If you have a small firearms license, you may carry unlicensed weapons such as alarm guns, irritant weapons and signal weapons with PTB approval marks in the district, outside your own home.

• your own home,
• your own business premises,
• your own pacified property (e.g. garden) or
• a shooting range

carry them concealed. However, you may not carry these weapons at public events.

A distinction is made between firearms that require a permit and those that do not. Firearms that do not require a permit include

• Firearms that fire cartridge ammunition (alarm weapons),
• Firearms that fire irritants or other active substances (irritant weapons),
• firearms that fire pyrotechnic ammunition (signal weapons).

You can recognize permit-free weapons by the "PTB" approval mark in the circle. All weapons that are not alarm, irritant or signal weapons with a PTB mark in the circle are classified as weapons requiring a permit. You can find a detailed list of weapons for which you require a weapons possession card (WBK) in Annex 2 of the Weapons Act.

However, you also need a firearms license if you wish to carry compressed air weapons, spring-loaded weapons and_{CO2 weapons} with less than 7.5 joules, which are marked with an "F" symbol, in public. The use of these weapons in a fenced area, for example for paintball activities, does not require a permit.

In general, firearms are objects that are intended for attack or defense, signaling, hunting, distance injection, marking, sport or play and in which projectiles are propelled through a barrel or in which solid bodies are fired in a targeted manner, the propelling energy of which can be introduced by muscle power or another energy source and stored or held by a locking device (for example crossbows, arrow launchers).

It is recommended that you inform yourself in detail about the regulations of firearms law before submitting your application.

The small firearms license is unlimited.

If you are carrying a permit-free weapon, you must be able to identify yourself with an identity card or passport and the small firearms license.

You may be refused a small firearms license if you have not lived in Germany within the last 5 years.

If you move to another town or municipality, you do not have to have the small firearms license transferred.

If you handle weapons and ammunition without authorization, you could face a fine or imprisonment.