Authorisation to Transport:
Applies only to restricted and prohibited firearms
The Authorisation To Transport (ATT) is a document issued by CFO and is required prior to owning a restricted or prohibited firearm. It is issued in two variations, long-term and short-term, to each individual. There is a great deal of confusion regarding ATT requirements and to remain legal, it is necessary to fully understand the requirements. This page seeks to help you understand these requirements and common errors.
Let us first deal with prohibited firearms. For the majority of Canadians, if you do not already have a prohibited licence then the possibilities of acquiring one are almost zero. The only exception to this is if you are receiving a prohibited firearm from certain immediate family members that currently hold a prohibited licence. See the relevant CFP page for further details.
Restricted firearms, by the nature of the classification, have certain constraints to their movement and use. CFO prescribe that there are two legal reasons for owning a restricted firearm; collection purposes and target practice/shooting. When applying for your ATT, you will be asked the purpose and it is important to ensure you give one of these two. For most people, the answer will be target shooting.
Target shooting with a restricted firearm can only take place at an approved range and you will need to have 1) a membership at a suitable range and 2) a long-term ATT (LT-ATT) to legally transport your restricted firearm between your home or place of storage and a range. CFO will ask for evidence that you have a membership although in most cases, when the LT-ATT is issued, it will permit travel between your home and any approved range in BC. For those that shoot in competitions, this is an important feature but for the rest it is simply a useful addition. We shoot regularly at 3 different ranges so having one LT-ATT to cover the transport is convenient. Generally, your LT-ATT will also permit you to transport your firearm to licensed gunsmiths and to border crossing provided you have the required paperwork for the country of destination or transit. It is important to understand that the wording on the LT-ATT states:
"Firearms must be transported by a route that, in all circumstances, is reasonably direct"
That leaves a lot of ambiguity that must be reconciled by the individual for liability reasons but it would be fair to assume that CFO wish transport to be directly between the place of registration or storage and an approved range.
You do not need to own a restricted firearm to apply for an LT-ATT and at On Point Training, we recommend that as soon as you receive your RPAL and have range membership, you apply for a LT-ATT by calling CFO at 1-800-731-4000. The purpose of this approach is that when you acquire a restricted firearm, the process of transferral is faster if an LT-ATT is already in place. An LT-ATT usually has the same duration as your RPAL and will expire on the same day. Firearm registration certificates MUST accompany the LT-ATT for the firearms being transported.
A short-term ATT (ST-ATT) is a very limited duration permit to transport restricted firearms to or from other locations. Most often, this is covers situations of buying/selling firearms. Be aware that you cannot simply head to your local gun store, buy a restricted firearm and take it home, there is a process that must be followed which differs depending on whether you are buying from a business or private seller and also whether it is in-store or by mail order. Broadly, the process consists of buying the firearm, transferring the firearm, obtaining an ST-ATT to move the firearm and then taking ownership. Once you have decided on the firearm you wish to buy, the owner or business will commission CFO to transfer the item into your name which currently takes about 3 days if an LT-ATT is in place. Once that transfer is done, you can call up CFO and ask for a ST-ATT to be mailed or emailed to you to enable you to collect your new gun and take it home. Once you have it at home, your LT-ATT covers transport to and from the range(s). If you buy your firearm via mail order, the carrier does not need a ST-ATT but you will require one to collect from your local Post Office is they do not deliver directly to your door.
There is a further complication is buying from a private seller; the seller will call up CFO to commission the transfer and should provide you with a reference number. As soon as you have that, you ALSO need to call CFO to confirm the transfer; if you don't call to confirm it, you'll be waiting weeks until they write and ask you to call in. Once you have called in, wait 3 days and call again to confirm the transfer is complete and if so, ask for a ST-ATT so you can collect or alternatively, inform the seller so that they can arrange a ST-ATT to transport to the Post Office.
To reduce waiting times, communication and understanding the process is vital. In our experience, it also pays to be courteous and pleasant with the CFO staff; whatever your thoughts regarding the validity of the Firearms Act or the efficiency of the CFO, they are human beings that take a lot of abuse in the course of their work. Give them a break and be nice and who knows, your transfer might just complete that bit faster.
Useful knowledge:
The Authorisation To Transport (ATT) is a document issued by CFO and is required prior to owning a restricted or prohibited firearm. It is issued in two variations, long-term and short-term, to each individual. There is a great deal of confusion regarding ATT requirements and to remain legal, it is necessary to fully understand the requirements. This page seeks to help you understand these requirements and common errors.
