You can apply for a permit for a single shot or a permanent permit.

In general, firearms are objects that are intended for attack or defense, signaling, hunting, distance injection, marking, sport or play and in which projectiles are propelled through a barrel.

It is recommended that you inform yourself in detail about the regulations of firearms law before submitting your application.

If possible, you must state in the application where you wish to shoot, e.g. address, district. If you are shooting on behalf of an enclosure operator, you must submit the operator's permit/contract and, if necessary, provide further information about the enclosure operator.

You do not require a permit to shoot with a firearm if you

• want to shoot at a shooting range, for example at your shooting club;
• want to shoot as a hunter in the authorized practice of hunting or want to shoot animals that are subject to nature conservation law and have a corresponding permit from the nature conservation authority;
• want to shoot as a traditional marksman at an event at which it is customary to carry weapons for a special occasion and the head of the traditional marksmen's association has been granted a valid exemption permit in accordance with § 16 Para. 3 WaffG;
• want to shoot with a long gun at shooting ranges at an approved sporting event, for example a biathlon competition;
• want to use weapons that can only fire cartridge ammunition during a theater performance or similar or to scare away pest birds;
• want to shoot with compressed air, spring-loaded weapons and_{CO2 weapons}with less than 7.5 joules, which are marked with an "F" sign, with the consent of the holder of the domestic authority in a fenced area, for example for paintball activities;
• want to signal the start or beginning of a competition at sporting events with alarm weapons or signal weapons on behalf of the organizers, if such signaling is required;
• fire signal weapons during emergency and rescue exercises, if this is part of the exercise.

You may be refused a shooting permit if you have not lived in Germany within the last 5 years.

In order to obtain a shooting permit, you must

• be of the appropriate age and
• your need,
• Your reliability under firearms law,
• your personal suitability,
• liability insurance covering personal injury and damage to property to the amount of 1 million euros

provide proof.

If you handle weapons and ammunition without a firearms license, this may constitute a criminal offense.