<!--StartFragment --> Some of the more commonly asked questions the National Firearms Association receives are about firearms classes. This is a very complicated area of the law. National Firearms Association Grounding Seminar in Firearms Legislation; Lesson 4, covers this topic in detail. If you are interested in joining our online learning seminars on firearms legislation, contact us.
Here, we will attempt to show the basic classifications. For the actual laws and regulations that define firearm classes, contact your local Chief Firearms Officer or the Canadian Firearms Centre for further details. Phone: 1 800 731 4000.
There are four basic firearm classes: Non-Restricted, Restricted, Grand Fathered Prohibited and Prohibited. The are six different classes of Grandfathered Prohibited classes. To be eligible for a licence to have any of these classes you must have possessed a firearm in that class prior to the deadline date. To maintain eligibility for these classes, a firearm in that class must be continuously possessed. Any break in possession will take the person out of that class.
All six classes are separate. Simply because you are in one class does not make you eligible for another. If you do not currently possess a firearm in a grandfathered class, you can never enter the class, excepting possibly the 12(7) class. The six classes are:
12(2): FA - All Full Automatic firearms are Prohibited Firearms
12(3): CA - All Converted Automatic firearms are Prohibited Firearms
12(4): Prohibited Weapons Order # 12 - Named Prohibited Firearms - A small class. Examples are: Sterling MK6, Steyr AUG, MAC 10 and Uzi
12(5): Prohibited Weapons Order #13 - Named Prohibited Firearms - A large class. Examples are: FN FAL, HK, AK47, MP5 submachine gun etc.
12(6): .25 calibre and .32 calibre Handguns, and any handgun with a barrel less than 105mm/4.14" long, registered before 14 Feb 1995 (This date is in the process of being changed to 1 Dec 1998, but the law has not changed yet) - all are Prohibited Firearms
12(7): 12.6 handguns manufactured prior to 1946 - They are inheritable by immediate next of kin.
* OIC = Order in Council
** There is a proposed Firearms Act Amendment that will change the grandfathering date for prohibited handguns to December 1, 1998 (from 14 Feb 1995) so that a correctly licensed individual who lawfully acquired a handgun while it was still restricted (between 14 Feb 1995 and 1 Dec 1998) can keep it.
Possession and Acquisition Licences (PAL) should have all the classes you are eligible for listed on the back. If a class has been omitted incorrectly, call the CFC immediately and have the licence amended you will not have lost that class just because it is not listed. FAC