Authorisation to acquire and possess weapons and ammunition Granted to purchasers as a result of an inheritance

If you, as an heir, wish to acquire and possess weapons and/or ammunition that require a permit, you must apply for a permit from the competent weapons authority. You must apply for permission within one month of accepting the inheritance or the period within which you could have rejected the inheritance has expired.

In general, firearms are objects intended for attack or defence, signalling, hunting, distance injection, marking, sport or play and in which projectiles are driven through a barrel or in which solid bodies are fired in a targeted manner, the propulsive energy of which can be introduced by muscle power or another source of energy and stored or held by a locking device (e.g. crossbows, arrow launchers).

A distinction is made between firearms that require a permit and firearms that do not require a permit. In order to be allowed to carry firearms without a permit, you need a small firearms license (see further information). All weapons that do not contain alarm shot, irritant and signal weapons with 

PTB characters are in the circle. A detailed list of the weapons for which you need a weapon possession card can be found in Annex 2 of the Weapons Act.

If you have a weapon possession card (WBK) as an heir, you can have the weapons registered in it. If the deceased had permission to possess the inherited weapons, you will receive permission if you are reliable and personally suitable under weapons law.

If, as an heir, you cannot prove that you have a need to possess the inherited weapons, you must make the weapons unusable or have them equipped with a blocking system (see Further information). If there is no commercially available blocking system for the inherited weapons, you must prove this. All changes to the inherited weapons must be proven to be carried out by a specialist and reported accordingly to the competent authority. However, you don't have to have the guns blocked if you have a gun ownership card.

As a community of heirs, you can also apply for a joint permit. If not everyone wants to inherit the weapons, these people must declare that they are renouncing the inheritance. In order to obtain permission, you or 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 applying.

In order to obtain permission to acquire and possess weapons and ammunition requiring a permit, you must:

• have the appropriate age, and
• Your need,
• Your reliability in terms of weapons law,
• Your personal suitability,
• Your expertise in the handling of weapons and ammunition as well as
• prove the safe storage of weapons and ammunition.

Age

If you are under 25 years of age, you may be asked by the competent weapons authority to submit a specialist medical or psychological report/certificate of your mental fitness. You must pay for the report/certificate yourself and send the original by post to the responsible weapons 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 sports shooter, you must be at least 18 years old. Then you are entitled to acquire and possess firearms up to caliber 5.6 mm lfB (.22 l. r.) for rimfire ammunition with a muzzle energy of the projectiles not exceeding 200 joules (J) and single-shot long guns with smooth bores with caliber 12 or smaller.

For other firearms, the minimum age for sport shooters is 21 years, provided that you can present a specialist or psychological report/certificate of your mental fitness.

Need

In order to be allowed to acquire and possess weapons and ammunition, you must give a credible reason to the competent weapons authority (need). As a rule, a credible reason is accepted if

• You are a hunter and have a hunting license (daily or annual hunting license). If, as a hunter, you only want to acquire and own long guns and two handguns, then no further proof of 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 regulations. The shooting sports regulations are approved by the Federal Office of Administration. In addition, you must prove that you have participated in the training regularly (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 want to acquire and possess weapons and ammunition.

Reliability under weapons law

Among other things, you can be assessed as reliable in terms of weapons law,

1. if you have not been sentenced to imprisonment of at least 1 year within the last 10 years and have not been a member of or supported a banned organization in the last 10 years.
2. if it cannot be assumed that you are misusing or improperly handling weapons or ammunition, do not store these items carefully or leave them to persons who are not authorized to do so.
3. if you have not been in preventive police custody more than once in the last 5 years with judicial authorization for violent acts.
4. if you have not repeatedly or grossly violated the gun law.

Personal suitability

Among other things, you may be assessed as personally unsuitable if:

1. You are legally incapacitated.
2. You are addicted to alcohol or other intoxicating substances, mentally ill or debilitated.
3. You suffer from serious illnesses, such as brain injuries, or physical impairments, such as amputations or severe visual impairments.
4. it can be assumed that you are unable to handle weapons or ammunition carefully or properly or that you are unable to store these items carefully or that there is a concrete risk that you will endanger others or yourself.

Ability

1. In order to be allowed to acquire and possess weapons and ammunition, you must prove that you can handle them appropriately. In order to get the expertise in dealing with weapons and ammunition, you must take part in an appropriate course. The course includes 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 exam, you will receive proof of the weapons and ammunition for which you have acquired the expertise. You can also gain the expertise only for the weapons and ammunition you want to acquire and own.

   You do not have to take a separate proficiency test if you

2. the hunter's examination or an equivalent examination, or
3. have passed a journeyman's examination for the gunsmith's trade or
4. have worked for at least 3 years as a full-time employee in the trade in firearms and ammunition.

In these cases, you only need to provide appropriate evidence.

Safekeeping

You need to keep weapons and ammunition safe. In general, this 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 keep your weapons and ammunition safe, you are committing an administrative offence for which a fine of up to 10,000 euros can be imposed. In addition, your reliability under weapons law may be called into question and your weapon possession card may be withdrawn.

When applying, you must provide information on both the location and the container in which you intend to store weapons and ammunition. In principle, you can use the following guidelines as a guide:

• Ammunition requiring a permit must be stored in a sheet steel cabinet/container with a swivel bolt lock.
• In order to store long guns and handguns that require a permit as well as ammunition that require a permit, you need a gun safe. Which gun cabinet you need depends on the number and type of weapons and/or ammunition you want to purchase and own.
  • In a gun safe with resistance level 0 according to EN 1143-1 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 gun safe with resistance level 0 according to EN 1143-1 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 level 1 according to EN 1143-1 you may store an unlimited number of long guns and handguns as well as ammunition.
• For the place where you are allowed to set up the gun safe, the following regulations apply in principle:
  • If you live in an apartment building, it is not allowed to place the gun cabinet in the basement if each resident has only a so-called basement shed, which is secured only with a door with a padlock.
  • You are allowed to store up to 3 long guns even in non-permanently inhabited buildings, such as a hunting lodge or a weekend house. For this, however, you need a gun safe with resistance level 1.
  • If you live in the same household with another gun owner, you may store the guns in a shared gun safe.
• As a hunter, you may also have your long guns temporarily stored in his gun cabinet by another hunter. However, this time should be limited, permanent storage is not allowed. For permanent storage, you should purchase your own gun cabinet that only you have access to.
• It is also allowed to store weapons and ammunition at an arms dealer. You must provide appropriate proof of this.