Changes to weapons legislation

The Weapons Act was amended on February 20, 2020.

Accordingly, silencers can now be purchased with a valid hunting license without a prior firearms acquisition permit for long guns with centerfire ammunition. The purchase must be reported to the weapons authority within two weeks and the entry in the weapons possession card must be applied for. Furthermore, the amendment to the law allows the purchase of night sights from a weapons law perspective. A firearms permit is not required for this. However, the hunting regulations, in particular the prohibitions, must be observed.

The processing times are longer!

Another new feature of the amended Weapons Act is the mandatory query by the weapons authority as part of the background check with the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. For this reason, the processing times within the Gütersloh Weapons Authority are significantly longer. The employees of the weapons authority therefore ask for more patience. The technical query options for the check must be introduced nationwide. In addition, a large volume of applications for constitutional protection is to be expected throughout the state in the initial phase. According to current information, permits cannot be issued again until the end of May.

Due to the more in-depth checks, it is estimated that the application process will take four to six weeks in future. The weapons authority will no longer be able to provide the usual service of issuing permits immediately.

Further changes to the Weapons Act will come into force in the coming months.