Gun licence for sport shooting in Denmark

Endorsement

A club member can hold a gun on a våbenpåtegning on the membership card. A club the police have approved under one of the four main organisations gives one for a gun on its organisation’s shooting programme; a club with clay shooting can be approved to give one for shotguns. The police consent to each one in advance.Våbenloven § 2 c; våbenbekendtgørelsen §§ 7–10

Pistol

At least 20 years old, known as an absolutely reliable person, and at least two years as an aktivt skydende medlem (active shooting member) of a club under DGI, Dansk Skytte Union or Dansk Firmaidræt; the club’s chairman confirms the two years in writing.Våbencirkulæret § 20, stk. 1 and 3, and § 38

Activity

The circular does not say how often an active member shoots. DGI’s SKV pages count at least six times a year for at least two years, under the guidelines for Skytteforeningernes Våbenregistrering, and the chairman’s signature attests it.Våbencirkulæret § 20, stk. 3; DGI, SKV FAQ

Above .32

A pistol with a calibre above 7.65 mm (.32) also needs at least six months’ experience shooting a pistol of the same or a similar calibre.Våbencirkulæret § 20, stk. 6

Term

The police’s consent to a våbenpåtegning runs for five years. A våbentilladelse (weapon permit) from the police for a pistol runs for two.Våbenbekendtgørelsen § 49, stk. 1 and stk. 5, nr. 4; våbenloven § 6 d

Number of pistols

Holding two pistols of the same or a similar calibre, you must give a reason for a third, and it is granted only for special reasons, mainly sporting ones. More than six pistols above .22 only in exceptional cases.Våbencirkulæret § 20, stk. 5 and 7

Two amending orders of 23 January 2026 changed våbenbekendtgørelsen. BEK nr. 164, in force from 1 April 2026:

• Dansk Sportsskytte Forbund became the fourth main organisation, beside DGI, Dansk Skytte Union (Skydesport Danmark) and Dansk Firmaidræt, whose clubs the police can approve to give endorsements (våbenbekendtgørelsen § 9, stk. 1).
• A club may let a person take part in trial shooting at most three times within 12 months, and must ask for photo ID (§ 22, stk. 11).
• A club must keep an electronic logbook of the guns it lends for trial shooting and events, with each person’s name and photo-ID type and number, keep it for at least five years and hand it to the police on request (§ 22, stk. 13–14). It records loans, not members’ activity. Neither the cap nor the logbook applies to hardball and paintball guns or insert cartridges of up to 4.5 mm (§ 22, stk. 15); for air guns, see Air rifles below.

BEK nr. 165, in force from 1 July 2026:

• A permit, a consent to a våbenpåtegning, a jagttegn and other approvals lapse by themselves when the holder is sentenced at first instance to 60 days or more of unconditional prison for an offence listed in the order, or is given a tilhold, opholdsforbud or bortvisning (restraining, exclusion or expulsion order), and for a set time none can be given (§ 48 a). See If the club or the police withdraw it.
• After a revocation, or such a lapse, you may keep the gun for up to 10 days instead of four weeks (§ 50, stk. 3).

Våbencirkulæret, the Ministry of Justice’s circular, was issued on 29 October 2025, before both orders, and still names three organisations.

A club member can hold a gun on a våbenpåtegning, a weapon endorsement on the club membership card. It lets you acquire, own, carry and use the guns it names, with their barrels, actions, ammunition and detachable magazines (våbenloven § 2 c, stk. 2).

Only a club the police have approved can give one. A club under DGI, Dansk Skytte Union (Skydesport Danmark), Dansk Firmaidræt or Dansk Sportsskytte Forbund gives one for a gun on its organisation’s shooting programme that meets the organisation’s technical specifications (våbenbekendtgørelsen § 9, stk. 1); a shooting or hunting club with clay shooting on its programme can be approved to give one for smooth-bore shotguns (§ 7, stk. 1). The police consent to each endorsement in advance, and you must show where the gun comes from (§ 10, stk. 1 and 4).

