You must register all the following arms items in your possession:
A major firearm part is:
Firearms that do not currently work still need to be recorded in the Registry.
You will not be charged a fee to register.
Note: The group of arms items you must record in the Registry are defined in regulation 36 of the Arms Regulations 1992. This is a special definition just for the purposes of the Registry. It includes fewer items than the Arms Act 1983 definition of ‘arms item’.
Arms Regulations 1992, Regulation 36 – Interpretation | New Zealand Legislation website
Dealer's licence holders will be required to record their stock of arms items in the Registry by 24 June 2025.
The exact date you’ll be required to do this will depend on when the Commissioner decides you should be brought into the Registry, and the type and frequency of your dealer activities.
If you’re a dealer's licence holder, you can expect Te Tari Pūreke to contact you with more information about what you need to do.
You are required to register all arms items in your possession, including those you have a permit for.
If you have an endorsement on your firearms licence, any arms item you have a permit for is recorded in the Police National Intelligence Application (NIA). The details of these items will not be transferred into the Firearms Registry as we need different information to meet the requirements of the Regulations.
You do not need to register airguns (unless they are a specially dangerous airgun).
The following airguns have been declared to be ‘specially dangerous airguns’ and are treated in the same way as firearms under the Arms Act 1983:
Individual firearms licence holders will not be required to register ammunition in their possession. You also will not need to record sales or purchases of ammunition to or from other firearms licence holders.
You do not need to register antique firearms.
An antique firearm is any firearm that:
Arms Act 1983, section 2 – Interpretation | New Zealand Legislation website
The only parts you need to register are major firearm parts.
You do not need to register other parts, such as suppressors or scopes.
You do not need to register certain specified firearms that a person can possess without a licence.
The items are:
Arms Regulations 1992, Regulation 36 – Interpretation | New Zealand Legislation website
Arms items can only be recorded in the Registry once, against a single firearms licence. This includes firearms owned by an organisation or business.
If you share possession of a firearm – for example, with a family member who lives at the same address – the person who uses it most should register it. If your organisation or business has arms items, they should be registered by the licence holder responsible for them. If you have multiple arms items, they can be registered by different licence holders.
If you’re responsible for an arms item on behalf of a shooting club or range, you’re also responsible for recording it in the Registry.
If you supply an arms item registered to you to another licence holder, you are responsible for checking that their firearms licence is current. You may also be required to transfer possession in the Registry if it will be in their possession for 30 days or more, or the arms item requires a permit to possess.
Once an arms item is in another licence holder’s possession, that person is then responsible for meeting their obligations under the Arms Act 1983, regardless of who has registered it.
If your business has employees who use firearms for work purposes, you will also have responsibilities under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
If you possess a non-prohibited firearm and it is being stored with or loaned to another licence holder for less 30 days, it must still be recorded against your licence in the Registry.
If it will be in another licence holder’s possession for 30 days or more, it must be recorded against their licence.
Temporary transfers of pistols, prohibited firearms, prohibited magazines, and restricted weapons must all be recorded in the Registry.
You cannot register an arms item without a firearms licence.
If you have a firearm or other arms item and you do not have a firearms licence, you can pass it on to a firearms licence holder, firearms dealer, or you could surrender it to Police.
If you possess firearms or arms items for or on behalf of an organisation, such as a shooting club, range, or business, you’re responsible for recording the firearms in the Registry, even if these items are stored at a location away from your home storage. These firearms must be recorded in the Registry against your own firearms licence.
You also need to give us details of where these firearms are stored if the firearms you possess on behalf of an organisation are stored in a different location to any firearms that you own personally.
If an organisation has secure storage at more than one location, you must provide address details for the usual location(s) where arms items are stored. You are not required to provide details of which firearms are held at each location.
If you have not yet had to register any firearms in your possession and also possess firearms for, or on behalf of, an organisation you must record all firearms in the Registry when either:
If you've already registered all your firearms in your possession, but not the organisations firearms you must provide details for the Registry as soon as is practicable.
If you receive additional firearms to possess on behalf of your organisation from another person you need to ensure a transfer of these firearms is completed in the Registry. If you receive a firearm from a licensed firearms dealer, you must record the firearm directly into the Registry.
When you provide information for the Registry, you must make sure the details we have for you as a firearms licence holder are complete and up to date.
These details are:
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