How endorsements work

An endorsement on your firearms licence means you are eligible to apply for a permit to possess or import certain types of arms items – pistols, pistol carbine conversion kits (PCCKs), restricted weapons, restricted firearms or restricted magazines.

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Endorsements under the Arms Act 2026

To help keep people safe, anyone applying for an endorsement must have a firearms or business licence and meet additional criteria.

From 23 September, all endorsement holders remain endorsed under the Arms Act 2026. Any conditions that apply to endorsements under the new Act take effect from that date.

If you applied for an endorsements before 23 September and your application has not yet been completed, it will continue to be processed under the new Act.

You do not need to submit a new application form. However, you may be asked to provide additional information if it is required to process your application.

When you need an endorsement

Certain arms items require a licence holder to hold an endorsement before they can take possession of the items. 

These arms items are:

  • pistols
  • large-capacity pistol magazines
  • restricted weapons
  • parts of restricted weapons
  • restricted firearms
  • restricted magazines
  • restricted parts
  • pistol carbine conversion kits.

Large-capacity pistol magazines restricted to endorsed licence holders

Under the Arms Act 2026, a person may possess a large-capacity pistol magazine only if the person holds a firearms licence or visitor licence that bears an endorsement permitting them to possess a pistol.

Pistol endorsement holders will continue to be able to possess large-capacity pistol magazines without needing a separate endorsement for the magazine itself.

See the Requirement for possession of large-capacity pistol magazine in the Arms Act 2026

How permits and endorsements work together

Having an endorsement does not automatically mean you can possess or import any pistol, restricted weapon, restricted firearm or restricted magazine.

You must apply for a permit and be approved for each item. That permit then attaches that item to your endorsement.

If you apply for a permit to possess or import, you must also say why you want to possess or import that specific item.

Your reasons for importing or possessing a specific item must align with the reasons you provided in your endorsement application and the capacity in which you were issued that endorsement. 

Who can apply for an endorsement

Only certain people can apply for an endorsement.

Endorsement for pistols and restricted weapons

You can apply for an endorsement for pistols and restricted weapons only in your capacity as one of the following:

  • a licensed business
  • a member of an incorporated pistol shooting club that holds a certificate of approval issued under section 218 of the Arms Act
  • a bona fide collector of firearms
  • a person to whom the pistol or restricted weapon has special significance as an heirloom or memento
  • the director or curator of a bona fide museum

  • an approved employee or approved member of any body, being:
    - a broadcaster within the meaning of the Broadcasting Act 1989; or
    - a bona fide theatre company or society or cinematic or television film production company or video recording production company. 

    Read about Endorsements in the Arms Act 2026

Endorsement for restricted firearms and/or magazines 

You can apply for an endorsement for restricted firearms and/or magazines only in your capacity as one of the following:

  • a licensed business
  • a bona fide collector of firearms
  • a person to whom the restricted item has special significance as an heirloom or a memento
  • a director or curator of a bona fide museum
  • an approved employee or approved member of:
  • a broadcaster within the meaning of the Broadcasting Act 1989; or
  • a bona fide theatre company or society or cinematic or television film production company or video recording production company; or
  • as a person who:
    - is employed or engaged by the Department of Conservation and involved in operations for the purpose of controlling wild animals or animal pests in accordance with a specified Act (subject to prescribed limits, if any)
    - is the holder of a concession granted by the Minister of Conservation to undertake wild animal recovery operations in accordance with a specified Act (subject to prescribed limits, if any)
    - is employed or engaged by a management agency as defined in section 100 of the Biosecurity Act 1993 and involved in operations for the purpose of controlling wild animals or animal pests in accordance with that Act (subject to prescribed limits, if any)
    - is a person whose sole business, or a substantial part of whose business, is providing services to control any prescribed wild animals or animal pests, or a person employed or engaged by that person for that purpose (subject to prescribed limits, if any)
    - is a person who is the owner or manager, or is an employee, of an agricultural, a horticultural, or a silvicultural business, if there is a real possibility that the commercial viability of the business would be detrimentally affected to a significant extent by the presence of prescribed wild animals or animal pests on any land used for that business (subject to prescribed limits, if any). 

Revocation of a pistol, restricted weapon, restricted firearm, or restricted magazine endorsement

When an endorsement in respect of pistol, restricted weapon, restricted firearm or restricted magazine is revoked, the licence holder:

-ceases to be entitled to possess a pistol, large-capacity pistol magazine, pistol carbine conversion kit, or restricted weapon, and
-must surrender their licence to the chief executive on demand for the cancellation of the endorsement; and
-must deliver the pistol, large-capacity pistol magazine, pistol carbine conversion kit, or restricted weapon to an arms officer or a Police employee on demand.

Find out when endorsements for pistols, restricted weapons, restricted firearms, and restricted magazines can be revoked in the Arms Act 2026.

Firearms Registry requirements

If you’re applying for or reapplying for a firearms licence or endorsement, you must register all items in your possession within 30 days of submission, including those you have a permit for.

See more information about Firearms Registry

 

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