Gun licence for sport shooting in Canada

Licence

A Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL) is the only licence for new applicants of 18 or older. You must first pass the Canadian Firearms Safety Course (CFSC), a written and a practical test.Firearms Act, s. 7(1); RCMP, Canadian residents

Restricted guns

A licence that covers restricted firearms, commonly called an RPAL, also needs the Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course (CRFSC). The chief firearms officer approves each transfer of a restricted gun, and for a sport shooter its purpose is target practice or a target shooting competition, under the conditions of an authorization to transport or under the auspices of a shooting club or range approved under section 29.Firearms Act, ss. 7(2), 27 and 28

Handguns

No handgun may be transferred or registered to an individual unless they hold an authorization to carry, or train, compete or coach in a handgun discipline on the Olympic or Paralympic programme and give the chief firearms officer a sport shooting governing body’s letter every year.Firearms Act, ss. 12.2, 23.2(1)(d.1) and 97.1

Club

Only a member or officer of an approved shooting club, or a member’s guest, may use a restricted firearm or a prohibited handgun on a shooting range.Shooting Clubs and Shooting Ranges Regulations, s. 6

Transport

A restricted gun stays at your home unless an authorization to transport (ATT) says otherwise. A renewed licence and an approved transfer each bring one to and from every approved club and range in your province.Firearms Act, ss. 17 and 19(2.1)–(2.3)

Term and renewal

A licence expires five years after the first birthday following its issue. At each renewal the chief firearms officer decides whether each restricted gun is used for its purpose.Firearms Act, ss. 64(1) and 67(2)

1. Take the Canadian Firearms Safety Course from an instructor designated by a chief firearms officer, and pass its written and practical tests (Firearms Act, s. 7(1)). For restricted firearms, also take and pass the Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course (s. 7(2)). If you passed the CFSC before February 1999, the RCMP counts the restricted course as passed too.
2. Apply to the chief firearms officer, online through the RCMP if you have never held a licence, or by mail (Firearms Act, s. 54(2)(a); RCMP, Apply for a firearms licence). The application needs a photograph confirmed by someone who has known you for a year, two references who have known you for three years, and every spouse or conjugal partner of the last two years, who are told of the application (Firearms Licences Regulations, ss. 3 and 4). In Québec, an applicant for restricted privileges also includes form SQ-3007, In-person filing form, from the Sûreté du Québec; an applicant who does not live in Canada, or has not lived there for at least five years, may be asked for a letter of good conduct (RCMP, Apply for a firearms licence).
3. Pay the fee: $70.38 for a non-restricted PAL, $93.84 with restricted privileges, until 30 March 2027 (Firearms Fees Regulations, Schedule 1, as indexed by the RCMP). The RCMP lists $46.92 for upgrading a PAL to restricted privileges, half the higher fee; the regulations give that half fee to someone who has held a non-restricted PAL for three years or less (Firearms Fees Regulations, s. 4).
4. Wait for the decision. The officer checks whether it is in anyone’s safety interest that you not have a firearm, and may interview your neighbours, partners and others (Firearms Act, ss. 5 and 55). You are not eligible while a court order prohibits you from having firearms, if you have been convicted of an offence in which violence was used, threatened or attempted against an intimate partner or a family member, or, since 18 July 2026, if the officer has reasonable grounds to suspect you of domestic violence or stalking (ss. 6 and 6.1(b)–(c)). A first licence cannot be issued until at least 28 days after the application (Firearms Licences Regulations, s. 5).
5. Join an approved shooting club if you will shoot restricted guns: only members and their guests may use them on a range (Shooting Clubs and Shooting Ranges Regulations, s. 6). The RCMP’s Canadian Firearms Program, 1-800-731-4000, can tell you whether a club or range is approved.
6. Buy a gun. A non-restricted one needs only a reference number confirming your licence (Firearms Act, s. 23). A restricted one needs the chief firearms officer’s approval of the transfer for its purpose and a new registration certificate in your name (ss. 23.2, 27 and 28); the approval brings an ATT home and to every approved club and range in your province (s. 19(2.2)–(2.3)).
7. Store it as the regulations require from the first day (see Storage below).

