Overview
The civilian ownership and use of firearms in the Republic of Panama is permitted but tightly regulated under a single principal statute: Law 57 of 27 May 2011, General on Firearms, Ammunition and Related Materials (Ley 57 de 2011, General de Armas de Fuego, Municiones y Materiales Relacionados), published in Official Gazette (Gaceta Oficial) No. 26796-B. According to Law 57 (2011), the statute was enacted in development of article 312 of the Political Constitution and, under its Article 102, entered into force the year after its promulgation. It repealed the earlier Law 14 of 1990 and a series of prior decrees, and it remains the governing framework as of 2026.
Law 57 (2011) establishes, in its Article 1, a legal regime covering the possession, carrying, import, export, marketing, storage, brokering, transport and trafficking of firearms and ammunition by private individuals. Article 2 limits its scope to arms other than weapons of war, whose possession is reserved exclusively to the National Government. Administration of the law is assigned by Article 6 to the Ministry of Public Security, acting through the Institutional Directorate for Public Security Affairs (DIASP), which issues the certificates and licences the law requires, supervises dealers and ranges, and manages the National Registry of Firearms and Ammunition.
The statute distinguishes several classes of weapon in Article 15. Weapons of war — those capable of automatic fire (bursts) with a single trigger press — may be owned only by the State. "Firearms for private use" are those not designed for war, subdivided into short weapons (revolvers, derringers and semi-automatic pistols of all calibres, provided they cannot fire automatically) and long weapons (shotguns and rifles of all calibres, including semi-automatic actions, again provided they are not automatic). Fully automatic firearms, sound suppressors, and long guns with barrels trimmed below twenty-four inches are among the categories prohibited to civilians under Article 11.
Ownership is therefore treated as a conditional, State-granted authorisation rather than a right. Article 10 recognises the State's power to grant possession and carrying to natural persons — nationals and foreign residents alike — who are in full enjoyment of their civil rights and who satisfy the statutory requirements. The practical effect is a licensing system built around individual vetting (psychological evaluation, drug testing, criminal-record checks and a shooting test), ballistic registration of each weapon, and periodic renewal. Distinct documents govern mere possession (keeping a firearm at a registered address) and carrying (bearing it in public), each with its own age threshold, fee and validity period. Successive governments have layered time-limited executive measures on top of Law 57, including special registration moratoria to encourage legalisation of unregistered arms and periodic restrictions on importation, so the operational details can shift between administrations even though the underlying statute is stable.
Ownership & licensing
Under Law 57 (2011), lawful ownership begins with a firearm possession certificate (certificado de tenencia). Article 37 describes it as a nominal, non-transferable document authorising its holder to keep firearms at a registered property for personal defence. Article 36 extends eligibility to any natural person — national or foreign resident — in full enjoyment of their civil rights who meets the requirements, and Article 52 confirms that resident foreigners may apply on the same terms as nationals.
The requirements for a possession certificate are set out in Article 38. The applicant must be at least eighteen years old; deliver the firearm together with three rounds of ammunition to the DIASP for a ballistic test; complete the DIASP form; present a copy of the national identity card; submit the purchase invoice (for a new weapon) or transfer form (for a used one); provide three photographs; and produce a criminal-record certificate. Two health screenings are central: a certification from a qualified psychiatrist or psychologist, valid for six months, attesting to the applicant's mental and emotional stability, and a clinical anti-doping certificate, valid for three months, showing no consumption of prohibited drugs. The applicant must also pass a shooting test whose methodology the DIASP determines, and pay the corresponding fee at the Banco Nacional de Panamá.
Article 40 fixes the certificate fee at fifty US dollars and allows a single certificate to cover up to ten firearms. Article 41 sets its validity at ten years, subject to update whenever the listed weapons change hands. Renewal, under Articles 55 and 57, requires reapplication within thirty days before expiry and repetition of the psychological and anti-doping certifications. Article 12 disqualifies several categories of person from both possession and carrying, including those declared legally incapacitated, habitual drunkards identified through police history, recent drug users, and persons convicted of enumerated crimes against life, liberty, sexual integrity or collective security.
Commerce is confined to vetted businesses. Article 26 permits the marketing and distribution of firearms only to Panamanian-capital legal entities with registered shares, and Article 30 requires a buyer to present identification, a criminal-record certificate and proof of employment or income before purchase. The seller forwards this documentation to the DIASP, which — absent any impediment — issues the delivery authorisation and the possession certificate (Article 31). Transfers between private individuals must likewise pass through a DIASP-prepared document or a notarised instrument (Article 32). Every firearm is registered: Article 20 establishes the National Registry of Firearms and Ammunition, and Article 25 requires a ballistic test on each weapon lawfully entering the country, with the projectiles and casings retained in a national ballistics bank. A Supreme Court ruling (Sala Tercera) later struck down a 2018 executive decree that had added biometric, DNA and fingerprint requirements for permits, holding that DIASP could not impose conditions beyond those contained in Law 57.
