Frequently Asked Questions
Firearms
The CFSC and CRFSC courses are the federally-mandated first step towards obtaining your Possession And Acquisition License (PAL) and restricted endorsement (RPAL). If the student successfully completes the course(s) and achieves satisfactory pass scores on the written and practical exams, the course is considered to be ‘passed’ and the student receives a course completion certificate.
This certificate should then be included with the application form and payment and sent to the Canadian Firearms Program who assess the application and make the decision on whether the license is granted.
On Point Training only facilitates the courses and examinations, we do not administer the license process. For more info, see our FAQ ‘What is the licensing process?’.
The process for obtaining your PAL/RPAL consists of the following steps:
- Reach the legal age for license application (12 years for PAL, 18 years for RPAL),
- Take the CFSC/CRFSC training course(s) and pass the written and practical examinations,
- Complete the required paperwork for individuals over 18 (form RCMP 5592 / CAFC 921E) and send to:
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
P.O Box 1200
Miramichi, NB E1N 5Z3
If you are between the age of 12yrs and 18yrs and wish to apply for a Minor License you must have first completed the CFSC course and passed with the required pass mark. Please contact the Chief Firearms Officer in the Province in which you will be using the firearm for the correct application process. No one under the age of 18 years can apply for the RPAL endorsement.
- Wait for CFO to process your application.
- Receive your license in the mail.
The Chief Firearms Officer mandates a maximum of 12 students per instructor, per course, and with most of our students taking the Combined CFSC/CRFSC course offerings our seats fill quickly.
COVID-19 reduced the number of active instructors throughout Canada and as a result, those that continued teaching saw incredible demand for seats. With supply chain issues added into the mix, more people than ever are turning towards hunting as a sustainable approach to food security. We also hear from a large percentage of students that are concerned with the limitations on firearms ownership being proposed by government and in many cases, this was the ‘push’ they needed to follow through on the desire to become trained and acquire their PAL and RPAL.
Unfortunately not.
In order to maximise the amount of students we can train in a year, all courses are pre-booked and pre-sold. Our scheduling is entirely based on demand and the more people that have registered their interest with us to take a course, the more courses we schedule. As you will have noticed, all our marketing encourages registration and this is the reason. To register you interest, simply click the button at the bottom of this screen and fill in your details. We will contact you.
If we have sufficient students registered to run a course, we offer the course to them ahead of any marketing efforts and more than 50% of our courses operate with no marketing at all; they are simply filled and operated with people that have pre-registered. If you are not registered, you never see these courses advertised.
Once we open a course date for booking, we will send an email to our student list with links to book the course(s) available. Usually, we allow registered students 24 to 48 hours to take advantage of the available seats before advertising on social media.
Life happens; we understand this well. Sometimes, a situation comes along that prevents a student from attending the course on the dates they have booked and we do everything we can to accommodate that.
We operate what we believe is a very clear and fair refund policy; if you wish to cancel your CFSC or CRFSC booking more than 7 days before the start of your course for any reason, we offer a full refund.
Cancellations less than 7 days before the start of the CFSC and/or CRFSC courses can be refunded on the provision that we can resell the booked seat(s). This policy is in place because although we have an almost permanent wait list, for many people it isn’t possible to change their schedules at less than a weeks notice. Talk to us if you need to cancel at less than 7 days notice and we will be able to give a good idea of possibilities.
If you do not show up, or you show up late, on the start date of the course, there is no refund. Late arrivals will not be permitted to join the course as, under CFO mandate, the student has not completed the full course and the instructor is not able to attest that they have done so. There are no exceptions to this policy.
Another option available to students, and one that most prefer, is to defer their booking to a future course. In almost all scheduling, we talk with these students first to ensure that the proposed dates work for them for the next course. We recognise that having to miss out on the course is disappointing and this is something we can do to send a little love their way.
CORE exam challenges can be deferred but not refunded.
In-person CORE courses cannot be deferred or refunded.
In all cases, if On Point Training cancels or reschedules ANY course, a full refund will be offered.
You can check out our refund and deferral policy here.
We do not provide the manuals for the firearms or CORE courses.