Regulations in force on 21 October 2022 stopped chief firearms officers from approving handgun transfers to individuals, except to the exempt (Conditions of Transferring Firearms and Other Weapons Regulations, s. 4.1). Former Bill C-21 wrote the freeze into the Firearms Act on 15 December 2023: a registration certificate for a handgun must not be issued to an individual (s. 12.2), and an individual may not be authorized to transport a handgun from a port of entry unless it is already registered to them (s. 19.1). The freeze did not change how handguns are classed (Public Safety Canada).

• Handguns you already own stay yours: you may keep and use them, for target shooting and collection (RCMP, What you need to know: changes to handgun transfers; Public Safety Canada).
• You may part with one only by selling or giving it to an exempted individual, a licensed business or a museum, by exporting it lawfully, by having it deactivated, or by surrendering it for destruction without compensation (RCMP, same page).
• You may no longer acquire a handgun for a collection (RCMP, Collectors).
• Lending is still lawful: to someone whose licence covers that kind of gun, with its registration certificate, or to anyone under your direct and immediate supervision (Firearms Act, s. 33). A borrower who takes a restricted gun away needs an ATT.

The sport exemption is in section 97.1(b) of the Firearms Act. It covers an individual who meets the prescribed criteria and every year gives the chief firearms officer a letter from a provincial or national sport shooting governing body saying that they train, compete or coach in a handgun discipline on the programme of the International Olympic Committee or the International Paralympic Committee, naming those disciplines, and saying that the handgun in question is necessary for them. The same letter opens a transfer (Conditions of Transferring Firearms and Other Weapons Regulations, s. 4.1(c)) and an ATT from a port of entry (Authorizations to Transport Restricted Firearms and Prohibited Firearms Regulations, s. 1.11(c)).

The letter has to be given every year (Firearms Act, s. 97.1(b)). The Shooting Federation of Canada (SFC) says it has been granted the authority to issue these handgun exemption letters, as the national governing body for the Olympic and Paralympic disciplines; the Act also allows a provincial governing body. The SFC asks that you be a member in good standing of the SFC, hold an RPAL, belong to a club, and document that you train, compete or coach in an Olympic or Paralympic shooting discipline, and it keeps full discretion over each letter. Its Need to Know page says it currently issues letters only for .22 calibre and .177 air pistols.

The other exemption is an authorization to carry, which the Act grants only to protect life or for use in a lawful profession or occupation, such as licensed trapping or work in a remote wilderness area, not for sport (Firearms Act, ss. 20 and 97.1(a); RCMP).

Not federally. No federal rule counts sessions, shots or months, for a first licence, a further gun or a renewal; Québec’s club rule, below, is the exception. What stands in its place is purpose: a restricted gun is acquired and kept for a purpose the Act names, and for a sport shooter that purpose is shooting at an approved club or range.

When a licence that covers restricted firearms is renewed, the chief firearms officer must decide whether each restricted gun is used for its purpose, such as target practice or competition (Firearms Act, s. 67(2)). If it is not, the officer tells you and the Registrar, and the Registrar must revoke that gun’s registration certificate (ss. 67(3) and 71(1)(b)). Relics registered under the former law are exempt (s. 67(4)).

The RCMP says the chief firearms office can confirm that you use a gun for target practice by looking at your ATT history over the term of your licence, and at the records your club or range keeps. Your club must give you, on request, the same description of your participation it would give the officer (Shooting Clubs and Shooting Ranges Regulations, s. 15(2)).

Québec adds a provincial rule. To become a member of a club de tir (shooting club) you must pass a test d’aptitude (aptitude test) for safe target shooting with restricted or prohibited firearms. A club must withdraw or refuse to renew the membership of a member who has not shot at its range for more than a year, unless the member brings a new pass of the test or proof of shooting within that year at another range approved under the Firearms Act or maintained under the National Defence Act; the club reports the name to the minister (Loi sur la sécurité dans les loisirs et les sports, RLRQ c. S-3.1, arts. 46.29 and 46.42). Without membership, you may use those guns on a range only as a member’s guest under their immediate supervision (art. 46.41).