Carry & transport
Carrying a firearm in public requires a separate authorisation from mere possession. Article 42 of Law 57 (2011) defines porte — carrying — as bearing a short firearm concealed or within reach for personal defence, under a licence issued by the DIASP. Article 43 establishes the firearm carrying licence (licencia de porte) as a nominal, non-transferable document that authorises its holder to carry concealed up to two loaded, duly registered firearms for personal use within the national territory. The licence is available only to natural persons who own the firearms concerned.
The requirements for a carrying licence, under Article 44, mirror those for a possession certificate — the ballistic test, psychological and anti-doping certifications, criminal-record check and shooting test — with two differences: the minimum age rises to twenty-one, and the applicant must additionally present a field test or certification from a qualified instructor or authorised range confirming competence in the defensive use of firearms. Renewal applicants must further prove they have invested at least six hours a year in controlled shooting practice with their weapons. Article 46 sets the licence fee at one hundred US dollars; while a licence may list up to ten firearms, effective carrying is limited to two and must be justified by personal or professional defence needs or the holder's occupation. Article 47 fixes the licence's validity at four years.
The law frames civilian carry around concealment for personal defence: Article 43 speaks specifically of carrying "concealed," and Law 57 does not establish a separate category of open or visible carry for private citizens. Article 14 additionally prohibits carrying firearms in any public or private place where carrying is expressly forbidden, and Article 88 treats carrying while intoxicated — even with a valid licence — as a very serious offence. Enforcement powers are broad: under Article 54, members of the Public Force, governors and mayors may withhold any firearm from a person who does not display a valid possession certificate or carrying licence. A holder who simply fails to present a valid document faces a one-hundred-dollar fine to recover the weapon; a holder with an expired document faces a two-hundred-dollar fine and temporary DIASP custody of the arm; a person with no document at all is placed at the disposal of the competent authorities.
Transport is regulated even for lawful owners. Article 37 requires firearms to be transported unloaded, in their cases or bags with empty magazines, and with the ammunition carried in a separate container. Article 72 provides that the licences issued under the law include authorisation to transport the covered weapons within the national territory, subject to the general transit rules. For sport shooters, Article 74 provides that a document accrediting active membership in a legally recognised shooting club or federation serves as authorisation to move registered sporting firearms between the owner's home and the range, along with the training or competition ammunition.
Travel & import
Law 57 (2011) draws a sharp line between commercial importation, which is confined to licensed companies, and the temporary movement of firearms by individual sportsmen and travellers. Article 63 permits only Panamanian-capital legal entities with registered shares to import firearms, accessories, ammunition and related materials, and only under an import resolution issued by the DIASP; the importation of weapons the law prohibits may never be authorised. The same article bars the re-export of shipments once imported, restricting authorised stock to domestic marketing. Article 64 obliges importers to submit all imported firearms to the DIASP for ballistic testing before certificates of possession are issued, and encourages factory marking of new weapons with the letters "PTY" followed by the serial number. There is, in short, no mechanism for a private individual to import a firearm directly for personal use.
Beyond the statute, importation has been the subject of recurring executive measures. Panamanian governments have periodically suspended or restricted the importation of firearms and have opened special registration windows (moratoria) to bring unregistered arms into the legal system. The most recent measure identified in this review is Executive Decree No. 7 of 7 April 2025, which extended a special registration moratorium into mid-August 2025; such decrees are time-limited by design, so travellers and prospective owners should confirm the measure in force at any given date rather than assume a fixed position.
For visitors, the law provides a narrow temporary-entry route tied to sport and hunting rather than general travel. Article 66 allows foreign owners to bring firearms into Panama when they are registered for, or invited to, sport-shooting or hunting competitions, but the local organising club, federation or association — not the individual — must obtain a DIASP resolution authorising the entry. Article 67 limits each such resolution to a maximum of four firearms per event, excludes any weapon capable of automatic fire, and makes the authorisation nominal and non-transferable. Article 68 requires the application to be filed at least forty-five days in advance, supported by documentation including a consular-authenticated copy of the owner's foreign firearm licence. The permitted stay is short: Article 66 caps the authorisation at twenty calendar days per foreign participant, after which the weapons must leave the country within ten calendar days.
Panamanian nationals and residents enjoy a corresponding facility to travel abroad with their firearms. Article 69 allows them to remove lawfully held firearms from the national territory and re-enter with them when travelling for hunting safaris or registered hunting and sport-shooting competitions organised by clubs abroad, and also to send registered firearms to their country of origin for warranty or repair. In every case the owner must notify the DIASP in advance so that the authority can authorise the exit and re-entry. Casual cross-border movement of firearms outside these sport, hunting, repair and commercial channels is not contemplated by the statute.
Hunting & sport shooting
Law 57 (2011) treats hunting and sport shooting as recognised lawful uses of "firearms for private use," but it channels each through additional regulation. For hunting, Article 81 provides that firearms used in hunting activities within the national territory are subject to the provisions of Law 39 of 2005 — which reformed Law 24 of 1995 on wildlife — the statute that governs hunting itself in Panama. In practice this means a hunter must hold both the firearm documentation issued by the DIASP under Law 57 and the hunting authorisation issued by the national wildlife authority. Article 33 reflects this in the ammunition rules: owners of firearms intended for hunting may buy cartridges and rimfire ammunition without quantity restriction from the commercial establishment of their choice, but only on presentation of a valid hunter's licence issued by the environmental authority together with the firearm's possession certificate.
