Firearms regulation in Norway
Gun laws in Norway incorporates the political and regulatory aspects of firearms usage in the country. Citizens are allowed to keep firearms (most commonly for hunting, sports shooting). The acquisition and storage of guns is regulated by the state.
Firearm Laws and Regulations
Firearms in Norway are regulated by the Law on weapons, firearms, weapon parts and ammunition[1] with additional regulations given in the Regulations on weapons, firearms, weapon parts and ammunition[2]. Guns owned and operated by the the armed forces and the police are exempt from the aforementioned law. The National Police Directorate can issue government circulars to further detail and in depth definition of how the firearm regulations should be interpreted (by the police).
Suppressors are unregulated and may be purchased freely by anyone in Norway.
Types of civilian-owned guns
Norway has a large population of hunters and sports shooters.[3] Semi-automatic and bolt-action rifles, as well as shotguns and pistols, make up the better part of the guns in civilian homes. Automatic firearms are prohibited for civilian ownership for the most part, that is unless they are a collector and member of the Norwegian historical weapons society[4] who may be issued licenses for automatic firearms. Modifying a semi-automatic firearm into a fully automatic one without police authorization is a felony.
Hunters can own up to a total of eight firearms (for hunting), whilst sport shooters can own one firearm for each shooting disciplines approved by the National Police Directorate[5]. Sports shooters who compete internationally and/or has participated in more than 10 competitions for a specific shooting disciplines in the past 12 months can apply for a spare firearm in each approved shooting discipline.
Ownership
The ownership of firearms is restricted in Norway, firearms licenses are given by the Norwegian police on a may issue basis. However, in practice almost all applicants are granted firearms licenses (e.g. 98.3% of firearm license application where granted in 2017[6]).
Civilian firearms licenses are only granted for hunting and sports shooting, in that order. However, there can also be issued licenses to Norwegian historical weapons society collectors, museums, international ship and port facility security and some other specialty purposes not generally applicable to ordinary civilians.
There are special rules for gun collectors. They are exempt from many of the firearms restrictions hunters and sports shooters abide by. However, becoming a gun collector is generally a lot more difficult than becoming a hunter or sports shooter. Gun collectors may purchase up to 100 firearms in their respective field of collection. Usually tied to a historical period or geographical locations, however, they may not fire their firearms without explicit permission from the police.
Rifle and shotgun licenses can be issued to persons 18 years or older with a clean criminal record. The applicant for the licenses must document a need for the weapon, usually hunting or sports shooting. There exists three exceptions to this age qualification. A minor under the age of 18, but over the age of 16 may apply for rifle or shotgun licenses in the name of a consenting parent or legal guardian.
For handguns, the age of ownership is 21. However, minors between the age of 12 to 18 can apply for a caliber .22lr pistol license in the name of a consenting parent or legal guardian. The aforementioned rules also applies to those between the age of 18 to 21, but for any caliber. The license given in the name of a consenting parent or legal guardian is only valid for two years at a time[2].
Obtaining a license
There are two ways of obtaining an ownership license in Norway. The most common is through the process of obtaining a hunting license, the other is through a sports shooting license.
For hunting
To obtain a hunting license, the applicant must complete a 30-hour, 9-session course and pass a written multiple choice exam. The course includes firearm theory, firearm training, wildlife theory, and environmental protection training.
Once the exam is passed, the applicant may enroll in the hunter registry and receive a hunting license. The membership must be renewed each year, through license payment. The hunting license is brought to the police station, where the applicant fills out an application for obtaining the proper firearm for his or her hunt. After evaluation, part of the application is sent back to the applicant if it was approved. Upon approval, the applicant can take the returned form to the store and purchase the firearm listed in the application.
For sports shooters
The qualification process for sporting is theoretically easier, but requires more time and practice. The applicant must enroll in a firearm safety course, lasting at least 9 hours. The course includes a written test, but is shorter than the hunting exam, as it only deals with firearm safety. Two-thirds of the course are completed on the shooting range as practice. The passing of the test results in acceptance to the approved gun club, and a license for competition. However, while the hunters can obtain their firearm almost at once, sports shooters must prove their intentions to compete by actively training or competing in the gun club. This means regular attendance (at least 15 times) at gun club training over the course of six months. The applicant must use firearms owned by the club or borrowed at the range for this period. After six months, the applicant may apply for weapon ownership. The start license and a written recommendation from the gun club president are brought to the police station, and the competition class is filled out on the application. If approved, it will be returned to the applicant as with the hunter license.