A restricted firearm or prohibited handgun registered to you may be kept only at your home as recorded in the registry, or at a place the chief firearms officer authorizes; moving it needs an authorization to transport (Firearms Act, ss. 17 and 19).

• Ranges in your province: when your licence is renewed, and when a transfer to you is approved, you are authorized to take the gun to and from every approved shooting club and range in your province of residence. Guns acquired for a collection are left out (Firearms Act, s. 19(2.1) and (2.3)).
• Anywhere else, such as a range or a match in another province, a gunsmith or a new home: apply to the chief firearms officer through the RCMP’s Individual Web Services, by phone on 1-800-731-4000, or on form RCMP 5490. This has been the rule since 7 July 2021 (RCMP, Authorization to transport).
• An ATT for target practice lasts at most five years and ends with your licence; it does not run on during the six months’ extension of an expired licence (Firearms Act, ss. 65(3) and 64(1.3)).
• The route must be reasonably direct, and the ATT is revoked when your licence is revoked or expires (Authorizations to Transport Restricted Firearms and Prohibited Firearms Regulations, ss. 4 and 5).
• Non-restricted rifles and shotguns need no ATT, and neither does a gun a licensed carrier ships for you (RCMP).
• In Québec, a provincial law forbids having a firearm, in the Criminal Code’s sense, on the grounds of a school, college, university or daycare, and on public transport other than taxis or on school transport; the fine is $500 to $5,000. Its regulation exempts a licence holder who, given their situation or the activity, has to use a coach, shuttle, train, aircraft or ferry, and one using transport chartered exclusively by a group, for example to go to target practice or a match, if the gun is unloaded, made inoperable by a secure locking device or by removing its bolt or slide, and in an opaque container that is securely locked and built so it cannot easily be forced open, with the ammunition in a separate one (L.Q. 2007, c. 30, art. 2, now RLRQ c. P-38.0001; its regulation, now P-38.0001, r. 1, ss. 14–17; both read as enacted).

• Non-restricted guns: unloaded, and either fitted with a secure locking device, with the bolt removed, or locked in a container, receptacle or room that cannot readily be broken open or into. Ammunition must not be readily accessible to the gun unless it is locked up too (Storage, Display, Transportation and Handling of Firearms by Individuals Regulations, s. 5).
• Restricted guns: unloaded, and either fitted with a secure locking device and locked in such a container or room, or kept in a locked vault, safe or room built or modified for storing restricted firearms, with the ammunition kept away from it unless it is locked up too (same regulations, s. 6). Prohibited guns follow the same rule, and an automatic firearm’s bolt is kept in another locked room (s. 7).
• Transporting a restricted gun or a prohibited handgun: unloaded, with a secure locking device, in a locked opaque container that cannot readily be broken open; in an unattended vehicle, locked in the trunk or out of sight in the locked vehicle (ss. 11 and 12). A non-restricted gun must be unloaded, and in an unattended vehicle locked in the trunk or out of sight (s. 10).
• Breaching these regulations is an offence (Criminal Code, s. 86(2)). Report a change of name or address to a chief firearms officer within 30 days (Firearms Licences Regulations, s. 15).
• Air guns: see Air rifles.

A licence for an adult expires five years after the holder’s first birthday following the day it was issued (Firearms Act, s. 64(1)). The RCMP sends a renewal notice three months before. You renew online through the Individual Web Services or on form RCMP 5614, with a new photo and your current and recent partners (Firearms Licences Regulations, s. 8.3; RCMP, Licence renewal). References and the 28-day wait do not apply to a renewal (s. 8.5), and training records need not be sent again if the privileges stay the same (RCMP, Licensing information). The fee is the same as for a new licence (Firearms Fees Regulations, s. 2).

If you miss the date, the licence is extended for six months, but until it is renewed you may not use your firearms or acquire firearms, ammunition or cartridge magazines, and an ATT does not run on (Firearms Act, s. 64(1.1)–(1.3)). An expired licence cannot be renewed online.

