You must re-apply each time a:
- licence expires
- genuine reason changes.
A renewal notice will be automatically sent to you approximately 6 months prior to the expiry date on your licence. On receipt of this notice, go to Service Tasmania and take your:
- firearms licence
- supporting documentation
- licence renewal fee.
Firearms Services are currently sending renewal applications earlier than in previous years, and we encourage those that receive them to lodge them immediately. Following processing of your application to renew, irrespective of when that processing occurs, your next licence will commence after your existing licence expires.
By lodging the renewal application early at Service Tasmania, you will avoid significant delays as Firearms Services will be processing a high volume of renewal applications between July 2026 and June 2028.
Does my licence expire if I’ve lodged an application to renew?
- Provided a licence holder lodges a renewal application prior to the licence expiring or within 14 days after the expiry of the licence, and assuming that there are no issues identified during the vetting process the licence does not expire and the licence holder will receive the new licence card in due course.
- That means, even though someone has an expired licence card, if their renewal has been lodged, their licence remains valid and shows as being valid on police systems.
- If the application for renewal is not lodged prior to midnight on the 14th day after expiry, then the licence holder will be required to surrender their firearms.
- After this time Firearms Services can no longer accept a renewal application. The expired licence holder may seek to apply for a new licence if desired. If a person has not previously completed training this will mean they will be assessed and then sent approval to enrol in training. This is unavoidable, because after a licence expires the only way for it to be granted is if a person has successfully completed training in accordance with section 29(1)(d) of the Firearms Act 1996.
- The earliest you will receive a licence card will be 21 days prior to your current licence card expiry date.
New Application Forms
Firearms Service issued the following updated licence application forms on 01/09/2026:
- Firearms Licence Application
- Firearms Licence Application – Renewal (which is no longer yellow)
Both forms contain new wording of questions and large free-text sections for writing answers.
Licence holders have been asking the following questions as a result of the release of the new forms, the information below may assist some applicants:
History section questions
The new forms contain questions about an applicant’s police or legal history which are relevant to assessing if a person is fit and proper to be granted a firearms licence.
We ask that people respond to these questions to the best of their knowledge. If you cannot remember exact details, write as much as you can remember in the free-text area of the form.
Firearms Services will assess the information provided and follow-up with you if it considered necessary.
Mental and Physical Health section questions
The questions in this section seek to obtain a picture of the applicant’s health related medical conditions in order to assess if firearms possession and use is appropriate, and in the interests of the safety of the applicant or the wider community.
This can include assessing the risk of accidentally causing an injury, or any potential impacts of slow physical change from a degenerative disease or a mental health condition.
For example: Needing to wear prescription glasses for the purposes of driving would not be relevant. But if eyesight had deteriorated to a point where a person could no longer drive, that would be relevant and may require medical assessment of the ongoing risk of the applicant possessing and using firearms.
Answering YES to one of these questions does not mean the licence application will automatically be refused.
Any declared medical condition will be assessed by Firearms Services. A supporting letter from a GP or other appropriate medical practitioner can be supplied with the application or one may be requested to continue processing the application.
Firearm categories and genuine reasons
The renewal form lists all current endorsements held on the renewing licence on Page 6.
Please review this information and only complete the tick-box chart on that page for any NEW firearm categories or genuine reason that you are wishing to apply for.
Firearms storage address information
Additional details are requested for other occupants at the firearm storage location to allow Firearms Services to verify that the address is suitable for this purpose.
It is possible that another resident at this location could have a court or police order protecting another person from them, these orders often do not permit storage of firearms at an address where the person resides.