Buying a Gun Privately in Canada: How a Private Firearm Sale Actually Works

Most people buying their first firearm privately in Canada have the same two questions, and neither of them is answered well anywhere they look: do we just meet up and trade? and what am I legally on the hook for if the other person is lying?

The short version is that a private sale is a regulated transfer with a mandatory government step in the middle, and the seller carries most of the legal weight. This walks through the whole sequence.

Last verified: September 21, 2026. Every legal statement below is sourced to the RCMP Canadian Firearms Program, linked inline. Rules change. The Canadian Firearms Program is the authority on your specific transfer, not this page and not the person you are buying from.

Before anything else: what class is it?

Everything downstream depends on the class of the firearm, and the class is not a property of the model name — it is a property of the specific gun in front of you.

The RCMP's classes of firearms guidance sets out three:

• Non-restricted — "Any firearm that is neither restricted nor prohibited. Most common rifles and shotguns are non-restricted, but there are exceptions."
• Restricted — handguns other than prohibited ones, certain semi-automatic centrefire firearms with a barrel under 470 mm, and firearms that can be reduced below 660 mm by folding or telescoping.
• Prohibited — including handguns with a barrel of 105 mm or less or designed to fire .25 or .32 calibre, rifles and shotguns adapted below 660 mm overall or with a barrel under 457 mm, automatic firearms, and semi-automatic centrefire rifles manufactured after December 15, 2023 that were originally designed with a detachable magazine holding six or more rounds.

Two practical consequences. First, a "short barrel" or "sporterized" gun advertised casually is worth measuring, because the thresholds are specific numbers and a seller's description is not a determination. Second, variants of the same model can land in different classes. Check the Firearm Reference Number on the RCMP Firearms Reference Table record that matches the actual firearm, not a record that matches its name.

If you are looking at a handgun, stop here and read the handgun section further down. The situation is materially different.

The non-restricted sequence

This is the common case: a hunting rifle, a shotgun, an SKS, a Lee-Enfield. Five steps.

1. The buyer needs a valid PAL

A Possession and Acquisition Licence is required to acquire a non-antique firearm. The RCMP states that the PAL is the only licence available to new applicants aged 18 or older, and that you must pass the Canadian Firearms Safety Course before you can apply for one.

If you do not have a PAL yet, there is no version of this that works. Getting one takes a course and a processing period, so start there rather than finding a rifle first.

2. The seller verifies the licence in person

The RCMP's guidance on buying and selling firearms describes comparing the buyer's photo identification against their firearms licence during an in-person transaction.

In practice this means the seller looks at the physical card, looks at the person, checks the photo, checks the expiry date, and checks that the licence is privileged for the class of firearm being sold. A photo of a licence sent over a messaging app is not verification. A licence that expired last year is not a licence.

3. The seller gets a reference number from the Registrar

This is the step people skip and the one that is not optional.

Before transferring a non-restricted firearm, the seller must obtain confirmation from the Registrar of Firearms that the buyer holds, and is still eligible to hold, a licence authorizing them to acquire a non-restricted firearm. The transfer may take place only after a reference number has been issued.

The seller requests it — through the Canadian Firearms Program's Individual Web Services portal, or by calling the Canadian Firearms Program at 1-800-731-4000. What the Registrar is confirming is the validity of the buyer's licence. The RCMP notes that the Registrar does not collect any information about the non-restricted firearm itself, so this is not registration returning by the back door — no record of the gun is created.

A reference number will not be issued if the buyer does not hold a valid PAL. That is the point of the step: it is the seller's protection against a forged or lapsed card.

4. Watch the ninety-day clock

The reference number "is valid for a period of ninety (90) days or for the remaining period of validity of the transferee's (buyer's) licence." If it expires before the firearm physically changes hands, a new one has to be requested.

This matters more than it sounds for cross-province sales, where a gun can sit with a carrier while a deal drags. If the buyer's PAL expires in three weeks, the reference number expires in three weeks, not in ninety days.

5. Hand it over

Once the reference number is issued and still valid, the transfer can happen. For a non-restricted firearm there is no registration record to update afterward.

Sensible practice that is not a legal requirement but will save you both grief: write down the make, model, serial number, date, price, and both licence numbers, and each keep a copy. If the firearm is ever connected to something, the seller wants to be able to show when it left their possession.

