Classes of firearms in Canada
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Firearms in Canada fall into three different classes:
- non-restricted
- restricted
- prohibited
Note
What you need to know about C-21.
What is a firearm?
Section 2 of the Criminal Code defines a "firearm" as a barrelled weapon that discharges projectiles capable of causing bodily harm or death, or anything that can be adapted as a firearm.
What is not a firearm?
For the purposes of the Firearms Act and the Criminal Code, the following devices are generally not considered firearms (unless they're used in a criminal or negligent manner):
- antique firearms
- devices designed exclusively for:
- signalling
- notifying of distress
- firing blank cartridges
- firing stud cartridges
- explosive-driven rivets
- other industrial projectiles
- shooting devices designed exclusively for:
- slaughtering domestic animals
- tranquilizing animals
- discharging projectiles with lines attached to them
- air guns and other barreled weapons designed to have:
- a muzzle velocity of 152.4 meters per second or less
- a muzzle energy of 5.7 joules or less
Non-restricted
This class includes any firearm that is neither restricted nor prohibited. Most common rifles and shotguns are non-restricted, but there are exceptions.
Restricted
What's included in this class
- Handguns that are not prohibited firearms
- Firearms that:
- are not prohibited firearms
- have a barrel less than 470 mm in length
- are capable of discharging centre-fire ammunition in a semi-automatic manner
- Firearms designed or adapted to be fired when reduced to a length of less than 660 mm by folding, telescoping or otherwise
- Firearms of any other kind prescribed to be restricted firearms in the Regulations
Permitted purposes for ownership
You may be licensed to acquire or possess a restricted firearm:
- target practice or target shooting competitions
- to form part of a collection; or
- if you have been granted an Authorization to Carry a restricted firearm (or a prohibited handgun) either to protect your life or the lives of others, or for use in connection with your lawful profession or occupation (for example, if you work as a cash-in-transit or similar employee; if you work in wilderness areas, for protection against wild animals; or if you are a licenced trapper).
Target shooting practice and competition
To be authorized to have restricted firearms for target shooting purposes, you must provide proof that you practice or compete at an approved shooting club or range.
For more information about approved shooting clubs and ranges, contact the appropriate provincial or territorial Chief Firearms Officer by contacting the Canadian Firearms Program at 1-800-731-4000.
Collectors
To be authorized to have restricted firearms as part of a collection, you may be asked to:
- know the historical, technical or scientific features of such firearms in your collection
- consent to occasional inspections of the place where your collection is stored; and
- comply with regulations dealing with safe storage, record-keeping and other matters related to restricted firearms
Handguns
- A national freeze on the sale, purchase or transfer of handguns by individuals within Canada, and on bringing newly acquired handguns into Canada was imposed via regulatory changes that came into force on October 21, 2022. It has since been codified through legislative amendments to the Firearms Act that came into force on December 15, 2023 with the passage of the former Bill C-21.
- Individuals may continue to possess and use handguns that were registered to them before October 21, 2022, and may sell or transfer their registered handguns to exempted individuals or businesses. Exempted individuals include: anyone who holds an Authorization to Carry handguns; and individuals who train, compete or coach in a handgun shooting discipline that is on the programme of the International Olympic Committee or the International Paralympic Committee.
- Handguns may also be exported (contact Global Affairs Canada for further information; see also Importing and exporting); transferring them to a licenced business, including a museum; transferring them to an individual who qualifies for an exemption as outlined above; deactivation; or surrender to a law enforcement officer, Chief Firearms Officer, or Firearms Officer for destruction without compensation.
Relics
- If you have a firearm registered to you as a "relic" under the former legislation, you may continue to possess it for that purpose. However, you cannot pass that designation on to the next owner. The next owner can acquire the firearm only for one of the purposes above. A relic firearm is one that is of value as a curiosity or rarity, or that is valued as a memento, remembrance, or souvenir. Depending on which purpose is claimed, there are specific criteria that must be met. Contact your chief firearms officer for further information.
