Estate firearms in South Africa: questions executors and heirs ask

Yes, if you qualify for a licence. You need a competency certificate and a licence in your own name for that firearm, applied for on form SAPS 271 with a written motivation, and a safe that meets SANS 953-1. Until the licence is issued, the firearm stays with the executor in approved storage. See the guide for heirs.

Yes, unless you hold a permit or authorisation for it. Possessing a firearm without a licence, permit or authorisation is an offence under section 3 of the Firearms Control Act, even for the heir. Before an executor is appointed, the nominated executor or, where there is none, an heir or next of kin may hold the firearms under a section 21 authorisation (form SAPS 518).

The executor. Section 147 of the Firearms Control Act requires the executor to store the deceased's firearms as prescribed, and SAPS describes the executor as the custodian until each firearm is disposed of or licensed. Regulation 103 sets out the executor's notices, reports and storage duties.

A licensed dealer, or an heir who already holds a firearm licence. A dealer stores them in the safe or strongroom on its licence and records each one in its Firearms Safe Custody Register with the executor's signature. A licensed heir may store them under the executor's letter of consent, filed with the heir's Designated Firearms Officer (Regulation 103(2)).

Only a family member who holds a licence, permit or authorisation for it. A licensed heir may store it under the executor's letter of consent, and before appointment the nominated executor or, where there is none, a next of kin may hold it under a section 21 authorisation. Giving a firearm to anyone else is an offence under section 120(10) of the Firearms Control Act.

Yes. No firearm licence can be issued without one. Among the requirements in section 9 of the Firearms Control Act, the applicant must generally be 21 or older, a South African citizen or permanent resident, have passed the test on knowledge of the Act, have completed the practical training and have no disqualifying convictions.

Usually months. The Minister of Police reported in November 2024 that licence applications took an average of 120 working days from capture on the Registry's system, and the Supreme Court of Appeal recorded in 2023 that possession licences took six to eighteen months. The competency certificate is a separate application with its own waiting time.

The firearm is not released to the heir. The executor then arranges a sale through a licensed dealer, deactivation or surrender. A refusal may be appealed under section 133 of the Firearms Control Act, and storage continues while an appeal runs.

No. A person who is not a dealer may dispose of a firearm only through a dealer or as the Firearms Control Act otherwise provides (section 31(2)). The executor instructs a licensed dealer to sell it, and the proceeds are paid to the estate.

Only the person who holds the licence, permit or authorisation for it, or a permitted transporter. Regulation 86(4)(b) limits transport to and from storage to the authorised holder. Anyone who carries firearms for reward needs a firearm transporter's permit (section 86(1)) and the holder's prior written consent (Regulation 70(a)), and carries them unloaded, separately from ammunition, in a locked metal container (Regulation 68).

Under the High Court order of 15 September 2026, the firearm remains an asset of the estate. The court declared that the expiry, lapsing or non-renewal of a licence does not by itself extinguish ownership, and that a licensed dealer may receive such a firearm from the executor. The period for an application for leave to appeal ended on 7 October 2026; see legal updates for the current position.

The executor keeps it in safe custody with the firearms. Regulation 103(2) requires the executor to ensure the safe custody of the firearms and ammunition and store them in a facility that meets Regulation 86. A transporter carries ammunition packed separately from the firearms (Regulation 68).

Yes. Section 148(1) of the Firearms Control Act lets an heir have an inherited firearm deactivated instead of licensing it. A gunsmith does the deactivation, arranged through the executor.

Yes. Surrender to the police for destruction is one of the lawful routes for a firearm that no heir licenses and that is not sold. The executor arranges it and keeps the record for the estate file.

No. The executor may apply to the Master to finalise the estate only after the Registrar of the Central Firearms Registry has notified that all the firearms have been transferred (Regulation 103(9)).

The estate. SAPS guidance places dealer storage for the estate's account, and storage accrues every month, so the executor weighs it against each firearm's value early. A licensed heir who stores the firearm under the executor's letter of consent costs the estate nothing in storage.