For pistols, våbencirkulæret § 20 still names clubs under DGI, Dansk Skytte Union and Dansk Firmaidræt only, both for the club you shoot in and for the two years, and its § 40 on ammunition names the same three. How the police treat members of Dansk Sportsskytte Forbund clubs here has not been published.

The paperwork goes through Skytteforeningernes Våbenregistrering (SKV), the organisations’ weapons register. The application, form SKV 2, goes from the club’s chairman to SKV, which confirms the gun is on the programme and sends it to the police (våbenbekendtgørelsen § 10, stk. 2; SKV 2). When the police consent, the chairman receives your våbenlegitimationskort (weapon ID card), signs it and hands it to you; only then may you shoot the gun (DGI, SKV).

An endorsement lets you use the gun only for the activities the organisations have approved for it (våbenbekendtgørelsen § 10, stk. 3). When you carry the gun, carry the membership card and another ID, such as a driving licence (våbenloven § 2 d).

The other way is a våbentilladelse, a weapon permit from the police. Våbencirkulæret § 20 allows one for a pistol to an active shooting member on the same conditions as a pistol endorsement (§ 38), and it runs for two years (våbenloven § 6 d, stk. 1). Applying for one costs 1,085 kr, granted or not (våbenloven § 6 b, stk. 1).

1. Try it. A club may lend its own and its members’ guns of up to 9 mm (.38/.357) to a non-member for trial shooting, at most three times within 12 months, against photo ID (våbenbekendtgørelsen § 22, stk. 2 and 11). Neither the three-times cap nor the photo-ID rule applies to air guns of 4.5 mm or less (§ 22, stk. 15; see Air rifles below).
2. Join a club. For a pistol, the circular names clubs under DGI, Dansk Skytte Union and Dansk Firmaidræt (våbencirkulæret § 20, stk. 1). To shoot the club’s or other members’ firearms, a member needs the police’s approval, a check of character applied for on form SKV 6, which runs for five years, unless the member holds an endorsement or another approval the rule names (våbenbekendtgørelsen § 22, stk. 1; § 48; § 49, stk. 5, nr. 8). DGI counts only an endorsement through that club, and reads the approval as needed only from age 15. For air guns, see Air rifles below.
3. Shoot actively for at least two years. DGI’s SKV pages count at least six times a year. For a pistol above 7.65 mm (.32), you also need six months’ experience with a pistol of the same or a similar calibre (våbencirkulæret § 20, stk. 6).
4. At 20, choose a pistol on your organisation’s shooting programme, at least 210 mm long without a removable stock or parts, and approved by Rigspolitiet after talks with the organisations (våbencirkulæret § 20, stk. 1 and 4). The seller must be registered for the gun or be an approved dealer (SKV 2 procedures).
5. Fill in SKV 2 with the club. The chairman confirms in writing that you have been an active shooting member for two years (våbencirkulæret § 20, stk. 3). For a pistol or revolver above .32, a .32 that would be your third gun of .32 or larger, or a third gun in .22 or 4.5 mm, the Ministry of Justice’s oplysningsskema (information form) goes with it. SKV starts the case once its payment is received (SKV 2 procedures).
6. The police check your record and personal circumstances (våbenbekendtgørelsen § 48, stk. 1), and since 1 July 2026 some sentences bar a permit outright (§ 48 a, stk. 2; see If the club or the police withdraw it). If in the last five years you moved to Denmark, the Faroe Islands or Greenland, or lived outside the EU for more than six months in a row, you may have to supply a criminal record certificate from abroad, no more than three months old; a citizen of the Danish Realm (Rigsfællesskabet) needs none from another EU country (politi.dk). On 8 October 2026 they were handling SKV 2 cases received in mid-September, and they advise expecting up to three months for private permits (politi.dk).
7. With the police’s consent, the chairman hands you the signed weapon ID card. Store the gun as the rules require from the day you hold it (see Storage).

The conditions in våbencirkulæret § 20 include no shooting test or exam.

The circular’s requirement is two years as an aktivt skydende medlem before a pistol, confirmed by the club’s chairman in writing (våbencirkulæret § 20, stk. 1, nr. 3, and stk. 3). The police consent to a pistol endorsement only when that is met (§ 38). Neither våbenloven, våbenbekendtgørelsen nor the circular says how often an active member shoots.