Prohibited
What's included in this class
- Handguns with barrels equal to or less than 105 mm in length
- Handguns designed or adapted to discharge a 25 or 32 calibre cartridge
- This does not include handguns for use in international sporting competitions governed by the rules of the International Shooting Union and where the handgun is prescribed to be restricted
- Firearms adapted from a rifle or shotgun, whether by sawing, cutting or any other alteration, and that, as so adapted are:
- less than 660 mm in length
- 660 mm or greater in length and has a barrel less than 457 mm in length
- Automatic firearms, whether or not altered to discharge only one projectile with one pressure of the trigger
- A firearm that is not a handgun and that
- discharges centre-fire ammunition in a semi-automatic manner;
- was originally designed with a detachable cartridge magazine with a capacity of six cartridges or more; and
- is designed and manufactured on or after December 15, 2023
- Firearms prescribed to be prohibited firearms in the Regulations (including firearms prescribed by make and model; any firearm with a bore diameter of 20 mm or greater; and any firearm capable of discharging a projectile with a muzzle energy greater than 10,000 joules).
Lending/Borrowing of firearms
Lending of firearms is authorized under the Firearms Act. There are two scenarios: a firearm is used under the direct and immediate supervision of its lawful owner, in which case the borrower does not need to hold a valid licence; or, a firearm is loaned to, and taken away by, a borrower who holds a valid licence that authorizes them to possess that particular category of firearm.
In the second scenario, a non-restricted firearm may be loaned to the holder of a valid Possession and Acquisition Licence; a restricted firearm may be loaned to the holder of a valid Possession and Acquisition Licence with Restricted privileges; and a prohibited firearm may be loaned to the holder of a valid Possession and Acquisition Licence with Restricted privileges, and with possession and acquisition privileges under s.12 of the Firearms Act for the category of prohibited firearm being loaned (see Acquiring prohibited firearms, below).
If you lend a restricted or prohibited firearm under the second scenario, you must lend the registration certificate as well. The borrower must apply for, and be granted, an Authorization to Transport the firearm before they may legally transport the restricted or prohibited firearm to the place where they will be temporarily storing it.
- Handguns
- Subject to the foregoing provisions, lending of handguns is permissible under the Firearms Act.
Refer to the Regulations Prescribing Certain Firearms and other Weapons, Components and Parts of Weapons, Accessories, Cartridge Magazines, Ammunition and Projectiles as Prohibited, Restricted or Non-Restricted for more information.
Grandfathering
You may be authorized via your licence to possess prohibited firearms only if you have been "grandfathered" under section 12 of the Firearms Act. Being grandfathered means that you can keep certain prohibited firearms that were registered to you on specific dates set out in the Act, as follows:
- 12(2): full automatics
- 12(3): converted automatics
- 12(4): firearms prohibited by former prohibition order No. 12
- 12(5): firearms prohibited by former prohibition order No. 13
- 12(6.1): handguns with a barrel length of 105 mm or less or that is designed or adapted to discharge .25 or .32 calibre ammunition.
- 12(7): inherited handguns made prior to 1946 that fall under the s. 12(6.1) category
You may be grandfathered under one of these provisions if you had a relevant firearm registered in your name when it became prohibited, and you have continuously held a valid licence and a valid registration certificate for that type of prohibited firearm from December 1, 1998, onward. Once a licence ceases to be valid, any registration certificates associated with that licence are automatically revoked. Consequently, failure to maintain a valid licence (either through expiry or revocation) results in automatic and permanent loss of grandfathering status.
Acquiring prohibited firearms
A Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL) with restricted privileges allows you to acquire prohibited firearms only in the same categories as the ones currently registered to you, and only if the firearms you wish to acquire were registered in Canada prior to the specific dates set out in the Firearms Act.
This does not apply to handguns. Regardless of its legal classification, a handgun may only be acquired by an individual who qualifies for an exemption. Exempted individuals include: anyone who holds an Authorization to Carry handguns; and individuals who train, compete or coach in a handgun shooting discipline that is on the programme of the International Olympic Committee or the International Paralympic Committee.
Eligibility to acquire a particular prohibited firearm will be confirmed during the transfer process. Grandfathered status allows the possession and acquisition of prohibited firearms that are already registered in Canada, but not the new importation of prohibited firearms into Canada. It does not allow the acquisition of any new, previously unregistered prohibited firearms by any means.
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