Permit for the acquisition and possession of weapons and ammunition Issuance of green gun ownership card for a single person

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If you as an individual wish to acquire and possess weapons and/or ammunition that require a permit, you must apply for a permit from the relevant weapons authority. In principle, you always need a permit to acquire and possess weapons 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 propelling energy of which is provided by muscle power or another energy source and can be stored or held by a locking device (e.g. crossbows, arrow launchers).

A distinction is made between firearms that require a permit and those that do not. You need a small firearms license to be allowed to carry unlicensed firearms (see further information). All weapons that are not alarm, irritant or signal weapons with a PTB mark in the circle are classified as requiring a permit. You will find a detailed list of weapons for which you require a weapons possession card 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 your application.

In order to obtain permission to acquire and possess weapons and ammunition that require a permit, you must

be of the appropriate age and
Your need,
Your reliability under firearms law,
your personal suitability,
your expertise in handling weapons and ammunition and
prove the safe storage of weapons and ammunition.

Age

If you are under 25 years of age, you may be asked by the competent firearms authority to submit a specialist medical or psychological report/certificate on your mental aptitude. You must pay for the certificate yourself and send the original by post to the relevant firearms authority (a copy or e-mail will not be accepted).

If you are a hunter, you do not need such a certificate.

If you are a marksman, 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 maximum muzzle energy of 200 joules (J) and single-shot long guns with smooth barrels of caliber 12 or smaller.

For other firearms, the minimum age for sport shooters is 21 years, provided that you can present a medical or psychological certificate confirming your mental aptitude.

Need

In order to be allowed to acquire and possess weapons and ammunition, you must provide the relevant weapons authority with a credible reason (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, as a hunter, you only wish to acquire and own long guns and two short guns, no further proof of a need is required.
You must have been a member of a sports club that is a member of a recognized shooting sports association for 1 year and where shooting with such weapons is permitted in accordance with an approved shooting sports regulation. The shooting regulations are approved by the Federal Office of Administration. You must also prove that you have regularly taken part in training (at least once a month or at least 18 times within a year).
your life is at high risk
you can credibly demonstrate other reasons why you wish to acquire and possess weapons and ammunition.

Reliability under firearms law

You can be assessed as reliable under firearms law if, among other things

if you have not been sentenced to a prison sentence of at least 1 year within the last 10 years and have not been a member of or supported a prohibited organization in the last 10 years.
if it cannot be assumed that you misuse weapons or ammunition or handle them improperly, do not store these items carefully or hand them over to persons who are not authorized to do so.
if you have not been in preventive police custody more than once in the last 5 years with judicial authorization due to violence.
if you have not repeatedly or grossly violated firearms legislation.

Personal suitability

You may be assessed as personally unsuitable if, among other things

you are legally incompetent.
you are dependent on alcohol or other intoxicating substances, mentally ill or mentally retarded.
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 do not handle weapons or ammunition carefully or properly or cannot store these items carefully or that there is a concrete danger that you will endanger others or yourself.

Specialist knowledge

In order to acquire and possess weapons and ammunition, you must prove that you are able to handle them properly. In order to obtain a certificate of competence in handling weapons and ammunition, you must take part in an appropriate training 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 proof of the weapons and ammunition for which you have acquired the certificate of competence. You can also obtain the certificate of competence only for the weapons and ammunition that you wish to acquire and possess.

You do not have to take a separate certificate of competence test if you

the hunting examination or an equivalent examination or
have passed a journeyman's examination for the gunsmith's trade or
have worked full-time in the firearms and ammunition trade for at least 3 years.

In these cases, you only need to provide suitable proof.

Safe storage

You must store firearms and ammunition securely. 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 are committing an administrative offense for which a fine of up to 10,000 euros can be imposed. In addition, your reliability under firearms law may be called into question and your firearms possession card may be revoked.

When applying, you must provide information about the storage location and the container in which you wish 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.
You need a gun cabinet to store long guns and handguns that require a permit as well as ammunition that requires a permit. The type of gun cabinet you need depends on the number and type of weapons and/or ammunition you wish to purchase and own.
- 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.
- You may store an unlimited number of long weapons, up to 10 short weapons and ammunition in a gun cabinet with resistance grade 0 in accordance with EN 1143-1 weighing over 200 kilograms.
- You may store an unlimited number of long weapons and handguns as well as ammunition in a gun cabinet with resistance grade 1 in accordance with EN 1143-1.
The following regulations generally apply to the location where you may set up the gun cabinet:
- If you live in an apartment building, it is not permitted to place the gun cabinet in the cellar if each resident only has a so-called cellar locker that is only secured by a door with a padlock.
- You may also store up to 3 long guns in buildings that are not permanently inhabited, such as a hunting lodge or a weekend house. However, you need a gun cabinet with resistance grade 1 for this.
- If you live in a shared household with another gun owner, you may store the guns in a shared gun cabinet.
As a hunter, you may also allow another hunter to temporarily store your long guns in their gun cabinet. However, this period should be limited; permanent storage is not permitted. 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 gun dealer. You must provide appropriate proof of this.

