Firearms Licences Regulations (SOR/98-199)

Interpretation

1 The following definitions apply in these Regulations.

Act

Act means the Firearms Act. (Loi)

prohibited handgun

prohibited handgun means a handgun under paragraph (a) of the definition prohibited firearm in subsection 84(1) of the Criminal Code. (arme de poing prohibée)

transfer

transfer means sell, barter or give. (cession)

PART 1Individuals

Application Facilitators

1.1 [Repealed, SOR/2004-274, s. 2]

Issuance of Licences

• 2 (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), the chief firearms officer of a province may issue licences referred to in this Part only to residents of the province.

• (2) The chief firearms officer of a province may issue a licence referred to in subsection 10(2) only to an individual who will be coming to the province for a purpose referred to in subsection 10(4).

• (3) The chief firearms officer of a province may issue a licence referred to in section 3 or 9 to an individual who is a non-resident if the individual engages in or proposes to engage in lawful activities in Canada that involve the use of firearms.

Possession and Acquisition Licences for Firearms

• 3 (1) Subject to subsection 14(2), an application for a licence to possess and acquire firearms that is made by an individual must be accompanied by

  • (a) a photograph of the applicant that is sufficient to identify the applicant accurately and that meets the requirements of subsection 14(1);

  • (b) a statement signed by a person who has known the applicant for at least one year and is at least 18 years old confirming that the photograph accurately identifies the applicant and that the person has known the applicant for at least one year;

  • (c) a statement signed by two persons, other than a person referred to in paragraph (d), who have known the applicant for at least three years and are at least 18 years old, with their names printed legibly on it, confirming that they have known the applicant for at least three years and that, to their knowledge,

    • (i) the information in the application is true, and

    • (ii) there is no reason why it would be desirable, in the interests of the safety of the applicant or any other person, that the applicant not possess a firearm; and

  • (d) subject to subsection (2), the name, date of birth, current address and telephone number of every spouse, common-law partner and other person with whom the applicant is in a conjugal relationship at the time of making the application or with whom the applicant has been in a conjugal relationship within the two years before the application is made.

• (2) If an applicant does not know the current address or telephone number of a person referred to in paragraph (1)(d), the application must be accompanied by a statement to that effect.

• 4 (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a chief firearms officer shall, at least 15 days before issuing a licence referred to in subsection 3(1) to an applicant, give notice of the application in accordance with section 25 to each person referred to in paragraph 3(1)(d) who has been identified by the applicant.

• (2) A chief firearms officer may issue the licence without giving notice under subsection (1) to a person referred to in paragraph 3(1)(d) who has signed the application.

• (3) A chief firearms officer may issue the licence without giving notice under subsection (1) to a person with whom the applicant is not cohabiting if

  • (a) the chief firearms officer determines that the information submitted by the applicant is not sufficient to give notice to the person; and

  • (b) the chief firearms officer

    • (i) requires the applicant to submit additional information under subsection 55(1) of the Act, or

    • (ii) conducts an investigation referred to in subsection 55(2) of the Act.

5 A chief firearms officer may not issue a licence referred to in subsection 3(1) to an applicant until at least 28 days have elapsed since the application was made, unless the applicant holds, at the time of applying for the licence,

• (a) a firearms acquisition certificate that is deemed under section 120 of the Act to be a licence; or

• (b) a licence to possess firearms, including a possession licence whose holder is less than 18 years old.

6 [Repealed, SOR/2022-91, s. 1]

7 [Repealed, SOR/2022-91, s. 1]

8 [Repealed, SOR/2022-91, s. 1]

8.1 [Repealed, SOR/2022-91, s. 1]

Renewal of Possession and Acquisition Licences for Firearms

8.2 Sections 8.3 to 8.5 apply in respect of the renewal of a licence to possess and acquire firearms issued to an individual.

• 8.3 (1) Subject to subsection 14(2), an application for a renewal of a licence must include

  • (a) a photograph of the applicant that is sufficient to identify the applicant accurately and that meets the requirements of subsection 14(1);

  • (b) the name, date of birth, address and telephone number of every spouse, common-law partner or other person with whom the applicant is in a conjugal relationship at the time of making the application; and

  • (c) subject to subsection (2), the name, current address and telephone number of every spouse, common-law partner and other person with whom the applicant has been in a conjugal relationship within the two years before the application is made and who is not referred to in paragraph (b).

