Apply for a red firearms possession licence for firearms or ammunition experts

You must apply for a licence to purchase and possess weapons and/or ammunition that require a permit from the relevant weapons authority. Submit the application together with the required documents.

The firearms authority will grant you the licence if you fulfil the necessary requirements.

Please contact the firearms authority in your district. If you live in Dessau-Roßlau, please also contact the firearms authority.

If you live in Halle or Magdeburg, please contact the respective police department.

• You must be at least 25 years old.
  
  If you are under 25 years of age, the competent firearms authority may require you to submit a specialist medical or psychological report/certificate confirming your mental fitness. You must pay for the report/certificate yourself and send the original by post to the competent firearms authority. A copy or email will not be accepted.
   
• You must prove that you work as a weapons and ammunition expert (need). You can provide
  
  proof of this, for example, by means of a certificate of employment.
   
• You must prove your reliability under firearms legislation. You may be
  
  assessed as reliable under firearms legislation if, among other things, you
  • 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 deemed 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).
  
  To obtain expertise in handling weapons and ammunition, you must attend a relevant training course. The course comprises a theoretical and a 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 the weapons and ammunition for which you have acquired expertise.
   
• You must prove that you can store weapons and ammunition safely.
  
  You must store weapons and ammunition safely. This generally means that only you, as the authorised person, have access to weapons and ammunition, for example by always carrying the key with you. 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 may be imposed. In addition, your reliability under weapons 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 a block of flats, it is not permitted to place 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 activity as a weapons or ammunition expert
• 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 confirming your mental aptitude (if under 25 years of age)

• § Section 18 of the Weapons Act (WaffG)
• § Section 4 of the Weapons Act (WaffG)
• § Section 36 of the Weapons Act (WaffG)
• § Section 13 General Weapons Act Ordinance (AWaffV)

Online services available: not known

Forms available: not known

Informal application possible: No

Personal appearance required: No

• Authorisation to acquire and possess weapons and ammunition: issue of a red weapons possession card (WBK) for weapons or ammunition experts
• WBK red is issued for an unlimited period and for every type and kind of weapon and ammunition
• Prerequisites:
  • Minimum age: 25 years
  • reasonable reason, such as work as a firearms or ammunition expert (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 a firearm
  • Secure storage
• Authorisation can also be granted to those under 25 if personal suitability is proven by expert opinion.
• When moving: no re-registration of the permit necessary
• Unauthorised handling of weapons and ammunition leads to a fine or prison sentence
• responsible: Weapons authority