Green firearm possession card for individual; application
If you, as an individual, wish to acquire and possess weapons and/or ammunition, you must apply for a permit from the relevant weapons authority.
Description
Basically, you always need a permit to acquire and possess firearms and ammunition.
In general, firearms are objects that are intended for attack or defense, signaling, hunting, distance injection, marking, sport or play and in which projectiles are propelled through a barrel or in which solid bodies are fired in a targeted manner, the propulsive energy of which is introduced by muscle power or another energy source and can be stored or held by a locking device (for example, crossbows, arrow launchers).
A distinction is made between firearms that require a permit and those that do not. To be allowed to carry permit-free firearms, you need a small firearms license. To permit-required all weapons are counted, which are not frightening shot, irritant and signal weapons with PTB sign in the circle. A detailed list of weapons for the acquisition and possession of which you require a weapons possession card can be found in Annex 2 of the Weapons Act.
It is recommended that you inform yourself in detail about the regulations of the Weapons Act before submitting an application.
In order to obtain permission to acquire and possess weapons and ammunition that require a permit, you must
- have the appropriate age and
- Your need,
- your reliability under weapons law,
- your personal suitability,
- your expertise in handling weapons and ammunition, and
- prove the safe storage of weapons and ammunition.
Prerequisites
- You must be at least 25 years old. Exceptions apply for sport shooters and hunters.
If you are under 25 years of age, you may be required by the competent firearms authority to submit a specialist medical or psychological report/testimonial on your mental fitness. You must pay for the expert opinion/testimony yourself and send the original by mail to the competent firearms authority. A copy or e-mail will not be accepted.
If you are a hunter, you do not need such an expert opinion/certificate.
As a sport shooter, you must be at least 18 years old. Then you are entitled to purchase and possess firearms up to caliber 5.6 mm lfB (.22 l. r.) for rimfire ammunition with a muzzle energy of the projectiles of 200 joules (J) or less and single-shot long guns with smoothbore barrels of caliber 12 or smaller.
For other firearms, the minimum age for sport shooters is 21 years, provided you can present a specialist medical or specialist psychological certificate/attestation of mental fitness.
- You must prove that it is necessary for you to acquire and possess weapons and ammunition (need).
In order to be allowed to acquire and possess weapons and ammunition, you must provide a credible reason to the responsible weapons authority (need). As a rule, a credible reason is recognized if- You are a hunter and have a hunting license (daily or annual hunting license). If you are a hunter and only wish to acquire and possess long guns and two handguns, then no further proof of a need is required.
- You have been a member of a sports club for 1 year, which is a member of a recognized shooting sports association and in which shooting with such weapons is permitted according to an approved shooting sports regulation. The shooting sport regulations are approved by the Federal Office of Administration. In addition, you must prove that you have regularly participated in training (at least once a month or at least 18 times within a year).
- your life is in great danger
- you can credibly demonstrate other reasons why you want to acquire and possess weapons and ammunition.
- You must prove your reliability under weapons law.
You can be assessed as reliable under weapons law if, among other things- you have not been legally sentenced to a custodial sentence of at least 1 year within the last 10 years and have not been a member of or supported a prohibited organization within the last 10 years.
- it cannot be assumed that you misuse or improperly handle weapons or ammunition, do not keep these objects carefully or hand them over to persons who are not authorized to do so.
- you have not been in preventive police custody with judicial authorization for violence more than once in the last 5 years.
- You have not repeatedly or grossly violated the weapons law.
- You must prove your personal suitability.
You can be assessed as personally unsuitable, among other things, if- You are legally incompetent.
- You are addicted to alcohol or other intoxicating substances, mentally ill, or debilitated.
- you suffer from serious illnesses, such as brain injuries, or physical impairments, such as amputations or severe visual impairment.
- it can be assumed that you are not able to handle weapons or ammunition carefully or properly, or that there is a concrete danger that you will endanger others or yourself.
- You must prove that you have sufficient knowledge of weapons and ammunition and how to handle them (expert knowledge).
In order to obtain expert knowledge in handling weapons and ammunition, you must attend an appropriate course. The course includes a theoretical and practical part. At the end of the course, you will take an examination before an authorized examination board. If you pass the exam, you will receive a certificate for which weapons and ammunition you have acquired the expertise. You can also obtain the expertise only for the weapons and ammunition that you wish to acquire and possess.
