r/canadaguns • u/ZealousidealTopic545 • Mar 20 '26
Application / Regulation advice The legality of full custom builds
So I recently have gone down a rabbit hole for long range precision shooting, and i'm watching a lot of these guys down in the states, they build their platforms from scratch with all custom parts that they assemble themselves. and it got me wondering about how that might work in canada.
im aware you can add custom parts to existing guns but pretty much all of these guys that im seeing are not starting from an existing gun and its all separate parts from different manufacturers and then assembling it.
I've spent a good couple hours on google, searching about the legality of building your own gun in canada but pretty much everything i'm finding is on eighty percent receivers or 3d printed ghost guns. so I was wondering if anyone has any experience with that, is there any kind of special process that you have to go about when doing it?
Edit- thanks for the info it seems some people are thinking I want to make my own receiver. I'm not looking to make a receiver just all market parts and the assembling them.
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u/MasterScore8739 Mar 20 '26
I don’t believe Canadians are allowed to actually build our own firearms from scratch the same way Americans are.
We are however able to buy a premade receiver and than add the parts required to get it functional. Naturally we still have to abide by the law and build it to to level of license we have.
So if we only have a NR license, if we have to have the finished firearm be within the NR category. If we have our RPAL, then you could assemble something that would fall into the restricted category.
If we do go the restricted route, you have to call and have the firearm verify as restricted and obtain a certificate for it.
As for 3D printing or milling a receiver, sadly we’re out of luck. You’d have to obtain a business level firearms license. I don’t remember exactly what it’s called, but the average Canadian isn’t going to go that route for shots and giggle.