• (2) If an applicant does not know the current address or telephone number of a person referred to in paragraph (1)(c), the application must be accompanied by a statement to that effect.

8.4 A chief firearms officer shall, when renewing a licence, give notice of the renewal in accordance with section 25 to each person referred to in paragraph 8.3(1)(b) and (c) who has been identified by the applicant but who has not signed the application.

8.5 Sections 3 to 5 do not apply to the renewal of a licence.

Possession Licences for Firearms — Individuals Less than 18 Years Old

• 9 (1) Subject to subsection 14(2), an application for a licence to possess firearms that is made by an individual who is less than 18 years old must be accompanied by

  • (a) a photograph of the applicant that is sufficient to identify the applicant accurately and that meets the requirements of subsection 14(1); and

  • (b) subject to subsection (2), a statement signed by a parent or person who has custody of the applicant, confirming that the photograph accurately identifies the applicant.

• (2) The parent or person referred to in paragraph (1)(b) may, instead of signing the statement, verify it in the same manner as he or she gave the consent under subsection 8(5) of the Act.

Non-residents’ Sixty-Day Possession Licences (Borrowed Firearms)

• 10 (1) This section does not apply in respect of the importation of firearms by non-residents under section 35 of the Act.

• (2) An application that is made by or on behalf of an individual who is at least 18 years old and who is a non-resident for a 60-day licence referred to in subsection 5(3) of the Act must be accompanied by a statement signed by a person referred to in subsection (3), with the person's name printed legibly on it, confirming that, to the person's knowledge, the applicant will be using the firearms for a purpose referred to in subsection (4).

• (3) The persons who may sign a statement for the purposes of subsection (2) are members of any of the following classes of persons and authorized officers of any of the following classes of organizations:

  • (a) outfitters or other persons authorized under the laws of a province to provide services involving organized hunting in Canada;

  • (b) Canadian residents who hold licences to possess firearms and who hold licences to hunt that are issued by a province;

  • (c) persons or organizations sponsoring a shooting competition at which competitors might reasonably need to borrow firearms;

  • (d) officers of a shooting club or shooting range that is approved under section 29 of the Act;

  • (e) persons or organizations sponsoring a parade, a pageant or a historical re-enactment or display for which participants might reasonably need to borrow firearms;

  • (f) persons or organizations that have an interest in a business or scientific activity that is being carried on, or that will be carried on, in a remote area in which firearms might reasonably be needed for the control of predators; and

  • (g) persons or organizations responsible for the use of firearms in motion picture, television, video or theatrical productions or publishing activities for which participants might reasonably need to borrow firearms.

• (4) An individual is eligible to hold a licence referred to in subsection (2) only if the individual will be using the firearms exclusively for one or more of the following purposes:

  • (a) hunting under the supervision of an outfitter or other person authorized under the laws of a province to provide services involving organized hunting in Canada;

  • (b) hunting with, or hunting with a firearm borrowed from, a person who is a member of a class described in paragraph (3)(b);

  • (c) competing in a shooting competition for which the firearms might reasonably be needed;

  • (d) target practice at a shooting club or shooting range that is approved under section 29 of the Act;

  • (e) participating in a parade, a pageant or a historical re-enactment or display for which the firearms might reasonably be needed;

  • (f) engaging in a business or scientific activity that is being carried on, or that will be carried on, in a remote area in which firearms are might reasonably be needed for the control of predators; and

  • (g) participating in motion picture, television, video or theatrical productions or publishing activities for which the firearms might reasonably be needed.

11. to 13 [Repealed, SOR/2004-274, s. 12]

Photographs

• 14 (1) For the purposes of these Regulations, a photograph of an applicant must be in colour or in black and white and must

  • (a) show a full front-view of the applicant’s head and shoulders and have a plain background;

  • (b) have a view of the applicant’s head that is at least 30 mm (1.375 inches) in length;

  • (c) show the applicant’s face unobscured by sunglasses or any other object; and

  • (d) be signed on the back by the person who, in accordance with paragraph 3(1)(b) or 9(1)(b), as the case may be, signs a statement in the application confirming that the photograph accurately identifies the applicant, together with both that person’s and the applicant’s name printed legibly on the back.

• (2) An application that is made by an individual who, for religious reasons, cannot be photographed must be accompanied by

  • (a) a declaration, signed by the applicant, stating that the applicant cannot, for religious reasons, be photographed; and

  • (b) a declaration, signed by an individual who is of the same religion as the applicant and who is authorized under the laws of a province to solemnize marriages, stating that that religion prohibits the taking of photographs of its members and that the applicant is a member of that religion.

