FAQ

PAL stands for Possession and Acquisition License, formally known as the FAC and is required to have a firearm registered in your name.

A firearms license is called a PAL (possession and acquisition license). This license is required for anyone who wished to own and register or borrow a firearm in Canada.

You do not need to re-take the firearms course upon renewal of your firearms. You renew it like a driver’s license, every 5 years.

You are not required to take the course again.

The PAL license is available through a federally certified CFSC/CRFSC Instructor, anywhere in Canada. For a list of Instructors in your area, please contact 1-800-731-4000 or contact us at the Canadian Firearms Academy 604-799-6797 or www.canadianfirearmsacdemy.ca to register for an upcoming course.

Yes. You can shoot a gun without a firearms license as long as you are under the direct supervision of an adult 18 years or older who has a firearms license for the category of the firearms you wish to shoot.

You need to get an ATT (Authorization to Transport) before you can get an ATT you must have a valid Firearms License along with a membership to Government approved range or Shooting Club.

You need to apply for an ATT through the CFO (Chief Firearms Office) in the Province you live in by calling the Canada Firearms Centre 1800-731-4000. You must have a valid Firearms License and be a member of an approved range or shooting club.

Estate law may vary from province to province. Generally, an executor has the same rights the deceased had to have firearms while the estate is being settled.

Even if you do not have a licence to have firearms, you can have a firearm left in an estate for a reasonable amount of time while the estate is being settled. If a court has prohibited you from possessing firearms, you cannot take possession of firearms left in an estate.
But you are still able to act as executor and you can transfer the firearms to someone who can lawfully have them.
To act as the executor, and to get the information on the estate firearms, you must provide the following documents to the Canadian Firearms Program (CFP).

A completed form RCMP6016 Declaration of Authority to Act on Behalf of an Estate.
Confirmation that the registered owner is deceased by providing, the death certificate, or letters of probate, or a document (on letterhead) from a police department or coroner.

Within a reasonable length of time, you must ensure the firearms are transferred and registered to a properly licensed individual or business or dispose of them in a safe manner until then, you must ensure that the firearms are safely stored.
You must also determine if a valid firearms licence and registration certificate exists. If either document does not exist at the time of death, the CFP will work with you to resolve this situation.

If there are no eligible heir, or if the heir does not want to inherit a firearm, the estate may use the phone transfer process to sell or give the firearm to any licensed person, museum, or business.
The executor can also export the firearm or turn if over to the Police for disposal by calling the CFP, (Canadian Firearms Program) 1-800-731-4000

To acquire a firearm through inheritance, an individual must be 18 years of age and hold a valid Possession and Acquisition License (PAL) with the appropriate privileges (non-restricted, restricted, prohibited). Individuals who have a Possession Only License (POL cannot acquire the firearm(s) until they upgrade their license to PAL. Businesses must have a valid firearms business license to acquire firearms.

A POL stands for Possession Only License. It is only available to anyone who had it from 1993 and on and is only renewable if it has not expired. It is only good for firearms and ammunition you already own. You cannot purchase any other firearms and can only purchase ammunition for the firearms you currently own.

To be able to register a firearm, you need a firearms license that is valid for the class of firearm. The firearm will also need to be verified by an approved verifier if it has not yet been verified.

Once you have a license, you can apply online to register or submit a paper application if it has never been registered. If a registered firearm is being transferred to you, calling, 1-800-731-4000 can change the registration records.

In order to verify your firearm, if it has not yet been done, you need to contact an approved verifier to do so. To get a list of verifiers in your area, you can call 1-800-731-4000.

Your firearm needs to be verified if it has not already been done. To get a list of verifiers in your area, you can call 1-800-731-4000.

Your firearms license is valid for 5 years. Then you need to renew it. You do not need to retake the firearms course.

The Canadian Firearms Safety Course (CFSC) and The Canadian Restricted Firearms Course (CRFSC) was developed in partnership with the provinces and territories, national organizations with an ongoing interest in firearms safety, and many firearms and hunter education course instructors from across Canada. This course was developed to meet the mandatory requirements set out in subparagraph 106(2)(c)(i) of the Criminal Code of Canada and came into effect January 1, 1994.

As a result of the Firearms Act, the firearms safety training that is provided to firearms owners and users required modification. The revised CFSC and CRFSC, was implemented on February 1, 1999, to reflects the new legislation, and stipulates that individuals wishing to acquire non-restricted firearms or restricted firearms must take the CFSC (Canadian Firearms Safety Course) and or CRFSC (Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course) and successfully pass the written and practical exams for each course.

Topics covered in the CFSC and or CRFSC include:

the evolution of firearms, major parts, types and actions;
basic firearms safety practices;
ammunition;
operating firearm actions;
safe handling and carry procedures;
firing techniques and procedures;
care of non-restricted and restricted firearms;
responsibilities of the firearms owner/user;
safe storage, display, transportation and handling of firearms.

