Green firearm possession card for individual; application
If you wish to acquire and possess weapons and/or ammunition requiring a permit, you must apply for a permit from the relevant weapons authority.
Description
You must always apply for the green firearms possession card if you wish to acquire a firearm requiring a permit (e.g. by purchasing it from a dealer) and cannot meet the special requirements for the issue of a yellow or red firearms possession card (see "Related topics"). If you meet all the application requirements, you will be issued the green weapons possession card and an acquisition permit (a so-called preliminary entry) will be entered in it. If you already have a weapons possession card, additional weapons can be entered there. The permit to acquire a weapon is issued for a period of one year; the permit to possess a weapon is usually issued for an unlimited period.
Sport shooters are usually only allowed to acquire two weapons within six months.
If you are a hunter and have already acquired a long gun requiring a permit, you must report the acquisition within 14 days and, if you do not yet have a gun ownership card, apply for one to be issued. If you already have a weapons possession card, you must apply for the registration of the acquired weapon in the weapons possession card together with the notification of the acquisition (see "Related topics").
It is recommended that you inform yourself in detail about the regulations of the weapons law before applying.
In order to obtain a green weapons possession card, you must
- have the appropriate age as well as
- prove your need,
- be reliable in terms of weapons law and
- personal suitability,
- prove your expertise in handling weapons and ammunition, and
- demonstrate safe storage of weapons and ammunition.
Prerequisites
- You must be at least 18 years old.
For sport shooters there is- a minimum age of 18 years for the purchase of
- firearms up to 5.6 mm lfB (.22 l.r.) caliber for rimfire ammunition if the muzzle energy of the projectiles is 200 joules or less, and
- single-shot long guns with smooth-bore barrels of caliber 12 or smaller, provided that sport shooting with such weapons is permitted by the approved sporting regulations of a shooting sports association (Section 14 (1) Sentence 2 WaffG);
- a minimum age of 21 years for other (large caliber) firearms.
If you are under 25 years of age, you will be requested by the competent weapons authority to submit a specialist medical or specialist psychological report/testimony on your mental fitness. You must pay for the expert opinion/testimony yourself and send the original to the competent firearms authority by mail.
The obligation to submit an expert opinion/certificate on mental fitness does not apply to hunters or to sport shooters who wish to acquire only the weapons specified in Section 14, Paragraph 1, Sentence 2 of the Weapons Act.
- You must prove that you have a particularly recognizable personal or economic interest in acquiring and possessing weapons and ammunition (need).Such an interest is usually recognized if
- you are a hunter and can credibly demonstrate that you need the firearms and ammunition to hunt.
- You have been a member of a sports club that is a member of a recognized shooting sports association for one year and the firearm to be purchased is approved for a sports discipline in accordance with the sports regulations of the shooting sports association. In addition, you must prove that you have practiced the shooting sport regularly in the past twelve months (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 be reliable under firearms law.
You may be judged unreliable under firearms law if, among other things- you have been legally sentenced to a prison term of at least one year within the last 10 years or have been a member of or supported a prohibited organization within the last 10 years.
- it can be assumed that you misuse or improperly handle weapons or ammunition, do not store these items carefully or hand them over to persons who are not authorized to do so.
- you have been in preventive police custody more than once in the last 5 years with judicial authorization due to violence.
- You have repeatedly or grossly violated the weapons law.
- You must be personally suitable.
You may be judged to be personally unsuitable if, among other things.- 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 be able to prove expert knowledge in handling weapons and ammunition, you must have taken part in an appropriate course. The course comprises 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 examination, you will receive a certificate for which weapons and ammunition you have acquired the expertise. You can also obtain the expert knowledge only for the weapons and ammunition that you wish to acquire and possess.
You can also prove your expert knowledge by passing a hunter's examination.
- You must prove that you can store weapons and ammunition safely.
This generally means that only you, as the authorized person, may have access to weapons and ammunition. If you do not store your weapons and ammunition safely, 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. The storage requirements are based on Section 13 of the General Weapons Act Ordinance (AWaffV). In case of doubt, please contact the authority responsible for you. Basically, you can orientate yourself on the following requirements:- You must store ammunition requiring a permit in a sheet steel cabinet/container with a swing bolt lock or an equivalent locking device.
- To store long guns and handguns requiring a permit, you need a gun cabinet. Which gun cabinet you need depends on the number and type of weapons and/or ammunition you wish to acquire and possess.
- In a gun cabinet with resistance grade 0 according to the DIN/EN 1143-1 standard with a weight of up to 200 kilograms, you may store an unlimited number of long guns, up to 5 handguns and ammunition.
- In a firearms cabinet with resistance grade 0 in accordance with the DIN/EN 1143-1 standard with a weight of over 200 kilograms, you may store an unlimited number of long guns, up to 10 handguns and ammunition.
- In a gun cabinet with resistance grade I according to the DIN/EN 1143-1 standard, 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 are allowed to install the weapons cabinet:
- You may store up to three long guns even in buildings that are not permanently inhabited, such as a hunting lodge or a weekend house. For this, however, you need a weapons cabinet with resistance grade I.
- If you live in the same household as another person who is also entitled to possess weapons, you may store the weapons in a joint weapons cabinet.
- It is also permitted to store weapons and ammunition with a weapons dealer. You must provide appropriate proof of this.
Procedure
You must apply for the green firearms possession card at the competent firearms authority. Submit the application together with the required documents.
The firearms authority will issue the green firearms possession card if you meet the necessary requirements.
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)
- Certificate of the shooting sports association, hunting license, proof of endangerment or proof of other need to possess weapons
- 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 25 years of age).
Status:25.08.2023
Responsible for editing:Bayerisches Staatsministerium des Innern, für Sport und Integration
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