Safety course exceptions
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There are two courses for firearms safety.
- Non-restricted
- Canadian Firearms Safety Course is an introductory course for anyone (including minors) who want to own non-restricted firearms.
- Restricted
- Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course is an introductory course for anyone over the age of 18 who wants to own restricted firearms.
Exceptions
- In Manitoba and Quebec, some provincial hunter-safety courses are equivalent to the Canadian Firearms Safety Course. If you passed those courses before 1995, you do not need to do the Canadian Firearms Safety Course.
- You may be exempted from taking firearms safety training if you have owned a firearm continuously since January 1, 1979, and a Chief Firearms Officer believes that your knowledge of firearms laws and safe handling practices meets the national safety standards.
- If you passed the Canadian Firearms Safety Course before February 1999 you have also passed the Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course by default. You can apply for a Possession and Acquisition Licence without taking the course again.
Note
If a court has prohibited you from possessing firearms, you must wait until the prohibition order has expired to apply for a licence. Even if you had met the safety-training requirements prior to being prohibited, you must take the appropriate firearms safety courses after the prohibition order expires, and you must pass the written and practical tests. Then you can apply for a Possession and Acquisition Licence.
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