Overview
New Zealand regulates civilian firearms primarily through the Arms Act 1983, the principal statute setting out who may possess and use firearms and under what conditions. The Act is administered by the New Zealand Police through Te Tari Pūreke – Firearms Safety Authority, a dedicated regulator established in 2022 to oversee firearms licensing and compliance. According to the Firearms Safety Authority, lawful possession is limited to people assessed as "fit and proper" to possess and use firearms, and holding a licence is treated as a privilege rather than a right.
The Arms Act 1983 has been amended substantially in recent years. After the Christchurch mosque attacks of 15 March 2019, Parliament passed the Arms (Prohibited Firearms, Magazines, and Parts) Amendment Act 2019, which reclassified most semi-automatic firearms and higher-capacity magazines as "prohibited" and created a government buy-back and amnesty scheme to remove newly prohibited items from circulation. The following year, the Arms Legislation Act 2020 introduced further structural reforms: shorter first-time licence terms, reporting by health practitioners, certification of shooting clubs and ranges, and the creation of a national firearms registry. According to the Firearms Safety Authority, the registry commenced on 24 June 2023 and records the firearms held by each licence holder.
New Zealand's framework has traditionally emphasised vetting the person rather than registering each firearm, though with the registry both approaches now operate together. Civilian ownership is best described as licensed: no firearm may lawfully be possessed without a firearms licence, and certain categories — pistols, restricted weapons, prohibited firearms and prohibited magazines — require additional endorsements and per-item permits beyond the standard licence.
A defining feature of the system is that personal self-defence is not, by itself, a lawful reason to possess a firearm. According to guidance from Police and the Firearms Safety Authority, the law does not permit possession of a firearm "in anticipation" that it may be needed for self-defence, and firearms are licensed for purposes such as hunting, pest control, target shooting and collection. There is correspondingly no civilian regime for carrying firearms in public for protection.
This article summarises the civilian rules as they stand in 2026 under the Arms Act 1983 as amended through the 2019 and 2020 reforms. Because several detailed thresholds and penalties are set out in the Act and its regulations, readers seeking exact figures for a specific situation should consult the primary legislation and the Firearms Safety Authority directly.
Ownership & licensing
Under the Arms Act 1983, possessing or using any firearm in New Zealand requires a current firearms licence. According to the Firearms Safety Authority (Te Tari Pūreke), an applicant must be aged 16 or over and must satisfy the "fit and proper person" test, which considers the applicant's character and conduct, information from referees, and background information such as criminal history, protection orders, mental and physical health, substance abuse, and any gang or extremist associations.
The application process involves vetting and, in most cases, an interview. Applicants must supply referees: the Firearms Safety Authority states that a next-of-kin referee aged 16 or over and at least one unrelated referee — aged 20 or over, resident in New Zealand, and having known the applicant for at least three years — are required. Applicants are also expected to demonstrate knowledge of safe firearms handling; a firearms safety course and a test on the Arms Code (the official code of safe practice) form part of qualifying for a licence.
Licence duration changed under the Arms Legislation Act 2020. According to the Firearms Safety Authority, a first-time licence (as well as one issued after expiry, revocation or surrender) is valid for five years, while a renewal applied for before expiry is valid for ten years. Licence holders must also meet secure-storage requirements for firearms and ammunition, which are inspected as part of the licensing process.
The standard licence is the A-category licence, which covers most sporting firearms — commonly bolt-action, lever-action and pump-action rifles and shotguns, and low-capacity .22 rimfire semi-automatics that remain lawful. Other categories require endorsements. According to the Firearms Safety Authority, an endorsement is needed to possess pistols and restricted weapons, and a separate endorsement is needed for prohibited firearms and prohibited magazines. Eligibility is limited — pistol possession for target shooting generally requires membership of an approved pistol club, and collectors, dealers, museums and certain occupational users may qualify under defined conditions. Crucially, the Authority states that holding an endorsement does not by itself authorise possession of any particular item; the holder must additionally apply for and be granted a permit to procure or import each specific firearm, and the stated reason must align with the reason given for the endorsement.
