In several areas of Te Tari Pūreke we are experiencing higher demand from licence holders for our services than recent times. This demand is impacting response times in areas including:

• Licensing applications
• Registry and Service Team (our telephone call centre)
• Permits and visitor licences

Te Tari Pūreke is looking at things we might do differently to improve the situation. The new Arms Act expected to be passed next year, will also give us new tools to help manage demand.

Below we share the issues affecting demand in different areas, and we highlight things you may be able to do to help us respond as quickly as possible.

Firearms licence applications

Licensing demand has increased dramatically recently, which means our licence processing is taking longer. 
This cyclical surge in demand comes from when life-time licences were replaced with 10-year licences. Over a four span around 260,000 licences were issued rather than licence holders being spread evenly. This means within each 10-year period, we now get a large group of licence holders applying around the same time. 

In 2023/2024 we issued 19,672 licences. Last year we issued 25,119 – a 27% increase. This year we’d need to process more than 30,000-35,000 to keep up. 

We simply do not have the resources to keep up with this demand while giving every application the attention it deserves. 

The new Arms Act expected to pass into law in mid-2026 will provide a remedy. As the regulator, we will be able to issue firearms licence extensions for up to three years, meaning we can distribute licence renewals more evenly. 

Get licence applications in early (before your current licence expires)

Until then, for firearms licence applications we ask people to get their applications in early and remain patient. 
The good news is that if you apply for your new licence (“renewal”) prior to the expiry of your current licence, you can continue to operate and purchase firearms legally, irrespective of how long the renewal process takes. 

Retailers can use our online ‘licence checker’ tool to confirm the current status of your firearms licence so you can continue to purchase firearms or ammunition.

Getting applications in early will assist us and will also help you save time and money: Applications made before your current licence expires cost just $126.50 and are for 10 years. Applications made after your current licence has expired will cost $241.50 and last just five years before needing a new licence.

We will update you about progress (please do not call)

For those who have already applied, and are waiting for news on their application, we ask that you remain patient. We will update you as your licence application progresses.

Please do not ring our 0800 number. Our call centre staff will not be able to update or advance your application. For any queries, please contact your local firearms office by email. You will find these email contact addresses on the ‘Contact us’ page of our website (under Regional firearms offices).

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0800 telephone enquiries

For telephone enquiries it is currently taking on average around 10 minutes to answer your calls, and it can be longer in peak periods. We ask people to please bear with us. 

As per the story on our homepage, call numbers have almost doubled in the last year. Our call centre people are working really hard to respond in a timely way, but there will be longer wait times.

If the wait time is long when you call, please consider calling back when wait times may have improved. 

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Most services are available online

If you have a general enquiry, you could try looking on this site, where you’ll find a lot of information.

If you are wanting to register your firearms, remember you can do that online too, through MyFirearms. More than half of all people to register their firearms have done so successfully online.

Visit our ‘How to register or update your information’ page which explains how you can record your arms items and update your licence holder details in the Firearms Registry online.

If you are seeking an update about a firearms licence application, please do not ring our 0800 number. Our call centre will not be able to update or advance your application in any way.

For any queries please contact your local firearms office by email. You will find these email contact addresses on the ‘Contact us’ page of our website (under Regional firearms offices).

Visitor licences and import permits

Our permits team manages both permits to import firearms and visitors’ licences for those coming to New Zealand to use firearms. 

With a large number of firearms events being held in New Zealand in the coming year attracting international visitors, we are experiencing high demand for visitor licences.

Additionally, we are aware that as many as one third of the permits to import firearms that we issue annually, do not get used.  
This demand is impacting the speed with which both visitor licences and permits to import are currently being processed. We expect this situation will continue into 2027.

Visitor applications should be made 4 months prior to arrival

For people applying for a visitors licence we ask you to submit your application at least 4 months prior to your intended arrival date to allow sufficient processing time. 

Several things people seeking to import firearms can do to assist

For licence holders who are importing firearms, to assist our Permits Team to efficiently process your permit applications we recommend applications are separated into specific types.

Permits to import prohibited and restricted items should be forwarded in a separate application. This is because more investigation is required around prohibited and restricted items, and the time to process this type of application may be noticeably longer than for an application for non-prohibited arms items.

Ammunition should also be applied for separately. This is because an application for ammunition can be a simpler process and may be turned around in less time. If it is joined with other arms items, it may be delayed as the arms items will likely require more time to process. 

Non-prohibited arms items, including parts, can be together on the same application. To expedite turn-around times, an image of the arms item and part, and a weblink to the manufacturer’s description page is useful in helping our Permits Team process your application.

Any sample arms item that needs to be inspected by our Armoury, should be on a sperate application. A sample item that is sent for inspection is likely to have a longer turn-around time than an approved item. The sample process may take several weeks, so any other items on that application will be tied to that same timetable.

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