When a licence that covers restricted firearms is renewed, the chief firearms officer must decide whether each restricted gun is used for its purpose, such as target practice or competition (Firearms Act, s. 67(2)). If it is not, the officer tells you and the Registrar, and the Registrar must revoke that gun’s registration certificate (ss. 67(3) and 71(1)(b)). Relics registered under the former law are exempt (s. 67(4)).

A renewal also renews your ATT to the approved clubs and ranges of your province (Firearms Act, s. 19(2.1)). Registration certificates have no end date of their own: one ends when you stop owning the gun, it stops being a firearm, or its class is changed by law (s. 66).

Neither the Firearms Act nor its regulations set a number of firearms an individual may own. Each restricted gun is checked on its own: for every transfer the chief firearms officer verifies your purpose and decides whether that particular gun is appropriate for it (Firearms Act, s. 27(b)).

Handguns are the exception: unless you qualify under section 97.1, you cannot add any (see the handgun freeze above). Non-restricted guns are not registered, except in Québec, which keeps its own registry of them (RCMP, Buying and selling firearms).

• On 1 May 2020 the government prohibited nine types of firearms by make and model with their variants, among them the AR-15, AR-10, M16 and M4, the Ruger Mini-14, the M14, the Vz58, the CZ Scorpion EVO 3 and the SIG Sauer MCX and MPX, as well as every firearm with a bore of 20 mm or more or a muzzle energy above 10,000 joules. Ordinary 10 and 12 gauge shotguns are below the 20 mm bore (RCMP, May 1, 2020 prohibition).
• More makes and models followed on 5 December 2024 and 7 March 2025; Public Safety Canada counts more than 2,500 makes and models banned since May 2020.
• The prohibited guns cannot be used for sport shooting, at a range or elsewhere, may not be transferred to another individual, may be moved only as the amnesty allows, and must be stored as their former class required (RCMP).
• Each prohibition has its own amnesty order, for 2020, 2024 and 2025. An owner is protected only if they held a licence on the day their guns were prohibited and keep holding it while they possess them, whichever year the gun was prohibited. All three amnesties end on the 90th day after appeals 41858 to 41861 against the 2020 prohibition are decided, dismissed or discontinued, the last of them if on different days (Orders Declaring an Amnesty Period (2020), (2024) and (2025), s. 2 of each). The Supreme Court of Canada hears them on 9 and 10 November 2026. Before the amnesty ends, owners must dispose of the guns or have them permanently deactivated (Public Safety Canada).
• The Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program closed its declaration period for individuals; collection, deactivation and compensation were expected to run from spring to early fall 2026 (Public Safety Canada).
• Since 15 December 2023 the Criminal Code also prohibits, by description, any firearm other than a handgun that fires centre-fire ammunition semi-automatically, was originally designed with a detachable magazine of six cartridges or more, and was designed and manufactured on or after that day (s. 84(1), prohibited firearm, the second paragraph (e)).
• Handguns with a barrel of 105 mm or less, or for .25 or .32 calibre, are prohibited firearms, except target pistols listed for international competition, such as the Walther GSP and Pardini GP models, which are restricted (Criminal Code, s. 84(1); Regulations Prescribing Exclusions from Certain Definitions of the Criminal Code (International Sporting Competition Handguns)). Owners who have held such handguns continuously since 1 December 1998 may keep them and take them to the range (Firearms Act, ss. 12(6) and 19(2)).

• Rifles and shotguns: most are non-restricted. They need a PAL but no registration (outside Québec) and no ATT, and the Act sets no purpose test for them (Firearms Act, s. 12.1; RCMP). A semi-automatic centre-fire gun with a barrel under 470 mm, or one that folds or telescopes to under 660 mm, is restricted unless it is prohibited (Criminal Code, s. 84(1)).
• Air guns: see Air rifles below.
• Collectors: a restricted firearm other than a handgun may be acquired for a collection if you know its historical, technological or scientific characteristics, consent to periodic inspection of where it is kept, and meet the storage and record rules (Firearms Act, ss. 28(c) and 30). Handguns can no longer be acquired for a collection.
• Magazines: as a general rule, a magazine for a semi-automatic centre-fire long gun may hold 5 cartridges and a handgun magazine 10. A larger one is a prohibited device, which an individual may not possess unless it has been permanently altered to the lawful capacity, and unaltered large-capacity magazines may not be imported; former Bill C-21 made altering a magazine to hold more than its lawful capacity a Criminal Code offence. With some exceptions there is no limit for semi-automatic rim-fire long guns or for long guns that are not semi-automatic, and a magazine keeps the limit of the gun it was designed for (RCMP, Maximum permitted magazine capacity).
• Ammunition, magazines and parts: ammunition, cartridge magazines and firearm parts (barrels and handgun slides) may be transferred to an individual only if they hold a licence (Firearms Act, ss. 25 and 25.1). For ammunition that has been so since 2001 (s. 25(1)(b)), for magazines since 15 December 2023 and for parts since 1 September 2024 (Public Safety Canada, Former Bill C-21).