Since the registry commenced in 2023, licence holders are required to record the firearms they possess, adding an item-level registration layer to the person-based licensing system.
Carry & transport
New Zealand does not provide a civilian mechanism for carrying firearms in public for self-defence, whether openly or concealed. According to guidance from the New Zealand Police and the Firearms Safety Authority, self-defence is not a lawful, proper and sufficient purpose for possessing or carrying a firearm, and the law does not permit possessing a firearm in anticipation that it may be needed for protection. As a result, everyday open carry and concealed carry by civilians do not exist as licensed activities.
The Arms Act 1983 makes it an offence to carry or possess a firearm, airgun, pistol or restricted weapon except for a lawful, proper and sufficient purpose. Legitimate purposes are activity-based — such as travelling to or from hunting grounds, a shooting range, a gunsmith, or a place of storage — rather than a general entitlement to be armed in public. Carrying a firearm without such a purpose, or in a way that could reasonably cause alarm, exposes the holder to prosecution.
Transport is governed by security requirements. Firearms should be transported unloaded and secured so they are not readily accessible, and ammunition is generally kept separate. Stricter conditions apply to endorsed items: according to the Firearms Safety Authority, pistols and restricted weapons may only be moved under the conditions of the endorsement, and pistol endorsement holders are typically required to transport pistols directly to and from an approved range or event in a locked container, taking a reasonably direct route. Restricted weapons and prohibited firearms held by endorsed collectors are similarly subject to movement and storage conditions attached to the endorsement.
Because firearms may only be carried in connection with an approved purpose, the practical effect is that lawful "carry" in New Zealand means secured transport between activities and storage, not bearing a firearm for personal protection. Breaches of these transport and carriage rules are enforced under the Arms Act 1983, with penalties that vary according to the nature of the breach and the category of firearm involved. Exact penalty levels for individual carriage offences are set out in the Act and its regulations and should be confirmed against the primary legislation.
Travel & import
Bringing firearms into New Zealand is tightly controlled under the Arms Act 1983 and its regulations, and importing a firearm generally requires a permit to import issued by the Firearms Safety Authority in addition to holding a firearms licence. According to the Firearms Safety Authority, an import permit specifies the firearm being brought in, and the item is recorded when it enters the country.
For overseas visitors, the Firearms Safety Authority states that a visitor must obtain a visitor's firearms licence before bringing arms items into New Zealand, together with a permit to import for the firearms concerned. A visitor holding a valid licence may bring non-prohibited rifles and shotguns, pistols for sanctioned competitions, and parts, magazines and ammunition for those listed firearms. Certain low-capacity .22 rimfire semi-automatics — those firing 0.22 calibre or lower rimfire cartridges with magazines holding no more than 10 rounds — may be permitted, while most other semi-automatic firearms, fully automatic firearms, and higher-capacity magazines cannot be imported. Applicants must declare each firearm's make, model, calibre or gauge, action type and serial number, along with the type and quantity of ammunition.
Prohibited firearms and prohibited magazines, as defined by the 2019 reforms, cannot be freely imported and require the relevant endorsement and per-item approval, which is available only to narrowly defined categories of holder. Applicants intending to import restricted or endorsed items must ensure their stated reason matches the basis of their endorsement.
Travellers taking firearms out of New Zealand, or transiting through it, must also comply with airline, Customs and destination-country requirements, and should arrange any necessary permits in advance. Because import approvals are item-specific and processing takes time, the Firearms Safety Authority advises applying well before travel and contacting it directly (its published enquiries line is 0800 844 431) to confirm current requirements. The specific documentary and procedural requirements are set out in the Arms Act 1983 and the Arms Regulations and are subject to change.
