Instructions for the storage of firearms

Duty of care

The proper storage of firearms is one of the key aspects of firearm safety. Storage related to firearms and high-powered air guns is provided by the Firearms Act (1/1998).

The basis for all storage is the duty of care referred to in section 105 of the Firearms Act, which provides that the holder of a firearm, firearm component, cartridges and particularly dangerous projectiles has a duty to take such care of the firearm, firearm component, cartridges and particularly dangerous projectiles that there is no danger of them falling into the hands of unauthorised people.

Storage

Section 106 of the Firearms Act provides that when a firearm, firearm component, cartridges or particularly dangerous projectiles are stored other than temporarily, they must be stored:

• in the permanent residence of the licence holder
• in another place where the licence holder resides permanently. Another place where the licence holder resides permanently may be, for example, the holder’s second home where he or she resides in a corresponding way to their permanent residence. An empty holiday home is not an acceptable storage place when uninhabited.
• in premises closely connected to a) or b) above and which have a corresponding level of security and controllability. In addition to residences, a firearm may also be stored permanently in a storage room or garage connected to the dwelling, if their locking and other burglary protection corresponds to the level used in the residences. A separate garage or storage building, or an attic or basement storage in a housing company is not an acceptable storage facility.
• in the premises of a person entitled to borrow the firearm. The person concerned shall store the firearm in compliance with the provisions of the Firearms Act.
• in the premises of a trader in the firearms business, 
• in storage facilities approved by a police department. With regard to the security of these facilities, the starting point is structural protection in accordance with Finance Finland's three (3) level burglary protection guidelines and the installation of crime detection devices. The police department may, at its discretion, also approve other safe storage methods.

Storage methods

Other than temporarily, a firearm shall be stored:

• in a burglar-proof and locked secure cabinet defined by Ministry of Interior decree,
• in a locked place, or
• otherwise locked

The firearm shall be stored in such a way that the firearm or firearm component cannot easily be stolen or put into authorised use. The firearm may also be stored in such a way that a firearm component, other than the silencer, is kept locked separately in the above-mentioned manner and the remaining firearm components in such a way that it cannot easily be stolen or put into unauthorised use. For example, the lock/breech blocking device of a rifle or the detachable barrel of a shotgun can be placed in a locked place, in which case the rest of the firearm does not need to be in a locked place. A locked place is not a facility where one stays, such as an apartment building or a living room. The locked place or other way of locking the weapon must be such that it cannot be easily opened, for example, with conventional home tools. The keys to the lock must not be stored in such a way that the weapon can be easily put into use without permission.

Under the Firearms Directive (EU 2017/853), firearms classified in category C also include firearms in category A or B or in this category which have been deactivated in accordance with Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2403. This means that a deactivated firearm is a firearm and is subject to Finnish regulations on the storage of firearms.

Duty to store a firearm in a secure cabinet or storage facilities approved by the police

If a particularly dangerous firearm such as an automatic firearm, a semi-automatic pistol with long magazines, a semi-automatic rifle with long magazines or more than five firearms are stored, the firearm or firearms must always be stored in a burglar-proof and locked cabinet as defined by Decree of the Ministry of the Interior or in storage facilities at the storage location approved by the police department. The standards currently adopted are EN 14450 level S1 and S2, EN 1143-1 from level 0 upwards, the discontinued standard SS 3492 and, until further notice, the Swedish national standard SSF 3492. The firearms of people living in the same household are added together, so a secure cabinet is required if people living in the same household have more than five guns in total.

Weapon collector’s storage facilities

Except for temporary storage, a collector must store firearms, firearm components, cartridges and particularly dangerous projectiles in storage facilities approved by a police department. Approval of weapons facilities is address-specific. If the weapons facilities are moved to a new address or significant changes are made to the weapon facilities, the police must approve the weapons facilities again. 

Temporary storage of firearms and storage of cartridges

Section 106 of the Firearms Act has provisions on the temporary storage of firearms. The Act on the Safety of Handling Dangerous Chemicals and Explosives (390/2005) and the statutes issued under it have provisions on the storage of cartridges and particularly dangerous projectiles containing explosives or incendiary substances. For more information about these, go to tukes.fi.