New Zealand · first licence
Your firearms licence, step by step
From checking you can apply to the day your licence arrives, roughly in the order FSE sets it out for a first licence. Each step links to the official page it comes from. FSE’s pages are the authority, and they change, so check them before you rely on a date or a fee.
Check you can apply
You can apply from age 16 if you are not disqualified and have not had a licence revoked in the past 5 years. Gang members are disqualified under the Arms Act 2026.
Line up your referees
You need one next-of-kin referee aged 16 or over: your spouse or partner, or a near relative who knows you well. If you are 16 or 17 with no partner, it must be a parent or legal guardian. You also need at least one unrelated referee: 20 or over, living in New Zealand, knows you well, not related, not living with you, not a recent partner, not NZ Police staff. FSE interviews them as part of your application. They don’t need to hold a firearms licence.
Study the Code and the seven rules
FSE asks you to study the seven rules of firearm safety, the Firearms Safety Code and its free e-learning before the course. FSE says the Code covers what you need for the theory test. That’s where FAL Ready fits: practice questions on every topic, the Seven Rules until you can recite them, and timed 30-question mocks.
Source: Firearms safety course: Before you take the course; Firearms safety e-learning
Apply and pay
Apply first, online through MyFirearms or on the paper form, and pay the fee. Applying online needs a mobile phone and a RealMe login. FSE’s fees, including GST: NZ$126.50 for a first licence, NZ$126.50 to reapply before expiry, NZ$241.50 to reapply after expiry. Fees include GST and are not refundable, whatever the outcome, and paying by card online adds a 1.9% surcharge. FSE recommends allowing 4 to 5 months for an application to be processed, because of the interviews and inspections involved.
Source: Applying or reapplying for a firearms licence; Before you apply: How much it costs
Book the firearms safety course
FSE then sends a unique ID that is only for booking the safety course, so don’t use your application number. Email it with your name, mobile number, any support needs and two course choices. Your place is confirmed only when FSE replies. Bring current photo ID that matches your booking. The course itself is free. Don’t bring firearms or ammunition: deactivated firearms are provided for the practical.
Source: Firearms safety course: Book your safety course; What to bring; Firearms safety course options
Sit the theory test, then the practical
The theory test is part of FSE’s firearms safety course and comes before the practical session. It has 30 multiple-choice questions in 30 minutes, in English, Simplified Chinese or te reo Māori, and you may bring a reader/writer or interpreter. If you don’t pass the first time, you get a second attempt after the practical. FSE says the Firearms Safety Code covers what you need. FSE doesn’t publish the theory test pass mark. In the tests Scott supervised under the old system, the pass was 28 out of 30, and any Seven Rules question wrong failed you.
Source: Firearms safety course options: Standard Firearms Safety Course
Get your storage ready
Keep standard firearms in a stout, lockable cabinet, container or strongroom (or a display rack that immobilises them), securely fixed to the building. Every standard firearm on the premises stays locked in it unless you, or another licence holder, are supervising it. An arms officer inspects and approves your set-up before your licence is issued, and you must also follow FSE’s storage guidance. FSE is updating its storage guidance for the Arms Act 2026. Check the latest guide before your inspection.
Ammunition is locked away separately, in a locked drawer, cupboard or box with a different key or combination from your firearms safe, so anyone who reaches a firearm can’t also reach the ammunition.
Source: Arms Regulations 2026, reg 17, reg 18 and reg 21; Secure storage of firearms and ammunition (quick guide); Storage and transportation of firearms
FSE’s checks
After you apply, FSE checks whether you are fit and proper to hold a licence. That includes an in-person interview with you, interviews with your referees, and an inspection of your firearms and ammunition storage. A licence is issued only once your storage has been inspected and meets the requirements.
Source: Applying or reapplying: After you submit your application; Before you apply
Once you’re licensed
A first licence lasts 5 years. Apply for a new one before your licence expires and it lasts 10 years; let it expire first, or after a revocation or surrender, and it is 5 years again. Once licensed, tell the regulator in writing within 30 days if you move. FSE says that the first time you apply for a licence or endorsement, you must register all arms items in your possession within 30 days.
Before you’re licensed
Without a licence, you may use a standard firearm only under immediate supervision. FSE describes this as a licence holder who is present and actively supervising, close enough to take control, and not using another firearm. FSE makes licensing decisions. If a licence is declined, given conditions or revoked, you can ask the Firearms Licensing Review Committee to review it within 90 days.
Source: Using a firearm under supervision without a licence; Arms Act 2026, s 16, s 80, s 322; Changes for individual licence holders
Where FAL Ready fits
Steps 3 and 6. FAL Ready is practice for the theory test: quick tests, the Seven Rules, drills on every topic and timed mocks, with the source on every answer. It doesn’t replace the course, it can’t do any of the other steps for you, and passing our mock tests does not guarantee you will pass the official test or be granted a licence.
This page is FAL Ready’s own summary of FSE’s published process, written from the same approved recaps the app shows (last checked 3 October 2026). FAL Ready is independent and is not affiliated with FSE or New Zealand Police.