If you have inherited weapons and/or ammunition, you must immediately notify the competent authority that you have taken possession of the weapons. In addition, within one month of accepting the inheritance or the expiry of the period within which you could have disclaimed the inheritance, you must apply for the issue of a weapons possession card for the firearms requiring a permit that are part of the inheritance or for their entry in a weapons possession card that has already been issued.
If you already have a weapons possession card (WBK), you can, provided you can prove a need also for the inherited weapons (e.g.If you can prove that you have a need for the inherited weapons (e.g. as a hunter, sports marksman, traditional marksman, weapons or ammunition collector, weapons or ammunition expert, person at risk, weapons manufacturer or weapons dealer or security company), you can have the inherited weapons entered on it.
If you cannot prove that you have a need to possess the inherited weapons, you must have the weapons made unusable or equipped with a state-of-the-art blocking system. Ammunition requiring a permit must be rendered unusable or given to an authorized person. However, you do not have to have the weapons blocked if you already have a weapons possession card.
You must have all modifications to the inherited weapons demonstrably carried out by a specialist and notify the competent authority accordingly (see under "Related topics" - "Inherited weapons; notification of the installation of a blocking system"). If or as long as no appropriate blocking system is available on the market for one or more inherited firearms, exceptions to the obligation to equip all inherited firearms with a blocking system that complies with the state of the art in safety technology may be permitted - upon application
. As a community of heirs, you can also apply for a joint permit. If not all of you want to inherit the weapons, these persons must declare that they waive the inheritance. In order to obtain a joint permit, all members of a community of heirs must prove their need and the requirements are checked for all applicants.
It is recommended that you inform yourself in detail about the regulations of the weapons law before submitting an application.
In order to obtain permission to possess weapons and ammunition that require a permit, you must in principle
- have the appropriate age and
- Your need,
- your reliability under weapons law,
- your personal suitability,
- your expertise in handling weapons and ammunition, and
- the safe storage of weapons and ammunition
prove.