The measure is not in the rules. DGI’s SKV pages say a shooter must have shot at least six times a year for at least two years, under the guidelines for Skytteforeningernes Våbenregistrering; the guideline itself is not published there. No documents go with the SKV 2 application: the chairman’s signature attests that the requirement is met, and an endorsement is not something you are owed but something a board may stand behind.

If part of your two years was in another club, the chairman should not sign until you show that you were actively shooting there, and getting that proof is up to you (DGI, SKV).

A våbenpåtegning lapses when your membership ends, and the club may withdraw it at any time; the club must tell the police when it lapses or is withdrawn (våbenbekendtgørelsen § 8, stk. 4, applied by § 10, stk. 5). A club approved to give endorsements must have statutes that oblige it to withdraw one, and tell the police, when it learns that a member’s circumstances have changed so that it is a cause for concern that the member holds one (§ 7, stk. 2, nr. 2, applied by § 9, stk. 2). The organisations’ SKV form page adds that a club must withdraw it from a member who has left the club or is not actively shooting.

No rule read sets a number of sessions between applications, or asks a member to keep a logbook. The electronic logbook clubs keep since 1 April 2026 records guns lent for trial shooting, not members’ shooting (våbenbekendtgørelsen § 22, stk. 13).

The police’s consent to a våbenpåtegning runs for five years; consent under the talent dispensation for a .22 pistol runs for one (våbenbekendtgørelsen § 49, stk. 5, nr. 4). A våbentilladelse for a pistol runs for two years, other permits under våbenloven § 2, stk. 1 for five, and a hunting rifle permit for ten (våbenloven § 6 d).

You renew an endorsement with a new SKV 2, the same form as for a first one; it has a box for renewal, and the chairman’s box confirming two years of active shooting for a pistol or revolver is on it (SKV 2). If the endorsement runs out while the renewal is being handled, DGI’s advice is to leave the gun in the cabinet from the day it expired.

When a permit, consent or approval runs out, the police may let you keep the gun for four weeks, and before they end you must apply or dispose of the gun (våbenbekendtgørelsen § 50, stk. 1–2). For a våbentilladelse, the police advise applying at least three months before the end date: a renewal is a new application, and the new permit runs from the day it is issued, not from the end of the old one (politi.dk).

Throughout the term, you must pass the police’s check of their records: they keep receiving information about you for as long as you hold the permit (politi.dk, Persontjek).

For a våbentilladelse, a new permit with the same term is free when you change your name, address, club or the address where the gun is kept (våbenloven § 6 b, stk. 4). For an endorsement, a change of club is a new SKV 2 for a foreningsskift, and SKV starts that case once its payment is received (SKV 2 procedures).

If you already hold two pistols of the same or a similar calibre, the police must ask why you need another, and grant it only for special reasons, mainly sporting ones (våbencirkulæret § 20, stk. 5). More than six pistols above 5.6 mm (.22) are allowed only in exceptional cases; muzzle-loading pistols do not count (§ 20, stk. 7).

The organisations report the Ministry of Justice’s reading: pistols and revolvers are counted together towards the six; as a starting point, two pistols and two revolvers per calibre group (.30, .32, 9 mm and .38/.357, .40 S&W, and .44 Special, .45 Colt and .45 ACP together); a conversion set counts as a gun (DGI, SKV).

No limit on the number of sport rifles was found. Shotguns with a barrel of at least 55 cm, and guns made up to 1890, are licensed without a limit on number (våbenbekendtgørelsen § 51).

Ammunition: a member of a club under DGI, Dansk Skytte Union or Dansk Firmaidræt, or of a hunting club, with an endorsement or permit may hold 1,000 long-range and 5,000 short-range cartridges in all, more only if the police allow it in a special case (våbencirkulæret § 40). By Rigspolitiet’s line, as DGI reports it, ammunition for programmes up to 50 m is short-range.

More than 25 guns, or more than 10 pistols and other especially dangerous guns, need stronger storage (see Storage).

