# Hunting > Firearm Safety >  How long is the wait for police vetting?

## dansus

Hi quick question I handed in the completed paper work for FAL, how long does it usually take for police to make contact to arrange vetting and check out rifle safe.

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## Kscott

Anything from a month to 6 months  :Wink: 

AO needs to co-ordinate a home visit, so they generally try to get a group of applications in the same suburb so they can do it in one visit out (no overtime approved for AO's). Then co-ordinate a visit with your referee. If your referee isn't available when your AO is, it'll cause a delay until they can meet. Then file the paperwork. Then wait for the license to be approved, then printed, then issued.

It'll take time due to the small team doing all the work, not front line officers.

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## dansus

😥 not the answer I wanted lol but very informative thanks

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## 308

Sometimes they need a bit of nagging - my one they lost the file and apparently that isn't too unusual

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## gsp follower

id a thought about 4 to 6 weeks at most.
in my case years back i was running out out of time for duck opening and theyd approved the licence[bout 3 weeks including talking to spouse and referees] and gave me a letter so i could buy a gun and ammo. the actual licence arrived bout a week  after opening.

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## 10-Ring

It can also depend on whether it's a renewal or new licence application. In the case of a renewal the unrelated referee interview can be done by phone which usually expedites the process. 

Generally, any delays are due to not being able to contact the applicant or one of the referees. Some people who've been asked to be a referee might, for whatever reason, decide to go on an overseas trip. Also, you'd be surprised at how many don't return calls when politely asked to.

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## madmaori

takes far to long at times in certain areas of the country

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## Towely

I assume you have actualy sat the test?! If you have only filled out the application form and handed it to the police station then they will inform you of a date and time that the test takes place. You turn up, pass it, and only then should you be waiting on vetting, after thats dealt with you wait for the piece of plastic.

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## matto1234

Roughly 2 months from course to licence in hand

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## Dundee

Our eldest passed the mountain safety course on the 24 June and firearms licence arrived last night.

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## dansus

Ended up emailing the local fire arms police offeicer the vetter has been on leave .  So has a large back log of work

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## Roddy

From Course to Card was 3 months for mine.  You need to be politely persistent including making phone calls, emails and as in my case an official complaint.  According to the SSgt dealing with my complaint my application sat on a desk from May to July and it was only when I complained was it picked up and processed

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## dansus

Vetter rang up Sunday avo then came around 20 mins latter now its just a wait for the card
 in the post hopefully,  :Have A Nice Day:

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## MattyP

They're pretty good in my experience....but only gone through the process once obviously.

I work overseas a lot, and I was able to coordinate all the interviews and security inspection to take place on the one day. When I followed up on the progress from overseas I was told my license had been approved and was emailed the number. The physical card was sent out and arrived a week later.

So timeline was:

- 6th August 2013 - Applied.
- 3rd September - Mountain Safety Council test (next available time I was in the country).
- 6th September - Interviews & security inspection by Firearms Vettor.
- 10th September - File physically handed to Arms Officer by Firearms Vettor.
- 10th September - License approved by Arms Officer and emailed to me on 11th September.
- Card arrived physically a week later (approx).

So about a month all up for me from application until receiving the license, and I was overseas for most of it. I was very proactive in emailing people and settings things up and helping the process along though.

Hope this helps.

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## grunzter

My vetting was super fast for my E, but had a nice call from the AO this morning saying sorry its been so long, and I should have it in 3 weeks.  :Have A Nice Day: 
...that's 5 months from the start of the application  :Sad: 
But it will be a good excuse to spend more time saving and celebrate on its arrival.  :Pacman:

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## R93

A B endorsement can take over a year. I know one fella who has been 18 months from wo to go.


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## grunzter

Crikey!

I know mine took a little longer as my referees were in different towns, but even the AO was unsure why it was so slow based on what she could get from the computer, as everything was A ok...

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## Banana

> A B endorsement can take over a year. I know one fella who has been 18 months from wo to go.
> 
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk


Something's up if it's taking that long.

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## R93

Yup. Like vetting information missplaced in a plods desk drawer.
It happens but some people only have themselves to blame for not chasing shit up.
My B took over 3 months after qualification.

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## muzza

The simple answer to the original question is " it takes as long as it takes ".

Its an application , not a demand , so you cant dictate the terms to the vetting officer.

If you are concerned at the length of time taken then a polite phone call may answer your concern.  Often times the vetting officer is part-time only , and probably has a life too .

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## Uplandstalker

From when I submitted the receipt for my B endorsement, I was called the next day by the vetting officer to arrange to meet.

After meeting and him saying he was happy, it took two week for the AO to call me to say all was processed and I can apply for a Permit to Procure buy a pistol from that day on(picked a gun up and took it home that afternoon), even though the plastic would be delivered for another 4-6 weeks.

So, may be depends on work load and the availability of the vetting officer. In my case, it was great!