You may take the firearms courses through any Certified Instructor, you must be 18yrs older.

Yes. There are 2 types of licenses.

There is the Non-restricted, which consists of the evolution of firearms, knowledge of, safely transporting and storing shotguns and rifles.
The course takes anywhere from 8-12 hours and broken down into two parts, theory and practical.

The restricted, which consists of the evolution of firearms, knowledge of, safely transporting and storing of Handguns and all firearms in the restricted category.

This course takes anywhere from 4-6 hours and is broken into two parts, theory and practical.
Please note that you must successfully complete the Non-restricted course before you are able to proceed with the restricted course.

The Non-restricted firearms license allows you to purchase or sell most shotguns and rifles.

The restricted firearms license allows you to purchase sell and register most commonly handguns. In order to obtain a restricted firearms license, you must first successfully complete the Non-restricted firearms license.

CFSC stands for Canadian Firearms Safety Course

CRFSC stands for Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course

To replace a lost, stolen, or damaged registration certificate, submit a firearms documents replacement request (form CAFC 718). or by calling 1-800-731-4000.

Yes

If you sell or give a firearm to a business or individual in Canada, the firearm will be registered to the new owner as part of the transfer process that must take place when a firearm changes ownership.

To de-register a firearm that is no longer in Canada, send a written notice to Canada Firearm Center, box 1200, Miramichi, NB E1N 503. With your notice, please indicate the following:

Your full name and firearms license number,

The registration certificate number and firearms identification number of the firearm, as indicated on the registration certificate, and

Proof that the firearm is no longer in Canada ( for example, a photocopy of the import document from the other country).

Please note that you may need an export permit to take or send a firearm to another country. For more information and to obtain an application form, contact the Export Controls Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade at 1-800-267-8376.

Air guns need to be registered if they have both a high muzzle velocity (greater than 152.4 meters or 500 feet per second) and a high muzzle energy (greater than 5.7 joules or 4.2 ft-pounds). As a rule, the manufacturers specifications are used to determine what muzzle velocity and muzzle energy an air gun is designed to have. You may be able to find this information in the users manual or manufacturer’s website.
More information on air guns can be found on the air gun fact sheet. If you have any question about a particular air gun, call 1-800-731-4000.

The requirements can vary depending on the type of firearm you are making or assembling. Firearms that meet the definition of an antique, include matchlock, wheel lock, or flint lock long guns, do not have to be registered. In all other cases, if a frame or receiver is included in the kit, it must be registered. For more guidance, please call 1-800-731-4000 and ask to speak to a firearms technician.

The Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Education (CORE) Program is British Columbia's Hunter Education Program. It is also a great program for anyone interested in outdoor recreation. The CORE Program consists of a practical firearms handling test, and a written examination on all of the following subjects:

Conservation Ethics
Law and Regulations
First Aid and Survival
Firearm Safety
Animal Identification
Bird Identification

The CORE Manual and the Hunting and Trapping Regulation Synopsis are the resource manuals used to learn these subjects.
BC Residents who are 14 years of age or older and who wish to obtain a hunting licence are required to complete the CORE Program.

The goal of the CORE Program is to ensure that prospective hunters meet acceptable standards of knowledge and skill for safe and ethical participation in hunting recreation.
Individuals who have completed a hunter education program from another state or province in North America are exempt from the requirement to complete the CORE Program. Contact the Government Agent at BC Access Centres for more details on program exemption.

An FAC was formerly known as the Firearms Acquisition Certificate which was required to be able to purchase a Gun in Canada in 1994 the FAC was replaced with the PAL (POSSESION AND ACQUISITION LICENCE)

Yes, the PAL course for CFSC non restricted firearms and CRFSC restricted firearms is the Federal Firearms Training

You may ship non restricted firearms, restricted firearms, and prohibited handguns from one Canadian location to another Canadian location if you use the most secure method offered by Canada Post that requires a signature upon delivery. Prohibited firearms, other than prohibited handguns, and firearms being shipped across the Canadian border, must be shipped by an individual or carrier company licensed under the Firearms Act to transport those classes of firearms.

You are required by law to ship firearms unloaded and in a safe and secure manner to deter loss, theft and accidents.

There are two types of gun courses:

a CFSC Canadian Firearm Safety Course which covers all non-restricted firearms most standard SHOTGUNS & RIFLES or
the CRFSC Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course which covers most HANDGUNS.

A POL means Possession only license and cannot be used to purchase any new firearms.

Prohibited licenses are typically no longer available to citizens as of December 1, 1998. With the exception of rare circumstances, the only way to acquire a prohibited firearm is to apply for an endorsement if a family member passes down a prohibited firearm to another family member.

PAL, RAPL courses take 1 or 2 days depending on which course you are taking. Once mailed, the application paperwork, licensing and registration can take 90 days or more to complete.

CORE Hunting licence can be complete within days after successfully having passed the exam.