Apply for permission to carry weapons and ammunition

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

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

If, for example, you submit the application for a shooting sports team, you can enter the names of all participants on a separate sheet and attach them to the application. The permit is then granted to all applicants together.

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

• as hunters up to 3 long guns and the associated ammunition,
• as a sports shooter up to 6 firearms and the associated ammunition as well as
• as traditional shooters up to 3 single loaders or repeating long guns and the associated ammunition

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

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

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

• take weapons and ammunition for which you have permission to acquire and possess (weapon ownership card – WBK),
• carry signal weapons and their ammunition on board ships for safety reasons, or
• carry weapons and ammunition on board a ship or aircraft that are 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 want to take weapons and ammunition from Germany to an EU member state, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Iceland, you need

• permission to acquire and possess weapons and ammunition (Waffenbesitzkarte – WBK),
• a European firearms pass containing the weapons you wish to take with you
  as well as
• the consent of the state to which you intend to take the weapons and ammunition or credible proof that no permit is required.

In addition, you must ensure the safe transport of weapons and ammunition. You can also hire a forwarding agency for this. You should inform yourself about the conditions of the state under which the carriage is allowed or not allowed.

If you want to take weapons and ammunition from Germany to a third country, you do not need a German permit. Again, you should inform yourself about the conditions of the state under which the transport is allowed or not allowed.