What is MyFirearms logo

 

MyFirearms is a secure online service where you can: 

  • apply for your licence and endorsements 
  • pay for your applications with a Visa or Mastercard 
  • notify us of your change of address or contact details 
  • notify us of a change of your health practitioner

 

Can I still apply for my licence and endorsements in the same way I have done before?

Yes, you can still apply with downloaded PDF forms.

If you continue to apply with downloaded PDF forms, you must continue to pay your application fee at NZ Post Shops.

To pay your fee online, you must apply in MyFirearms.

What is a RealMe® login?

RealMe® allows you to access multiple online services with one username and password, and securely prove who you are online. It is managed by Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs.

Your RealMe® login is a username and password.

When you create your RealMe® login, you must give your email address.

You can use your RealMe® login to securely use many services, like MyFirearms, with the same username and password.

If you forget your RealMe® login, follow the instructions to reset it. Do not create a new login as your MyFirearms activity is tied to your RealMe® username.

To create your RealMe® Login or to reset your username or password see RealMe® help.

Can I renew my licence and endorsements in MyFirearms?

Yes, you use the same application forms in MyFirearms to: 
  • apply for your licence and endorsements for the first time 
  • re-apply for your licence and endorsements

I want to renew my licence and endorsements. What information will I have to give in MyFirearms?

You will be required to provide the same information as you would if you were filling out a pdf application. If you have applied for a Firearms licence in MyFirearms, some information will be pre-populated. You will need to fill out and pay for your endorsement application after you have submitted your Licence application.

As you complete your application form in MyFirearms, the questions you must answer are based on your specific circumstances.

We ask you only for information and supporting documents based on your specific circumstances.

What information and documents must I include in my endorsement application in MyFirearms?

You must include different information and documents at each of the four steps of your endorsement application.

 

1. Give information and upload documents common to all the endorsements you apply for: 

2. Say which endorsements you want to apply for: 

3. Give information and upload documents specific to each endorsement you apply for:

4. To securely pay your application fee online and submit your application, enter your Visa or Mastercard details.

 

 

Medical
Medical

How will my medical practitioner know I have a firearms licence?

To complete the application for a firearms licence, an applicant will need to provide Police with the name and contact details of their health practitioner (Doctor or medical practice).

When a person’s application is approved Police will inform the health practitioner that the person has been granted a firearms licence. 

This is so health practitioners can consider notifying Police if a licence holder’s health condition is such that in the interests of the safety of individuals or the public, the licence holder should not be permitted to possess firearms (or should only be able to possess firearms with limitations).

If Police receive such a report from a health practitioner, the person may be asked to undergo an independent medical assessment.

Do I need to tell Police if I have changed health practitioner?

Yes. When you move to a new medical practice or change doctor you must tell Police the name of the medical practice / practitioner and their contact details.

Police will contact the practitioner to advise them that you are a firearms licence holder.

Minister’s advisory group
Minister’s advisory group

When will we know who is on the new advisory group?

The new law enables this group to be established and that will take place over the next few months to enable this group to be consulted on further policy development. There will be up to nine people on the group including the Chairperson. When they are appointed, notice of that appointment will be published in the Gazette.

How will members be chosen for the advisory group?

The group will be made up of people from within and outside the firearms community, including people who are concerned about the mitigation of harm from firearms from a health perspective. The Minister of Police will appoint the Chairperson and the members.

What will the group do?

The group will provide advice and recommendations to the Minister of Police on matters that contribute to achieving the objectives of the Arms Act, in particular, the safe use and control of firearms. It can provide advice on any matter relating to firearms in New Zealand, including legislative proposal, policies for regulating New Zealand’s firearms regime, and the promotion of firearm safety.

It must produce an annual report of its proceedings and operations during the year.

New penalties and offences
New penalties and offences

Will there be a grace period with the new penalties?

Most of the new and updated offences and penalties come into effect and apply immediately.

Police have to apply the law at the relevant time the conduct occurred. When deciding whether to prosecute for any offence, Police have to apply the Solicitor-General’s Prosecution Guidelines which require consideration of both whether there is sufficient evidence to prosecute, and also whether there is a public interest in prosecuting.

If I was charged with an offence recently and the penalty has been increased by the new laws, which penalties will I face?

If the conduct that you are charged with occurred before the law changed, the case will proceed on the basis of the law that applied at that time.

A good quality digital photo

The photo must meet the minimum requirements as set out in the Arms Regulations 1992, regulation 30, Photographs

The photo must:

  • have been taken no more than 12 months before you submit your application
  • be a full front view of your face, head, and shoulders, with your head filling most of the photo
  • be of you without a hat or head covering (unless your religion requires you to wear a hat or head covering)
  • have a plain, light-coloured background
  • be a colour photo 

Te Tari Pureke requires the original photograph file to be provided. We cannot accept a scanned copy of a photo.

Passport photos from commercial outlets typically meet these requirements.

A digital photo must be:

  • a portrait photo, with a 4:3 aspect ratio
  • in jpg or jpeg format
  • between 25KB and 10MB
  • between 900 and 4500 pixels wide, and 1200 and 6000 pixels high

We do not accept photos that do not meet these standards.