You do not have to take a separate expertise examination if you- the hunter's examination or an examination equivalent to it, or
- have passed a journeyman's examination for the gunsmith's trade, or
- have worked for at least 3 years as a full-time employee in the trade of firearms and ammunition.
In these cases, you only need to provide appropriate proof.
- You must prove that you can store weapons and ammunition safely.
This generally means that only you, as the authorized person, have access to weapons and ammunition, for example by carrying the key with you at all times. If you do not store your weapons and ammunition securely, you commit an administrative offense for which a fine of up to 10,000 EUR can be imposed. In addition, your reliability under weapons law may be called into question and your weapons possession card may be revoked.
When submitting your application, you must provide information on both the storage location and the container in which you intend to store weapons and ammunition. In principle, you can use the following guidelines as a guide:- You must store ammunition requiring a permit in a sheet steel cabinet/container with a swing bolt lock.
- In order to store long guns and handguns requiring a permit as well as ammunition requiring a permit, you need a gun cabinet. The type of gun cabinet you need depends on the number and type of weapons and/or ammunition you wish to acquire and possess.
- You may store an unlimited number of long guns, up to 5 handguns and ammunition in a gun cabinet with resistance grade 0 in accordance with EN 1143-1 weighing up to 200 kilograms.
- In a gun cabinet with resistance grade 0 according to EN 1143-1 with a weight of more than 200 kilograms, you may store an unlimited number of long guns, up to 10 handguns and ammunition.
- In a gun cabinet with resistance grade 1 according to EN 1143-1 you may store an unlimited number of long guns and handguns as well as ammunition.
- The following regulations apply in principle to the place where you may install the weapons cabinet:
- If you live in an apartment building, you are not allowed to place the gun cabinet in the basement if each resident has only one so-called basement locker, which is secured only by a door with a padlock.
- You are allowed to store up to 3 long guns in buildings that are not permanently inhabited, such as a hunting lodge or a weekend house. However, for this you need a gun cabinet with resistance grade 1.
- If you live with another gun owner in a shared household, you may store the guns in a shared gun cabinet.
- As a hunter, you may also temporarily have your long guns stored by another hunter in his gun cabinet. However, this time should be limited; permanent storage is not allowed. For permanent storage, you should purchase your own gun cabinet to which only you have access.
- It is also permitted to store weapons and ammunition at a weapons dealer. You must provide appropriate proof of this.
Procedure
You can apply for the acquisition and possession of weapons and/or ammunition requiring a permit in writing and, if necessary, also online.
If you apply for the acquisition and possession in writing:
- You complete the form provided by the appropriate firearms authority.
- You send the signed form, together with the written evidence of your need, if required, and the expert opinion/certificate on your personal suitability by mail to the authority.
- You may also visit the competent firearms authority in person and hand in the application.
If the acquisition and possession can also be applied for online:
- You submit the application via the online service of the competent firearms authority and, if applicable, upload written evidence of your need.
- You may have to send the required expert opinion/certificate on your personal suitability to the competent weapons authority by mail or you can bring it in person.
Deadlines
As a rule, you need a weapons permit issued by the responsible district administrative authority before acquiring a firearm. Holders of valid German hunting licenses can acquire typical hunting long guns, but they must be registered on a weapons ownership card within two weeks of acquisition. Heirs also have one month after acceptance of the inheritance or expiration of the period prescribed for disclaimer to apply for a weapons possession card. However, upon the death of the previous owner, possession of the weapons must be reported to the competent authority without delay.
Required documents
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Required Documents:
- Identity card or passport (copy)
- Proof of expertise
- Proof of storage, e.g. purchase contract for a gun cabinet and/or photos of gun cabinet and place of installation
- If applicable, a medical or psychological certificate of mental fitness (if under 21 years of age in the case of sport shooters or under 25 years of age in the case of other persons).
Status: 29.09.2022
Responsible for editing: Bayerisches Staatsministerium des Innern, für Sport und Integration
- Online transactions, Bavaria-wide
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- Prefillable Form, Bavaria-wide
- Legal bases, Bavaria-wide
- Legal bases, locally limited
- Fees, Bavaria-wide
- Fees, locally limited
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