• You must be at least 25 years old. There are exceptions for sport shooters and hunters.
  
  If you are under 25 years of age, you may be asked by the competent weapons authority to submit a specialist medical or psychological report/certificate of your mental fitness. You must pay for the report/certificate yourself and send the original by post to the responsible weapons authority. A copy or e-mail will not be accepted.
  
  If you are a hunter, you do not need such an expert opinion/certificate.
  
  As a sports shooter, you must be at least 18 years old. Then you are entitled to acquire and possess firearms up to calibre 5.6 mm lfB (.22 l. r.) for rimfire ammunition with a muzzle energy of the projectiles not exceeding 200 joules (J) and single-shot long-gun with smooth barrels of calibre 12 or smaller.
  
  For other firearms, the minimum age for sports shooters is 21 years, provided that you can submit a specialist medical or psychological report/certificate of your mental fitness.
   
• You must prove that it is necessary for you to acquire and possess weapons and ammunition (need).
  
  In order to acquire and possess weapons and ammunition, you must provide the competent weapons authority with a credible reason (need). As a general rule, a credible reason is accepted if:
  • You are a hunter and have a hunting license (day or annual hunting license). If you as a hunter only want to acquire and own long guns and two handguns, then no further proof of a need is required.
  • You have been a member of a sports club for 1 year, which is a member of a recognized shooting sports association and in which shooting with such weapons is permitted according to an approved shooting sports regulation. The shooting sports regulations are approved by the Federal Office of Administration. In addition, you must prove that you have regularly participated in the training (at least once a month or at least 18 times within a year).
  • Your life is highly endangered
  • You can credibly demonstrate other reasons why you want to acquire and possess weapons and ammunition.
     

• You must prove your reliability under weapons law.
  
  Among other things, they can be considered reliable under weapons law if : 

   
  • you have not been finally sentenced to a prison sentence of at least 1 year within the last 10 years and have not been a member of or supported a banned organisation in the last 10 years.
  • It cannot be assumed that you misuse or improperly handle weapons or ammunition, do not store these items diligently or leave them to persons who are not authorized to do so.
  • You have not been in preventive police custody more than once in the last 5 years with judicial authorisation for violence.
  • You have not repeatedly or grossly violated the gun law.
     
• You must prove your personal suitability.
  
  Among other things, you may not be considered personally suitable if:
  • it can be assumed that you cannot handle weapons or ammunition carefully or properly or that you cannot store these items carefully or that there is a real risk that you will endanger others or yourself.
  • You suffer from serious illnesses, such as brain injuries, or physical impairments, such as amputations or severe visual impairment.
  • You are dependent on alcohol or other intoxicating substances, mentally ill or debilitated.
  • You are legally incapacitated.
     
• You must prove that you have sufficient knowledge of weapons and ammunition as well as how to handle them (expertise).
  
  In order to acquire and possess weapons and ammunition, you must prove that you can handle them appropriately. In order to get the expertise in dealing with weapons and ammunition, you must participate in a corresponding course. The course includes a theoretical and practical part. At the end of the course, you will take an exam before an authorized examination board. If you have passed the exam, you will receive proof of the weapons and ammunition for which you have acquired the expertise. You can also acquire expertise only for the weapons and ammunition you wish to acquire and possess.
  
  You do not have to take a separate competence test if you
  • the hunter's examination or a similar examination, or
  • have passed a journeyman's examination for the gunsmith's trade or
  • have worked full-time in the trade in firearms and ammunition for at least 3 years.

In these cases, you only need to provide appropriate evidence.
 

• You must prove that you can safely store weapons and ammunition.
  
  This generally means that only you as an authorized person have access to weapons and ammunition, for example by carrying the key with you at all times. If you do not keep your weapons and ammunition safe, you are committing an administrative offence for which a fine of up to EUR 10,000 can be imposed. In addition, your reliability under weapons law may be called into question and your gun ownership card may be revoked.
  
  When applying, you must provide information about both the storage location and the container in which you want to store weapons and ammunition. Basically, you can orient yourself to the following specifications:
  • Ammunition requiring authorisation must be stored in a sheet steel cabinet/container with a swing bolt lock.
  • In order to store long guns and handguns subject to authorisation as well as ammunition subject to authorisation, you need a gun safe. Which gun safe you need depends on the number and type of weapons and/or ammunition you want to purchase and own.  
    • In a gun safe with resistance level 0 according to EN 1143-1 weighing up to 200 kilograms, you may store an unlimited number of long guns, up to 5 handguns and ammunition.
    • In a gun safe with resistance level 0 according to EN 1143-1 weighing over 200 kilograms, you may store an unlimited number of long guns, up to 10 handguns and ammunition.
    • In a gun safe with resistance level 1 according to EN 1143-1 you may store an unlimited number of long guns and handguns as well as ammunition.
  • For the place where you may set up the gun safe, the following rules apply:
    • If you live in an apartment building, it is not allowed to set up the gun cabinet in the basement if each resident has only one so-called basement shed, which is secured only with a door with a padlock.
    • You may also store up to 3 long guns in buildings that are not permanently inhabited, such as a hunting lodge or a weekend house. For this, however, you need a gun cabinet with resistance level 1.
    • If you live with another gun owner in a common household, you may store the weapons in a common gun safe.
  • As a hunter, you may temporarily have your long guns stored by another hunter in his gun cabinet. However, this time should be limited, permanent storage is not allowed. For permanent storage, you should buy your own gun safe, to which only you have access.
  • It is also allowed to store weapons and ammunition at an arms dealer. For this, you must provide appropriate proof.