• Rifles through the club: the same endorsement, for which the chairman confirms membership only (våbenbekendtgørelsen §§ 9–10; SKV 2). SKV’s 2021 guidelines approve rifles in calibres up to 8.6 mm (.338), and note that the organisations have not been permitted semi-automatic rifles for sport.
• Shotguns: a club with clay shooting on its programme can be approved to give endorsements for smooth-bore shotguns, with the police’s consent each time (våbenbekendtgørelsen §§ 7–8).
• Hunting: a jagttegn (hunting licence), which needs the police’s consent, lets you acquire a shotgun with a barrel of at least 55 cm without a permit; you register it with the police within 8 days (våbenloven § 2 a and § 2 b; våbenbekendtgørelsen § 52). A permit for a hunting rifle runs for ten years (våbenloven § 6 d, stk. 2).
• Air guns: see Air rifles below.
• Muzzle-loaders made before 1870 are exempt (våbenbekendtgørelsen § 1). Clubs under Dansk Skytte Union and their members can get permits for muzzle-loading guns and pistols (våbencirkulæret § 2, stk. 3; § 20, stk. 8).
• Collectors can be licensed for guns made up to 1890, named old Danish models and other guns of special historical or technical interest, without ammunition, with a list sent to the police once a year and inspection at any time (våbencirkulæret § 13).

Licence-free

The line is the calibre, not the power. Luft- og fjederbøsser (air and spring guns) of 4.5 mm or less are exempt from the weapons law’s ban, so from 18 you may buy, own, carry and use one with no permit, and you do not register it with the police.Våbenloven § 1, stk. 2, litra a, and § 2, stk. 1; våbenbekendtgørelsen § 2, stk. 1, and § 52; politi.dk

Age

From 18. Anyone who sells, gives or lends you one must see that you are 18, from original photo ID shown in person or sent, unless it is obvious; under 18, you show a permit for it instead, though a club may still lend its air guns of 4.5 mm or less to under-18s (see Younger shooters).Våbenloven § 2, stk. 2; våbenbekendtgørelsen § 20, stk. 2

Younger shooters

Under 18, you need the police’s permit to acquire, own, carry or even use one, and the circular lets them give it from 16. A club may lend its own and its members’ air guns of 4.5 mm or less without the police approval its firearms need, to shooters under 18 too, and the order sets no minimum age. The loan is only for use on a range or shooting ground that may be used for that gun, and a club member the police have approved for access to where the club’s guns are stored, or someone with a permit to transport the guns, must always be present, unless the police dispense with it.Våbenloven § 2, stk. 1; våbencirkulæret § 16, stk. 2; våbenbekendtgørelsen § 22, stk. 1, 4–5 and 9–10

Above the limit

Above 4.5 mm, an air gun falls under the ban on skydevåben (firearms). A holder of a jagttegn (hunting licence), or a club member with a våbenpåtegning (weapon endorsement) for air and spring guns, may acquire, own, carry and use one for their own use, and must register it with the police within 8 days; the circular lets a holder under 18 register it only with the parents’ written consent and their promise to see to its storage. The police give you a receipt, which you must show them on request; they say registering is free and a registration does not expire. You may keep the gun while you hold a jagttegn or the endorsement; a former jagttegn holder who still meets the conditions for one may keep it, but not carry or use it. Anyone else needs a våbentilladelse (weapon permit) from the police, which the circular lets them give to, among others, members of shooting and hunting clubs who can use the gun on the club’s range. There is no limit on how many.Våbenbekendtgørelsen § 2, stk. 1, 4 and 5, §§ 51–52; våbencirkulæret § 2, stk. 1, and § 16, stk. 4–5; politi.dk

Storage

Every air gun must be kept safely, where no unauthorised person can get at it. The cabinet rule in the Storage section is for guns under the firearms ban, which takes in air guns above 4.5 mm; it does not name those of 4.5 mm or less. The police recommend keeping other types of weapon locked up too.Våbenbekendtgørelsen § 2, stk. 1, and § 24, stk. 1 and 4; politi.dk

