About firearms licence holders in New Zealand

Here are some key facts and figures about firearms, licences, and work of the regulator as at 31 August 2026.

You can find out more in the Firearms data and public information

TOTAL LICENCE HOLDERS

There are 218,190 active individual firearms licence holders in New Zealand – that’s means that 1 in every 20 New Zealanders is a firearms licence holder.

GENDER OF LICENCE HOLDERS

Overall, 8.8 percent (19,198) licence holders are women. However, that demographic appears to be changing, as 17.7% of all “first time” licence holders are currently women.

LICENCE HOLDERS ACROSS NEW ZEALAND

Geographically, of the 12 Districts we manage firearms through, you will find the most firearms licence holders in:

LICENCE HOLDERS BY ISLAND

Nonetheless, there are more licence holders in total in the North Island than the South Island:

TOTAL FIREARMS

We do not know how many firearms in total that licence holders possess. When the Firearms Registry is filled by mid-2028 we will have this complete picture.

However, those who have recorded their firearms in the new Firearms Registry to date (70% of all licence holders are in) have recorded 715,982 firearms.

On average each licence holder has registered five firearms. 
 

TYPES OF FIREARMS REGISTERED

CLASSIFICATION OF FIREARMS REGISTERED

FIREARMS BUSINESS LICENCES (FORMERLY ‘DEALER’ LICENCES)

As at 31 August 2026, there are 438 people who held firearm business licence (formerly called a ‘Dealers’ licence in New Zealand). 

Business licences are issued for a specific place of business allowing Individuals to sell, hire, lend or supply arms items; repair or modify arms items; manufacture arms items; and possess arms items for auction. 

(Note: These figures include those who are now classified as having a Museum Licence. In the future we will display these separately).
 

TOTAL LICENCES ISSUED

In the four years 2022/23 to 2025/26, the then Firearms Safety Authority (now Firearms Safety and Education New Zealand) issued 92,976 licences in total (includes ‘individual’ ‘visitor’ and ‘dealer’ licences), or on average around 23,200 each year.

ENDORSEMENTS

When a licence holder wishes to possess and/or use classes of arms items that are not available to holders of a standard firearms licence they require an endorsement. As at 31 August, 2026, there were 11,837 licence endorsements in New Zealand.

• The largest groups with an endorsement are:
  
  - collectors with 5,279 endorsements (45% of the total)

  - target pistol endorsements 3820 (32%), and

  - pest control (now called biosecurity control) endorsements 637 (5%). 

(Note: This is a count of endorsements, not people. The same person may hold more than one endorsement.)
 

TEMPORARY LICENCE SUSPENSIONS

The regulator may take the action to temporally suspend an individual’s firearms licence while we investigate further any event that could affect a licence holders fit and proper status. In the five years 2021/22 to 2025/26, the regulator suspended 6006 firearms licences, or around 1,200 per year on average.

LICENCE REVOCATIONS

At the conclusion of any investigation into a licence holder, the regulator may decide to revoke a person’s firearms licence. A licence holder subject to a revocation cannot reapply for a licence for five years. I In the five years 2021/22 to 2025/26, the regulator revoked 4,075 firearms licences, or around 815 per year on average.