This page is generated from the same catalogs Waffenschrank works with. Whatever it says, the app shows in the same words where it applies — with permits, deadlines and storage locations. When an entry changes, it changes in both places — in the app with the next update.
At a glance #
- Report after acquisition
- No single deadline in days in the catalog — see the deadlines below for specific cases
- Report after transfer
- No single deadline in days in the catalog — see the deadlines below for specific cases
- Recurring review
- Each time the permit is renewed
Permits #
| Permit or document | Validity | Recurring obligation |
|---|---|---|
| Hunting license (jachtverlof / permis de chasse) | limited validity | — |
| Sport shooter license | limited validity | — |
| Provisional sport shooter license | limited validity | — |
| European Firearms Pass | limited validity | — |
| Carry license | limited validity | — |
Quota #
Belgium sets no maximum number: the license covers one firearm and requires a lawful reason that matches the type of firearm (Art. 11 Wapenwet). You get ammunition and magazines only for your own firearms (Art. 22 Wapenwet).
Proof of need #
Every license requires a lawful reason – such as hunting, sport shooting or a collection of historic firearms; you may keep firearms without ammunition only if you inherit them or already possessed them with a license (Art. 11 Wapenwet). The governor checks every five years whether the reason still exists (Art. 32 Wapenwet). As a sport shooter in Flanders you are active with twelve sessions a year on twelve days in two quarters from the issue of your license (Art. 14 Decreet houdende het statuut van de sportschutter); in the French Community with twelve sessions a year for the sole or first category and at least three for all other categories of your license taken together, with at least one in each of them (Art. 3 décret relatif à la pratique du tir sportif); in the German-speaking Community with twelve shooting exercises in the calendar year (Art. 2 Decree of 20 November 2006). Anyone holding a license for sport and recreational shooting without a sport shooter license proves at the five-year review at least five sessions per calendar year and 50 in the five calendar years before (Art. 2/1 KB 29.12.2006). The boekje, the carnet or your written records are the proof – the app only keeps a parallel count.
Storage #
At home, firearms subject to licensing are kept unloaded, out of reach of children and not directly accessible together with the ammunition; how strictly depends on the number: up to five, one measure per firearm; six to ten, a locked sturdy cabinet; eleven to thirty, a gun safe in a locked room (Art. 11 KB 24.04.1997). They are transported only with a lawful reason, out of sight, unloaded and with empty magazines, in a locked trunk, secured or in a locked case, with ammunition separate (Art. 15 KB 24.04.1997, Art. 21 Wapenwet). For sport shooters in Flanders the decree also requires separate, locked storage (Art. 4 Decreet houdende het statuut van de sportschutter).
From 6 weapons subject to licensing, one measure per weapon is no longer enough: a locked sturdy cabinet, from eleven a gun safe in a locked room (Art. 11 KB 24.04.1997), from 31 also secured rooms with an alarm system (Art. 5 and annex KB 24.04.1997).
| Class | What applies |
|---|---|
| Securing each firearm (up to 5 firearms) | With one to five firearms subject to licensing, one of these measures per firearm is enough: a security lock, an essential part stored separately or a chain to a fixed point (Art. 11 KB 24.04.1997). Always: unloaded, out of reach of children, firearms and ammunition not directly accessible together, no outside markings. As a sport shooter in Flanders you also keep firearms and ammunition separately in a locked cabinet or room (Art. 4 Decreet houdende het statuut van de sportschutter). |
| Locked, sturdy cabinet (up to 10 firearms) | With six to ten firearms: a locked cabinet of solid material that cannot easily be forced and gives no outside sign of its contents (Art. 11 KB 24.04.1997). Anyone who moves into this level through a purchase secures all firearms and ammunition accordingly. |
| Gun safe with lock in a locked room (up to 30 firearms) | With eleven to thirty firearms: a gun safe with a key, combination or biometric lock in a room whose doors and windows are properly locked; keys never left in the lock but kept in a safe place out of reach of children and others (Art. 11 KB 24.04.1997). From 31 firearms stricter rules apply: a room with reinforced doors and locks, secured ground-floor windows, an alarm system and a fire extinguisher (Art. 5 and annex KB 24.04.1997). |
The container classes shown summarize the rules of your country in simplified form and do not cover every case — the statute, the regulation and your authority prevail.
