Mental health and wellbeing for firearms licence holders

Learn about the importance of your mental health and wellbeing as a firearms licence holder and what to do if you have concerns about yourself, your family, or someone you know.

Your health and what to look out for

As a firearms licence holder, you have responsibilities when experiencing a physical or mental health condition that may adversely affect your safe use of firearms.

Mental health conditions are common, and we encourage anyone with symptoms to seek help early from a health practitioner or other medical professional to keep themselves and others safe.

Physical or mental health conditions that go untreated may cause symptoms that lead to safety concerns for a licence holder, and could indicate they are no longer 'fit and proper' to hold a firearms licence.

The appropriate treatment and management of physical and mental health conditions is always preferable to suspension or loss of your licence.

Learn more in our Health and Firearms flyer:

Health and Firearms Flyer.pdf

(pdf 1.8 MB)

Mental wellbeing and firearms safety

Firearms are practical tools that many New Zealanders use for hunting, work, and recreation. Being in the right headspace to possess and use firearms is an important part of firearms safety.

We have released a short animation that explains the relationship between mental wellbeing and firearms safety in a clear and practical way. The animation supports health awareness and encourages people to act early if they are facing challenges that could affect safe firearms use.

It’s important that all firearms licence holders:

recognise when mental health may be affecting firearms safety
plan ahead during major life events or periods of stress
have options for temporarily storing firearms with another licence holder
understand voluntary surrender of a firearms licence
understand what happens if concerns about a licence holder’s wellbeing are raised.

What to do if you're concerned about your physical or mental health

If you do not think you can keep yourself safe or you are a danger to others, please call 111 and ask for Police.

If you experience the symptoms of mental illness or physical injury that you believe negatively affects your ability to possess firearms safely, it's a requirement under the Arms Act that you inform your health practitioner and Firearms Safety and Education New Zealand.

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

Contact us:

Phone 0800 844 431 (04 499 2870); or
Phone the non-emergency Police number: 105.

Relevant health conditions

There is no exhaustive list of health conditions that may be relevant to the safe possession and use of firearms.

Of particular concern is whether the health condition is developing or manifesting itself (or is likely to) in such a way that, in the interests of individual or public safety, you:

should not continue to possess firearms
should not continue to possess firearms for a specified period until the health condition or disability no longer impacts on your fit and proper status
should only possess firearms on certain conditions.

Examples of the sorts of health conditions or disabilities that you should discuss with your health practitioner include:

mental health issues of any kind, including depression, stress, anxiety, bipolar disorder, personality disorder, or psychosis, especially if they are poorly controlled or escalating in severity
development of suicidal thoughts or feelings
serious head injury or neurological conditions such as dementia, Parkinson’s Disease, Huntington’s Disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Multi System Atrophy
seizures, dizziness, blackouts
alcohol or other drug misuse or dependence to the extent it affects your judgement or behaviour
decline in functioning of memory, thinking, understanding, and judgement
exhibiting or reporting behaviour suggesting anger or violence (including previous or current family harm)
drowsiness or problems with cognition, secondary to a health condition or medication
any physical condition that would make handling firearms unsafe, for example, visual or hearing impairment, poor mobility, increased risk of falls.

This list is designed to emphasise the wide spectrum of medical conditions and health states that may impact significantly on your suitability to possess firearms. It's not exhaustive, and you should consider notifying us and your health practitioner about any concerns you might have.

Other steps you can take

As well as reporting your symptoms, there are other steps you can take.

Make a contingency plan

It's a good idea to make arrangements for the disposal or safe-keeping of your firearms in the event of physical or mental illness or injury.

You might also want to update your will to include instructions regarding your firearms.

Note: There are specific legal actions triggered following the death of a firearms licence holder. See:

When a licence holder dies

You may consider having an agreement with another firearms licence holder that they can remove the firearms from your safe if you are incapacitated. They will need to know the code to your safe or where you securely store your keys.

Make sure other household members are aware of this contingency plan.

Storage and transportation of firearms and ammunition

Store your firearms with another licence holder

At any point you may store your firearm with another firearms licence holder. You will need to provide information for the Firearms Registry about the transfer of possession.

When to register or update information in the Registry

When a firearm changes hands

Consider surrendering your firearms and arms items

If your symptoms impact your ability to safely possess or use firearms, you should consider surrendering your firearms and arms items.

You can surrender firearms to:

a current New Zealand firearms licence holder, or
a licensed firearms business or
Firearms Safety and Education New Zealand

Disposal of firearms and arms items

Consider surrendering your firearms licence

If you have concerns about your health and do not feel fit and proper to hold a firearms licence, you may want to consider surrendering your firearms licence. Once your health condition has improved, you may apply for a firearms licence again at any point.

You may surrender (give up and hand in) your firearms licence to Firearms Safety and Education New Zealand at any time. This relates to Section 140 of the Arms Act 2026..

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

Effect of expiry or surrender of firearms licence | Arms Act 2026, Part 3, Section 141 | New Zealand Legislation website

Effect of revocation of firearms licence | Arms Act 2026, Part 3, Section 159 | New Zealand Legislation website

Surrender your licence

On surrender of your licence, you are no longer licensed to possess arms items or ammunition.

If you have firearms in your possession, you must transfer them to another firearms licence holder, or surrender them to Firearms Safety and Education New Zealand.

Disposal of firearms and arms items

When a firearm changes hands

If you're concerned about a licence holder

If you are friends or whānau of a firearms licence holder and you are concerned their physical or mental health is negatively affecting their ability to possess firearms safely, you should contact us.

If there is an immediate danger to people or property:

phone 111 and ask for Police.

If you have general concerns:

phone 0800 844 431 (04 499 2870)
phone the non-emergency Police number 105.

If you're concerned about family harm

If you or someone you know is a victim of family harm and they live with a firearms licence holder, they might be in further danger. You should consider calling 111 and telling Police that there are firearms in the house or that a household member has a firearms licence.

Mental health concerns in your household

If you have firearms in your home and someone in your household is experiencing symptoms of a mental illness and Firearms Safety and Education New Zealand is notified, we may have a conversation with you to understand the risks to your safety and the safety of others.

What actions you could take as a licence holder

You could consider temporarily storing your firearms with another licence holder or surrendering them.

Disposal of illegally held or unwanted firearms

You will need to provide information for the Firearms Registry about the transfer.