Restricted firearms are a different process

For a restricted or prohibited firearm the registration record is the centre of the transaction. The RCMP states that all restricted and prohibited firearms must be registered, and that "when a restricted or prohibited firearm is sold, given or traded to a new owner, the registration record must be updated to reflect this transfer."

Both parties give information to the Canadian Firearms Program, which issues a transfer number — a different thing from the non-restricted reference number — after a review. This takes longer, and the firearm should not move before it completes. Movement of a restricted firearm also generally requires an authorization to transport, which is worth sorting out before the handover day rather than on it.

Handguns: assume you cannot, then check

If the firearm is a handgun, the default answer in Canada today is that a private sale is not available to you.

The RCMP's page on changes to handgun transfers states that the government implemented limits on handgun transfers "by regulatory amendments on October 21, 2022," and that on December 15, 2023 Bill C-21 received royal assent and wrote those limits into the Firearms Act.

Individuals can continue to possess and use the registered handguns they currently own. Transfers are restricted to exempted individuals, which the RCMP identifies as two groups:

• people holding an Authorization to Carry for personal protection or lawful occupation, and
• people who train, compete or coach in a handgun shooting discipline on the programme of the International Olympic Committee or the International Paralympic Committee, with supporting documentation from a sport shooting governing body.

Authorized businesses may continue to sell handguns to exempted individuals, to law enforcement and defence personnel, and to other authorized businesses.

If you are not in one of those categories, work that out with the Canadian Firearms Program before you negotiate price on a listing, not after.

Ammunition has its own rule

A firearms licence is required to acquire ammunition, not just firearms. The RCMP states that ammunition may be acquired by an individual or business with a valid firearms licence, or by a public agency with a valid Public Agency Identification Number. A Minor's Licence also permits the purchase of ammunition, subject to provincial or territorial age restrictions.

Ammunition is also dangerous goods, which means it does not go by regular post. That is why almost every ammunition deal on a Canadian classifieds site is a local pickup, and why searching your own province first is worth doing in that category specifically.

Shipping between provinces

A non-restricted firearm can be shipped by a carrier that accepts firearms, once the seller has verified the buyer's licence and holds a valid reference number. This is normal and it works.

What people underestimate is the cost and the timeline. Between the carrier's firearms surcharge and a hard case, a long gun moving across the country can add well over a hundred dollars to a deal, and the ninety-day clock on the reference number is running the whole time.

For anything under roughly $600, the economics usually favour finding one closer to home. On GunEx that means starting from a province page rather than the national listings, and narrowing to a city where there is enough inventory to bother.

The five things people actually get wrong

1. Skipping the reference number. The transfer may take place only after a reference number has been issued. A handshake in a parking lot without one is not a completed lawful transfer, and the exposure sits with the seller.
2. Accepting a photo of a licence. Verification is comparing the card to the person in front of you. A forwarded image proves nothing.
3. Not checking the expiry date. A PAL that has lapsed is not a licence, and the Registrar will not issue a reference number against it. Better to find that out before you have driven two hours.
4. Assuming the class from the model name. Classification attaches to the specific firearm. Check the Firearm Reference Number on the record that matches the gun you are actually looking at.
5. Sending a deposit to someone you have not verified. The licence check protects against an unlicensed buyer. Nothing in the transfer process protects a buyer against a seller who does not own the firearm. Pay on handover, in person, wherever you can.

Where to start looking

Everything on GunEx is posted by Canadian sellers or gathered from public Canadian classifieds, and the location is on every listing, so you can work out before you message whether this is a drive or a shipment.

• Rifles for sale in Canada — the largest category, and where surplus and hunting rifles trade
• Shotguns for sale in Canada — pump, semi-auto, over-under and side-by-side
• Ammunition for sale in Canada — local pickup, for the reasons above
• Firearm value estimator — what Canadians have actually been asking for a given make and model, before you negotiate

This article is general information about how private firearm transfers work in Canada. It is not legal advice. Classification, licensing and transfer requirements are determined by the RCMP Canadian Firearms Program, which can be reached at 1-800-731-4000. Confirm your specific situation with them before any transfer.