Carrying and transport

Every air gun must be transported safely, for example under constant watch or covered in a locked vehicle. Outside the places where it may lawfully be used, a skydevåben (firearm) may be taken only between storage and use, or for purchase, sale, repair and the like, in a closed case, unloaded and never in a side or shoulder holster on the body; that takes in air guns above 4.5 mm, and the police’s guidance lists air and spring guns among skydevåben. Taking one of 4.5 mm or less into or out of Denmark needs no import or export permit. Moving one above 4.5 mm abroad, or buying one abroad and bringing it in, needs the police’s export or import permit (indførselstilladelse); for a trip of up to three months, the police describe a våbenpas (firearms pass) within the EU or a declaration at customs outside it. The country you take one to has rules of its own.Våbenbekendtgørelsen § 2, stk. 1, § 11, stk. 1–2, § 31, stk. 2 and 4, and § 33; våbenloven § 1, stk. 1, and § 6, stk. 2, nr. 3; politi.dk

Where you may shoot

A place with firing points or target stands permanently set up for shooting, air guns included, is a skydebane (shooting range), and work on it may not begin until the police have approved it. Beyond that, neither våbenloven nor våbenbekendtgørelsen says where you may shoot an air gun of your own. Ordensbekendtgørelsen (the public-order order), whose rules apply, unless they say otherwise, on roads and in places open to the public, bans using firearms, bows, slingshots or the like where it can endanger or inconvenience passers-by, on pain of a fine. The Minister of Justice may also set a politivedtægt (local police by-law) for a police district, which cannot depart from the order’s rules.Våbenloven § 7; skydebanebekendtgørelsen §§ 2–3; ordensbekendtgørelsen §§ 1–2, 12 and 18

Penalties

Breaking the weapons rules, for example by holding one without the right to, registering it late, or storing or transporting it unsafely, is punishable by a fine or up to four months in prison, two years in aggravating circumstances.Våbenloven § 10, stk. 1; våbenbekendtgørelsen § 59, stk. 1

The export exemption has been in the law since 1 July 2024 (lov nr. 654 af 11. juni 2024) and in the order since 1 April 2026 (BEK nr. 164 af 23. januar 2026). The 1 April 2026 rules on trial shooting (three times in 12 months, against photo ID) and the club’s logbook of loans (see What changed in 2026) do not apply to air guns of 4.5 mm or less (våbenbekendtgørelsen § 22, stk. 15).

More on air rifles on the Shooter blog →

Under 18, a member of a shooting or hunting club who has turned 16 can be given a permit or endorsement, but only for a firearm used in the club, and only if the parents consent in writing and take on its storage (våbencirkulæret § 16, stk. 1, 3 and 4; § 37). The SKV 2 form has a section for rifle and shotgun shooters aged 16 to 18.

Pistols are for those aged 20 and over. Shooters aged 16 to 19 in the talent programme of Dansk Skytte Union can get a dispensation from the age limit for a .22 pistol, with written parental consent under 18 (våbencirkulæret § 20, stk. 2); that consent runs for one year (våbenbekendtgørelsen § 49, stk. 5, nr. 4). The dispensation is from the age only: the two years as an active shooting member and the chairman’s confirmation still apply (§ 20, stk. 1, nr. 3, and stk. 3).

Air guns under 18, including a club’s loans: see Air rifles above.

To shoot the club’s firearms, DGI reads the SKV 6 approval as needed from age 15, and says 15- to 17-year-olds can apply without a parent’s consent.

• Guns and ammunition must be kept safely, where no unauthorised person can reach them, and ammunition for firearms in the same kind of cabinet as the firearms, with them or apart (våbenbekendtgørelsen § 24, stk. 1–2).
• Up to 25 firearms and conversion sets, of which at most 10 especially dangerous ones such as pistols: a cabinet approved to at least EN 1143-1 grade 0, or an equal level, bolted to the floor or wall if it weighs under 1,000 kg (§ 24, stk. 4 and 9). The police name SSF 3492, Skafor blå and FG520 as examples of an equal level.
• More: a cast strongroom or a cabinet to at least EN 1143-1 grade 1, and a burglar alarm reporting to a monitoring centre approved by Rigspolitiet and staffed day and night (§ 24, stk. 5).
• Keys are kept as safely; people in the same household may share a cabinet (§ 24, stk. 6 and 10).
• Away for a competition, firearms may be stored temporarily from the day before to the day after, under constant watch or locked away, with the ammunition locked away on its own (§ 25).
• Transport must be safe, for example under constant watch or covered in a locked vehicle (§ 11, stk. 1). A firearm may leave the places where it may lawfully be used only to go between storage and use, or for purchase, sale, repair and similar purposes; it is then in a closed case and unloaded, and never in a side or shoulder holster on the body (§ 11, stk. 2).
• Breaking these rules is a criminal offence (§ 59, stk. 1; see If the club or the police withdraw it).
• For air guns, see Air rifles above.

