You can bring a gun into Canada as a U.S. visitor, but only if the firearm isn’t prohibited, you have a valid reason like hunting or competition, and you complete a Non-Resident Firearm Declaration at the border. Canada does not recognize any U.S. firearms license or concealed-carry permit, bans self-defense as a reason to import, and enforces its own storage and transport rules from the moment you cross. You must be at least 18 years old.1Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Non-residents
Valid Reasons to Bring a Firearm
Canada accepts a limited list of purposes: hunting, use in a recognized shooting competition, and protection against wildlife in remote areas. That last one applies only to non-restricted rifles and shotguns.2Canada Border Services Agency. Firearms and Weapons: Canadian Border Requirements
Personal protection and property defense are explicitly not valid reasons.2Canada Border Services Agency. Firearms and Weapons: Canadian Border Requirements Tell the border officer you’re bringing a gun for self-defense and expect it to be refused or seized.
What You Can and Can’t Bring
Canadian law sorts firearms into three classes, and the class controls whether import is possible and what paperwork is required.3Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Classes of Firearms
Prohibited: Cannot Be Imported
- Handguns with a barrel of 105 mm (about 4.1 inches) or shorter
- Handguns designed to fire .25 or .32 caliber ammunition
- Fully automatic firearms, including any modified to fire one round per trigger pull
- Rifles or shotguns altered to under 660 mm (26 inches) overall, or with a barrel under 457 mm (18 inches) when overall length is 660 mm or more
- Centre-fire semi-automatic firearms originally designed with a detachable magazine capacity of six or more rounds, manufactured on or after December 15, 2023
That last category came in through Bill C-21 and covers many modern sporting rifles that were previously allowed.4Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Information Sheet: Application for an Authorization to Transport Restricted Firearms and Prohibited Firearms
Restricted: Import With Pre-Approval
Most handguns that aren’t prohibited, plus semi-automatic rifles with barrels shorter than 470 mm (about 18.5 inches). Import is allowed only for approved purposes and requires an Authorization to Transport obtained in advance.3Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Classes of Firearms
Non-Restricted: The Straightforward Path
Standard hunting rifles and shotguns that don’t meet the criteria for the other classes. One declaration form and one fee at the border.
Accessories, Ammunition, and Magazines That Are Always Banned
Suppressors (silencers) and replica firearms are classified as prohibited devices.5Canada Border Services Agency. Memorandum D19-13-2: Importing and Exporting Firearms, Weapons and Devices Prohibited ammunition includes armor-piercing rounds capable of being fired from a common semi-automatic handgun or revolver, incendiary and explosive projectiles under 15 mm in diameter, and shotgun shells loaded with fléchettes. Standard hollow-point ammunition is not prohibited.6Department of Justice Canada. Regulations Prescribing Certain Firearms and Other Weapons, Components and Parts of Weapons, Accessories, Cartridge Magazines, Ammunition and Projectiles as Prohibited or Restricted
Magazines that exceed Canadian capacity limits are prohibited devices. Handgun magazines are capped at 10 centre-fire cartridges; semi-automatic centre-fire rifle magazines are capped at five. Rim-fire rifle magazines have no regulated limit.7Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Maximum Permitted Magazine Capacity If your firearm uses an over-capacity magazine, swap it or have it permanently pinned before you cross.
Paperwork for a Non-Restricted Rifle or Shotgun
Download the Non-Resident Firearm Declaration, form RCMP 5589, and fill it out before you arrive. Do not sign it. A Canada Border Services Agency officer has to witness your signature in person.1Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Non-residents
The form asks for your personal details and the make, model, and serial number of each firearm. The fee is CAN$25 no matter how many firearms you list. Once signed and confirmed, the declaration is both your temporary license and registration certificate, valid for 60 days. You can renew it for free before it expires by contacting the Chief Firearms Officer of the province or territory where you’re staying.1Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Non-residents
Paperwork for a Restricted Firearm, and the Handgun Freeze
Restricted firearms need the same Non-Resident Firearm Declaration plus an Authorization to Transport (ATT) obtained in advance. Apply through the Canadian Firearms Program at 1-800-731-4000 (U.S. or Canada) or 1-506-624-6626 (outside North America), and plan on weeks, not days.8Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Authorization to Transport
Handguns face an extra layer. A national freeze on handgun transfers and imports took effect on October 21, 2022, under Bill C-21. Non-residents can still import a restricted handgun, but only for narrow purposes. The main exception is training, competing, or coaching in a handgun discipline on the program of the International Olympic Committee or International Paralympic Committee, backed by a letter from a provincial or national sport shooting governing body confirming your participation.9Public Safety Canada. Parliamentary Committee Notes: National Handgun Freeze Bringing a handgun for casual range use or to keep in your hotel is not allowed.
