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Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course (CRFSC) Guide

Last reviewed July 15, 2026

The Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course (CRFSC) is the second-stage safety course for people who want restricted-firearm privileges - an “RPAL.” You must complete the CFSC before or alongside it, and like the CFSC it ends in a 50-question written test and a practical handling test, each needing 80%.

If you’re still deciding whether restricted privileges are worth it - especially under the handgun freeze - read PAL vs RPAL first. This page covers the course itself.

Prerequisite: the CFSC comes first

The CRFSC builds directly on CFSC material. Providers handle the sequence two ways:

• Combined weekend - CFSC Saturday, CRFSC Sunday. One booking, one trip, usually the cheapest path to both course reports.
• Separate sessions - useful if you got your PAL years ago and are adding restricted privileges now. Your old CFSC report still counts; course reports never expire.

Confirm which reports you’ll leave with before booking a combined course - you need both to apply for restricted privileges.

What the CRFSC covers

The course runs about a day and focuses on handguns and restricted-class firearms:

• Handgun actions - revolvers and semi-automatic pistols: how they load, fire, and are PROVEd safe. The ACTS and PROVE procedures carry over unchanged, applied to smaller, easier-to-mishandle firearms.
• Restricted-class definitions - which firearms are restricted, which are prohibited, and why barrel length and calibre matter. Overview: Firearm classes in Canada.
• Restricted ammunition topics - handgun cartridges and the prohibited-device rules (silencers, over-capacity magazines).
• Firing techniques - grip, stance, and range procedure for handguns, taught for knowledge; there’s no live fire.
• The stricter legal regime - this is the biggest practical difference from the CFSC:
  • restricted firearms are registered to you and stored at the address on the registration;
  • storage requires a locking device plus a locked container, or a safe/vault built for the purpose;
  • transport must be unloaded, locked inoperable, in a locked opaque case, and only to authorized places - an Authorization to Transport (ATT) or equivalent licence condition applies. Details: Transporting firearms in Canada.

The tests

Same structure as the CFSC: 50 multiple-choice written questions and a practical demonstration, 80% each. The practical uses handguns, and examiners watch muzzle control closely - a handgun’s short barrel makes careless muzzle direction the most common fault. If you pass the CFSC comfortably, a day later the CRFSC is very manageable; the failure and retest rules are the same as for the CFSC (what happens if you fail).

After the course

Two course reports in hand, you apply to the RCMP for a licence with restricted privileges - the same form and process as a standard PAL application, with a higher fee. The application walkthrough applies to both licence types.

One expectation to set: the handgun freeze in force since October 2022 means passing the CRFSC does not currently open a path to buying a handgun. Most new CRFSC students today are either adding restricted rifle privileges, preparing for inherited firearms, or getting the credential ready in advance.

Combined CFSC + CRFSC weekends are the most commonly sold format, and they book out first. Find a provider in your province and confirm the instructor holds a current CFO designation for both courses.