Conditions

15 A chief firearms officer who issues a licence to an individual shall attach to it the condition that the individual shall report any changes in the individual’s name or address to a chief firearms officer within 30 days after the change.

Revocation

• 16 (1) A chief firearms officer who issues a licence to an individual shall consider revoking it if the chief firearms officer becomes aware that the individual has been involved in an act of domestic violence or stalking.

• (2) For greater certainty, if a licence is revoked, the holder of the licence may refer the matter to a provincial court judge under section 74 of the Act.

Certification by a Chief Firearms Officer

17 For the purposes of paragraph 7(4)(a) of the Act, the circumstances are that the individual has continuously owned a firearm since January 1, 1979.

18 For the purposes of paragraph 7(4)(a) of the Act, the following are the criteria relating to the safe handling and use of firearms and the laws relating to firearms:

• (a) knowledge of

  • (i) the principles relating to the safe storage, display, handling, transportation and use of firearms that is equivalent to the knowledge of those principles that is required for the purposes of the Canadian Firearms Safety Course,

  • (ii) in the case of certification for the purpose of a licence authorizing an individual to possess restricted firearms, the principles relating to the safe storage, display, handling, transportation and use of restricted firearms that is equivalent to the knowledge of those principles that is required for the purposes of a restricted firearms safety course referred to in paragraph 7(2)(a) of the Act, and

  • (iii) the basic operation of common hunting or sporting firearms; and

• (b) basic knowledge of the Acts of Parliament and of the legislature of the province in which the application is or will be made, and of the regulations made under those Acts, that relate to the use of firearms for hunting or sporting purposes and to the storage, display, handling and transportation of firearms by individuals.

Renewal of Licences

18.1 For the purposes of subsection 67(1) of the Act, the manner in which a licence referred to in this Part is renewed is the same as the manner in which it can be issued.

PART 2Businesses

Issuance of Licences

• 19 (1) A chief firearms officer of a province may issue licences referred to in this Part only to businesses that carry on business, and have a place of business, in the province.

• (2) The Registrar may issue licences referred to in this Part only to carriers that carry on business in Canada.

Eligibility of Museums

20 A museum is eligible to hold a licence only if

• (a) the museum is incorporated by or under an Act of Parliament or of the legislature of a province;

• (b) the museum is a non-profit organization;

• (c) the museum is open to the public, or puts on demonstrations or displays for the public, on a regular basis;

• (d) the museum or its curator is a member in good standing of a national or provincial museums association; and

• (e) the museum is administered for purposes that include collecting, preserving, studying, interpreting, assembling and exhibiting to the public for its education and enjoyment objects and specimens of educational and cultural value, including artistic, scientific, historical and technological materials.

Persons Related to a Business

21 For the purposes of section 9 of the Act, every person who is related to a business referred to in that section in one of the following ways is in a prescribed relationship to the business:

• (a) the person is an owner of or partner in the business;

• (b) if the business is a corporation, the person is a director or officer of the corporation; and

• (c) the person has a relationship with a person referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) and

  • (i) has a direct influence on the operations of the business, or

  • (ii) could have access to the firearms held by the business.

Prescribed Purposes

22 The following purposes are prescribed for the purposes of subsection 11(2) of the Act:

• (a) the performance of a contract entered into by the Government of Canada, the government of a province, the government of a municipality acting on behalf of a police force or a police force, or by a person acting on behalf of such a government or a police force;

• (b) export to a country under a contract entered into between the Government of Canada and the government of that country;

• (c) the manufacture, maintenance, repair or modification of a prohibited firearm, prohibited weapon or prohibited device, or any component or part thereof, or the manufacture of prohibited ammunition or of ammunition for a prohibited firearm, if the business intends to export the firearm, weapon, device, component, part or ammunition under an export permit issued under the Export and Import Permits Act;

• (d) the inspection, development or testing of a prohibited firearm, prohibited weapon, prohibited device or prohibited ammunition, or any component or part thereof, for or on behalf of

  • (i) the holder of an export permit issued under the Export and Import Permits Act,

  • (ii) a public officer, as defined in subsection 117.07(2) of the Criminal Code, who is acting in the course of his or her duties or employment, or

  • (iii) the Canadian Forces;

• (e) the development or testing of ammunition for export to a country included on the Automatic Firearms Country Control List established under section 4.1 of the Export and Import Permits Act;

