In this page you will find information and requirements for the PAL Course and details about the application and licensing process.
Valid government issued photo ID must be presented on the first day of the course or you will turned away. Anyone under the influence of drugs or alcohol will be turned away. The minimum age for the Non-Restricted course is 12 years old, and 18 for the Restricted course. Please inform the instructor before registering a minor in a course, a special Minor’s Application must be obtained by the instructor prior to the course start. The course manual can be reviewed before class by downloading it here:
The Canadian Firearms Safety Course is approximately 8 hours plus testing. It consists of classroom time and safely handling disabled firearms, followed by a written and practical examination. Students must pass the written exam with a mark of 80% to move onto the practical exam, and pass the the practical exam with a mark of 80% to complete the course. In the event of an unsuccessful written or practical exam, retesting is available the day after the course and for the following 7 days at no cost; if unable to retest within those 7 days, the student must take the entire course again at their own cost.
The Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course is approximately 6 hours (or 4 hours if taken within 7 days of the CFSC) plus testing time. It consists of classroom time and firearms handling, followed by a written and practical examination. The 80% standard for written and practical exams, and the retesting criteria, apply to the CRFSC.
Successful students will be provided with a course report for each course taken. The course report(s) will be submitted along with an application to the Canadian Firearms Program (CFP) run by the RCMP. If the student is taking the CFSC and CRFSC in quick succession, it is recommended to send both course reports in one application package to speed up the processing time.
Applying Online
If the applicant is over the age of 18 and a Canadian Resident for longer than 3 years, and they haven’t had a license before, the application package can be submitted online via the RCMP Individual Web Services page. To submit online, you’ll need:
- A scanned copy of the course report that you get from me
- A valid email address
- A digital license photo (clean, white background, etc)
- 2 pieces of gov ID
- Credit card
- You’ll also need to add info for:
- 2 references
- Photo guarantor
- Current and formal conjugal partners (if applicable)
For minors, the process is similar but you’ll also need to add in a parent for them to give consent.
Mail-in application
A paper application package to mail in is available if the applicant does not meet the eligibility for online applications.
The following are recommendations if you’re mailing in your application package:
- photocopy all original documents and keep a copy for your records
- send the application package to the CFP/RCMP via registered mail/courier to ensure notification of the package’s delivery
- pay via credit card so you can check when the application package is processed by the CFP/RCMP
Understand that just because an application package has been processed, it does not mean the student will receive their license. There is a minimum 28 day waiting period after receiving an application mandated by the legislation before a license can be issued, but processing times can vary wildly from weeks, to months, to years in some extreme cases.
You can check the status of your application here:
https://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/firearms/individual-web-services