Licence-free

An air gun designed to fire at no more than 152.4 m per second (500 feet per second) and 5.7 joules needs no licence or registration: the Criminal Code deems it not to be a firearm for the Firearms Act and for some of the Code’s own offences, among them possessing or transferring a firearm without a licence. For a gun over one figure but not the other, the rule is read two ways. Word for word, the exemption needs proof that the gun exceeds neither figure; the RCMP’s page on specific types of firearms reads it so that an air gun is a firearm for the Firearms Act only if it exceeds both. The RCMP says the manufacturer’s specifications usually show which side of the line a gun is on, and that the Canadian Firearms Program’s firearm technicians can tell you when they do not. For a gun over one figure only, ask the Program before you buy; it will apply the RCMP’s reading, on which no court ruling has been found. The rule is the same for air pistols, and the RCMP applies it to guns powered by CO2 or another gas.Criminal Code, s. 84(3)(d); RCMP, Specific types of firearms

Still a firearm in the Code

The exemption does not reach the rest of the Criminal Code. An air gun that can cause serious bodily injury or death is a firearm in the Code’s general definition, and the offences of using a firearm while committing an indictable offence, of using, carrying, handling, transporting or storing one carelessly or without reasonable precautions for the safety of others, and of pointing one at another person without lawful excuse are not among those the exemption lists. The RCMP says such air guns are firearms under the Code if they are used to commit a crime.Criminal Code, ss. 2, 84(3), 85(1), 86(1) and 87(1); RCMP, Specific types of firearms

Age

Since an air gun below the line needs no licence, the Firearms Act’s licence ages do not apply to it. The RCMP says its possession, acquisition and use are regulated more by provincial and municipal law than by federal law, and that some provinces may have set a minimum age for acquiring one.Criminal Code, s. 84(3); Firearms Act, s. 8; RCMP, Specific types of firearms

Younger shooters

Above the line, an air gun follows the rules for any firearm, from a minor’s licence at 12 to use under supervision (see Under 18 below). Below it, British Columbia bars selling one that counts as a low-velocity or imitation firearm to anyone under 18, with exceptions, and sets rules for minors who carry one (see the table below).Firearms Act, s. 8(3)–(5); Firearm Violence Prevention Act (B.C.), ss. 11–14

Above the limit

An air gun above the line is a firearm for every purpose: you need a licence to possess or acquire it, and it is stored and transported like any firearm of its class (see Storage above). The RCMP says high-powered air rifles are generally non-restricted, and so not registered federally, but that one made to resemble an assault rifle may be restricted or prohibited depending on the model it imitates, one with a folding stock that brings it under 660 mm may be restricted, and one that is fully automatic or has a sawed-off barrel is prohibited. An air pistol above the line is a handgun: restricted, or prohibited if its barrel is 105 mm or shorter, and caught by the handgun freeze (see Handgun freeze above).Criminal Code, ss. 84(1) and 91(1); Firearms Act, ss. 12.1 and 12.2; RCMP, Specific types of firearms

Replicas

A device designed to resemble exactly, or with near precision, a firearm above both figures, and that is not itself a firearm, is a replica firearm, which the Code makes a prohibited device; the RCMP names airsoft guns that fire a 0.20 g, 6 mm plastic pellet at under 111.6 m per second (366 feet per second) and copy a real make and model. The Code’s offences of possessing a prohibited device without a licence leave replicas out; for transferring, importing or exporting one, see Penalties below. The RCMP says you may keep a replica you owned on 1 December 1998, but may not acquire, make or import one, and may not bring back one you take out of Canada.Criminal Code, ss. 84(1), 91(2) and 92(2); RCMP, Specific types of firearms