• (f) use in respect of motion picture, television, video or theatrical production or in publishing activities;

• (g) the manufacture of replica firearms for use in respect of motion picture, television, video or theatrical production or in publishing activities;

• (h) display, demonstration, repair, restoration, maintenance, preservation or storage for or by a museum;

• (i) display or storage by a branch of the Royal Canadian Legion or an organized group of veterans of any armed forces of Canada or of a police force;

• (j) in respect of prohibited handguns, handgun barrels within the meaning of paragraph (b) of the definition prohibited device in subsection 84(1) of the Criminal Code or magazine cartridges under section 3 of Part 4 of the Schedule to the Regulations Prescribing Certain Firearms and Other Weapons, Accessories, Cartridge Magazines, Ammunition and Projectiles as Prohibited or Restricted, the use by businesses whose principal activity is the handling, transportation or protection of cash, negotiable instruments or other goods of substantial value and whose employees require prohibited handguns to protect their lives in the course of that activity;

• (k) the maintenance, repair, modification or storage of a prohibited firearm, or any component or part thereof, on behalf of a person licensed to possess prohibited firearms or on behalf of a public officer, as defined in subsection 117.07(2) of the Criminal Code, who is acting in the course of his or her duties or employment;

• (l) the manufacture, maintenance, repair or modification of a prohibited weapon or prohibited device, or any component or part thereof, for the purpose of supplying it to a public officer, as defined in subsection 117.07(2) of the Criminal Code, who is acting in the course of his or her duties or employment;

• (m) the development, modification or testing of a prohibited firearm, prohibited weapon, prohibited device or prohibited ammunition, or any component or part thereof, for the purpose of training, or supplying goods or training materials used in the training of, a public officer, as defined in subsection 117.07(2) of the Criminal Code, who is acting in the course of his or her duties or employment;

• (n) the development, modification or testing of a prohibited firearm, prohibited weapon, prohibited device or prohibited ammunition, or any component or part thereof, for the purpose of exporting goods or training materials to be used in the training of a police officer, or a member of the armed forces of a state other than Canada, who is acting in the course of his or her duties or employment;

• (o) the possession of a prohibited firearm, prohibited weapon, prohibited device or prohibited ammunition, or any component or part thereof, for the purpose of supplying it to a public officer, as defined in subsection 117.07(2) of the Criminal Code, who is acting in the course of his or her duties or employment;

• (p) the development or testing of body armour, armoured security vehicles or other devices or materials designed to prevent or limit penetration by ammunition, including prohibited ammunition, discharged from a firearm;

• (q) the development or testing of processes, devices or materials designed to prevent, limit or counteract the effects of prohibited weapons;

• (r) the development or testing of ammunition for a prohibited firearm or of components or parts of ammunition for a prohibited firearm;

• (s) the possession of a prohibited firearm for sale on consignment, on behalf of a person licensed to possess prohibited firearms;

• (t) the possession of a prohibited handgun — that, beginning on December 1, 1998, was continuously in the inventory of the business, and in respect of which a copy of a record was sent before that date to the Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and received by that officer — for the purpose of transfer to a business that is the holder of a licence issued for any of the prescribed purposes set out in any of the other paragraphs of this section or to an individual described in subsection 12(6) of the Act;

• (u) the possession of a handgun barrel within the meaning of paragraph (b) of the definition prohibited device in subsection 84(1) of the Criminal Code — that, beginning on December 1, 1998, was continuously in the inventory of the business — for the purpose of transfer to a business that is the holder of a licence issued for any of the prescribed purposes set out in any of the other paragraphs of this section;

• (v) the performance of services as a customs broker by a business that holds a licence under subsection 9(1) of the Customs Act;

• (w) the operation of a sufferance warehouse for the examination of imported goods that have not been released by a business that holds a licence under paragraph 24(1)(a) of the Customs Act;

• (x) training in the safe handling and use and identification of prohibited firearms, prohibited weapons, prohibited devices or prohibited ammunition given to a public agent as defined in section 1 of the Public Agents Firearms Regulations or to an employee of a business that is the holder of a licence issued for any of the prescribed purposes set out in any of the other paragraphs of this section;

• (y) the importation and possession of a prohibited firearm, or any part or component of a prohibited firearm, for the purpose of performing a contract with a business that is the holder of a licence issued for any of the prescribed purposes set out in any of the other paragraphs of this section; and

• (z) the manufacture, maintenance, repair or modification of a prohibited firearm, prohibited weapon, prohibited device or prohibited ammunition, or any component or part of any of those things, for the purpose of performing a contract with a business that is the holder of a licence issued for any of the prescribed purposes set out in any of other paragraphs of this section.

