Information on firearms law

In future, the weapons authority at Wuppertal District Police will carry out more on-site inspections to check the safe storage of firearms. In future, the district police authority as the weapons authority will carry out regular on-site inspections for the purpose of checking the storage requirements in accordance with Section 36 of the Weapons Act (WaffG) in conjunction with Section 13 of the General Weapons Law Ordinance (AWaffV). The aim of the random on-site inspections of the storage obligations under firearms law is to counter the danger posed by firearms, especially in the event of misuse by third parties.

All holders of a firearms permit are informed of this procedure in writing in advance. Holders of the "small firearms license" (KWS) are exempt from the check. The employees of the weapons authority identify themselves accordingly with an NRW police ID card and, if necessary, are accompanied by colleagues from the police enforcement service.

On Friday, December 13, 2019, the Bundestag passed amendments to the Weapons Act. The Federal Government's draft for a third law to amend the Weapons Act and other regulations was approved in the version amended by the Committee on Internal Affairs and Home Affairs.

The draft resolution can be found at https://dip21.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/19/158/1915875.pdf

Some of the changes to weapons legislation that will apply now or in future are described in more detail here:

• The need to possess weapons will be reviewed by the authorities every five years in future.
• Certain large magazines will become prohibited items in future.
• In future, as part of the background check, the weapons authority must ask the Office for the Protection of the Constitution whether the person in question is known there as an extremist (so-called "regular query").
• Persons who are members of an anti-constitutional association (even if it is not banned) will in future be considered unreliable under weapons law as a rule.
• The National Weapons Register will be expanded so that the entire life cycle of a weapon - from manufacture to destruction - can be tracked by the authorities in future.

Future proof of need checks

In future, the weapons authority will check every five years whether the need to possess firearms still exists. Proof of need for sport shooters will be made easier: in future, proof of shooting will only have to be provided for the first two re-tests of need - i.e. after five and ten years respectively. In addition, the shooting certificates will no longer be based on each individual weapon, but only on the weapon category (short or long gun). Furthermore, only one shooting date per quarter or six shooting dates per 12-month period must be proven for each weapon category in the 24 months prior to the check. As up to 18 shooting dates per weapon and year are currently required by the authorities and case law in some cases, this means a considerable relief for shooters.

Another significant relief for sport shooters: If more than ten years have passed since the first permit was issued, a membership certificate from the shooting club is sufficient to prove the continued existence of the need.

The regulations on proof of need when purchasing weapons remain unchanged.

The number of weapons to be purchased on the so-called "Yellow WBK" will be limited to ten in order to prevent the hoarding of weapons. However, sport shooters who have already acquired more than ten weapons on the yellow WBK will have their status preserved.

Nothing will change for hunters with regard to proof of need; as before, it will be sufficient to present a valid hunting license.

"Large" magazines

Magazines for long guns with a capacity of more than ten rounds and for short guns with a capacity of more than 20 rounds will be banned in future. Magazines that fit both long and short weapons will be considered magazines for short weapons unless the owner also has a suitable long weapon.

Persons who acquired the affected magazines before June 13, 2017 may keep them if they notify their competent firearms authority of their possession before one year has passed since the amendment to the law came into force. The notification to be used for this can be found in the download area on the right under Applications and information.

Sports shooters who can prove that they need the large magazines in question to participate in certain shooting competitions abroad can continue to use them in future with an exemption permit from the Federal Criminal Police Office in accordance with Section 40 (4) of the Weapons Act.

Review by the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution

As part of the review of reliability under firearms law when issuing a permit for the first time and during subsequent reliability reviews, the firearms authority will in future ask the responsible State Office for the Protection of the Constitution whether the applicant or permit holder is known there to be an extremist. This is intended to prevent enemies of the constitution from legally obtaining or keeping weapons. This will not affect law-abiding hunters, sport shooters and other legal gun owners.

Changes for hunters

In future, hunters will be able to purchase and possess silencers, which are important for hearing protection, without a separate firearms permit.

In addition, the existing ban on the use of night-vision attachments under firearms law will be lifted. Hunting law bans and restrictions on the use of this technology remain unaffected.

Changes for dealers and manufacturers

In future, dealers and manufacturers will have to electronically report the handling of firearms and essential weapon parts (e.g. manufacture, processing, acquisition and transfer) so that this data can be recorded in the National Weapons Register. The aim is to enable the security authorities to fully trace the life cycle of weapons. In return, the obligation to keep weapons registers will be abolished. Furthermore, there will be exemptions from the obligation to notify in certain cases of short-term transfer or acquisition, for example for carrying out repairs. In this case, it is sufficient for the dealer or manufacturer to document the acquisition or transfer in writing.

In addition, the list of essential weapon parts and the marking obligations will be extended due to the amended European legal requirements.

Source: Homepage of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community https://www.bmi.bund.de/DE/startseite/startseite-node.html