Gun laws in Poland

Polish law allows firearm ownership under licence for people who can provide an important reason. Hunting, sport shooting and collection are the most popular reasons and require membership in a suitable organization. Self-defense, while allowed, requires a proof of threat to life and is rarely allowed. With approximately 2.5 civilian firearms per 100 people, Poland is the 166th most armed country in the world. Only 0.6% of citizens have valid firearm permits.

History[]

Second Polish Republic[]

Polish firearm permit from 1922

On 25 January 1919 Józef Piłsudski acting as the Head of state of the newly re-established Poland, issued a decree^[1] that become the first Polish law dealing with firearm ownership. It stated that civilians needed government permit to purchase and own (long) firearms for hunting or handguns for self defense purposes. Related executive order^[2] issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs prescribed that permits for self defense shall be issued only when necessary. The law didn't state any specific conditions needed to obtain firearms, so in practice the authorities had full discretion. Possession of military-type firearms was prohibited. Unauthorized possession carried a punishment of up to 3 months of jail or a fine of no more that 3000 Polish marka.

The above decree was superseded on 27 October 1932 by a more comprehensive executive order of the President of Republic of Poland,^[3] which regulated trade, possession, import, export and transporting of weapons, ammunition and explosives. It established permits^[4] for possession of firearms at home and for carrying firearms in the public, both issued for a maximum period of three years. A separate permit for collecting guns for historical, scientific or memorial purposes, issued for an indefinite period, did not allow the owner of such collection to buy ammunition or gunpowder. Permits were granted by local authorities at the county level. The prohibited persons were minors below 17 years, persons with mental illnesses or addicted to alcohol or drugs, vagabonds, or people who were indicted twice for the same infraction against gun law. Otherwise, the authorities had full discretion, including assessment that the applicant does not pose a threat to the government or public safety and order. There were also institutional permits intended for government institutions, businesses, paramilitary organizations etc. Possession of military-type firearms^[5] (artillery pieces, full-auto pistols and rifles, semi-auto and repeating rifles that were in regular use by the military) was prohibited. Historical firearms produced before 1850 and air guns up to 6 mm bore were unrestricted. Unauthorized possession of military-type firearms was punishable by up to 3 years of prison; for other guns, up to 6 months of jail or fine up to 5000 Polish złoty.

During the Nazi-Soviet occupation (1939-1945) civilians were banned from owning firearms or military equipment and those breaking the law were subject to capital punishment. In 1939 Polish historian and writer Rafał Marceli Blüth along with 15 people was executed for illegal possession of a gas mask.

Polish People's Republic[]

After the war, in Polish People's Republic, the executive order of 1932 was considering binding, until a new law was enacted in 1961. During that time several amendments or other laws, as well as actual practice, severely restricted gun possession by civilians, practically limiting it to government officials, important political figures, or people loyal to the ruling party. Just over a month after the end of the World War II the Minister of Public Security Stanisław Radkiewicz issued an order^[6] which invalided all firearm permits as of 15 July 1945 and ordered all permit holders to acquire new ones or deposit their guns and permits at the local branch of the Ministry of Public Security. However, the order mentioned only public administration employees as the prospective permit holders, requiring among other documentation a statement from the highest official in the voivodship certifying that the applicant has a necessity to have a gun. The order was replaced in 1946 by a more comprehensive one,^[7] which also covered hunters and members of officially appointed shooting associations, but drastically shortened validity periods of the permits to 6 months for hunting and sports firearms and 3 months for other firearms. The authorities had full discretion in granting and revoking permits. The punishments for illegal possession were severe: a decree of 13 June 1946^[8] stated that unauthorized possession of firearms, ammunition or explosives was punishable by at least 5 years of prison, life imprisonment or capital punishment. In 1955 the administrative responsibility for firearm permits were transferred to the Citizens' Militia.^[9] An order of 16 January 1958^[10] restricted air guns, subjecting them to the same regulations as firearms.