Carrying and transport

The RCMP says an air gun below the line is exempt from the storage, transport and handling rules in the regulations under the Firearms Act, but that the Criminal Code requires reasonable precautions to use, carry, handle, store, transport and ship it safely. The Code’s offences of carrying a weapon concealed or to a public meeting, and of carrying or possessing a weapon or an imitation of one for a purpose dangerous to the public peace, are not among those the exemption lists. British Columbia adds rules for vehicles and boats, for unsafe use and for minors (see the table below).Criminal Code, ss. 84(3), 86(1) and 88–90; RCMP, Specific types of firearms

Where you may shoot

The RCMP says the use of air guns below the line is regulated more by provincial and municipal laws and by-laws than by federal law, and refers you to your local or provincial authorities. Ontario, for one, lets a municipality prohibit or regulate their discharge, and British Columbia bans firearms, low-velocity ones included, from schools and some other places (see the table below), so check your municipality’s by-laws before you shoot at home or outdoors. In a national park or park reserve (Wood Buffalo has its own regulations), any weapon whose shot can injure or kill wildlife must be unloaded and cased or wrapped, may be carried outside a vehicle only with the superintendent’s permit or straight to or from your premises, and may be fired only on a rifle range; in Kejimkujik, La Mauricie and Point Pelee, and in Forillon off Highway 132, you may not have one at all.RCMP, Specific types of firearms; Municipal Act, 2001 (Ontario), s. 119; Firearm Violence Prevention Act (B.C.), s. 18; National Parks Wildlife Regulations, ss. 2, 3(1) and 20; Wood Buffalo National Park Game Regulations, ss. 36 and 56(3)

Penalties

Possessing an air gun above the line without a licence can bring up to five years in prison, or ten if you know you have none. Careless use of one that can cause serious bodily injury can bring up to two years for a first offence, pointing one at someone up to five, having one while a court order prohibits you from having firearms up to ten, and using any firearm or imitation firearm while committing an indictable offence up to 14 years, served after any other sentence. Transferring, importing or exporting a replica without authority can bring up to five years, or, if you know you are not authorized, up to 14, with a minimum of three in the Code for a first offence. In British Columbia, the provincial offences in the table carry, for an adult with no offence under s. 65 of the Firearm Violence Prevention Act in the previous five years, a fine of up to $5,000, up to 12 months in prison, or both (a corporation or other body: up to $100,000). A minor of 12 to 17 faces a fine of up to $1,000 for any of them, and no prison.Criminal Code, ss. 85(3)–(4), 86(3), 87(2), 91(3), 92(3), 99(2), 101(2), 103(2), 104(2) and 117.01; Firearm Violence Prevention Act (B.C.), ss. 65–66; Youth Justice Act (B.C.), ss. 2 and 8

Two recent changes. Since 15 December 2023, a replica firearm has had to copy a firearm above both figures; before, a close copy of any firearm was one (Criminal Code, s. 84(1), as amended by S.C. 2023, c. 32, s. 1(4)). Since 1 October 2026, most of British Columbia’s Firearm Violence Prevention Act, including every part this guide uses, has been in force (B.C. Reg. 63/2026), and so have its two regulations (B.C. Regs. 64/2026 and 65/2026; Province of British Columbia).

More on air rifles on the Shooter blog →

From 12 to 17 you can hold a minor’s licence to possess a firearm for target practice, hunting, instruction or an organized competition, under the conditions attached to it (Firearms Act, s. 8(3)). You must pass the Canadian Firearms Safety Course, a parent or guardian must consent, and the chief firearms officer consults them on the conditions and has them sign the licence (ss. 7, 8(5) and 58(2)–(3)). The licence ends on your 18th birthday (s. 64(2)), and costs $10, $20 or $30 depending on its term (Firearms Fees Regulations, Schedule 1).

