Selling, Giving or Trading Firearms

When you sell, give or trade a firearm to someone else, it is a “transfer” under the Firearms Act. When a firearm is transferred to a new owner, the registration record needs to be updated to show that you are no longer the owner. The firearm also needs to be registered to the new owner if the new owner is a business or individual in Canada.

This fact sheet explains what firearms can be transferred, who can have a firearm, and how to meet these requirements if the transfer takes place in Canada.

It also touches on some things you should know if you export a firearm to someone who lives in another country.

Transfers Within Canada

What Firearms can be Transferred

Only firearms that have been registered and verified by an approved verifier can be transferred to a new owner. If you have a firearm that has not been registered or if you need help to verify a firearm, call 1 800 731-4000 to find out your options. Although the deadline for registration has passed, every effort will be made to help you bring the firearm into compliance with the law.

A Chief Firearms Officer must approve all transfers of restricted and prohibited firearms.

Who Can Be a Transferee

The transferee is the one who is acquiring the firearm from you. If the transfer takes place in Canada, the firearm may only be transferred to one of the following:

• an adult (18 or older) with a Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL) that is valid for that class of firearm or a valid Firearms Acquisition Certificate (FAC);
• a business, museum, legion or other organization with a valid Firearms Business Licence; or
• a public service agency – for example, a police force, a police academy or a department or agency of any level of Canadian government (federal, provincial, territorial or municipal).

How to transfer a firearm

Online Transfers

• Our online services can be used to transfer a firearm to or from a licensed business. The business would have to initiate the transfer, but you would have to be on site to provide input required to confirm your identity and complete the transfer. Many firearms businesses have an approved verifier on staff who can verify the firearm.

Telephone Transfers

The telephone process generally provides a quick and easy way to transfer and register a firearm to a new owner. To apply by phone, call 1 800 731-4000 and select the transfer option from the menu of services. Please have the following information handy when you call:

• your full name, address and firearms licence number;
• the name, address and firearms licence number of the new owner; and
• the registration certificate number and firearms identification number of the firearm, as indicated on the registration certificate.

The transfer agent will guide you through the process.

You can let the new owner have the firearm as soon as you have been notified that a new registration certificate has been issued. The new owner will receive the new registration certificate in the mail, usually within a few weeks.

Paper Application

Use form CAFC 681, for restricted and prohibited firearms or form CAFC 682 for non-restricted firearms. These are two-part forms. You must complete one part while the new owner must complete the other. To obtain a form, call 1 800 731-4000.

Exporting a Firearm to Another Country

When you transfer a firearm to someone in another country, you must comply with the laws of the other country as well as the laws of Canada. In the United States, the laws may vary from state to state.

You may need an export permit to satisfy Canadian laws and/or laws in the other country. For more information, and to apply for an export permit if needed, please call the Export Control Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade at 1 800 267-8376.

You cannot ship a firearm by Canada Post to another country. Instead, you will have to use the services of a carrier company licensed under the Firearms Act to transport firearms.

To have the records changed so that you are no longer listed as the registered owner, you will have to provide evidence, such as a copy of a Canadian export permit or an import document from the other country, showing that you have permanently exported the firearm from Canada. Please also include your name, address and firearms licence number, as well as the registration certificate number and firearm identification number of the firearm. Send this information with a covering letter to the following address:

Central Processing Site
P.O. Box 1200
Miramichi, New Brunswick E1N 5Z3

Non-residents with firearms registered in Canada are required to notify the Registrar at the above address if they dispose of any of their registered firearms.

Information

For more information, contact us by one of the following methods:

telephone: 1 800 731-4000 (Toll Free)

web site: www.cfc-cafc.gc.ca

e-mail: cfc-cafc@cfc-cafc.gc.ca

This fact sheet is intended to provide general information only. For legal references, please refer to the Firearms Act and its regulations.

Provincial, territorial and municipal laws, regulations and policies may also apply.