Way back when I first got a normal license, after vetting and the course, I stopped by the AO and he plug the information in the computer and said if I want to buy something before the license turns up, let him know and he's write out a statement for the shop.

Overall, had a pretty good run.

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## CastleRock

Vetting officer told me of one case of where one referee was in Invercargill the other in Auckland, was going to take a while.  If you can pick referees that are in the same area as you and are easy to track down its surely got to help.

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## Koshogi

Auckland Arms Officers have 30 days to process the application.

Not sure about other areas.

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## keneff

Got sick of the wait, so went to the Pollice website and registered my dissatisfaction with the service we pay for. Here is the reply, received today.
Thanks for sending through the message outlining the issues around your application for firearms licence.  I understand your sentiments and we are painfully aware that the current licensing system is overwhelmed by the demand.   While revenue from license fees is applied to Police costs in this area, the fees are prescribed by the Arms Regulations, and Police have been waiting some years for amendments to be made, (an issue that does not affect private companies).  On the positive side, our systems can be made more efficient with the use of technology and a comprehensive review of our system is underway at present. 

Turning to your case, your application process was started by the Manukau Arms Office on 3 December and on 22 January that office requested that your licence be processed  a centralised process in Wellington.   There was about a 6 week backlog at that stage and your file was processed on 05 March.   According to our licensing office your licence was in last weeks batch and you should be receiving it this week. 

There is no magic cure for this situation at present, but we are hopeful that the outcome of the review (which will not be short term) will vastly improve the situation.  

Regards, 


Insp Roly Williams
Manager (Firearms)

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## keneff

It was good to get a prompt, straightforward, no bullshit reply and it seems they really ARE snowed under with applications. Maybe more staff would help matters, but that's another issue. Still, it looks like I'll be able to pick up my new rifle on Saturday, and get it scoped and sighted in for this year's roar. Hope to see some of you guys out there in a short while.

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## res

On a purely vetting example: I got into NZ late last Sunday night, rung the veter lunchtime Monday,he came over late Monday night and by lunchtime Tuesday the AO gave me a mail order form. Who knows/cares when the plastic will show up.  

This was for a renewal

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## Tommy

> On a purely vetting example: I got into NZ late last Sunday night, rung the veter lunchtime Monday,he came over late Monday night and by lunchtime Tuesday the AO gave me a mail order form. Who knows/cares when the plastic will show up.  
> 
> This was for a renewal


Well you can hardly ask for better than that!

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## res

> Well you can hardly ask for better than that!


For sure, being well known to the Wellington firearms police team probably helped a little, eg speeding up the veters visit by a few days as he added it onto the end of a very long day. 

But I offer it as an example that the people in the police system are doing the best they can within there very under resourced system. 

Also to show that even if you don't have the plastic that the system normally shows you as having a licence the day after the vetter turns the paperwork in(this may increase if your not in Wellington) so you can still do gun stuff-just ring/email your AO to check

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## Petros_mk

Interesting to see the feedback varies so much.

We completed the application and payment last week, I handed in the application to the police physically on Sunday afternoon (no AO present, just some random clerk), today being 2 days later my father gets an email that he is to sit the FAL test on 11th April. So far so good with speed of processing, if anything I'd say its impressive. 

Now I'm praying all will work out well for opening morning of the bird hunting season. And his birthday is next week so I need to buy him a double barreled present...

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## Chilli_Dog

It seems they have caught back up a bit, I did the mountain safety course at the end of January, from then it took a bit about 2 weeks until my vetting appointment which was on the 7th of February. I sent a similar email to the one earlier and my license was approved on 11/2 and the card was processed by the printer on 17/3 so I should get my bit of plastic next week

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## steven

the wellington issue seems to be ongoing, 3 years ago my plastic took 6~8weeks as well.

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## Jexla

> For sure, being well known to the Wellington firearms police team probably helped a little, eg speeding up the veters visit by a few days as he added it onto the end of a very long day. 
> 
> But I offer it as an example that the people in the police system are doing the best they can within there very under resourced system. 
> 
> Also to show that even if you don't have the plastic that the system normally shows you as having a licence the day after the vetter turns the paperwork in(this may increase if your not in Wellington) so you can still do gun stuff-just ring/email your AO to check


You and I are lucky we have AO's that are happy to provide us with mail orders and PTP even though we don't have our cards yet. Legally we are licensed and if a cop ran your name in the system it would say you are too.

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## Daggers_187

> For sure, being well known to the Wellington firearms police team probably helped a little, eg speeding up the veters visit by a few days as he added it onto the end of a very long day. 
> 
> But I offer it as an example that the people in the police system are doing the best they can within there very under resourced system. 
> 
> Also to show that even if you don't have the plastic that the system normally shows you as having a licence the day after the vetter turns the paperwork in(this may increase if your not in Wellington) so you can still do gun stuff-just ring/email your AO to check


I have had very similar experience to you. I think it has alot to do with how familiar or known you are to the Police vetting team/Arms officer.

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