You may notice today that some things have changed in the firearms section of the Police website. Police has been working hard to modernise our regulation of the Arms Act and our services, at the same time ensuring that only people who are fit and proper are able to access, possess, and use firearms.

The old firearms application forms did not require applicants to provide written answers to questions about the fit and proper criteria. So Police has updated the application forms so we can collect comprehensive information on this ahead of interviews. This will help applicants prepare for the interview process and mean information is already recorded, as opposed to capturing it verbally during an interview. The new forms also support upcoming changes to the Arms Act in December.

Alongside this, there is more information and better navigation on our newly laid out web section. And for the first time you are able to submit your application online

These changes take effect today for anybody wanting to apply for or renew a firearms licence, dealer licence, or endorsement.

If you are a first time applicant who has applied for a licence in the past few months and we have yet to initiate the vetting process, we may ask you to complete the new application form as well. We’ll be in touch if this is the case. It’s important to note in this situation you would not need to re-apply or re-submit supporting documentation, just complete the new form as part of your existing application.

Other key changes include:

• Applicants for any endorsement will have to complete an endorsement application and a new firearms licence application. This is to ensure Police has the latest information about you and your circumstances.
  • If you are a current licence holder and are applying for a particular endorsement for the first time, your application must also include a firearms licence application with only sections A, F, G, L and N completed. Note you will not need to submit the identity documents required for the licence application, and there will be no charge for the firearm licence application.
  • In all other cases (e.g. if you’re renewing an endorsement), your application must also include a firearms licence application completed in full.
• For dealers renewing your licence, you will need to provide referees each time. These referees can be the same as previous years. We would encourage dealers to keep the first application that they complete so that a renewal application in 12 months’ time will only require the original document to be updated-by-exception.

Below you can view the updated web pages with application forms, process information, and links to apply online:

• Firearms licence
• Dealer licence
• Endorsement