Find out what a New Zealand firearms licence allows you to do, who can apply and what you need to provide in your application.
You must have a firearms licence to possess and use unsupervised:
Everyone who possesses or uses a firearm needs to have a firearms licence, although non-prohibited firearms can be possessed and used under the immediate supervision of a licence holder in most circumstances.
Immediate supervision means that the licence holder:
This defence of possessing under immediate supervision does not apply to people possessing firearms where other offences are applicable, for example:
To apply for a firearms licence, you must:
For your application to be successful, Te Tari Pūreke must find that:
A fit and proper person:
When Te Tari Pūreke assesses if you are a fit and proper person, we consider:
The Arms Act 1983 gives some circumstances in which Te Tari Pūreke may find you are not a fit and proper person to have and use firearms. If any of these circumstances apply to you, we do not automatically refuse your application.
We will probably have more questions if:
If Te Tari Pūreke has a reason to find you are not a fit and proper person, we will tell you the reason and give you an opportunity to refute or comment on it. (Some exemptions apply.)
You are disqualified from holding a firearms licence if you:
You may be disqualified from holding a firearms licence if you have been convicted overseas for an offence involving violence, drugs or alcohol.
Any conviction for a serious violent offence, as defined in the Sentencing Act, disqualifies you from holding a firearms licence.
A conviction for any of the following offences under the Arms Act disqualify people from holding a firearms licence:
A conviction for any of the following offences under the Crimes Act disqualify people from holding a firearms licence:
If you’ll be in New Zealand for more than a year, you must apply for a New Zealand firearms licence.
If you’ll be in New Zealand for less than a year, you must apply for a visitor’s licence or you can use a firearm under the immediate supervision of a New Zealand firearms licence holder.
To possess or use some classes of arms items, you must apply for an endorsement on your firearms licence.
When you apply for a firearms licence, you can also apply for a:
Your new firearms licence is valid for 10 years if you apply before your current licence expires.
It’s valid for 5 years if:
These fees include GST and are not refundable, even if your application is unsuccessful. Applications made online through MyFirearms will also incur a card payment fee.
You must supply a recent, good quality digital photograph that is a good likeness of yourself. A scanned copy of a photograph will not be accepted.
The photograph must meet the minimum requirements as set out in Regulation 30 of the Arms Regulations 1992. Passport photos from commercial outlets will typically meet these requirements.
This means the photograph must:
We will not accept photographs that do not meet these standards.
If you have a New Zealand firearms licence, you must provide a scan or clear photo of the following:
If you do not have a New Zealand firearms licence, you must provide a scan or photo of one of the following:
AND one of the following:
AND proof of address dated within the last 3 months.
You must provide details of your employment over the past 3 years, such as your occupation, your employer and how long you worked for them.
If you have studied at an educational facility or school in the past 3 years, you must provide information about the course and facility.
As part of your application, you must tell us about your experience with firearms and why you want a firearms licence.
You must also tell us if you’re a member of a gun club or shooting organisation, and if you have applied for a firearms licence overseas.
Firearms can only be possessed for lawful purposes, and it is up to the possessor to prove a lawful purpose.
Keeping a loaded weapon, readily available, cannot be justified on the basis of a claim of self-defence relating to a generalised fear.
Use of force on a person is normally a criminal offence. It would be extremely rare that the use of a firearm against a person would be considered lawful.
To understand if you and others will be safe if you have access to firearms, we ask questions in your application about your personal history.
You must provide information about any criminal offending you have been involved with.
Note: The Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act 2004 requires you to state whether you have a criminal record when making an application under the Arms Act 1983.
You must also provide details about overseas travel within the past 10 years.
You need a criminal history check from any country you have been in for over 6 months in total (not necessarily consecutively) in the last 10 years.
For information on how to get a criminal history check, go to:
If you have a relevant health condition, you’ll be asked to provide details. You must supply a certificate from your health practitioner that is related to the condition. You will be asked to provide the contact details of your current health provider in your application.
Please make sure the contact information you supply is accurate, as the health provider will be sent an email once your licence is issued, as per our obligations under the Arms Act 1983. If you supply an incorrect email address, this may delay the licencing process.
Depending how you answer each of these questions, we may ask for more information.
We will interview your referees to help us decide if you are a fit and proper person to have a firearms licence. They do not need to be firearms licence holders.
You must provide the names and contact details for:
Your next-of-kin referee must be aged 16 or over.
If you are 16 or 17 years old and do not have a spouse or partner, you must use your parent or legal guardian as your next of kin referee.
If your referee lives overseas, you must also nominate an additional referee who lives in New Zealand and knows you well.
Your unrelated referee must:
Your unrelated referee must not:
Note: We may request additional referees if we do not consider your nominated referees suitable.
You must provide details of any former spouses or partners with whom you’ve had a ‘relationship akin to marriage’ at any time in the past 5 years.
Former spouses and partners know applicants and their domestic lives well. They may be affected by applicants having access to firearms. They may also have ongoing relationships with applicants through childcare and other domestic arrangements.
We know not all separations are friendly. We take this into account when we interview former spouses and partners, and when we consider your application.
You must provide details of your firearms and ammunition secure storage at your home address and any additional addresses where you may store your firearms and ammunition.
Your home address could be a mobile home, campervan, or caravan. Even if it’s a temporary arrangement, if it’s your home, you must make sure it has secure storage.
Other addresses where you store firearms and ammunition could be a holiday home or a business premises.
We issue a firearms licence only when an applicant has secure storage for firearms and ammunition that we have inspected and meets requirements.
A firearms licence holder must consider all aspects of firearms safety, including the safety of people who may have access to locations where you store firearms.
Te Tari Pūreke cannot issue a firearms licence if another person who is not fit and proper to possess firearms is reasonably likely to obtain access to any of your firearms or airguns.
You must provide details of:
If you list your spouse or partner as a referee, you do not need to include them here.
The first time you apply for a licence or endorsement from 24 June 2023, you must register all arms items in your possession within 30 days.