Firearms in a deceased estate: a guide for executors and attorneys

The executor's duties under Regulation 103

Section 147 of the Firearms Control Act requires an executor who comes into possession of a firearm licensed to the deceased to store it as prescribed. Regulation 103 of the Firearms Control Regulations sets out the detail. SAPS describes the executor as the custodian of the firearm until it is disposed of or licensed.

• Before appointment. The executor nominated in the will or, where there is none, an heir, next of kin or close relative may possess the deceased's firearms under a temporary authorisation issued under section 21 of the Act (form SAPS 518; Regulation 103(1)).
• Safe custody. Once appointed, the executor must take steps to ensure the safe custody of the firearms and ammunition and store them in a facility that meets Regulation 86, or hand them to a licensed heir under a letter of consent (Regulation 103(2); see Storage below).
• Inventory and notice within 14 days of appointment. The executor notifies the Registrar of the Central Firearms Registry, giving the holder, the storage address, the inventory, the letter of appointment, the death notice and the beneficiaries (Regulation 103(3)). The Registrar acknowledges within 30 days (Regulation 103(6)).
• Progress reports at least every three months until every firearm is dealt with (Regulation 103(7)).
• No finalisation until the Registry confirms. The executor may apply to the Master to finalise the estate only after the Registrar has notified that all the firearms have been transferred (Regulation 103(9)).
• Attorneys administering for the executor. An attorney rendering a professional service in the administration of the estate on the executor's behalf may, under a section 21 permit, store the estate's firearms until they are transferred or surrendered, and must then comply with Regulation 103 as if they were the executor (Regulation 103(11)).

The options for each firearm

An heir who inherits a firearm must apply for a licence for it, or have it deactivated or disposed of (section 148(1)). In practice the executor asks each heir and then arranges one of these routes:

• Transfer to a licensed heir. The heir needs a competency certificate and a licence in their own name; the Registry decides the application. The Minister of Police reported an average of 120 working days in November 2024. Our guide for heirs explains the steps.
• Sale through a licensed dealer. A person who is not a dealer may dispose of a firearm only through a dealer or as the Act otherwise provides (section 31(2)).
• Deactivation by a gunsmith.
• Surrender to the police for destruction.

Storage

• With a licensed heir. Where an heir already holds a firearm licence, the executor may hand the firearm to that heir with a letter of consent giving the heir's licence particulars and the firearm's make, type, calibre and serial number, filed with the heir's Designated Firearms Officer (Regulation 103(2)). This costs the estate nothing in storage.
• With a licensed dealer. A dealer may store firearms for a person who may lawfully possess them, in the safe or strongroom specified on its licence (Regulation 67), and records each one in its Firearms Safe Custody Register with the executor's signature (Regulation 37(3)). SAPS guidance is that where there is no proper storage, arrangements must be made with a licensed dealer.
• Not with anyone else. A family member or friend without a licence, permit or authorisation for the firearm may not hold it, and giving them possession is an offence (sections 3 and 120(10)).

Transport

• Only the person who holds the licence, permit or authorisation for a firearm may transport it to and from where it is stored (Regulation 86(4)(b)).
• Anyone who transports a firearm for reward needs a firearm transporter's permit (section 86(1)) and the prior written consent of the holder of the licence, permit or authorisation (Regulation 70(a)).
• An executor who holds a section 21 authorisation may carry the firearm to the dealer. Whether an appointed executor without one may do so personally is not settled in any SAPS text we have found; to be confirmed with the DFO or counsel before relying on it.
• RAM Hand-to-Hand Couriers is the only national parcel courier that carries firearms. It does so by road, for pre-approved account clients, on a consent form signed by the holder of the licence, permit or authorisation, at the client's own risk and with no insurance. A few other companies hold transporter's permits; mainstream parcel couriers refuse firearms.

Costs

• Storage, transport and valuation arranged for the estate are paid by the estate: SAPS guidance places dealer storage for the estate's account. Keep a voucher for each charge for the liquidation and distribution account. Whether a charge ranks as an administration cost, and how the Master's examiner treats it, is to be confirmed; we have found no published directive on firearm storage.
• Storage accrues every month, so weigh it against the firearm's value early. The Supreme Court of Appeal recorded in 2023 that possession licences took six to eighteen months.
• On Firearmdesk matters, an heir's transfer costs are billed to the heir and never through the estate account, and sale proceeds settle from the dealer to the estate or the attorney's trust account, never through Firearmdesk.

The High Court order of 15 September 2026

In case 2025-104362 the High Court, Gauteng Division, Pretoria declared that the expiry, lapsing or non-renewal of a licence does not by itself extinguish ownership; that where an owner dies, the firearm remains an asset of the deceased estate pending lawful administration; that a licensed dealer may lawfully receive a firearm from a deceased estate acting through its appointed executor; and that directives or system limitations stopping a dealer from receiving, recording, storing or entering such a firearm into stock solely because the licence expired or the owner died are invalid. SAPS was ordered to amend its directives and systems within 90 days, by 14 December 2026.

The order says nothing about who may transport a firearm, about storage fees or about custody by anyone other than a dealer, and it does not approve any licence application. Read the judgment (PDF) and the current position on the legal updates page.

Checklist for the attorney

1. Establish which firearms the deceased held: licence copies, or a record from the Central Firearms Registry.
2. Before appointment, if someone must hold the firearms, have the nominated executor or next of kin apply for a section 21 authorisation (SAPS 518).
3. On appointment, arrange safe custody that meets Regulation 86: a licensed dealer, or a licensed heir with the executor's letter of consent filed with the heir's DFO.
4. Within 14 days of appointment, send the inventory and notice to the Registrar: holder, storage address, inventory, letter of executorship, death notice and beneficiaries.
5. File the Registrar's acknowledgement (due within 30 days).
6. Diarise a progress report to the Registrar at least every three months.
7. Ask each heir whether they want the firearm transferred, sold, deactivated or surrendered; an heir who wants to keep one starts the competency and licence applications early.
8. Obtain a valuation where the inventory or a sale needs one.
9. Move a firearm only through a person holding authority for it or a permitted transporter, with the holder's written consent, and keep the custody receipt.
10. Keep vouchers for every storage, transport and valuation charge for the account.
11. Before applying to finalise, obtain the Registrar's notification that every firearm has been transferred.

How Firearmdesk helps

Refer the estate and Firearmdesk provides Firearms Control Act compliance services to the executor: the Regulation 103 inventory and notices, the section 21 authorisation application, the executor mandate, custody coordination with a licensed dealer, the evidence record and the closure pack. Fees are fixed and published, and the estate is invoiced care of your firm and paid by EFT. Receipt into dealer custody opens once counsel confirms the court order is operative; until then we open the matter, verify authority and gather documents, and the custody step waits with its evidence.

Refer an estate

The fee schedule

How the service works

Sources

• Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000 (SAFLII): sections 3, 21, 31, 86, 120, 147 and 148.
• Firearms Control Regulations, 2004 (SAFLII): regulations 37, 67, 70, 86 and 103.
• SAPS: questions on firearms in deceased estates.
• Minister of Police, reply to parliamentary question NW2425 (November 2024): processing times.
• Outdoor Investment Holdings (Pty) Ltd v Minister of Police [2023] ZASCA 72: dealer storage and licence waiting times.
• High Court, Gauteng Division, Pretoria, case 2025-104362, 15 September 2026: judgment (PDF).