Firearm Safety-Training Requirements

Fact Sheet

In order to reduce the number of firearm-related accidents and enhance the safety of Canadian homes and communities, it is important that all applicants for Possession and Acquisition Licences (PAL) or Minor’s Licences have an adequate knowledge of firearm laws and safe-handling practices.

Requirements for PAL Applicants

To be eligible to apply for a PAL, applicants must have passed the written and practical tests for the Canadian Firearms Safety Course (CFSC). This course has been in existence since 1993.

Exceptions:

• The Attorneys General of Manitoba and Quebec designated some provincial hunter-safety courses as equivalent to the CFSC. Individuals who passed one of those courses before 1995 do not need to pass the CFSC.
• At their discretion, a Chief Firearms Officer (CFO) may offer “alternative certification” to an individual if the CFO is satisfied that the individual’s knowledge of firearms laws and safe-handling practices meets the standards set for licensing. To be eligible for alternative certification, an individual must have lawfully owned a firearm since 1979 unless they are applying for a PAL under the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada Adaptations Regulations (Firearms).

In addition to meeting the requirement set out above, applicants for a new PAL to acquire restricted firearms must also have met one of the following requirements:

• They must have passed the Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course (CRFSC); or
• They must have obtained alternative certification from a CFO for that class of firearms. The adaptations noted above for certain Aboriginal people do not apply to individuals who wish to be newly licensed for restricted firearms.

Individuals who passed the CFSC prior to February 1999 are deemed to have passed the CRFSC as well.

Individuals aged 18 and older may take the written and practical tests for the CFSC and CRFSC without taking the courses. Individuals generally need to meet the safety requirements only once.

Exception: If a court has prohibited an individual from possessing firearms, the individual must wait until the prohibition order has expired, then take the course and pass the written and practical tests before applying for a PAL, even if the individual had met the safety-training requirements in the past.

Requirements for a Minor’s Licence

As a general rule, minors seeking a licence to possess non-restricted firearms must take the CFSC and pass the tests.

Information

For more information, contact the CFP.

This fact sheet is intended to provide general information only. For legal references, please refer to the Firearms Act and its Regulations. Provincial, territorial and municipal laws, regulations and policies may also apply.

Le présent feuillet d’information est également disponible en français.

CAFC 1223 E (2008/12) V1