Tasmania

How to apply for a Tasmanian firearms licence

Tasmania reverses the order many mainland registries use. You lodge a completed application, 100 points of original identification, certified photocopies and the fee at Service Tasmania first. Firearms Services then writes to say you may enrol in a TasTAFE Firearms Safety Training Course — or that the application is not granted. Training must be finished within six months of that letter or the application is withdrawn. After competency is reported, you return to Service Tasmania with a verification letter for a photo, and the card is posted.

Tasmania Police — application process →

Process

  1. 01

    Complete the application form

    Use the firearms licence application form linked from Firearms Services.

  2. 02

    Assemble 100 points of original identification

    Check acceptable identification methods on the Firearms Services site before you attend.

  3. 03

    Confirm the current fee

    Refer to the current Licence and Permit Fees page. This guide does not copy a dollar table that can go stale.

  4. 04

    Lodge at Service Tasmania

    Submit the form, 100 points of original ID, photocopies for certification, and payment.

  5. 05

    Wait for the approval-to-enrol letter (minimum 28 days)

    Eligibility pages state the minimum processing time is 28 days from application, after which you are notified by mail. The process page says the letter either approves enrolment in a Firearms Safety Training Course or refuses the application.

  6. 06

    Complete TasTAFE training within six months

    Enrol in the relevant TasTAFE Firearms Safety Training Course within six months of the letter. TasTAFE sends the Certificate of Competency to Firearms Services. Missing the six-month window withdraws the application. You may then get a verification letter, or a request for more information (failure to reply can also withdraw the file).

  7. 07

    Photo at Service Tasmania, licence posted

    Take the verification letter and 100 points of original ID to Service Tasmania for a photo. The photographic licence is printed and sent in due course.

Eligibility

  • 18+ for an adult licence; 12–17 for a Minor’s Permit.
  • Resident of Tasmania; fit and proper person.
  • Evidence of a genuine reason; evidence of identity; prescribed fee.
  • Firearms Safety Training Course — sequenced after the approval-to-enrol letter, not before first lodgement.

Genuine reason

Personal protection, or protection of family or property, is not a genuine reason. Firearms Services lists sport or target shooting; recreational hunting or vermin control; primary production; animal population control; animal welfare; business or employment as a dealer, security agent or guard (with commercial fishing seal management and paintball as related employment reasons); firearms collection (inoperable unless the Commissioner approves firing); and show or exhibition (museum). You may hold more than one reason and must meet the proof for each. You may only use a firearm for the purpose on the licence. Categories B, C, D or H also need proof that a lesser category is not sufficient.

Training

TasTAFE Firearms Safety Training Course after Firearms Services approves enrolment. Do not assume a course completed before lodgement satisfies the six-month letter — follow the letter.

Where to apply

In person at Service Tasmania. Firearms Services (Tasmania Police) assesses the file. Service Tasmania also hosts an apply transaction that points to this process.

Waiting, fees and acquiring a firearm

Minimum 28 days before mail notification, then up to six months to finish TasTAFE, then photo and posting. Permit-to-acquire is a separate Firearms Services process after you are licensed — see “Applying for a permit to acquire” on fas.police.tas.gov.au. Fees: current Licence and Permit Fees page only.

Official sources

Last checked 22 August 2026.

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