Dealer employee: Before you apply

Find out what an endorsement allows you to do, who can apply and what you need to provide in your application.

Firearms Registry requirements apply from 24 June 2023

If you’re applying for or reapplying for a firearms licence or endorsement from 24 June 2023, you must register all items in your possession within 30 days of submission, including those you have a permit for.

This does not apply if you submitted your application before 24 June 2023.

Firearms Registry

When you need an endorsement as a dealer employee

You must have a firearms licence with an endorsement if you work for a licensed firearms dealer and your job requires you to handle:

pistols
pistol carbine conversion kits (PCCK)
restricted weapons
prohibited firearms
prohibited magazines.

Your employer needs a dealer's licence with endorsements to handle these items. The dealer employee and the dealer must have the same type of endorsements.

Who is eligible to apply

If the endorsement is for prohibited firearms or prohibited magazines, you must:

be aged 18 or over
have a New Zealand firearms licence, or be applying for one.

If the endorsement is for pistols or restricted weapons, you must:

have a New Zealand firearms licence, or be applying for one.

Types of endorsements

The type of endorsement you need depends on the items you will be handling.

You can be endorsed to handle:

pistols or restricted weapons
prohibited firearms
prohibited magazines
pistol carbine conversion kits
any combination of the above.

Definition of restricted weapon

Definition of prohibited items and ammunition

When you do not need an endorsement

If your work for a licensed dealer requires you to handle the following items, you must have a firearms licence (but you do not need an endorsement):

non-prohibited firearms which include specially dangerous air guns (PCPs)
non-prohibited parts
non-prohibited magazines
non-prohibited ammunition
airguns and restricted airguns.

How long an endorsement lasts

An endorsement lasts for 12 months unless one of the following occurs earlier

your firearms licence expires, or is surrendered or revoked
your employer's dealer licence expires, or is surrendered or revoked
the relevant endorsement on your employer's dealer licence expires or is surrendered or revoked
you stop working for that licensed dealer.

Information you need to provide in your application

When you apply for an endorsement, you need to provide the following information:

employer details – contact information, dealer licence number, dealer activities
evidence you are currently employed by a licensed firearms dealer – for example a letter from your employer
how you will meet the obligations of an employee of a licensed dealer under the Arms Act and Arms Regulations
your employment history
your skills, knowledge, and experience handling pistols, pistol carbine conversion kits, restricted weapons, prohibited firearms and prohibited magazines in a business environment
your personal attributes that make you suitable to hold an endorsement
referee contact information – if your referee is not your employer.

You may have to answer the same questions as when you applied for a firearms licence. We ask these questions again to make sure we have the latest information when we review your application.

Your endorsement referee must be different from the referee you used in your firearms licence application. Your endorsement referee must be:

25 years or older
a licensed firearms dealer or dealership business owner.