The police refuse an application when your personal circumstances or record make it doubtful, and tell you what they rely on before they decide, so you can comment. Their records from the last five years weigh most, and serious crime often means waiting more than five years (våbenbekendtgørelsen § 48; politi.dk, Persontjek).

Since 1 July 2026, some offences end a permit by themselves. A permit, a consent to a våbenpåtegning, a jagttegn and other approvals lapse if the holder is sentenced at first instance to 60 days or more of unconditional prison for an offence listed in the order’s bilag 5 (appendix 5), or is given a tilhold, opholdsforbud or bortvisning (våbenbekendtgørelsen § 48 a, stk. 1).

Nor can any be given, counted from the first-instance judgment, to someone so sentenced: until age 80 for some offences, among them homicide (straffeloven § 237) and drug crime under § 191; until 20 years after release for others, among them robbery under § 288, stk. 1, nr. 1, the most serious violence (§ 246) and breaches of våbenloven; and until 10 years after release for the rest, among them violence under §§ 243 and 245, threats (§ 266), sexual offences (chapter 24) and offences against the drugs act and the knife law. Nor to someone with a valid tilhold, opholdsforbud or bortvisning (§ 48 a, stk. 2; bilag 5). If the judgment or order is changed so that it no longer meets § 48 a, for example by an acquittal or a suspended or shorter sentence, the permit does not revive: you apply afresh, and the police assess you under § 48 as usual (§ 48 b). For a permit, that application is free when a higher court changed the judgment (våbenloven § 6 b, stk. 1, nr. 13).

Permits and consents can be revoked at any time (våbenloven § 2 f). Since 1 July 2024, a public authority in regular contact with a holder can report concerns to the police, who must then decide whether the holder keeps the permit (§ 2 i).

A våbenpåtegning lapses when your membership ends, and the club may withdraw it at any time; the club must tell the police when it lapses or is withdrawn (våbenbekendtgørelsen § 8, stk. 4, applied by § 10, stk. 5). A club approved to give endorsements must have statutes that oblige it to withdraw one, and tell the police, when it learns that a member’s circumstances have changed so that it is a cause for concern that the member holds one (§ 7, stk. 2, nr. 2, applied by § 9, stk. 2). The organisations’ SKV form page adds that a club must withdraw it from a member who has left the club or is not actively shooting.

After a revocation, or a lapse under § 48 a, you may keep the gun for up to 10 days; it was four weeks until 1 July 2026. After a lapse, the 10 days run from the first-instance judgment or from when the order was served if you were told about § 48 a when the permit was granted, and otherwise from when you are told the permit has lapsed. The police may order the gun deposited with them at once, or set a longer time in special circumstances (våbenbekendtgørelsen § 50, stk. 3–5). Within that time, sell it to someone with a permit for it or to a dealer, have the police destroy it, or have it deactivated (politi.dk). A club’s SKV 5 notice names the date by which the guns must go.

Breaking the order’s rules on storage and transport, or not complying with a decision under § 50, is punishable by a fine or up to four months in prison, two years in aggravating circumstances (våbenbekendtgørelsen § 59, stk. 1 and 3); breaches of våbenloven’s own bans carry the same range (våbenloven § 10, stk. 1). An unconditional prison sentence of 60 days or more for breaking våbenloven also brings the 20-year bar above.

The Shooter app has no Danish defaults, and outside Sweden its activity settings start empty, so it counts nothing until you set them. Under Club requirement, set Occasions, any gun to 6 and the Activity window to 12 months, and it counts the days you marked as club sessions, with any gun, in the last 12 months. It checks that one window, not each of the two years DGI’s SKV pages ask for.

