Firearms Licence Suspension Notice Rules

Summary#

The final regulations SOR/2025-48, titled Regulations Amending the Firearms Licences Regulations (Notice of Suspension), update how people are notified when a firearms licence is suspended. The changes make notice of a licence suspension follow the same delivery and receipt rules that already apply to licence refusals and revocations, and they come into force on March 7, 2025.

What it does#

• Changes the heading before section 26 of the Firearms Licences Regulations to include suspensions alongside refusals and revocations.
• Makes the existing notice rules in subsection 26(1) apply to licence suspensions as well as refusals and revocations.
• Confirms acceptable delivery methods for suspension notices:
  • personal delivery,
  • registered mail or courier, or
  • electronic means that can produce a paper record.
• Specifies when a notice is counted as received:
  • For individuals:
    • personal delivery = received the same day,
    • registered mail or courier = received on the fifth working day after the postmark or shipment date (weekends and holidays excluded),
    • electronic transmission = received on the day it is sent.
  • For businesses:
    • personal delivery during normal business hours = received the same day,
    • registered mail or courier = received on the fifth working day after the postmark or shipment date,
    • electronic transmission = received on the day it is sent if that day is a working day, or on the first working day after if it is not.
• Repeats that licence suspensions themselves can last up to 30 days (this is from the underlying law) and that the regulation’s job is only to set how and when the written notice is given.
• Comes into force on March 7, 2025, or on the day it is registered if registered after that date.

Who's affected#

• Holders of firearms licences — both individual licence holders and businesses — who may be subject to a temporary licence suspension.
• Chief Firearms Officers who issue suspension notices.
• The RCMP Canadian Firearms Program (CFP) and provincially appointed CFOs, which manage and deliver licence notices.
• Members of the public who report concerns about a licence holder could be indirectly affected because standard notice rules support the suspension process.
• Indigenous licence holders are affected only if they become subject to a suspension; the regulation only changes how notice is sent, not who can be suspended.

Why it matters#

• It makes sure people who have their firearms licence suspended actually get clear written notice. That reduces the chance someone unknowingly uses, acquires, or imports firearms while suspended and then faces revocation or other penalties.
• It creates a consistent, nationwide rule for how and when suspension notices are treated as received. That helps officials fairly decide whether someone broke suspension rules during the suspension window.
• The change is administrative and intended to align suspension notices with existing refusal/revocation practices. The government says the cost and practical impact are minimal.