Thread: Firearm licencing

Does anyone know if you can submit your application etc before your 16th Birthday just to avoid even further delays ?

Originally Posted by Pete_D

Does anyone know if you can submit your application etc before your 16th Birthday just to avoid even further delays ?

I believe you cannot complete the process before one's 16th birthday.

It is a shame.
My son got his learners driver license and FAL on his 16th birthday.
I reminded him both were licenses that could accidentally kill, more likely with his drivers than his FAL.

Originally Posted by Pete_D

Does anyone know if you can submit your application etc before your 16th Birthday just to avoid even further delays ?

@Pete_D unfortunately you can no longer do this.

When my son went through the process 4 years ago he carried out his Mountain Safety Course a couple of months before his 16th birthday and handed in his FAL application forms the week before his birthday. This resulted in him getting his plastic card within 6 weeks of turning 16. The application process changed about 18 months ago and when my daughter approached her 16th birthday last September we found you now need to be 16 in order to book the Mountain Safety Course. In some locations this might mean you need to wait several months before you can attend the course due to demand. Once the course has been done then you can get the 36-page FAL application form submitted. Don't forget the two 16-page referee forms too. By the finish you will certainly know how to spell your name, know your address, recall your telephone number and Drivers Licence number... nothing like filling those details in multiple times.

Our timeline so far...

Mid September - turned 16, booked MSC
Late November - completed MSC
Late November - submitted FAL application
Late April - interviews, advised license should arrive in 6 weeks
12 weeks later no license, no responses to emails, phone not even picked up at Dunedin Police Station. Just rings.


I think we need to employ the American cost-benefit analysis ideas where government departments need to justify the forms they create and review the time it takes to complete them, then state on the form the expected time necessary to complete it. Adding new multiple-page forms duplicating data is a waste of effort but bureaucrats love it.

Originally Posted by Pete_D

Does anyone know if you can submit your application etc before your 16th Birthday just to avoid even further delays ?

I completed the at home interview and security inspection before turning 16. Was a while ago though.


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