On 31 January 1961 a new act of law^[11] superseded the pre-war Executive Order. The administrative responsibility for firearms permits had been assigned to the appropriate branches of Citizens' Militia at either the voivodship or county level,^[12] as amended according to several changes in administrative division of Polish People's Republic that happened during the period of validity of this Act. In 1975 the responsibility for issuing permits for air guns was transferred to local (city or district) stations.^[13] The Militia had full discretion in deciding if the factual circumstances justify the issuing of a permit, and could withdraw the permit if the circumstances ceased to exist. The Militia could refrain from providing any justification of refusal or withdrawal of a permit, based on security of the State or public order interest. The permit also prescribed if the owner was allowed to carry the firearm or only to keep it at specified locations. Permits were issued for up to one year (later amended to up to 3 years) for handguns and military-type firearms, or for up to 5 years for hunting and sports firearms. In 1986 the administrative responsibility regarding firearms permits was moved to the local or voivodship branches of the Security Service,^[14] and in 1990 to the newly formed Police.^[15] In 1994 the permits validity periods were abolished, making them valid indefinitely until revoked by administrative action.^[16]

The law of 1961, originally covering only firearms (loosely defined as short firearms or hunting and sports firearms) but excluding firearms manufactured before 1850, was extended in 1986^[17] to also cover less-lethal firearms: gas guns, alarm guns and flare guns, and in 1990^[18] to further cover electroshock devices, crossbows, hidden blades, elastic batons with hard endings or implements, nunchakus and brass knuckles, while deregulating possession of alarm guns up to 6 mm in caliber. The latter provisions survived to this day.

The permits were not to be issued to people under 18 years old (however sport firearms could be issued to people over 16), mentally ill, known as being addicted to drugs or alcohol, people not having an officially registered address of permanent residence or official source of income, or people who in the opinion of the Militia could use guns contrary to the interests of state security or public order. The Militia was obligated to withdraw the permit if it later determined that a permit holder belongs to the one of the mentioned groups. The issuing authority could check if the applicant is familiar with gun laws, but no official exam was mandated. Carrying loaded guns in public transport was prohibited. Minister of Internal Affairs could enact temporary ban on firearms and order to place all private guns into Militia's deposit. Such a ban was introduced just before declaring Martial law in Poland in 1981.^[19]

Illegal manufacturing, possession, sale or transfer of air guns, as well as other minor infractions such as carrying against the permit terms or other regulations, failure to inform of a change of the place of residence etc. were punishable of up to 3 months of jail or a fine of up to 4500 Polish złoty. Illegal sale or transfer of firearms, ammunition or explosives carried a punishment of up to 3 years of prison.

Modern times[]

This section needs expansion with: more details and legal references. You can help by . (December 2021)

The current state of the law is described in the main section of this article. Here the initial text and history of major amendments are briefly described.

In 1999 a new Act of law^[20] superseded the gun law of 1961.^[11] The overall reach of the new regulation was largely the same as the old one, but also included new restrictions. Major differences were:

• broad legal definitions of a firearm^{[20]: Art. 7} and an air gun^{[20]: Art. 8} have been introduced, covering also improvised devices;
• restricted weapons catalog^{[20]: Art. 4 ust. 1} was extended to cover clubs made of wood or other heavy and hard material imitating a baseball bat;
• a list of purposes for possession of guns were introduced,^{[20]: Art. 10 ust. 3} initially containing self-defense or protection of persons and property, hunting, sport shooting, collecting, memorial and training purposes;
• age limit was increased to 21 years^{[20]: Art. 15 ust. 1 pkt 1} (18 years^{[20]: Art. 15 ust. 2} for sport firearms on special recommendation by a school or a sport or paramilitary association);
• prohibited persons list was extended besides mentally ill (as defined in appropriate laws) also to persons having significant psychological disorders^{[20]: Art. 15 ust. 1 pkt 3} or significant physical disabilities^{[20]: Art. 15 ust. 1 pkt 2};
• mandatory medical and psychological evaluations by government-approved practitioners were introduced,^{[20]: Art. 15 ust. 3} to be repeated every five years;^{[20]: Art. 15 ust. 4}
• official exams administered by the police or hunting or sports associations were mandated;^{[20]: Art. 16}
• especially dangerous weapons and ammunition were banned,^{[20]: Art. 10 ust. 2} including full-auto firearms, guns equipped with sound suppressors or able to accept a suppressor, guns equipped with laser pointers or night vision devices and guns that could not be detected by typical personnel or luggage scanners;^{[21]: § 1}
• detailed specification of what kinds of guns are allowed for specified purposes was defined,^{[21]: § 2} in the area of sport weapons basically recanting ISFF competition rules;
• storage requirements^{[22]: § 5, 6} for guns and ammunition were defined.