We appreciate that some students like to have access to written material for pre-study or general reference and we celebrate those that do. There are numerous learning styles and all are valid.
To facilitate these students, we provide links to the downloadable .pdf copy of the firearms course manual here. We also provide local vendor details for the physical CORE manual here.
Our ethos is that a good educator should be equipped to translate the course material effectively for all learning styles and abilities and our course delivery is assembled for that goal. In short, you do not need the manuals to be successful when you train with us but you are most welcome to use them if you wish.
It depends entirely upon the judgement of the CFO. It is our experience that students that have previously taken the CFSC course and passed are allowed to renew without a resit, although PAL holders who were grandfathered from FAC or who challenged the exams prior to 2014 are usually mandated to retake the course. This is not a hard rule and we know of exceptions on both sides.
The first course of action is to call CFO on 1-800-731-4000 or visit the CFO website.
We get lots of questions from people on this topic. The best answer is to keep a copy of this government-issued interpretation handy.
We actually have a printed copy of this tri-fold in the glovebox of our cars and in each gun case. Should you ever be stopped by RCMP while transporting firearms, this ensures that all parties are working from the same official information.
In Canada, Indigenous peoples are not exempt from taking the Canadian Firearms Safety Course (CFSC) and/or the Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course (CRFSC) in order to obtain a Possession and Acquisition License (PAL). However, there are two potential alternative pathways they can explore based on their circumstances:
1. Alternative Safety Certification:
- Indigenous elders (defined as someone recognized as such by their community) may apply for alternative safety certification by demonstrating their knowledge of firearms safety and firearms laws to the Chief Firearms Officer (CFO). This typically involves providing letters of reference from respected community members and demonstrating a long history of safe firearms handling.
- Indigenous adults (18+) can apply for alternative safety certification if they can convince the CFO that the CFSC/CRFSC course is not reasonably available or accessible due to time, location, or cost. This needs to be supported by documented evidence like travel distances, limited course availability, and financial hardship.
Important notes:
- These alternative pathways are not guaranteed and are ultimately at the discretion of the CFO.
- Even with alternative certification, applicants still need to meet all other PAL eligibility requirements like criminal background checks and reference checks.
- Regardless of the path taken, all PAL holders must comply with all firearms laws and regulations in Canada.
Resources:
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) – Indigenous peoples – Firearms: https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/firearms/indigenous-peoples
- RCMP – Firearms forms and reports: http://rcmp.ca/en/firearms
It’s always best to consult directly with the Canadian Firearms Program or your local CFO for the most up-to-date information and personalized guidance specific to your situation. They can explain the eligibility requirements, application process, and alternative pathways in detail.
Hunting
No.
The CORE course is the pathway to obtaining your Fish & Wildlife ID number. The FWID program is administered in BC through the FWID (BCWF).
Once you have successfully passed your CORE course, you submit your course completion paperwork to the BCWF with the required fee and they will provide the FWID number to you.
The provincial hunting license must be renewed each year on or after April 1st. Once the license is purchased for the year, the holder is then able to purchase big game tags for the species they intend to hunt for the remainder of that year.
Unfortunately not.
In order to maximise the amount of students we can train in a year, all courses are pre-booked and pre-sold. Our scheduling is entirely based on demand and the more people that have registered their interest with us to take a course, the more courses we schedule. As you will have noticed, all our marketing encourages registration and this is the reason. To register you interest, simply click the button at the bottom of this screen and fill in your details. We will contact you.
If we have sufficient students registered to run a course, we offer the course to them ahead of any marketing efforts and more than 50% of our courses operate with no marketing at all; they are simply filled and operated with people that have pre-registered. If you are not registered, you never see these courses advertised.
Once we open a course date for booking, we will send an email to our student list with links to book the course(s) available. Usually, we allow registered students 24 to 48 hours to take advantage of the available seats before advertising on social media.
Life happens; we understand this well. Sometimes, a situation comes along that prevents a student from attending the course on the dates they have booked and we do everything we can to accommodate that.
We operate what we believe is a very clear and fair refund policy; if you wish to cancel your CFSC or CRFSC booking more than 7 days before the start of your course for any reason, we offer a full refund.