In both cases, if the application is rejected, the applicant is allowed an explanation of the reason, and an appeal.
For competition shooters in DFS
For competitive shooters in Det frivillige Skyttervesen (DFS) you will need an active membership for 6 months, and limitations for membership is Norwegian Nationals only. There is training course for youth from age 8 and up to 18, for adults an introduction to safety and behavior on the range is given, no written exams are required. Active members can apply for rifles approved by DFS competitions such as Sauer 200 STR in caliber 6.5×55 Scan, 308 Win, and 22lr only, Other approved rifles is Krag–Jørgensen, Mauser M98, and other competition bolt-action rifles in 22lr with trigger pull of 1.5 kg
Guns in civilian ownership
The laws for storage of firearms are strict.
For shotguns and rifles, the requirement given in the weapons act is to have the firearm, or a vital part of it, securely locked away. Generally, this means an approved gun safe, securely bolted to a non-removable part of the house. (A vital part is considered to be the bolt group—the bolt head will suffice—for rifles, the slide for pistols, or the barrel of a shotgun.)
The police are allowed to make a home inspection of the safe. An inspection must be announced more than 48 hours in advance, and the police are only allowed to see the safe and make sure it is legally installed.
Ammunition is generally only sold to persons with valid weapon license. However, if one is in possession of a legally unregistered shotgun bought before 1 April 1990, and is in the hunter registry, one can purchase shotgun ammunition by showing a firearms license or a hunting permit at the place of purchase. Without a special permit only 10,000 rounds of ammunition can be stored by a single person, or 15,000 rounds if 5,000 of them are .22 LR or smaller calibre.
Older rules stated that the ammunition must be locked away separately, but these rules were abandoned in the latest revision of the weapons act.
Transportation
The owner must always have a good reason to bring the weapon to a public place. Such reasons include transportation to a range or hunting area, transportation for repairs, or for maintenance and hobby activities.
During transportation, the weapon must be empty and concealed, but not worn on the body, and under the constant supervision of the owner. This applies equally to replicas, air guns and decommissioned firearms.
Homeloading
Homeloading is legal in Norway if you have a weapon license. You can only load for calibres you have a weapon license on or a “loan permit”. You can have up to 5kg of smokeless powder in your house and a maximum of 10,000 primers.
You can also have 3kg of black powder outside of your house in maximum 1kg boxes, hence you can have three 1kg boxes. They needed to be stored in the original plastic container and stored in a wooden box with walls separating the containers. It can’t also be stored in a room with open heat source like a fireplace or oven[7]
Firearm ownership
As of 2017 there are 1,329,000 (or 25 per 100 people) registered firearms owned by 486,028 (or 36% of population) people in Norway.[8]
References
- ^ "Lov om våpen, skytevåpen, våpendelar og ammunisjon (våpenlova) - Lovdata". lovdata.no. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ a b "Forskrift om våpen, skytevåpen, våpendelar og ammunisjon (våpenforskrifta) - Lovdata". lovdata.no. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ "At the start of the new hunting year on 1 April 2008, 417,400 hunters were registered by the Norwegian Register of Hunters". Archived from the original on 7 October 2007. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ^ "Norsk Våpenhistorisk Selskap |" (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ "Lover og regler om våpen". Politiet (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ "Revisjonsrapport for 2017 om politiets behandling av våpensaker" (PDF). riksrevisjonen.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Forskrift om våpen, skytevåpen, våpendelar og ammunisjon (våpenforskrifta) - Kapittel 6. Oppbevaring, transport og sending av skytevåpen, våpendelar og ammunisjon - Lovdata". lovdata.no. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
- ^ "Nå er det over 1,3 millioner private skytevåpen i Norge. To distrikter troner klart øverst på våpenstatistikken". 10 February 2017.