In Lower Saxony, the district regulatory authorities (districts and independent cities) are responsible as weapons authorities.

You must be at least 18 years old.

The following applies to sport shooters:
- a minimum age of 18 years for the acquisition of
  - firearms up to a calibre of 5.6 mm lfB (.22 l.r.) for rimfire ammunition, provided that the muzzle energy of the projectiles does not exceed 200 joules, and
  - single-shot long guns with smooth barrels with calibre 12 or smaller, provided that sporting shooting with such weapons is permitted by the approved sports regulations of a shooting sports association (§ 14 para. 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 asked by the competent firearms authority to submit a specialist medical or psychological report/certificate of your mental fitness. You must pay for the certificate/certificate yourself and send the original by post to the responsible weapons authority.

The obligation to submit an expert opinion/certificate of mental fitness does not apply to hunters or sport shooters who exclusively want to acquire the weapons referred to in Section 14 (1) sentence 2 of the Weapons Act.

You must prove that you have a special personal or economic interest in acquiring and possessing weapons and ammunition (need). Such an interest is usually recognised 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 for one year, which is a member of a recognised shooting sports association and the weapon 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).
- Their lives are highly endangered.
- You can credibly demonstrate other reasons why you want to acquire and possess weapons and ammunition.
They must be reliable in terms of weapons law.

Among other things, you can be considered unreliable in terms of weapons law if:
- You have been sentenced to at least one year's imprisonment within the last 10 years or have been a member of or supported a banned organisation for the last 10 years.
- You may be presumed to be misusing or improperly handling weapons or ammunition, failing to store these items carefully, or leaving them 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 for violence.
- You have repeatedly or grossly violated the right to bear arms.
You must be personally suitable.

You may be considered personally unsuitable if, among other things:
- You are legally incapacitated.
- 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 appropriately, or that there is a real risk that you will endanger others or yourself.
You must prove that you have sufficient knowledge of weapons and ammunition as well as how to use them (expertise).

In order to be able to prove your expertise in the handling of weapons and ammunition, you must have taken part in an appropriate course. The course consists of a theoretical and practical part. At the end of the course, you will take an exam in front of an authorized examination board. If you have passed the test, you will receive proof of the weapons and ammunition for which 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 can also prove your expertise by passing the hunter's exam.

You will need to prove that you can safely store weapons and ammunition.

In general, this 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 are committing an administrative offence for which a fine of up to EUR 10,000 can be imposed. In addition, your reliability under weapons law may be called into question and your weapon possession card may be revoked.

When applying, you must provide information about both the storage location and the container in which you want to store weapons and ammunition. The storage requirements are based on § 13 of the General Weapons Act Ordinance (AWaffV). If in doubt, please contact the competent authority. Basically, you can use the following guidelines as a guide:
- Ammunition requiring a permit must be stored in a sheet steel cabinet/container with a swing bolt lock or an equivalent locking device.
- To store long guns and handguns that require a permit, you need a gun safe. The gun safe you need depends on the number and type of weapons and/or ammunition you want to purchase and possess.
  - In a gun safe with resistance grade 0 according to the DIN/EN 1143-1 standard weighing up to 200 kilograms, you may store an unlimited number of long guns, up to 5 handguns and ammunition.
  - In a gun safe with resistance grade 0 according to the DIN/EN 1143-1 standard weighing more than 200 kilograms, you may store an unlimited number of long guns, up to 10 handguns and ammunition.
  - In a gun safe with resistance grade I according to the DIN/EN 1143-1 standard, you are allowed to store an unlimited number of long guns and handguns as well as ammunition.
- The following rules apply to the place where you are allowed to place the gun safe:
  - You are also allowed to store up to three long guns in buildings that are not permanently occupied, such as a hunting lodge or a weekend house. To do this, however, you will need a gun safe with resistance grade I.
  - If you live with another person who is also entitled to own weapons, in a common household you are allowed to store the weapons in a common gun safe.
- It is also allowed to store weapons and ammunition at an arms dealer. You will need to provide proof of this.

Identity card or passport (copy)
Certificate of competence
Proof of storage, e.g. contract of sale for a gun safe and/or photos of the gun safe and installation location

If applicable, a medical specialist or psychological certificate of your mental fitness (if you are under 21 years of age for sport shooters or under 25 years of age for other persons)

You can apply for the acquisition and possession of weapons and/or ammunition that require a permit in writing or online.

If you wish to apply for purchase and possession in writing:

You fill out the form that you can obtain from the relevant firearms authority.
You send the signed form and, if applicable, written proof of your need and the required expert opinion/certificate of your personal suitability by post.
You can also visit the relevant firearms authority in person and submit the application.

If you want to apply for purchase and possession online:

You submit the report via the online service of the responsible firearms authority and, if necessary, upload written evidence of your need.
You must send the required expert opinion/certificate of your personal suitability by post to the responsible weapons authority or you can bring it in person.