Cancellations less than 7 days before the start of the CFSC and/or CRFSC courses can be refunded on the provision that we can resell the booked seat(s). This policy is in place because although we have an almost permanent wait list, for many people it isn’t possible to change their schedules at less than a weeks notice. Talk to us if you need to cancel at less than 7 days notice and we will be able to give a good idea of possibilities.
If you do not show up, or you show up late, on the start date of the course, there is no refund. Late arrivals will not be permitted to join the course as, under CFO mandate, the student has not completed the full course and the instructor is not able to attest that they have done so. There are no exceptions to this policy.
Another option available to students, and one that most prefer, is to defer their booking to a future course. In almost all scheduling, we talk with these students first to ensure that the proposed dates work for them for the next course. We recognise that having to miss out on the course is disappointing and this is something we can do to send a little love their way.
CORE exam challenges can be deferred but not refunded.
In-person CORE courses cannot be deferred or refunded.
In all cases, if On Point Training cancels or reschedules ANY course, a full refund will be offered.
You can check out our refund and deferral policy here.
We do not provide the manuals for the firearms or CORE courses.
We appreciate that some students like to have access to written material for pre-study or general reference and we celebrate those that do. There are numerous learning styles and all are valid.
To facilitate these students, we provide links to the downloadable .pdf copy of the firearms course manual here. We also provide local vendor details for the physical CORE manual here.
Our ethos is that a good educator should be equipped to translate the course material effectively for all learning styles and abilities and our course delivery is assembled for that goal. In short, you do not need the manuals to be successful when you train with us but you are most welcome to use them if you wish.
No, not at all.
In Canada, firearms administration is federal and hunting and fishing are regulated provincially. The laws for firearms are the same across Canada but the laws for hunting vary by province.
To hunt with a firearm, the hunter must either have their own PAL or must be under the direct and immediate supervision of another person who holds a valid firearms license.
A hunter may hunt with a bow or crossbow without holding a PAL.
In Canada, hunting is managed provincially and firearms are managed federally. In short, that means that the firearms laws and requirements are the same all across Canada but the hunting regulations and laws differ from province to province. Therefore, while many (most, even) hunters use a firearm, it isn’t necessary to have a firearms license to hunt; a person can hunt with a bow or a crossbow without needing a firearm.
Let’s assume though that you are looking to hunt with a firearm, probably a rifle or a shotgun. The best way to achieve this is to take the Canadian Firearms Safety Course (CFSC) which is the mandatory first step in the process to gain a firearms license, otherwise known as a Possession and Acquisition License (PAL). We provide the course, administer the examinations, and teach everything you need to know to be successful, even for those that have never been near a firearm or ever handled one. In fact, we rather prefer it that way as there are no bad habits to overcome. We have extensive experience in education and accommodate all students regardless of challenges so you can be assured that you are in safe, confident hands with us.
Once you pass the course, you can then apply to the federal government for your PAL and pay the required fees. Once granted, this allows you to purchase and own firearms in the non-restricted classification which covers most rifles and shotguns currently although with our current federal government, it’s anyone’s guess what they may reclassify at any time. For that reason, we do encourage students to consider taking the additional Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course (CRFSC) which then allows you to apply for the restricted endorsement to the PAL and collectively they are known as the RPAL.
While a student can take the BC hunters education program, known as the Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Education (CORE) program, at any time, we generally recommend that this is done after the CFSC course as the student is then exempted from the practical firearms handling exam within the CORE. It isn’t a showstopper by any means, it is just less overhead for the student. Once the CORE exams are successfully passed, the student can then apply to the BC Wildlife Federation (BCWF) for their Fish and Wildlife (FWID) number which is necessary to buy annual hunting licenses and tags for big game animals.
That is a lot of information and acronyms, for sure. There is lots of good information to explore in the links provided above.
With progress towards digital delivery, the provincial government does appear to be reducing the amount of hard-copy hunting synopsis that they send to outlets. It can be a challenge and the best advice we can offer is to call around outlets to see what they have in stock. Bear in mind that the synopsis is updated every 2 years.
A electronic copy of the synopsis is always available here.
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