Let us first deal with prohibited firearms. For the majority of Canadians, if you do not already have a prohibited licence then the possibilities of acquiring one are almost zero. The only exception to this is if you are receiving a prohibited firearm from certain immediate family members that currently hold a prohibited licence. See the relevant CFP page for further details.
Restricted firearms, by the nature of the classification, have certain constraints to their movement and use. CFO prescribe that there are two legal reasons for owning a restricted firearm; collection purposes and target practice/shooting. When applying for your ATT, you will be asked the purpose and it is important to ensure you give one of these two. For most people, the answer will be target shooting.
Target shooting with a restricted firearm can only take place at an approved range and you will need to have 1) a membership at a suitable range and 2) a long-term ATT (LT-ATT) to legally transport your restricted firearm between your home or place of storage and a range. CFO will ask for evidence that you have a membership although in most cases, when the LT-ATT is issued, it will permit travel between your home and any approved range in BC. For those that shoot in competitions, this is an important feature but for the rest it is simply a useful addition. We shoot regularly at 3 different ranges so having one LT-ATT to cover the transport is convenient. Generally, your LT-ATT will also permit you to transport your firearm to licensed gunsmiths and to border crossing provided you have the required paperwork for the country of destination or transit. It is important to understand that the wording on the LT-ATT states:
"Firearms must be transported by a route that, in all circumstances, is reasonably direct"
That leaves a lot of ambiguity that must be reconciled by the individual for liability reasons but it would be fair to assume that CFO wish transport to be directly between the place of registration or storage and an approved range.
You do not need to own a restricted firearm to apply for an LT-ATT and at On Point Training, we recommend that as soon as you receive your RPAL and have range membership, you apply for a LT-ATT by calling CFO at 1-800-731-4000. The purpose of this approach is that when you acquire a restricted firearm, the process of transferral is faster if an LT-ATT is already in place. An LT-ATT usually has the same duration as your RPAL and will expire on the same day. Firearm registration certificates MUST accompany the LT-ATT for the firearms being transported.
A short-term ATT (ST-ATT) is a very limited duration permit to transport restricted firearms to or from other locations. Most often, this is covers situations of buying/selling firearms. Be aware that you cannot simply head to your local gun store, buy a restricted firearm and take it home, there is a process that must be followed which differs depending on whether you are buying from a business or private seller and also whether it is in-store or by mail order. Broadly, the process consists of buying the firearm, transferring the firearm, obtaining an ST-ATT to move the firearm and then taking ownership. Once you have decided on the firearm you wish to buy, the owner or business will commission CFO to transfer the item into your name which currently takes about 3 days if an LT-ATT is in place. Once that transfer is done, you can call up CFO and ask for a ST-ATT to be mailed or emailed to you to enable you to collect your new gun and take it home. Once you have it at home, your LT-ATT covers transport to and from the range(s). If you buy your firearm via mail order, the carrier does not need a ST-ATT but you will require one to collect from your local Post Office is they do not deliver directly to your door.
There is a further complication is buying from a private seller; the seller will call up CFO to commission the transfer and should provide you with a reference number. As soon as you have that, you ALSO need to call CFO to confirm the transfer; if you don't call to confirm it, you'll be waiting weeks until they write and ask you to call in. Once you have called in, wait 3 days and call again to confirm the transfer is complete and if so, ask for a ST-ATT so you can collect or alternatively, inform the seller so that they can arrange a ST-ATT to transport to the Post Office.
To reduce waiting times, communication and understanding the process is vital. In our experience, it also pays to be courteous and pleasant with the CFO staff; whatever your thoughts regarding the validity of the Firearms Act or the efficiency of the CFO, they are human beings that take a lot of abuse in the course of their work. Give them a break and be nice and who knows, your transfer might just complete that bit faster.
Useful knowledge:
- A firearm registration certificate only ever holds a single name. In cases where you are likely to transport firearms that are not registered to you (owned by spouse or parents, for example), it is worth talking to CFO and having them listed on your LT-ATT but remember that you MUST transport them with the firearm registration certificate.
- When trading firearms with a local contact, you still need an ST-ATT even if you choose to meet up to exchange at a local range. The reason for this as that as soon as the transfer completes, you no longer own the firearms each of you will be transporting; theirs belongs to you and yours belongs to them. The ST-ATT ensures you are legally covered to transport in this situation.
- Create copies of your LT-ATT and firearms registration certificates and keep them in your gun case. This avoids any opportunity to be stopped by RCMP without having the required paperwork.