Health-related licensing responsibilities

Learn about your responsibilities and obligations as a firearms licence holder, when to inform your health practitioner, and what may happen when health concerns are raised.

Informing Firearms Safety and Education NZ of any health concerns

As a firearms licence holder, if you experience the symptoms of a physical or mental illness or injury that adversely affects your ability to possess firearms safely, you need to inform Firearms Safety and Education New Zealand.

This obligation is covered by Section 71 and Section 75 Arms Act 2026:

Persons who may be found not fit and proper to hold firearms licence | Arms Act 2026, Part 3, Section 71 | New Zealand Legislation website

Conditions of firearms licence: general | Arms Act 2026, Part 3, Section 75 | New Zealand Legislation website

Contact us:

phone 0800 844 431 (09 302 6500)

phone the non-emergency Police number 105.

If we require more information

We may require more information about the health condition before deciding what steps to take. You may be asked to provide a medical report.

Firearms Safety and Education New Zealand only requires information that relates to the health condition that is, or could be, impacting your suitability to safely possess firearms.

Responsibilities to inform your health practitioner

When you apply for a licence

When you apply for a firearms licence, you are asked to provide your health practitioner details as part of the application process. Your health practitioner is automatically notified when you are granted a new firearms licence.

When you are a licence holder

For your safety and the safety of others, your doctor or health practitioner needs to know you have a firearms licence.

The obligations of health practitioners are outlined in:

Information for health practitioners

Health practitioners are not the final decision makers on firearms licence status. Information provided by health practitioners is not the only information Firearms Safety and Education New Zealand can consider when deciding on someone’s fit and proper status.

In many cases, they will also consider information from others before reaching a decision.

If you change health practitioner

If you are an existing licence holder, you may wish to inform your new health practitioner, so they can add this to your patient record.

What happens if your health practitioner has a concern

If your health practitioner tells Firearms Safety and Education NZ they are concerned about your possession of or access to firearms, this will be referred to the Firearms Resolutions Team to consider the appropriate intervention or action.

Each report is considered on a case-by-case basis and in conjunction with other information held about the licence holder.

Read more about what happens when your health practitioner has a concern:

Information for health practitioners

When your health practitioner changes

If you change health practitioner, or their contact details have changed, you're required to notify Firearms Safety and Education New Zealand.

How to notify a change of health practitioner

What actions Firearms Safety and Education NZ might take when responding to health concerns

There are a number of options available to Firearms Safety and Education New Zealand to manage risks posed by physical or mental health concerns relating to firearms licence holders. These include:

imposing firearms licence conditions
asking you (or the affected household member) to provide a medical assessment; or
suspending your firearms licence pending possible revocation, under Section 140 and Section 153 of the Arms Act 2026 (unless you elect to surrender it earlier).

Surrender of licence | Arms Act 2026, Part 3, Section 140 | New Zealand Legislation website

Revocation of firearms licence | Arms Act 2026, Part 3, Section 153 | New Zealand Legislation website

Suspension of firearms licence

Your firearms licence may be suspended as a result of notification of concern for your physical or mental health, due to information that Firearms Safety and Education New Zealand or the wider Police receive in another way.

If Police attend an incident relating to mental health, they may seize the firearms licence and/or firearms for safekeeping until Firearms Safety and Education New Zealand have reviewed the incident and made a decision around the licence.

As the firearms licence holder, you may be asked to provide a medical assessment, and your licence may be suspended, pending possible revocation.

If Firearms Safety and Education New Zealand suspends your firearms licence pending possible revocation, this is a step taken out of concern for your safety or the safety of others.

It's important to note that if your firearms licence is suspended, you are not licensed to possess firearms.

We will notify you if your firearms licence is suspended, and you will have time to gather information to submit for consideration for your licence to be retained before a decision is made about revocation. Firearms Safety and Education New Zealand will provide you with further information about the process.

Revocation of firearms licence

If Firearms Safety and Education New Zealand revokes your firearms licence, there will be a 5-year stand-down period before you can reapply for a firearms licence, as specified in section 23(1)(b) of the Arms Act 1983:

Revocation of firearms licence | Arms Act 2026, Part 3, Section 153 | New Zealand Legislation website

Application for review of firearms licensing decision | Arms Act 2026, Part 3, Section 80 | New Zealand Legislation website

You cannot possess firearms, even under supervision, if your licence has been suspended or revoked.