Registration

Registrar

The Registrar of Firearms is responsible for the decision-making and administrative work related to registration certificates, authorizations to export and authorizations to import. In addition, the Registrar maintains and operates the Canadian Firearms Registry, which houses data related to licensed firearms owners and to the registration of all firearms in Canada.

Registration Requirements

The Government has announced its intention to simplify licence requirements for firearm owners and to remove the requirement to register non-restricted firearms. However, any changes to the Firearms Act must go through a legislative process and pass in Parliament. This will take time. In the meantime, firearm owners and users are required to comply with the current law. An amnesty protects some owners of non-restricted firearms while they acquire licences and registration certificates.

All firearms must have a valid Canadian registration certificate. To be able to register a firearm, an applicant must be at least 18 years old and have a valid firearms licence allowing them to possess that class of firearm.

Owners of restricted and prohibited firearms that were registered in the former Restricted Weapons Registration System (RWRS) were required to re-register their firearms in CFIS by January 1, 2003, to update the information and link it to their licence.

A registration certificate issued under the Firearms Act does not have to be renewed unless the firearm is modified in a way that changes its class. When a firearm changes ownership, it will be registered to the new owner as part of transfer process. When someone borrows a firearm, they must also borrow the registration certificate for that firearm.