Applying for a red gun licence for gun or ammunition collectors

You can apply for the purchase and possession of weapons and/or ammunition requiring a licence in writing and, if necessary, online.

If you want to apply for the licence in writing:
You fill in the form provided by the relevant firearms authority.
You send the signed form and the expert report to prove the cultural and historical value of your collection as well as the expert report to prove your personal suitability (if required) to the relevant firearms authority.
You can also visit the competent firearms authority in person and submit the application.
If the acquisition and possession can also be applied for online:

You submit the application via the online service of the relevant firearms authority and upload the expert report to prove the cultural and historical value of your collection.
You may have to send the required expert opinion/certificate on your personal suitability by post to the relevant firearms authority or you can bring it in person.
 

The firearms authority (district or city) in whose district you reside is responsible.

• You must be at least 25 years old.
  
  If you are under 25 years of age, you may be asked by the relevant firearms authority to submit a specialist medical or psychological certificate of mental fitness. 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 recognised.
   
• You must prove that your collection is of cultural-historical or scientific-technical significance (need).
  
  You can provide this proof, for example, by means of an expert opinion.
   
• You must prove your reliability under firearms law.
  
  You can be assessed as reliable under firearms law if, among other things
  • you have not been sentenced to a prison term of at least 1 year within the last 10 years and have not been a member of or supported a banned organisation in the last 10 years.
  • 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 authorised to do so.
  • you have not been in preventive police custody more than once in the last 5 years with judicial authorisation because of violence.
  • you have not repeatedly or grossly violated the Weapons Act.
     
• You must prove your personal suitability.
  
  You may be assessed as personally unsuitable if, among other things
  • you are legally incapable.
  • 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 that you cannot store these items carefully or that there is a concrete danger that you will endanger others or yourself.
     
• You must prove that you have sufficient knowledge of weapons and ammunition and how to handle them (expertise).
  
  In order to obtain a licence to handle weapons and ammunition, you must take part in a corresponding training course. The course comprises a theoretical and practical part. At the end of the course, you will take an examination before an authorised examination board. If you pass the examination, you will receive a certificate stating which weapons and ammunition you are authorised to use. If your collection does not contain any firearms capable of being fired, you may not be required to have any firing skills. This decision is made by the competent authority.
   
• You must prove that you can store weapons and ammunition safely.

• This generally means that only you as the authorised 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 offence for which a fine of up to EUR 10,000 can be imposed. In addition, your reliability under firearms law may be called into question and your firearms licence may be revoked.

  When submitting your application, you must provide information on the storage location as well as the container in which you wish to store weapons and ammunition. In principle, you can use the following guidelines as a guide:

• • Ammunition subject to authorisation must be stored in a sheet steel cabinet/container with a swing bolt lock.
  • You need a gun cabinet to store authorised long and short weapons as well as authorised ammunition. 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 guns, up to 10 handguns 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 guns 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 block, it is not permitted to install the gun cabinet in the cellar if each resident only has a so-called cellar locker, which is only secured with 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 home. 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 his 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.

- Identity card or passport (copy)
- Proof of the cultural-historical value of the collection
- Proof of expertise
- Proof of storage, e.g. purchase contract for a gun cabinet and/or photos of the gun cabinet and installation site
- If applicable, a specialist medical or psychological certificate of your mental aptitude (if under 25 years of age)

• § Section 17 of the Weapons Act (WaffG)
• § Section 4 of the Weapons Act (WaffG)
• § Section 36 (3) of the Weapons Act (WaffG)
• § Section 13 General Weapons Act Ordinance (AWaffV)

Online services available: not known
Forms available: not known
Written form required: Yes
Informal application possible: No
Personal appearance required: No

• Authorisation to acquire and possess weapons and ammunition: Issue of red firearms possession card (WBK) for weapons or ammunition collectors
• WBK red is issued for an unlimited period
• Prerequisites:
  • Minimum age: 25 years
  • Reasonable cause, such as cultural and historical value of the collection (need)
  • No criminal record (reliability)
  • No legal incapacity, mental illness or dependence on drugs (personal suitability)
  • Knowledge of firearms regulations
  • Safe handling of weapons and ammunition
  • Skills in shooting with firearms (may not be required if only weapons that cannot be fired are collected)
  • Secure storage
• Authorisation can also be granted to those under 25 if personal suitability is proven by expert opinion.
• When moving house: no re-registration of the licence necessary
• Unauthorised handling of weapons and ammunition leads to a fine or prison sentence
• Responsible: Weapons authority (in Hesse: District or district-free city in which your residence is located)