different Universe
Utah DUI becomes a third degree felony under Utah Code § 41-6a-503 when any of the following is true:
- You have two or more prior convictions within 10 years of the current offense
- You have a prior felony DUI conviction
- You have a prior automobile homicide conviction under § 76-5-207
A third degree felony in Utah is punishable by up to five years. That crosses the federal line at § 922(g)(1), and it makes you a Category II restricted person under Utah law for seven years after you complete your sentence. Possessing a firearm as a Category II restricted person is itself a third degree felony under § 76-11-306.
Worse, while you are on probation or parole for any felony, you are a Category I restricted person under § 76-11-302. Firearm possession in that status is a second degree felony — up to 15 years. This catches people off guard. A client finishes a felony DUI plea, goes home, and the shotgun in the closet is now a second degree felony.
What Happens While Your Case Is Still Pending
Two things matter before any conviction ever enters.
First, if you are charged by felony information, 18 U.S.C. § 922(n) makes it unlawful to receive a firearm while that charge is pending. You may keep what you already own, but you cannot buy. A dealer running your NICS check will get a denial.
Second, and more commonly overlooked: Utah judges frequently impose "no firearms" as a condition of probation, even on misdemeanor DUI cases, particularly where a weapon was in the vehicle or the BAC was high. That condition is enforceable regardless of what the restricted-person statutes say. Read your probation paperwork carefully, and if a firearms condition is in there, ask your attorney whether it can be negotiated out at sentencing.
Your Concealed Firearm Permit: This Is Where a First DUI Really Bites
Owning a gun and carrying a concealed one under a Utah permit are governed by completely different standards, and this is the part most people get wrong.
To get or keep a Utah Concealed Firearm Permit, you must demonstrate "good character" under Utah Code § 53-5-704(2)(a). That subsection requires, among other things, that the applicant "has not been convicted of an offense involving the use of alcohol."
The Bureau of Criminal Identification's rule, Utah Admin. Code R722-300-3(2)(m), defines that phrase to include conduct described in Utah Code § 41-6a-501(2) related to the use of alcohol. And § 41-6a-501(2) is the DUI part's list of qualifying convictions — DUI under § 41-6a-502, impaired driving under § 41-6a-502.5, alcohol-related reckless driving, automobile homicide, and refusal of a chemical test.
Translation: a misdemeanor DUI is a statutory disqualifier for a Utah concealed carry permit, even though it does nothing to your underlying right to own a firearm.
BCI does not have to deny forever. Under R722-300-4(5)(b), the bureau may find that mitigating circumstances exist once a set period has passed since conviction or release:
- Five years for a class A misdemeanor
- Four years for a class B misdemeanor
- Three years for any other misdemeanor or infraction
So a typical first-offense class B DUI puts a roughly four-year cloud over your permit, and BCI retains discretion even after that window closes. If you already hold a permit, a DUI conviction can trigger suspension or revocation on the same "good character" grounds, and you have 60 days to petition for review after a denial notice.
One practical note: Utah has allowed permitless concealed carry since 2021 for anyone 21 or older who may lawfully possess a firearm. So a permit denial does not stop you from carrying in Utah. What you lose is reciprocity — the Utah permit is honored in roughly 36 other states, and that recognition goes away.
Pleading Down to Impaired Driving Does Not Fix the Permit Problem
Impaired driving under § 41-6a-502.5 is a valuable plea. It softens the license consequences and the sentencing exposure. But because § 41-6a-502.5 is listed inside § 41-6a-501(2), an impaired driving conviction still counts as "an offense involving the use of alcohol" for concealed firearm permit purposes.
If your permit is a priority, say so early. The goal has to be a non-alcohol disposition or a dismissal, not just a reduction — and that is a strategy conversation that has to happen before the plea, not after.
Drug DUI, Cannabis, and the 2026 Supreme Court Decision
Federal law at § 922(g)(3) prohibits firearm possession by an "unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance." For years, that meant a Utah medical cannabis cardholder was, in the federal government's view, a prohibited person.
That changed in June 2026, when the Supreme Court decided United States v. Hemani. Writing for the Court, Justice Gorsuch held that prosecuting a regular marijuana user under § 922(g)(3), without more, violates the Second Amendment. The decision was deliberately narrow and as-applied. The Court left open prosecutions involving present intoxication while armed, addiction, or individualized evidence of dangerousness, and it did not resolve the status of state-licensed medical cannabis patients.
What has not changed: ATF Form 4473 still asks the question, and answering it falsely is a federal felony. And a Utah drug-metabolite DUI under § 41-6a-517 is still an "unlawful use of narcotics or other controlled substances" disqualifier for a concealed firearm permit under § 53-5-704(2)(a).
The Charge Nobody Expects: Carrying While Under the Influence
Utah Code § 76-11-217 (formerly § 76-10-528) makes it a class B misdemeanor to carry a dangerous weapon while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, measured by the same standards as DUI. If you were armed when you were stopped, expect this charge alongside the DUI — and note that it is itself an "offense involving the use of alcohol" for permit purposes.
Getting Your Rights Back
Misdemeanor DUI. Expungement is available, but Utah imposes a 10-year waiting period for alcohol-related driving convictions under Utah Code § 77-40a-303 — far longer than the four years for an ordinary class B. That is a long time to wait for a clean record.
Felony DUI. Felony DUI is on the list of convictions that cannot be expunged in Utah. The realistic paths are a motion to reduce the conviction under § 76-3-402, or a pardon from the Board of Pardons and Parole. Both are heavy lifts. This is precisely why keeping a third DUI from becoming a felony is worth fighting hard for.
What to Do Right Now
If firearms matter to you, tell your attorney at the first meeting — before any plea discussion begins. The difference between a DUI, an impaired driving plea, a reckless driving plea, and a dismissal is not just jail and license time. It determines whether you can carry, where you can carry, and in the felony range, whether you can lawfully own a firearm at all.
Your license hearing window can be as short as 10 days. The firearms consequences run on a much longer clock, but the decisions that set them are made in the first few weeks.
Glen Neeley has been a board-certified criminal defense attorney since 1998, focused on Utah DUI defense. Free consultation, available 24/7 — call 801-645-5008.
Disclaimer: This article is general information about Utah and federal law, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Firearms law changes frequently and outcomes depend on the specific facts of your case. Consult an attorney about your situation.