Major amendments[]

• 2001: Some air guns were allowed without permit.^[23]
• 2003: Replicas of pre-1850 firearms were allowed without permit.
• 2011: Licensing procedures changed to shall-issue.^[24] Replicas of pre-1885 firearms were allowed without permit.
• 2014: Holders of sport shooting permits were allowed to carry their weapons concealed.
• 2020: Hunting with suppressors was allowed.

Current Law[]

Gun ownership in Poland is regulated by the Weapons and Munitions Act of 21 May 1999, as further amended,^[20] which requires a permit to own and possess firearms. The law requires that a prospective permit holder shows an important reason for owning firearms for a specific purpose, the purposes themselves and associated reasons are enumerated in the act.

Individuals' Permits[]

The current text of the law (as of August 1st 2019) lists the allowable purposes (also known as permit types), important reasons entitling to possession and allowed gun categories. The law states that permits are shall issue, however the condition (important reason) for self-defense and protection of persons and property permits is vague enough to make it may issue in practice.

Gun Handling Permits[]

Additionally, individuals may apply for a gun handling permit which allows (temporary) possession, using, carrying and transporting of guns owned by businesses or institutions by their employees or associates. These permits are mostly used by private security guards in order to legally carry firearms issued by their employing companies, however other people may also benefit from them, e.g. shooting range associates or members of sport shooting clubs, so they can bring club guns to a competition event in another club etc.

The conditions and requirements for gun handling permits are the same as for ownership permits, but the fee is much lower. The same set of supporting documentation can be used for filing applications for a handling and ownership permits at the same time, therefore people applying for a sport shooting, hunting or collecting permit often apply for a handling permit as well, for a small extra fee.

Institutional Permits[]

Institutions, businesses and other organizations may apply for gun permits if they operate in specific areas of business and fulfill related business licensing regulations. The entitled organizations include:

• businesses which have organized their own internal security services (such as major factories),
• businesses with a valid concession in private security services,
• shooting ranges,
• schools; sports, hunting and paramilitary organizations (solely for training purposes),
• film-making and other artistic enterprises,
• entities which employees' duties involve high exposure to the risk of being attacked,
• entities which need guns for signalling for help, search and rescue activities, or signalling the start of sport competitions.

The first two types of business units and schools providing instruction in private law enforcement may acquire full-auto weapons. The guns owned by a business may be handled only by its employees or associates having a gun possession permit.

Common Conditions[]

To obtain a firearms permit, the applicant have to:

• be at least 21 years old (or 18 in case of sports or hunting licence on special recommendation by sports or hunting association)
• not be addicted to alcohol or other psychoactive substances,
• be a permanent resident of Poland,
• have no criminal record,
• pass medical and psychological evaluation by appropriately certified practitioners,
• in the opinion of the police, does not present a threat to him/herself or public security and order (involves interview of the applicant and optionally applicant's family and/or neighbors by a police officer),
• provide appropriate documentation (such as hunting, sports, historical or collectors' association membership, sports or hunting license, company registration etc.),
• pass an exam appropriate for the purpose of possession of a firearm:
  • held by the Polish Sport Shooting Federation for a sports permit,
  • held by the Polish Hunting Association for a hunting permit,
  • held by the police for other types of permits,
• pay an appropriate administrative fee.

The permit holder have to possess a certified gun safe before acquiring the first gun. The police may pay a visit to check the safe and its certification, and verify the guns in possession (including serial numbers) against the permit, at any time. In practice such a visit is appointed beforehand, and it takes place shortly after the first purchase, but very rarely afterwards – if at all.