It can also count per gun: the days you fired at least the Shots for an approved session you set with that gun, in the activity window before the date you enter as the gun’s Next activity deadline, against the Sessions per gun you set. Nothing is counted for a gun until both numbers and the date are set, and no Danish rule counts activity per gun.

It exports your shooting activity as a PDF or CSV file. Shooter is not affiliated with Politiet (the Danish police) or with any shooting association. The confirmation is your chairman’s to give, and the consent is the police’s.

How long must I be a club member before I can get a pistol?

At least two years as an active shooting member, and you must be 20. The club’s chairman confirms the two years in writing (våbencirkulæret § 20, stk. 1 and 3). DGI’s SKV pages count at least six times a year.

What is a våbenpåtegning?

A weapon endorsement on your club membership card. A club approved by the police gives it, with the police’s consent for each gun, and it lets you acquire, own, carry and use the guns it names for the activities your organisation has approved (våbenloven § 2 c; våbenbekendtgørelsen §§ 9–10).

How long is a våbenpåtegning valid?

The police’s consent runs for five years, or one year under the talent dispensation for a .22 pistol (våbenbekendtgørelsen § 49, stk. 5, nr. 4). It also ends at once if you leave the club (§ 8, stk. 4). A police våbentilladelse for a pistol runs for two years.

Is there an activity requirement for rifles?

Not in law: for a rifle, the chairman confirms membership only. The club can still withdraw an endorsement at any time, and the organisations say a club must withdraw it from a member who is not actively shooting.

Can I try shooting before I join a club?

Yes. A club may lend you guns of up to 9 mm (.38/.357) for trial shooting at most three times within 12 months, against photo ID (våbenbekendtgørelsen § 22, stk. 2 and 11); neither applies to air guns of 4.5 mm or less (§ 22, stk. 15; see Air rifles). After that, a member needs the police’s approval, on form SKV 6, to shoot the club’s firearms, unless they hold an endorsement or another approval the rule names; DGI counts only an endorsement through that club, and reads the approval as needed from age 15.

How many pistols may I own?

A third pistol of the same or a similar calibre needs a special reason, mainly a sporting one, and more than six pistols above .22 are allowed only in exceptional cases (våbencirkulæret § 20, stk. 5 and 7). Muzzle-loading pistols do not count towards the six.

What happens to my guns if I leave my club?

To move to another club, join it and have it apply with SKV 2 for a foreningsskift (change of club), and stay a member of the old club until the police have consented and you have the new weapon ID card: the endorsement through the old club lapses when that membership ends (våbenbekendtgørelsen § 8, stk. 4), and a new one exists only once the police consent (§ 10, stk. 1). A member who leaves is sent form SKV 5 by the club, which names the date by which the guns must go to someone with a permit, a dealer or the police.

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

Not from the age of 18, if its calibre is 4.5 mm or less, whatever its power, and the same goes for an air pistol: you need no permit and do not register it (våbenloven § 1, stk. 2, litra a, and § 2, stk. 1; våbenbekendtgørelsen § 2, stk. 1, and § 52). Above 4.5 mm, you need a jagttegn or a club endorsement for air guns and must register it with the police within 8 days (våbenbekendtgørelsen § 2 and § 52), or else hold a police permit (våbenloven § 2, stk. 1). Under 18, owning or even using one of 4.5 mm or less needs a police permit, which can be given from 16, but a club may lend you its air guns of 4.5 mm or less to shoot on a range.

How much ammunition may I keep at home?

A member of a club under DGI, Dansk Skytte Union or Dansk Firmaidræt, or of a hunting club, with an endorsement or permit may hold up to 1,000 long-range and 5,000 short-range cartridges in all, unless the police allow more in a special case (våbencirkulæret § 40); the circular predates Dansk Sportsskytte Forbund’s place in the order. Ammunition for firearms must be kept in a cabinet approved to at least EN 1143-1 grade 0 (våbenbekendtgørelsen § 24, stk. 2 and 4).