Legal deadlines (Belgium) #
| Deadline | What applies | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Loss or theft: report to the police at once | You report the loss or theft of a weapon subject to licensing to the local police without delay (Art. 10 Wapenwet); with a model 4 license you also inform the governor within fifteen days (Art. 13 KB 20.09.1991 implementing the Wapenwet). You report the loss or theft of the European Firearms Pass to the governor and the local police (Art. 7 KB 08.08.1994). | Art. 10 Wapenwet; Art. 13 KB 20.09.1991 zur Ausführung des Waffengesetzes; Art. 7 KB 08.08.1994 |
| Inheritance: apply for a license within 3 months | Anyone who inherits a weapon subject to licensing applies for a possession license within three months of taking possession and may possess it provisionally until the decision (Art. 17 Wapenwet, Art. 12 KB 20.09.1991 implementing the Wapenwet). To simply keep a weapon the deceased possessed lawfully, the license without ammunition is enough (Art. 11/1, Art. 11/2 Wapenwet). The heirs notify the governor of the license holder's death (Art. 13 KB 20.09.1991 implementing the Wapenwet). The reminder comes one month before the deadline. | Art. 17, Art. 11/2 Wapenwet; Art. 12, Art. 13 KB 20.09.1991 zur Ausführung des Waffengesetzes |
| Other acquisition: license within 3 months | Anyone who acquires a weapon subject to licensing other than with a license or as a hunter or sport shooter applies for the license within three months of the acquisition and may possess it provisionally until the decision (Art. 17 Wapenwet). The reminder comes one month before the deadline. | Art. 17 Wapenwet |
| Hunting or sport license expired: hand in ammunition | If your hunting license expires you may keep the firearms acquired with it without ammunition for ten more years (your criminal record is checked after five), three years after a sport shooter license. You hand in the ammunition to an authorized person within three months (Art. 13 Wapenwet); if you want to keep the firearm afterwards, you apply for the license within three months after that period ends (Art. 11/2 Wapenwet). | Art. 13, Art. 11/2 Wapenwet |
| Flanders: proof by the anniversary | The sport shooter license remains valid for five years if you show the federation every year that you are an active member with a clean record (Art. 10 Decreet houdende het statuut van de sportschutter): at the latest on the anniversary of the issue for the category granted first, with a copy of your boekje and a criminal record extract no older than three months (Art. 4 Sportschuttersbesluit). Active means at least twelve sessions on twelve days in two quarters (Art. 14 Decreet houdende het statuut van de sportschutter). The reminder comes one month before the anniversary. | Art. 10, Art. 14 Decreet houdende het statuut van de sportschutter; Art. 4 Sportschuttersbesluit |
| French Community: carnet before the anniversary | Every year, in the month before the anniversary of the issue of your license, you send the federation a copy of your carnet de tir on your own initiative; if it is missing or does not show regular practice for a category, the license ceases to be valid for that category (Art. 11 décret relatif à la pratique du tir sportif). Regular means, in each year, at least twelve sessions for the sole or first category and at least three for all other categories of your license taken together, with at least one in each of them (Art. 3 décret relatif à la pratique du tir sportif). The reminder comes one month before the anniversary. | Art. 11, Art. 3 décret relatif à la pratique du tir sportif |
| Five-yearly review by the governor | Once every five years the governor checks on his own initiative whether you still meet the requirements of your license; you make a declaration for this (Art. 32 Wapenwet). The request comes from the authority – there is no date you have to work out yourself. | Art. 32 Wapenwet |
Fully automatic and military semi-automatic firearms #
Fully automatic firearms #
Fully automatic firearms are prohibited weapons in Belgium (Art. 3 § 1 no. 3 Wapenwet); so are fully automatic firearms converted to semi-automatic (Art. 3 § 1 no. 19 Wapenwet). No one may manufacture, sell, transfer, transport, possess or carry them (Art. 8 Wapenwet).
Military semi-automatic rifles Unresolved #
A semi-automatic is subject to licensing in Belgium (Art. 3 § 3 Wapenwet) – but prohibited if it is a converted fully automatic, if as a long gun with a folding, telescopic or tool-free removable stock it can be shortened below 60 cm without loss of function, or if it has a magazine above the capacity set by the minister (Art. 3 § 1 nos. 15, 19 and 20 Wapenwet). Weapons designed exclusively for military purposes are prohibited (Art. 3 § 1 no. 3 Wapenwet); the app does not model when a military model falls under this. For hunting in Flanders, semi-automatics whose magazine holds more than two cartridges are prohibited (Art. 9 Jachtvoorwaardenbesluit).