The application process and compliance guidance for clubs is outlined in the Shooting Club Guide (PDF, 8.65).
Is your club eligible for approval?
To be approved by Police:
- a pistol club must be a registered incorporated society
- a club for which firearms or ammunition are sold or supplied on behalf must be a registered incorporated society.
Look here for information on setting up an incorporated society.
Applying for approval
The application must be made by a person who is authorised to do this on behalf of the club. You will need evidence of that authorisation as part of your supporting material.
Supporting material checklist - what you need to gather before applying
In advance of submitting your application for shooting club approval you will need to gather or complete the following documentation:
- Evidence that you are authorised by the club to make the application on its behalf
- A copy of the club’s constitution or rules
- A copy of any minutes of the club’s last annual general meeting, or inaugural meeting if there has been no annual general meeting
- If ammunition or firearms are sold or supplied on behalf of the club: An approved financial report that provides sufficient detail to reconcile all firearms and ammunition purchased, held, sold or supplied by the club, and provide evidence that the revenue will be used for the benefit of the club
- Pistol club only:
- The names of all club members and the firearms licence numbers of all members holding a firearms licence
- Details of the process for recording club member and visitor participation in shooting activities organised by the club.
Application steps
If you are applying for a club to be approved, you must:
Step 1. Complete and sign FRM38DCA – Application for approval of a shooting club form
Step 2. Provide the supporting material as listed above
Step 3. Send the completed application and all your supporting material online or in hard copy to Police. Either:
- scan and submit the completed form using the upload page on the Police website, along with electronic copies of the supporting information (Note: if submitting online documents will need be jpg, jpeg, png or pdf file types and each file size must not exceed 5MB), or
- post hard copies of the completed application form and the supporting information to: Clubs and Ranges Team, Te Tari Pūreke – Firearms Safety Authority, DX PX10012, Palmerston North.
Step 4. Pay the required fee when invoiced by Police.
Club fees
Fees are calculated at the time of your application submission. After Police receive your application for club approval you will be issued a Police invoice with instructions on how and where to pay. Applications will not be processed until payment has been made. All fees include GST of 15%. The fee calculation table is shown below.
The fee for processing an application for club approval is $140.
Every year a club must pay a fee to help fund compliance activities. Police will issue clubs with an invoice, which must be paid before 30 June each year. To save processing costs a club can choose to prepay annual fees for an agreed period when making its initial application.
The fee is $40 for clubs for which ammunition or firearms are sold or supplied on behalf, and $30 for other clubs.
Forms and guides
FRM38DCA – Application for approval of a shooting club form
Shooting Club Guide (PDF, 8.65).
Secure Storage and Transportation Guide for Firearms and Ammunition
Useful links
Use the Firearms Licence Checker tool when selling firearms or ammunition to check whether the person you are selling to is presenting a valid licence to make the purchase.
For enquiries relating to shooting clubs and ranges, or the Shooting Range Inspector course, please email clubsandranges@police.govt.nz