If you are submitting a paper application, you must provide two identical prints of your photo, measuring 45mm by 35mm untrimmed on good quality photo paper.

Criminal history

In your licence application, Te Tari Pūreke asks questions to understand if you are a:

  • fit and proper person to have and use firearms
  • disqualified person from having a firearms licence

If you answer 'yes' to any of these questions, we do not automatically refuse your application. However, we will probably have more questions.

If you have a criminal record when making an application under the Arms Act, you are required to say so under the clean slate scheme

Health history
In your licence application, Te Tari Pūreke asks questions to understand if you and others will be safe if you have access to firearms. If you answer 'yes' to any of these questions, we do not automatically refuse your application. However, we may have more questions.

We ask if in the last two years you have experienced or been treated for:

  • mental illness
  • decline in mental function
  • substance abuse or dependency
  • behaviour suggesting anger or violence, including family harm
  • drowsiness, or problems with memory and thinking, caused by illness or medication
  • seizures, dizziness, or blackouts
  • serious head injury or neurological disorder
  • thoughts, threats, or attempts of suicide or self-harm

We also ask:

  • if in the last two years you have experienced significant life events
  • questions about your use of alcohol and recreational drugs
     

Health practitioner

In your licence application, you must give the name and email address of your primary healthcare provider.

If you can, give the name of the person you usually see, like your doctor, not the practice.

If you don’t usually see the same person, let us know why not. If your application is successful, Te Tari Pūreke notifies your healthcare practitioner that you have a firearms licence.

Your healthcare practitioner must be either:

  • registered with the Medical Council of New Zealand
  • a nurse practitioner registered with the Nursing Council of New Zealand
  • a psychologist registered with the New Zealand psychologists board, or
  • an authorised officer under the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992

Next-of-kin referee

Your next-of-kin referee is your spouse or partner, if you have one.

If you don’t have a spouse or partner, your next-of-kin referee is a near relative who knows you well, like a parent, stepparent, aunt, uncle, grandparent, cousin, or sibling.

If you don’t have a spouse or partner, or a near relative who knows you well, your next-of-kin referee is a close associate who knows you well.

If your next-of-kin referee lives overseas or has an overseas address, you must:

  • still provide their details
  • also provide details of an additional referee who lives in New Zealand and knows you well

 

Unrelated referee

Your unrelated referee is not:

  • your spouse or partner, or a former spouse or partner from the past five years
  • a relative, like a parent, stepparent, aunt, uncle, grandparent, cousin, sibling, or in-law

Your unrelated referee should:

  • be someone you have regular face to face contact with
  • have known you well for a significant period of your life, at least 3 years

Your unrelated referee must not be:

  • your employee
  • employed by New Zealand Police

Your unrelated referee must:

  • live in New Zealand
  • not live at the same address as you, like a flatmate, lodger, or boarder

Medical certificate
If you answer ‘yes’ in your application to any of the questions about health conditions and treatment, you must include with your application a scanned copy or digital photo of a certificate from your healthcare practitioner.

The certificate should say:

  • what the health condition is
  • whether it has been resolved
  • any ongoing treatment
  • if your healthcare practitioner believes you are a suitable person to possess and use a firearm
     

Endorsement referee

In your application for an endorsement to your firearms licence, you must give the name and contact details of an endorsement referee.

This endorsement referee is in addition to the referees in your firearms licence application.

Your endorsement referee must not be:

  • your relative, spouse, or partner, or a former spouse or partner from the past five years
  • your employee
  • employed by New Zealand Police
  • living at the same address as you
  • already in your endorsement or licence application

People with access

If you are a business owner, manager, or contractor applying for a pest control endorsement, Te Tari Pūreke asks questions to understand how you make sure your employees and contractors continue to be trained and competent to have and use prohibited firearms and magazines.

Everyone who has or uses prohibited firearms and magazines for your business must have a: 

  • firearms licence 
  • endorsement 
  • permit to possess

Secure storage and locations

As a firearms licence holder, you must make sure your firearms: 

  • cannot be accessed by young children 
  • are stored separately from their ammunition 
  • are secured against theft 

Secure storage addresses 

You must have secure storage at your home address and at the other addresses where you store your firearms and ammunition, like a holiday home, a business premises, or another licence holder's address. 

A mobile home, campervan, or caravan can be your home address, even if it’s a temporary arrangement. If it is your home, you must make sure it has secure storage. 

We issue a firearms licence only when an applicant has secure storage for firearms and ammunition that we have inspected and found meets requirements. 

Secure firearm storage 

To keep your firearms secured against theft, you must keep on your premises at least one type of lockable firearm storage: 

  • a cabinet, container, or strongly made receptacle 
  • a steel and concrete strongroom 
  • a display cabinet or rack in which firearms are immobilised and cannot be fired 

You must: 

  • securely fix to your premises all lockable firearm storage 
  • keep every firearm* on your premises locked, or immobilised and locked, in firearm storage 

Before Te Tari Pūreke issues or renews your firearms licence, we carry out an inspection of your secure firearm storage. 

We must approve your secure storage for your licence application to succeed. 

*Every firearm not in the immediate possession of a firearms licence holder.

 

 

Need help?
phone Call 0800 844 431 (09 302 6500) for MyFirearms Support
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