Granting a proxy license for the commercial manufacture and/or trade of weapons for the head of a branch office

You can obtain the permit as follows:

• You make an application and submit the required documents
• The required documents are checked and you may have to submit additional documents if necessary
• Your age, reliability, personal suitability, expertise and need will be checked
• A decision is made on the firearms law

• Applicants and the manager of the branch office must be 18 years of age or older
• Reliability of both the applicant and the manager of the branch office
  • The required reliability requires above all that the applicant and the manager of the branch have no criminal record.
• Personal suitability of the applicant and the manager of the branch office
  • The required personal suitability is not possessed, for example, by those persons for whom facts justify the assumption that they are legally incompetent, addicted to alcohol or mentally ill.
• Specialist knowledge of the branch manager in the case of commercial arms trading
  • If required, the manager of the branch office can obtain the necessary proof of specialist knowledge of the most important firearms and firearms regulations and of the type, construction and handling of common firearms and ammunition by taking an examination at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
  • Specialist knowledge is deemed to have been acquired if the manager of the branch office fulfills the requirements for registration of a gunsmith's business in the register of craftsmen.
• Proof of a need
  • The need (a reasonable cause) may arise from a particularly recognizable personal or economic interest, e.g. gun manufacturer or gun dealer.
• Commercial or economic enterprise

A permit is only issued if the manufacture or trade in weapons is carried out commercially or independently as part of a commercial enterprise.

• Identification document
• Proof of expertise
• Proof of expertise
• Proof of establishment and of the operating or business premises
• If applicable, a copy of a firearms manufacturing/trading license already issued
• Extract from the commercial register, if applicable

Administration fee: EUR 300 - 2,000

The permit expires if the permit holder or the permit holder has not started the activity within 1 year of the permit being issued or has not exercised it for 1 year. The time limits may be extended for special reasons.

The holder of a permit under the Weapons Act must notify the competent authority of the commencement and cessation of operations as well as the opening and closing of a branch office or dependent branch within 2 weeks.

• § 21a Waffengesetz (WaffG)
• § 21 Waffengesetz (WaffG)

• Action before the administrative court

Forms/online services available: Yes

Written form required: No

Informal application possible: No

Personal appearance necessary: No

20.12.2023

The text was automatically translated based on the German content.