Additional Information

23 An application for a licence that is made by a business must be accompanied by the certificate of incorporation or other constating instrument of the business, and by any document registering with a province the name and style under which the business operates or would operate.

Renewal of Licences

24 For the purposes of subsection 67(1) of the Act, the manner in which a licence referred to in this Part is renewed is the same as the manner in which it can be issued.

Conditions

• 24.1 (1) The following information is prescribed for the purpose of paragraph 58.1(1)(a) of the Act:

  • (a) the classification of the firearm;

  • (b) the date and an indication of any business activity related to the possession or the disposal of the firearm, including, if applicable, its purchase, sale, bartering, gifting, consignment, importation, exportation, repair, alteration, deactivation, destruction, manufacture, pawnbroking, storage and display;

  • (c) the firearm’s manufacturer, make, model, type, action, gauge or calibre, barrel length and, in the case of a fixed magazine, magazine capacity;

  • (d) the serial numbers displayed on the firearm’s frame or receiver;

  • (e) the name and address of the individual or business to which the firearm was sent, or from which the firearm was received, in the course of any business activity referred to in paragraph (b) other than an activity that relates to a transfer of the firearm, if applicable; and

  • (f) if the business caused the firearm to be shipped by another person, the name of the shipper or carrier, their licence number or permit number, if applicable, and the package tracking number of the shipped firearm.

• (2) The prescribed period for the purposes of paragraph 58.1(1)(a) of the Act is a period of 20 years that begins on the day on which the record is created.

• (3) The prescribed official for the purposes of paragraph 58.1(1)(c) and subsection 58.1(2) of the Act is the Registrar.

• (4) For the purposes of subsection 58.1(2) of the Act, the records transmitted by the business may be destroyed at the end of the 20-year period that begins on the day on which they were received from that business.

PART 3Notices

Notice of Application

• 25 (1) This section applies to a notice of an application for a licence referred to in subsection 3(1) given to a person referred to in paragraph 3(1)(d) and to a notice of a renewal of a licence referred to in section 8.2 given to a person referred to in paragraph 8.3(1)(b) or (c).

• (1.1) A notice is sufficiently given if the person is contacted by telephone or if the notice is given in writing and addressed to that person at their address that is provided by the applicant under paragraph 3(1)(d) or 8.3(1)(b) or (c) or, if the applicant has advised the chief firearms officer of a change of that address, at the new address, and the written notice is

  • (a) delivered personally at any time that is reasonable in the circumstances;

  • (b) sent by registered mail or by courier; or

  • (c) transmitted by an electronic means that can produce a paper record.

• (2) In the case of a written notice, the notice is deemed to be received

  • (a) on the day of delivery, if it is delivered personally;

  • (b) on the fifth working day, excluding Saturdays and holidays, after

    • (i) the postmark date, if it is sent by mail, and

    • (ii) the date of shipment on the waybill, if it is sent by courier; and

  • (c) on the day of transmission, if it is sent by electronic means.

Notices of Refusal or Revocation

• 26 (1) A notice of a decision to refuse to issue a licence or to revoke a licence is sufficiently given if the notice is addressed to the applicant for or holder of the licence at their address that is set out in the application for the licence or, if the person has advised the chief firearms officer of a change of that address, at the new address, and the notice is

  • (a) delivered personally

    • (i) if the applicant or holder is an individual, at any time that is reasonable in the circumstances, and

    • (ii) if the applicant or holder is a business, during normal business hours;

  • (b) sent by registered mail or by courier; or

  • (c) transmitted by an electronic means that can produce a paper record.

• (2) The notice is deemed to be received

  • (a) on the day of delivery, if it is delivered personally;

  • (b) on the fifth working day, excluding Saturdays and holidays, after

    • (i) the postmark date, if it is sent by mail, and

    • (ii) the date of shipment on the waybill, if it is sent by courier; and

  • (c) if it is sent by electronic means,

    • (i) if the applicant or holder is an individual, on the day of transmission, and

    • (ii) if the applicant or holder is a business, on the day of transmission, if that day is a working day, or, if that day is not a working day, on the first working day after the day of transmission.

Coming into Force

27 These Regulations come into force on December 1, 1998.