A minor’s licence lets you borrow non-restricted guns for target practice and competition, but not acquire any firearm, even as a gift, and not possess restricted or prohibited ones (Firearms Act, s. 8(4); RCMP, Minors). Under the direct and immediate supervision of someone licensed for that class, a minor may use any firearm, a handgun in a competition included (RCMP; Criminal Code, s. 91(4)(a)).

At 18 the minor’s licence ends, and you apply for a PAL like any adult.

For air guns, some of which need no licence at any age, see Air rifles above.

A chief firearms officer must refuse a licence to someone who is not eligible, and may revoke one for any good and sufficient reason, such as no longer being eligible or breaking a condition of the licence (Firearms Act, ss. 68 and 70). The officer must revoke a licence within 24 hours on reasonable grounds to suspect domestic violence or stalking (s. 70.1; in force since 4 April 2025, Public Safety Canada, Former Bill C-21), and since 18 July 2026 such a suspicion also makes a person ineligible for a licence (s. 6.1(c)). When the officer suspects you are no longer eligible, your right to use, acquire and import firearms is suspended for up to 30 days (s. 69.1).

The notice of a refusal or revocation gives the reasons and tells you to deliver every firearm you have, and any prohibited or restricted weapon, prohibited device or prohibited ammunition, to a peace officer, a firearms officer or a chief firearms officer within 24 hours or, if that is not possible, within a longer period the officer sets. Since 18 July 2026 the Act says you must; before, it said you may (Firearms Act, s. 72(4), as amended by the Protecting Victims Act). You may refer the decision to a provincial court judge within 30 days of the notice (s. 74). If the decision is upheld, the judge may order the guns returned to you so that you can dispose of them lawfully, within 30 days (s. 72(7)–(10)).

When a licence that covers restricted firearms is renewed, the chief firearms officer must decide whether each restricted gun is used for its purpose, such as target practice or competition (Firearms Act, s. 67(2)). If it is not, the officer tells you and the Registrar, and the Registrar must revoke that gun’s registration certificate (ss. 67(3) and 71(1)(b)). Relics registered under the former law are exempt (s. 67(4)).

You can take that decision to a judge in the same way (Firearms Act, s. 74(1)(b)), and the gun itself must be delivered within 24 hours of the Registrar’s notice revoking its certificate, or within a longer period the officer sets if that is not possible (s. 72(5)).

If you let your licence lapse, the six months’ extension allows no use, and after it, possessing the guns is an offence (Firearms Act, s. 64(1.1)–(1.2); Criminal Code, s. 91). For grandfathered prohibited firearms, such as short-barrelled handguns held since 1998, the RCMP writes that once a licence ceases to be valid the registration certificates associated with it are automatically revoked, and the grandfathered status is lost for good.

The Shooter app has no Canadian defaults, and federal law sets no count of sessions; Québec’s club rule asks only for shooting at a range within the last year (below). What the app keeps is a dated record of the sessions you log with each gun, which it exports as a PDF or CSV logbook.

For a target of your own, set Shots for an approved session, Sessions per gun and Activity window (months): one setting each, the same for all guns, and the app counts nothing per gun until the shots are set. Then give a restricted gun your licence’s expiry date as its Next activity deadline: for each gun with a date, the app counts the days on which you fired at least that many shots with it, in that window before the date. Under Club requirement, setting Occasions, any gun to 1 over a 12-month window shows whether you have logged a club session in the last year, the period in Québec’s club rule. The app counts your shooting; whether it was target practice at an approved club is for your club to confirm, and the purpose decision is the chief firearms officer’s.

Shooter is not affiliated with the RCMP Canadian Firearms Program or with any shooting association.

Can I still buy a handgun in Canada?

Not as a rule. Since 21 October 2022 a handgun can be transferred or registered to an individual only if they hold an authorization to carry, or train, compete or coach in a handgun discipline on the Olympic or Paralympic programme and give the chief firearms officer a governing body’s letter every year (Firearms Act, ss. 12.2, 23.2(1)(d.1) and 97.1). Handguns you already own you may keep and use.

How do I get a handgun exemption letter?

