Applying for a red gun ownership card for gun or ammunition collectors

If you want to collect weapons and/or ammunition, you must apply for a permit from the relevant weapons authority.

In principle, you always need a permit to collect weapons and ammunition.
In general, firearms are objects that are intended for attack or defense, signaling, hunting, distance injection, marking, sport or play and in which projectiles are propelled through a barrel or in which solid bodies are fired in a targeted manner, the propelling energy of which is provided by muscle power or another energy source and can be stored or held by a locking device (e.g. crossbows, arrow launchers).
A distinction is made between firearms that require a permit and those that do not. You need a small firearms license to be allowed to carry unlicensed firearms. All weapons that are not alarm, irritant and signal weapons with a PTB mark in the district require a permit. A detailed list of weapons for which you require a permit to collect can be found in Annex 2 of the Weapons Act.
It is recommended that you inform yourself in detail about the regulations of the Weapons Act before submitting your application.
In order to obtain permission to collect weapons and ammunition that require a permit, you must

- be at least 25 years old and
- Your need,
- Your reliability under firearms law,
- your personal suitability,
- your expertise in handling weapons and ammunition and
- the safe storage of weapons and ammunition.

The weapons authority (district or independent city) in whose district you reside is responsible.

In Hesse, the district regulatory authorities (districts and independent cities) are responsible as weapons authorities.

- Identity card or passport (copy)
- Proof of the cultural-historical value of the collection
- Proof of expertise
- Proof of storage, e.g. purchase contract for a gun cabinet and/or photos of the gun cabinet and installation site
- If applicable, a specialist medical or psychological certificate confirming your mental aptitude (if under 25 years of age)

Online services available: not known
Forms available: not known
Written form required: Yes
Informal application possible: No
Personal appearance necessary: No

• You must be at least 25 years old.
  
  If you are under 25 years of age, you may be asked by the relevant firearms authority to submit a specialist medical or psychological certificate of mental fitness. You must pay for the certificate yourself and send the original by post to the relevant firearms authority. A copy or e-mail will not be accepted.
  
• You must prove that your collection is of cultural-historical or scientific-technical significance (need).
  
  You can provide this proof, for example, by means of an expert opinion.
  
• You must prove your reliability under firearms law.
  
  You can be assessed as reliable under firearms law if, among other things
  • you have not been sentenced to a prison sentence of at least 1 year within the last 10 years and have not been a member of or supported a prohibited organization in the last 10 years.
  • it cannot be assumed that you misuse weapons or ammunition or handle them improperly, do not store these items carefully or hand them over to persons who are not authorized to do so.
  • you have not been in preventive police custody more than once in the last 5 years with judicial authorization due to violence.
  • you have not repeatedly or grossly violated the Weapons Act.
    
• You must prove your personal suitability.
  
  You may be assessed as personally unsuitable if, among other things
  • You are legally incompetent.
  • you are dependent on alcohol or other intoxicating substances, mentally ill or mentally retarded.
  • you suffer from serious illnesses, such as brain injuries, or physical impairments, such as amputations or severe visual impairment.
  • it can be assumed that you do not handle weapons or ammunition carefully or properly or cannot store these items carefully or that there is a concrete danger that you will endanger others or yourself.
    
• You must prove that you have sufficient knowledge of weapons and ammunition and how to handle them (expertise).
  
  In order to obtain the certificate of competence in handling weapons and ammunition, you must take part in a corresponding course. The course comprises a theoretical and practical part. At the end of the course, you will take an examination before an authorized examination board. If you pass the examination, you will receive proof of the weapons and ammunition for which you have acquired the certificate of competence. If your collection does not contain any firearms capable of being fired, you may not be required to have any firing skills. This decision is made by the competent authority.
  
• You must prove that you can store weapons and ammunition safely.

• This generally means that only you as the authorized person have access to weapons and ammunition, for example by carrying the key with you at all times. If you do not store your weapons and ammunition securely, you are committing an administrative offense for which a fine of up to EUR 10,000 can be imposed. In addition, your reliability under firearms law may be called into question and your firearms possession card may be revoked.

  When submitting your application, you must provide information about the storage location and the container in which you wish to store weapons and ammunition. In principle, you can use the following guidelines as a guide:

• • You must store ammunition requiring a permit in a sheet steel cabinet/container with a swing bolt lock.
  • You need a gun cabinet to store long guns and handguns that require a permit as well as ammunition that requires a permit. The type of gun cabinet you need depends on the number and type of weapons and/or ammunition you wish to purchase and own.
    • You may store an unlimited number of long guns, up to 5 handguns and ammunition in a gun cabinet with resistance grade 0 in accordance with EN 1143-1 weighing up to 200 kilograms.
    • You may store an unlimited number of long weapons, up to 10 short weapons and ammunition in a gun cabinet with resistance grade 0 in accordance with EN 1143-1 weighing over 200 kilograms.
    • You may store an unlimited number of long weapons and handguns as well as ammunition in a gun cabinet with resistance grade 1 in accordance with EN 1143-1.
  • The following regulations generally apply to the location where you may set up the gun cabinet:
    • If you live in an apartment building, it is not permitted to place the gun cabinet in the cellar if each resident only has a so-called cellar locker that is only secured by a door with a padlock.
    • You may also store up to 3 long guns in buildings that are not permanently inhabited, such as a hunting lodge or a weekend house. However, you need a gun cabinet with resistance grade 1 for this.
    • If you live in a shared household with another gun owner, you may store the guns in a shared gun cabinet.
  • As a hunter, you may also allow another hunter to temporarily store your long guns in their gun cabinet. However, this period should be limited; permanent storage is not permitted. For permanent storage, you should purchase your own gun cabinet to which only you have access.
  • It is also permitted to store weapons and ammunition at a gun dealer. You must provide appropriate proof of this.

You can apply for the purchase and possession of weapons and/or ammunition requiring a permit in writing and, if necessary, online.

If you wish to apply for the permit in writing:
You fill out the form provided by the relevant weapons authority.
You send the signed form and the expert opinion to prove the cultural and historical value of your collection as well as the expert opinion to prove your personal suitability (if required) to the competent weapons authority.
You can also visit the competent weapons authority in person and submit the application.
If the acquisition and possession can also be applied for online:

You submit the application via the online service of the competent firearms authority and upload the expert opinion to prove the cultural and historical value of your collection.
You may have to send the required expert opinion/certificate on your personal suitability by post to the competent weapons authority or you can bring it in person.

There is an administrative fee of EUR 275, to which a surcharge of at least EUR 22 is added if a reliability and suitability check is carried out.