Apply for permission to permanently transport firearms or ammunition to, through or from the Federal Republic of Germany

Prerequisites

You must have a deactivation certificate or proof of destruction of the weapon.

Documents required

• Identity card or passport (copy)
• Permission documents (e.g. weapon ownership card, European firearms passport) in which the weapons are registered (if available)
• Deactivation certificate (officially certified copy) or proof of the destruction of the weapon (e.g. presentation of the destroyed weapon or detailed visual documentation of the destruction process)
• Power of attorney/proof of activity/other proof if the notifying party is not the permit holder, e.g. insolvency/compulsory administrator, officially appointed guardian, owner of property (in the event of the permit holder's death)

Please note

To fill out the ad quicker, you can use the NWR identification numbers (NWR-ID):

• Your PersonalNWR-ID (P- or F-NWR-ID) for your personal information
• the permit NWR-ID for the weapons law permit (E-NWR-ID)
• the weapon or weapon part NWR ID (W or T NWR ID).

You will receive the NWR IDs upon request from the responsible weapons authority.

Deadlines

The rendering of weapons unusable or deactivated must be reported immediately.

Procedure

You must report the deactivation or destruction of the weapon requiring a license to the responsible weapons authority along with the necessary documents.

Legal basis

§ 29 Weapons Act (WaffG)

https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/waffg_2002/__29.html

Weapons or their essential parts are rendered permanently unusable if the ability to fire or function cannot be restored using commonly used tools and the technical specifications of the EU Deactivation Implementing Regulation (Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2403 of December 15, 2015 establishing common Guidelines on deactivation standards and techniques to ensure that firearms are rendered permanently unusable upon deactivation (OJ L 333, 19.12.2015, p. 62), most recently adopted by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/337 (OJ L 65 dated March 8, 2018, p. 1) has been changed).
If the deactivation is not carried out in accordance with the EU Deactivation Implementation Regulation, the same provisions continue to apply to these weapons as to functional weapons that require a permit.
Decommissioning is usually carried out by a gunsmith/gun manufacturer. The responsible fire department issues a deactivation certificate as proof that the weapon has been rendered unusable in accordance with the requirements of the EU Deactivation Implementation Regulation. You must keep the deactivation certificate together with the weapons that have been rendered unusable or take them with you when transporting such weapons. If you lose the deactivation certificate, you must immediately report this to the responsible weapons authority.
A weapon is destroyed when its technical functionality is permanently eliminated and its physical existence no longer exists (e.g. by shredding or melting the weapon).
If you have reported the deactivation or destruction and provided the necessary evidence, the responsible weapons authority will remove this weapon from your license documents (e.g. weapon ownership card, weapon license, European firearms passport).