Ask the Shooting Federation of Canada, which says it has been granted the authority to issue them; the Act also allows a provincial governing body. The SFC asks for SFC membership in good standing, an RPAL, membership of a club, and documents showing that you train, compete or coach in an Olympic or Paralympic shooting discipline, keeps full discretion, and says it currently issues letters only for .22 calibre and .177 air pistols. The letter must name your disciplines, say that the handgun is necessary for them, and be given to the chief firearms officer every year (Firearms Act, s. 97.1(b)).

Is there an activity requirement for an RPAL?

No federal rule counts sessions. A restricted gun is held for target practice or competition at an approved club or range, and at each licence renewal the chief firearms officer decides whether each restricted gun is used for that purpose (Firearms Act, s. 67(2)); the officer can ask your club to describe your participation over the last five years. In Québec, provincial law also has a club drop a member who has not shot at its range, or another approved range, for more than a year.

Do I need an ATT to take my gun to the range?

For a restricted gun or a prohibited handgun, yes. A renewed licence and an approved transfer each bring an ATT to and from every approved club and range in your province (Firearms Act, s. 19(2.1) and (2.3)); anywhere else needs one from the chief firearms officer. Non-restricted rifles and shotguns need no ATT.

How long is a PAL valid, and what does it cost?

It expires five years after the first birthday following its issue (Firearms Act, s. 64(1)). Until 30 March 2027 the RCMP charges $70.38 for a non-restricted PAL and $93.84 with restricted privileges, new or renewed; from 31 March 2027, $72.35 and $96.47. The RCMP lists $46.92 for upgrading a PAL to restricted privileges ($48.24 from 31 March 2027).

What happens if my PAL expires?

It is extended for six months, but until it is renewed you may not use or acquire firearms, ammunition or magazines, and your ATT does not run on (Firearms Act, s. 64(1.1)–(1.3)). After that, possessing the guns without a licence is an offence (Criminal Code, s. 91). For grandfathered prohibited firearms, the RCMP writes that a licence that ceases to be valid revokes their registration certificates and the grandfathered status for good.

Do I have to be a member of a shooting club?

Not for the licence itself. But only a member of an approved shooting club, or a member’s guest, may shoot a restricted firearm or prohibited handgun on a range (Shooting Clubs and Shooting Ranges Regulations, s. 6), and the SFC asks for club membership before it issues a handgun exemption letter.

Do I need a licence for an air rifle in Canada?

Not if it is designed to fire at no more than 152.4 m per second (500 feet per second) and 5.7 joules, and the same goes for an air pistol: the Criminal Code then deems it not to be a firearm for the Firearms Act, so it needs no licence or registration (s. 84(3)(d)), and the RCMP’s page on specific types of firearms reads the rule so that only an air gun above both figures needs a licence. Above the line it is licensed, classed and stored like any firearm, and an air pistol is a handgun, caught by the handgun freeze. Provinces and municipalities add rules: British Columbia, for one, has since 1 October 2026 barred selling to anyone under 18 an air gun designed to exceed neither figure that can still cause serious bodily injury, or an object that could reasonably be mistaken for a firearm. Toys made for children of 13 or under are exempt, and so is a sale to a minor who shows a federal firearms licence under which the seller reasonably believes they may possess firearms.

Can I still shoot my AR-15 at the range?

No. AR-15 pattern rifles were prohibited on 1 May 2020, and the prohibited models cannot be used for sport shooting at a range or anywhere else. An amnesty protects owners who on 1 May 2020 held a licence and the gun’s registration certificate, and keep holding the licence, from criminal liability for keeping the gun stored and disposing of it, until the 90th day after the appeals against the 2020 prohibition, which the Supreme Court of Canada hears in November 2026, are decided (Order Declaring an Amnesty Period (2020), s. 2).

Can a teenager take up target shooting in Canada?

Yes. From 12, a minor’s licence, after the Canadian Firearms Safety Course and with a parent’s consent, allows borrowing non-restricted guns for target practice and competition (Firearms Act, s. 8(3)–(5)). A minor may also use any class of firearm, handguns included, under the direct and immediate supervision of someone licensed for it. For air guns, see Air rifles.