Arms Act 1983

Miscellaneous provisions - Registration of firearms and dealings

95: Obligation to provide information to registry

You could also call this:

"Tell the Police about your firearms and licence"

You must tell the Police about certain things if you have a firearms licence or a dealer's licence. You also have to tell them if you have a firearm or other item regulated by the Arms Act 1983. This includes things like buying, selling, or importing a firearm. You have to tell the Police about events like a firearm being stolen, lost, or destroyed. You also have to tell them about other events specified in regulations made under section 74. You must provide the relevant details to the Police at the right time and in the way prescribed by regulations made under section 74. A temporary transfer means lending a firearm to someone for less than 30 days. This does not apply to certain types of firearms, like pistols or restricted weapons. You have to follow the rules and tell the Police what they need to know.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS853644.

This page was last updated on 27 January 2026 — View changes

Topics:

Crime and justice > Police and safety

94: Content of registry, or

"What's in the firearms registry?"

96: Review of this Act, or

"Checking how well the Arms Act 1983 is working"

Part 9Miscellaneous provisions
Registration of firearms and dealings

95Obligation to provide information to registry

This section applies to the following persons:
every holder of a firearms licence:
every holder of a dealer’s licence:
every other person who is or intends to be in possession of a firearm or other item regulated by or under this Act.

This section also applies to the following events in relation to any firearm or other item regulated by or under this Act:
its sale or supply, excluding a temporary transfer:
its purchase or receipt, excluding a temporary transfer:
its importation:
its exportation:
its manufacture:
its theft, loss, or destruction:
any other event specified for the purpose of this section in regulations made under section 74.

Every person to whom this section applies, and every person who has responsibilty in relation to any event to which this section applies, must provide the relevant details to the Police in accordance with the time and any other requirements prescribed by regulations made under section 74.
In this section, temporary transfer means a transfer of possession of the firearm (not being a pistol, restricted weapon, prohibited magazine, or prohibited firearm) or other item for less than 30 days.

Notes

Section 95: inserted, on 24 June 2023, by section 104 of the Arms Legislation Act 2020 (2020 No 23).