Weapons and ammunition - apply for permission to carry

In order to be allowed to take weapons to Germany, you must prove your need, your reliability under firearms law, your personal suitability and your expertise. If you are a citizen of an EU member state, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland, the European firearms pass is sufficient proof. If you are a citizen of a third country, you can provide proof by means of meaningful official documents from your home country with a German translation. If you are a citizen of a third country and are unable to provide information on weapons and ammunition when submitting your application, you must do so upon entry at the latest.

You must always state the reason why you wish to bring weapons and ammunition to Germany temporarily, for example an invitation to hunt, to a shooting competition or to a traditional event.

If you are submitting the application for a shooting team, for example, you can enter the names of all participants on a separate sheet and attach it to the application. The permit will then be issued for all applicants together.

You do not require a permit if you are from an EU member state, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Iceland

• as a hunter up to 3 long guns and the corresponding ammunition,
• as a sport shooter up to 6 firearms and the associated ammunition and
• as a traditional marksman up to 3 single-shot or repeating long guns and the corresponding ammunition

to Germany. However, the weapons you are taking with you must be entered in your European firearms pass. As a citizen of a third country, you do not have to prove that you are of legal age and have the necessary expertise.

You do not need a European firearms pass if you want to take certain weapons from Austria to Bavaria or vice versa as a marksman or traditional marksman.

You also do not need a permit to take weapons and ammunition to Germany if you

• you are taking weapons and ammunition with you for which you have permission to purchase and possess (weapons possession card - WBK),
• are carrying signal weapons and the associated ammunition on board ships for safety reasons or
• carry weapons and ammunition on board a ship or aircraft that are permanently kept under lock and key in Germany. These weapons and ammunition must be reported immediately to the competent authority and must be re-exported from Germany within one month at the latest.

If you wish to take weapons and ammunition from Germany to an EU member state, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Iceland, you require

• a permit to purchase and possess weapons and ammunition (weapons possession card - WBK),
• a European firearms pass in which the weapons you wish to take with you are entered
  and
• the consent of the country to which you wish to take the weapons and ammunition or credible proof that no permit is required.

You must also ensure the safe transportation of the weapons and ammunition. You can also commission a forwarding agent for this purpose. You should find out about the conditions of the country under which transportation is permitted or not permitted before taking them with you.

If you want to take weapons and ammunition from Germany to a third country, you do not need a German permit. Here, too, you should find out about the conditions of the country under which you are permitted or not permitted to take them with you.

Requirements

If you want to take weapons and ammunition to Germany, you must fulfill the following requirements:

• You must prove the need for why you want to take weapons and ammunition with you.
• You must be of legal age.
• You must be reliable in terms of firearms law. This means that any convictions must have been handed down more than 10 years ago and memberships in organizations banned in Germany more than 5 years ago.
• You must be personally suitable. This means that you must be legally competent and not addicted to alcohol or mentally ill.
• You must have sufficient expertise to handle weapons and ammunition.