The Firearms Act also requires the registration, i.e. reporting to the police, of firearms that have been rendered permanently unfit for use or deactivated. The deadline for notification is 15 July 2024. The registration obligation is based on improving weapon safety. Notification can be submitted electronically or by visiting a police station. It is advisable to report the firearm in good time, as an undeclared firearm may result in a fine.
Under the Firearms Act (1/1998), all firearms that have been rendered permanently unfit for use or deactivated must be reported to the police. The notification obligation applies to private persons, corporations, companies, foundations and estates of deceased persons.
The easiest way to submit a notification is through police e-services
The form to notify of a deactivated firearm rendered permanently unfit for use provides instructions on how to fill in the necessary information. The form can also be used to submit a notification on behalf of an estate, foundation, company or other organisation. The police will only call you to present your firearm if the form does not provide enough information for registration. It is advisable to attach images of the weapon to the notification.
Police e-services can be accessed via poliisi.fi/asiointi on the poliisi.fi website. If necessary, notification can also be made at a police station. If the current holder of the firearm has already reported or presented the deactivated firearm to the police after 15 July 2019, it does not need to be reported again.
Deactivation rules have been tightened to improve weapon safety
Deactivated firearms have also been reactivated, i.e. converted to render them fit for use again, in Finland. Poorly deactivated firearms smuggled into Finland from, for example, Germany have since been reactivated. These reactivated firearms have also been used for violent crimes in Finland and around the world, even for terrorist acts.
“The Weapons Directive has been tightened In order to improve weapon safety, which among other things means that weapons that have been permanently rendered unfit for use must be reported to the police. This is the case across the EU,” says Jussi Kytösaari, Senior Adviser at the National Police Board of Finland.
If the firearm has not been deactivated in accordance with the requirements of the current EU Commission Implementing Regulation 2018/337, it may not be sold or otherwise handed over before new deactivation. Other handing over of a firearm includes lending, inheriting or donating. Without further deactivation, such a firearm can only be sold and acquired through the normal firearms licensing procedure, i.e. like an operable firearm. The certificate obtained in connection with deactivation can be used to check the regulation under which deactivation of the weapon was carried out.
“Any change of ownership both of operable firearms and of firearms that have been rendered permanently unfit for use must always be reported to the police within 30 days. This must be done now and also after 15 July 2024. If a firearm has been deactivated in accordance with previous EU Regulation 2015/2403 or one of Finland's national deactivation instructions, it must be deactivated again before being sold or otherwise handed over,” Senior Adviser Kytösaari says.
In addition to firearms in working order, deactivated weapons can also be handed over to the police. The firearm can be handed over free of charge to the state or for auction. Contact your local police department regarding these matters.
Contact information - This website will give you the contact information of your nearest police department