The law also carves out a simplified route for rural subsistence users. Under Article 82, a person engaged in agricultural work in remote regions who owns a hunting weapon used to support the family may obtain a possession certificate from the DIASP with no requirement beyond a certification from the local mayor as to their social status, and the issuance of that certificate is exempt from fees. This provision recognises long-standing rural use while still bringing the weapon into the registration system.
Sport shooting is organised around authorised ranges and recognised associations. Article 81 provides that the practice of the various shooting disciplines may take place only at ranges recognised by the Ministry of Public Security. Article 83 requires shooting associations, federations and clubs to obtain the DIASP's prior approval of their safety statutes and rules as a precondition for legal recognition, and Article 84 empowers the DIASP to regulate and supervise the firearms and ammunition used by such clubs, which must give at least fifteen days' notice before holding competitions. The same article permits minors to use firearms in sport-shooting disciplines, but only at DIASP-authorised ranges and only when accompanied by a qualified instructor or by a relative of legal age (within the fourth degree of consanguinity or second of affinity) who holds a carrying licence.
Ammunition supply for sport is comparatively liberal but confined to the range environment. Article 33 provides that owners of sporting firearms face no cap on the quantity of centre-fire ammunition they may acquire, but must buy it at authorised ranges, clubs or associations and may not remove leftover ammunition from those premises. By contrast, personal-defence owners are limited to a monthly ceiling of five hundred rounds of centre-fire ammunition per registered weapon. Non-profit ranges are held to the same regulatory standard as dealers under Article 85, and Article 86 obliges ranges to file monthly sales reports and to log the identity, date and time of each person using their facilities.
Penalties
Law 57 (2011) enforces its regime primarily through a graduated system of administrative infractions, expressly reserving separate criminal liability. Article 87 classifies violations as very serious, serious or minor, "without prejudice to the civil or criminal liability that may arise." Article 88 lists the very serious offences, which include carrying, possessing or storing prohibited firearms or ammunition without any DIASP licence or certificate; using a firearm without the corresponding licence in the commission of a punishable act; trafficking prohibited firearms; importing firearms or ammunition without prior official authorisation; converting a weapon to automatic fire; and carrying a firearm while intoxicated even with a valid licence. Article 89 defines the serious offences — notably carrying a firearm without the required licence or with an expired document — and Article 90 lists minor infractions such as possessing ammunition without owning a registered weapon of that calibre.
The monetary sanctions are set out with precision in Article 91. Very serious infractions carry administrative fines of ten thousand to twenty thousand US dollars; serious infractions, five thousand to ten thousand dollars; and minor infractions, one thousand to five thousand dollars. Article 92 adds accessory sanctions: for very serious infractions the offender's possession certificate, carrying licence or dealer resolution is cancelled and the weapon or ammunition is confiscated, while serious or minor infractions bring a three-month suspension of the licence. Article 93 vests the power to impose these administrative sanctions in the DIASP, and Article 94 directs that the procedure follow the general administrative process of Law 38 of 2000. Separately, the withholding regime in Article 54 sets recovery fines of one hundred dollars where a valid holder simply failed to present the document, and two hundred dollars where the document had expired.
Beyond these administrative penalties, criminal responsibility for firearms offences in Panama is a matter of the Penal Code rather than of Law 57 itself. Because Law 57 repeatedly preserves criminal liability "without prejudice" to its own sanctions — for example, in Articles 60, 78 and 91 — conduct such as illegal possession, illicit carrying or arms trafficking may be prosecuted as a crime in addition to any fine, and can expose an offender to imprisonment. The specific imprisonment ranges attaching to these offences are established in the Penal Code and its amendments and were not verified against the primary criminal statute for this article; accordingly they are described here only in general terms. Readers seeking an exact term of imprisonment for a particular offence should consult the current text of the Penal Code, as those provisions may have been amended since the enactment of Law 57 and are not reproduced within the firearms law. Under Article 92, the most severe administrative consequence for an owner — confiscation of the weapon and cancellation of the licence — attaches automatically to very serious infractions.
Sources
- Ministerio de Seguridad Pública — DIASP (functions and firearms legislation) (official) (accessed 2026-07-17)
- Órgano Judicial de Panamá — Sala Tercera: additional requirements for firearm carrying permits declared illegal (official) (accessed 2026-07-17)
- Ministerio de Seguridad Pública — special moratorium for the registration of firearms (2023) (official) (accessed 2026-07-17)
- Law 57 of 27 May 2011, General on Firearms, Ammunition and Related Materials — full text (English translation of Official Gazette No. 26796-B) (accessed 2026-07-17)
- GunPolicy.org — Panama: firearms control regulation (accessed 2026-07-17)