Selling, Giving or Trading Firearms

Fact Sheet

When a firearm is sold, given or traded to a new owner, the registration record must be updated to reflect this transfer.

Transfers Within Canada

What Firearms can be Transferred

Only firearms that have been registered and verified by an approved verifier can be transferred to a new owner. An amnesty applies to some non-restricted firearm owners who take immediate steps to comply with the Firearms Act by obtaining a licence and/or a registration certificate. For help in registering or verifying a firearm, please call the Canadian Firearms Program (CFP) at 1-800-731-4000.

A regional/provincial Chief Firearms Officer (CFO) must approve all transfers of restricted and prohibited firearms. Call the CFP for more information on this process.

Who Can Be a Transferee

The “transferee” is the individual who is acquiring the firearm. In Canada, the firearm may only be transferred to one of the following:

• an adult (18 or older) with a Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL) that is valid for that class of firearm;
• a business, museum, Legion or other organization with a valid Firearms Business Licence; or
• a public service agency -- for example, a police force, a police academy or a department or agency of any level of Canadian government (federal, provincial, territorial or municipal).

How to transfer a firearm

Online Transfers

The CFP’s online services can be used to transfer a firearm to or from a licensed business. The business would initiate the transfer, and the person acquiring the firearm would have to be at the business to prove their identity and complete the transfer. Many firearms businesses have an approved verifier on staff who can verify the firearm.

Telephone Transfers

It is generally simple to transfer and register a firearm to a new owner by telephone. Call 1-800-731-4000 and select the transfer option from the menu of services. Please have the following information ready:

• full name, address and firearms licence number;
• the name, address and firearms licence number of the new owner; and
• the registration certificate number and firearms identification number of the firearm, as indicated on the registration certificate.

The CFP transfer agent will guide callers through the process.

The new owner can take physical possession of the firearm as soon as the CFP transfer agent provides them with their new registration certificate number. The registration certificate will then be mailed to the new owner within a few weeks.

Paper Application

Use form CAFC 681, for restricted and prohibited firearms or form CAFC 682 for non-restricted firearms. These are two-part forms. The previous owner must complete one part while the new owner must complete the other. To obtain a form, call 1-800-731-4000.

Exporting a Firearm to Another Country

When a firearm is transferred to someone in another country, the laws of that country as well as the laws of Canada apply. In the United States, the laws may vary from state to state.

In order to satisfy Canadian laws and/or the laws of the other country, an export permit may be necessary. For more information, and to apply for an export permit if needed, please call the Export Control Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade at 1-800-267-8376.

A firearm cannot be shipped to another country by Canada Post. A carrier company, licensed under the Firearms Act to transport firearms, must be used.

Evidence, such as a copy of a Canadian export permit or an import document from the other country, showing that the registered owner has permanently exported the firearm from Canada may be required in order to have the firearms records changed. The owner’s name, address and firearms licence number, as well as the firearm’s registration certificate number and identification number, must be included as well. Send this information with a covering letter to the following address:

Central Processing Site
P.O. Box 1200
Miramichi, New Brunswick
E1N 5Z3

Non-residents with firearms registered in Canada are required to notify the Registrar at the above address if they dispose of any of their registered firearms.

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.

La présente fiche de renseignements est également disponible en français.

CAFC 1221 E (2008/11) V1