Hunting & sport shooting
Hunting and target shooting are among the principal lawful purposes for which firearms are licensed in New Zealand. There is no separate "hunting firearm" licence: the same firearms licence under the Arms Act 1983 authorises possession, and the standard A-category licence covers the bolt-action, lever-action and pump-action rifles and shotguns typically used for hunting and pest control. According to the Firearms Safety Authority, low-capacity .22 rimfire semi-automatics with magazines holding no more than 10 rounds also remain available on a standard licence, while most other semi-automatic firearms were reclassified as prohibited by the 2019 reforms.
Hunting itself is additionally regulated by land-access and wildlife rules that sit outside the Arms Act. Big-game and deer hunting on public conservation land is administered by the Department of Conservation, which issues hunting permits governing where and what may be hunted; the permit concerns access and wildlife management, while the firearm still requires a licence. Game-bird hunting (for example, duck shooting in season) requires a game bird hunting licence issued by Fish & Game New Zealand, again separate from the firearms licence. Hunters must comply with seasons, bag limits and regional rules set under those regimes.
Target and sport shooting are catered for through clubs and certified ranges. According to the Firearms Safety Authority, shooting clubs and shooting ranges are subject to certification requirements introduced by the Arms Legislation Act 2020, and ranges must be operated under that certification. Pistol target shooting is possible only for licence holders who hold the pistol endorsement and, in practice, belong to an approved pistol club; the Authority notes that pistols may generally be used only at approved club events and ranges, and must be transported there and back under the endorsement's conditions. Clay-target and other shotgun sports, and rifle disciplines, are conducted at certified ranges using A-category firearms or, where applicable, endorsed items.
Collectors form a further recognised category: bona fide collectors, museums, and heirloom or memento holders may hold pistols, restricted weapons or prohibited items under endorsement, generally on condition that such items are not fired and are stored and moved according to strict conditions. Across all of these activities, the underlying firearm remains subject to the licensing, storage and (since 2023) registration requirements of the Arms Act 1983.
Penalties
Offences and penalties for firearms are set out in the Arms Act 1983 as amended, and they scale with the seriousness of the conduct and the category of item involved. Broadly, the Act distinguishes between administrative and licensing breaches at the lower end and serious offences — such as unlawful possession of prohibited firearms or restricted weapons, carrying a firearm without lawful purpose, or using a firearm in the commission of a crime — at the higher end. According to the structure of the Act, penalties range from fines to terms of imprisonment, with the most serious offences attracting multi-year prison terms and, in aggravated cases involving criminal use, substantially longer terms under the Arms Act and the Crimes Act 1961.
The 2019 and 2020 reforms added or strengthened offences relating to prohibited firearms, prohibited magazines and prohibited parts, and to failures connected with the firearms registry, such as providing false information for the registry. The Firearms Safety Authority may also suspend or revoke a licence, and revocation can be accompanied by seizure of firearms.
Separately, the firearms prohibition orders regime (introduced in 2022) allows courts to prohibit certain offenders from possessing or having access to firearms for a defined period, with offences for breaching such an order. This operates alongside, rather than replacing, the Arms Act penalties.
Because exact penalty levels — maximum terms of imprisonment and fine amounts for each specific offence — are prescribed section-by-section in the Arms Act 1983 and its regulations, and because these have been amended repeatedly, the specific figures for any given offence should be confirmed against the current text of the Act rather than relied on from summaries. This article therefore describes the penalty framework qualitatively and does not state exact ranges for individual offences.
Sources
- Arms Act 1983 (as currently in force) — New Zealand Legislation (accessed 2026-07-17)
- Before you apply for a firearms licence — Te Tari Pūreke, Firearms Safety Authority (accessed 2026-07-17)
- How endorsements work — Firearms Safety Authority (accessed 2026-07-17)
- 2020 firearms law changes — Firearms Safety Authority (accessed 2026-07-17)
- Bringing arms items when you visit New Zealand — Firearms Safety Authority (accessed 2026-07-17)
- Firearms & Safety (FSA) — New Zealand Police (accessed 2026-07-17)
- Gun law in New Zealand — Wikipedia (accessed 2026-07-17)