How Much Ammunition You Can Bring
You can bring up to 5,000 rounds of small-arms ammunition for personal use without a permit, provided you’re 18 or older and the ammunition contains no tracer, incendiary, or similar military components. Larger quantities or any amount intended for resale requires a permit from Natural Resources Canada.10Natural Resources Canada. Importing, Exporting and Transporting Ammunition and Propellant Powders
U.S. export rules apply on the way out as well. Under ITAR, you can temporarily export up to three nonautomatic firearms and 1,000 cartridges without an export license, but you have to declare them to a U.S. Customs officer at departure.11GovInfo. Department of State 22 CFR 123.17 – Exports of Firearms and Ammunition
Register With U.S. Customs Before You Leave
Stop at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection office and register your firearms on CBP Form 4457, the Certificate of Registration for Personal Effects Taken Abroad. The officer compares the firearms against the form and signs it. The certificate proves the guns were yours before you left, which keeps you from being hit with import duties on the way back.12U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Registration for Dutiable Personal Articles Prior to U.S. Departure
Form 4457 stays valid as long as it remains legible, so this is a one-time step per firearm. Without it, you’ll need a bill of sale or other proof of prior U.S. ownership to re-enter without hassle.13eCFR. Subpart G – Importation
At the Canadian Border
Declare every firearm to the CBSA officer immediately on arrival. This is not something you can correct later. Failure to declare can lead to arrest, seizure, monetary penalties, and criminal charges.14Canada Border Services Agency. Failure to Declare Leads to Charges at Campobello Port of Entry
Hand the officer your completed but unsigned declaration and, for a restricted firearm, your ATT. The officer will watch you sign, inspect the firearms to confirm they match the form, and check that they’re properly stored. Once confirmed, the declaration serves as your license and registration for up to 60 days.1Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Non-residents Keep it with the firearm at all times. Lose it and you’re effectively unlicensed.
Storage and Transport in Canada
Canadian storage rules apply in hotels, cabins, and vehicles the same way they’d apply in a home, and enforcement is strict.
Non-restricted firearms must be unloaded during both storage and transport. Storage requires either a trigger or cable lock on the firearm, or the firearm secured in a container or room that’s difficult to break into.15Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Storing, Transporting and Displaying Firearms In a vehicle with a trunk, the firearm goes in the locked trunk. In a vehicle without a trunk, it must be out of sight and the vehicle locked.16Department of Justice Canada. Storage, Display, Transportation and Handling of Firearms by Individuals Regulations SOR/98-209 – Section 10 An open gun rack in a pickup won’t pass in Canada.
Restricted firearms must be unloaded, fitted with a trigger or similar locking device, and placed inside a sturdy, non-transparent, locked container. Automatic firearms also require removal of the bolt or bolt carrier, stored separately. Transport is allowed only for the specific purpose authorized in your ATT.15Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Storing, Transporting and Displaying Firearms
Ammunition can’t be readily accessible to the firearm in storage. Same locked container is fine only if the ammunition sits in its own locked receptacle, or the firearm is locked in a way that prevents it from being loaded. A separate locked case is the cleanest approach.17Department of Justice Canada. Storage, Display, Transportation and Handling of Firearms by Individuals Regulations SOR/98-209
Borrowing Instead of Importing
If the paperwork isn’t worth it for a short trip, borrow a firearm from a licensed Canadian resident instead. Under direct and immediate supervision of a licensed adult, you can use a borrowed firearm with no license or declaration.1Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Non-residents
To use a borrowed non-restricted firearm on your own, get a Non-Resident Temporary Borrowing Licence: CAN$30, valid for 60 days, and it requires a Canadian sponsor tied to the activity, such as a hunting outfitter or a licensed resident hunter in the province where you’ll be. The standard RCMP 5589 declaration you’d use to import your own firearms does not cover borrowing.1Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Non-residents
A Legal Gun Doesn’t Mean a Legal Hunt
Bringing a firearm into Canada gives you no right to hunt. Each province and territory runs its own non-resident hunting license system, and requirements typically include a provincial outdoors card, proof of hunter education, species-specific tags, and in some provinces a licensed guide or outfitter for certain game. A properly declared rifle plus no hunting license still puts you on the wrong side of Canadian law.
Penalties If You Get It Wrong
Under Section 91 of the Criminal Code, unauthorized possession of any firearm is a criminal offense punishable by up to five years in prison when prosecuted as an indictable offense.18Department of Justice Canada. Criminal Code RSC 1985, c. C-46 – Section 91 Smuggling a prohibited firearm or failing to declare one can bring seizure, arrest, and criminal charges that follow you home.
Honest mistakes still bite. Arrive with a restricted firearm and no ATT, and under Section 35 of the Firearms Act the customs officer can either send it back out of Canada or detain it while giving you a reasonable time to comply. Miss that window and the firearm can be permanently disposed of. You don’t get it back.19Department of Justice Canada. Firearms Act SC 1995, c. 39 – Section 35 A Canadian firearms conviction can also bar you from entering Canada in the future, which matters if you cross regularly to hunt or fish.