• You must be at least 18 years old.
  
  If you are under 25 years of age, you will 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.
  
  If you are a hunter, you do not need such an expert opinion/certificate. 
   
• You must prove that it is necessary for you to continue to possess the weapons and ammunition you inherited (need).
  In order to continue to possess the inherited 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:
  • They are hunters.
  • You are a sports shooter.
  • Their lives are highly endangered.
  • You can credibly explain other reasons why you want to possess weapons and ammunition.

If you cannot credibly demonstrate a need for possession of the hereditary weapons, you must have the weapons subject to authorisation fitted with a blocking system. This does not apply if you already have a gun ownership card.

• You must prove your reliability under weapons law.
  They can be considered unreliable under weapons law, among other things, if
  • you have been finally sentenced to a prison sentence of at least 1 year within the last 10 years or have been a member of or supported a prohibited organisation in the last 10 years.
  • It can be assumed that you misuse or improperly handle weapons or ammunition, do not store these items carefully or leave them to persons who are not authorized to do so.
  • You have been in preventive police custody more than once in the last 5 years with judicial authorisation for violence.
  • You have repeatedly or grossly violated the gun law.
     
• You must prove your personal suitability.
  Among other things, you may not be considered personally suitable if:
  • You are legally incapacitated.
  • You are dependent on alcohol or other intoxicating substances, mentally ill or debilitated.
  • You suffer from serious illnesses, such as brain injuries, or physical impairments, such as amputations or severe visual impairment.
  • 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 must prove that you have sufficient knowledge of weapons and ammunition as well as how to handle them (expertise).

In order to be able to prove your expertise in handling weapons and ammunition, you must have attended 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 gain expertise only for the weapons and ammunition you want to own.

You do not have to take a separate competence test if you can prove the required expertise elsewhere, e.g. if you as a hunter have passed the hunter's examination or an equivalent examination. In these cases, you only need to provide appropriate evidence.

• You must prove that you can safely store weapons and ammunition.
  You must store weapons and ammunition safely. 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. The storage requirements are based on § 13 of the General Weapons Act Ordinance (AWaffV). In case of doubt, please contact the authority responsible for you. Basically, you can orient yourself to the following specifications:
  • Ammunition subject to authorisation must be stored in a sheet steel cabinet/container with a swivel bolt lock or equivalent locking device.
  • In order to store long guns and handguns that require a permit, 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 cabinet with resistance level 0 according to the standard DIN/EN 1143-1 with a weight of up to 200 kilograms, you may store an unlimited number of long guns, up to 5 handguns and ammunition.
    • In a gun cabinet with resistance level 0 according to the standard DIN/EN 1143-1 with a weight of 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 I according to the standard DIN/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:
    • 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 person who is also entitled to own weapons,  in a common household you may store the weapons in a common gun safe.
  • It is also allowed to store weapons and ammunition at an arms dealer. For this, you must provide appropriate proof.