Apply for gun ownership card for hunting associations

Source: BUS Rheinland-Pfalz

If you wish to acquire firearms requiring a permit for a hunting association, you can apply for the firearms possession card required for this purpose to be issued to the hunting association rather than to you personally.

For this purpose, you must name a responsible person who must be reliable in terms of weapons law and personally suitable, and who can prove that he or she has the necessary expertise. This person does not have to be authorized to represent the association, i.e. for example not a member of the board of directors. If the responsible person leaves the hunting association, you must immediately notify the competent authority and appoint a new responsible person within 2 weeks. Otherwise, the competent authority will revoke your permit to acquire and possess weapons (weapons possession card).

It is recommended that you inform yourself in detail about the regulations of the weapons law before applying.

In order to obtain permission to acquire and possess weapons and ammunition requiring a permit, the hunting association must be a legal entity, i.e. it must be registered in the register of associations, for example. You must also provide proof of safe storage of weapons and ammunition. The responsible person appointed by you must

have the appropriate age and
be reliable in terms of weapons law and,
be personally suitable and
demonstrate their expertise in the handling of weapons and ammunition.

prove.

The hunting association must be a legal entity, i.e. registered in the register of associations, for example.
The responsible person must be at least 18 years old.
The responsible person must be reliable in terms of weapons law.

He or she can be considered unreliable in terms of weapons law if, among other things
- he/she has been legally sentenced to a prison term of at least one year within the last 10 years or has been a member of or supported a prohibited organization within the last 10 years.
- it can be assumed that he/she misuses or improperly handles weapons or ammunition, does not keep these objects carefully or hands them over to persons who are not authorized to do so.
- if he/she has been in preventive police custody more than once in the last 5 years with judicial authorization due to violence.
- if he/she has repeatedly or grossly violated the weapons law.
The responsible person must be personally suitable.

The responsible person can be assessed as personally unsuitable, among other things, if
- he/she is legally incompetent.
- he or she is dependent on alcohol or other intoxicating substances, is mentally ill or is a moron.
- he/she suffers from serious illnesses, such as brain injuries, or physical impairments, such as amputations or severe visual impairment.
- it can be assumed that he or she cannot handle weapons or ammunition carefully or properly or that there is a concrete danger that he or she will endanger others or himself or herself.
The responsible person must prove that he or she has sufficient knowledge about weapons and ammunition and how to handle them (expert knowledge).

In order to be able to prove that he or she is competent in the handling of weapons and ammunition, he or she must have attended an appropriate training course. The course comprises a theoretical and practical part. At the end of the course, an examination is taken before an authorized examination board. If the examination is passed, the responsible person receives a certificate indicating the weapons and ammunition for which the expertise has been acquired. The responsible person can also obtain the expert knowledge only for the weapons and ammunition that you want to acquire and possess as a hunting association.

The expert knowledge can also be proven by passing a hunter's examination.

You must prove that you can safely store weapons and ammunition.

This generally means that only authorized persons may have access to weapons and ammunition. If you do not store your weapons and ammunition safely, you commit an administrative offense for which a fine of up to 10,000 EUR can be imposed. In addition, this may cast doubt on the reliability of the responsible person under weapons law and the hunting association may have its weapons possession card revoked.

When applying, you must provide information on both the storage location and the container in which you intend to store weapons and ammunition. The storage requirements are based on Section 13 of the General Weapons Act Ordinance (AWaffV). In case of doubt, please contact the authority responsible for you.

In principle, you can orientate yourself on the following specifications:
- You must store ammunition requiring a permit in a sheet steel cabinet/container with a swing bolt lock or an equivalent locking device.
- To store long guns and handguns requiring a permit, you need a gun cabinet. Which gun cabinet you need depends on the number and type of weapons and/or ammunition you wish to acquire and possess.
  - In a gun cabinet with resistance grade 0 according to the DIN/EN 1143-1 standard with a weight of up to 200 kilograms, you may store an unlimited number of long guns, up to 5 handguns and ammunition.
  - In a firearms cabinet with resistance grade 0 in accordance with the DIN/EN 1143-1 standard with a weight of over 200 kilograms, you may store an unlimited number of long guns, up to 10 handguns and ammunition.
  - In a gun cabinet with resistance grade I according to the DIN/EN 1143-1 standard, you may store an unlimited number of long guns and handguns as well as ammunition.
- The following regulations apply to the location where you may install the firearm cabinet:
  - You may store up to 3 long guns even in buildings that are not permanently inhabited, such as a hunting lodge or a weekend house. For this, however, you need a weapons cabinet with resistance grade I.
  - If you live in a shared household with another person who is also entitled to possess weapons, you may store the weapons in a shared weapons cabinet.

Apply for gun ownership card for hunting associations

Process flow

Who should I contact?

Competent authority

Requirements

Which documents are required?

Legal basis

Appeal

Professionally released on

Translation note