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RPAL guide: Getting a restricted firearms licence in Canada

Last reviewed July 15, 2026

“RPAL” is the everyday name for a Possession and Acquisition Licence with restricted privileges - the licence that covers handguns and other restricted firearms on top of ordinary rifles and shotguns. Getting one means taking two courses instead of one: the CFSC, then the CRFSC, before a single RCMP application.

This guide covers the RPAL path end to end and the obligations that make restricted ownership different. If you haven’t yet decided between licences, start with PAL vs RPAL.

The RPAL path in four steps

1. Take the CFSC - the general safety course everyone takes. Most RPAL candidates book it as day one of a combined weekend.
2. Take the CRFSC - the restricted course, handgun-focused, with its own 50-question written test and practical test (80% each).
3. Apply to the RCMP - one application (form RCMP 5614 or online) requesting restricted privileges, with both course report numbers, references, photo and guarantor, and the higher restricted-licence fee. Walkthrough: Applying after the course.
4. Wait out the checks - the same background review and, for first-time licence holders, the minimum 28-day waiting period. Timelines: How long does a PAL take?

Eligibility rules are identical to the PAL: 18+, no prohibition order, background review of your recent history. The age, residency, and criminal record guides all apply unchanged.

What changes once you hold restricted firearms

The licence is the easy part. Restricted ownership carries obligations that non-restricted owners never deal with:

• Registration. Every restricted firearm is registered to you, at your address. The firearm must be stored at that registered address, and address changes must go to the Canadian Firearms Program within 30 days - see moving with firearms.
• Stricter storage. Unloaded, plus a secure locking device and a locked container - or a vault, safe, or room built for the purpose. The general rules are in Firearm storage laws; the restricted tier sits above them.
• Transport authorization. Restricted firearms move unloaded, locked inoperable, in a locked opaque container, and only between authorized places (home, an approved range, a gunsmith, a border point). Depending on current rules this is a licence condition or a separate Authorization to Transport from your CFO - details in Transporting firearms in Canada.
• Where you can shoot. In practice, approved ranges only. Restricted firearms may only be fired where it’s legal to do so, which is why club membership follows the RPAL almost automatically.

The handgun freeze, plainly

Since October 21, 2022, individuals generally cannot buy, sell, or import handguns in Canada. Registered handguns stay with their owners; narrow exemptions exist (some competitive disciplines). Check the freeze’s current status with the RCMP Canadian Firearms Program before spending on the CRFSC, because it removes the most common historical reason for getting an RPAL.

What the RPAL still gets you today: restricted rifles that remain purchasable, legal continuity for inherited or already-registered handguns, and a credential in hand if rules change.

Worth it?

If a specific restricted firearm is in your plans - an inheritance, a club discipline, a restricted-class rifle - the combined weekend is efficient and the credential lasts a lifetime (course reports and privileges renew with the licence). If you’re merely curious, take the CFSC alone and upgrade later; nothing about the process punishes waiting.

Combined CFSC + CRFSC weekends sell out first in most cities. Find a course provider in your province and confirm both courses are on the schedule before you book travel.