Question about getting a PAL

[u/Matt_Jeevas58]

I’ve went to a sports center the other day, and asked the cashier about firearms. He told me that someone needed to be 18 but I could get one, I just needed to follow the pamphlet they gave me. I am still a minor. One of their things in the pamphlet was that I needed to do a safety test? Which I did pay for but I didn’t not compete yet as it takes 5 hours. If I do the 5 hours + the other step and succeed then I can legally get a firearm?

[u/airchinapilot]

If you are not close to 18 then as a minor getting the minor's license provided you have a guardian/parent's permission is your only option. With it you can't buy a firearm but you can buy ammunition.

The 5 hours or whatever they said will encompass the Canadian Firearms Safety Course. At the end of the course you need to do a multiple choice exam and a practical test. The test will require you to demonstrate how to make safe a variety of non-restricted firearms (bolt action, lever, pump etc) that they will teach you during the course.

After you have passed the exam - and it is NOT difficult - the instructor will send in the results to the Canadian Firearms Program. Generally after the instructor will tell you to send in your application.

The application requirements include the successful test results but also a background check. There is a minimum 28 days before the application can theoretically be assessed. You also have to pay an application fee. As a minor you need an adult to agree.

During this time you can check on your status on the website and magically at some time it will show approved and then eventually you will get the license in the mail.

Because the time to processing is pretty random (some get it almost immediately, some get it after months - and some unfortunate people may get it after a lot of complaining), I would think about waiting until after you turn 18 IF you are close to that age to send in the application. You can take the course as a minor but just don't send it in until later.

The reason is you will have to upgrade your license from minor to adult and it will incur a fee, some processing time. Plus the program wants you to apply as an adult if it is six months to your 18th birthday anyway.

Here's some more reading for you: https://rcmp.ca/en/firearms/licensing/minors

[u/Competitive_Fun_5223 → u/airchinapilot]

took me 6 months to get my PAL in the mail from when i sent it in

[u/HappyCan7250 → u/Competitive_Fun_5223]

Took me 18 months despite them never contacting me or my references. Applied summer of 2023, got it early 2025. Was a painfully long wait and just kept saying "you should be getting approved soon".