To buy guns, one needs to request certifications for buying guns of type and quantity according to the permit terms. These certifications have to be handed to the person or business transferring gun(s) to the new owner. Acquired guns have to be registered with the police and recorded in the permit document within 5 days. The business or person selling or otherwise transferring a gun to a new owner is obligated to verify the new owner's permit and notify the police of the transaction, including providing the certification received from the new owner.

Permits are issued for an indefinite period, although self-defense, protection of persons and property and hunting ones require passing medical and psychological evaluation every five years. Additionally, sports permit requires the holder to maintain a valid shooting sports competition license, by taking part in two to four shooting competitions per year for each category of firearm owned: handgun, rifle and shotgun, in order to upkeep the firearms permit.

Each individual permit specifies the types (handguns, rifles, shotguns) and quantity of weapons the holder can own. The types allowed depend on gun permit type (see above), sports competition license and actual request by the applicant. Allowed quantities are determined at the discretion of the police, and vary greatly depending on permit type and documented needs, but it's an established practice to receive typically 5 slots for sports or hunting and 10 slots for collecting initially. The permit holder may apply for an increased limit after running out of slots. One may apply for multiple types of permits to increase the total number of slots, such as sports and hunting or sports and collecting permits.

All legal owners are allowed to use their guns at registered shooting ranges. Discharging a firearm for training or leisure out of a registered shooting range (even on a large private property) is prohibited.

Fully automatic firearms[]

Kbkg wz. 1960 – polish automatic rifle, can only be obtained for training purposes and institutional permits^[25]

Currently the only way to obtain working fully automatic firearm in Poland is via institutional or training permit. Blank-firing full-auto firearms can be obtained for historical reenactment purposes.

While permits for protection of persons and property allow automatic firearms, this type of permit has not being issued since at least 2015. A few automatic firearms permits have been issued for collection purposes after 2011, however in 2018 Supreme Administrative Court ruled that a conflicting provision against dangerous weapons take precedence over the list of purposes and allowed firearm types (see table above), therefore full-auto guns cannot be obtained by collectors.^[26]

Sound suppressors[]

Police is prohibited from issuing permits for firearms featuring a sound suppressor or capable of accepting a sound suppressor except for hunting permits. However, in practice only firearms with permanently attached suppressors are considered to fall under this rule as almost any firearm is capable of accepting a sound suppressor. That's why only a solution specifically intended to mount a suppressor would fulfill the second condition.^[27] Suppressors themselves are unregulated; obtaining, and owning is legal. Using a suppressor is not directly prohibited^[28] apart from hunting, but different legal opinions exist and the case has not been tested in court.

In 2020 a new amendment to the Firearms and Munitions Act allowed police to issue permits for firearms with sound suppressors for hunting permits. Hunters are allowed to use them only for sanitary shooting of animals ordered by authorities^[29]

Ammunition and Magazines[]

Armor-piercing, incendiary, explosive, tracer, sub-caliber and other special ammunition is banned. Only valid firearms permit holders are allowed to buy or possess live ammunition, and only of the types exactly matching the guns they legally own; even a single non-matching round in possession may trigger a criminal prosecution and/or revocation of the permit. The quantity of matching ammunition in possession is not limited. Hunters, collectors and sports shooters are allowed to manufacture (reload) ammunition, but strictly for their own use; they are allowed to buy and possess powder and primers, which are regulated items. Possession of bullets and empty casings is not regulated.

There's no limit on magazine capacity, except when hunting: maximum 6 rounds total, including magazine and all chambers, however for semi-auto guns a hunter can load only 2 rounds into the magazine (not including chambered rounds).^[30]

Firearm parts[]

Possession of essential parts of firearms is regulated in the same way as possession of fully functional firearms, regardless of their condition, unless they are officially deactivated, i.e. rendered useless for the purpose of building a functional firearm. The parts defined as essential are: frame, action, lower receiver, cylinder (of a revolver) and barrel with chamber (not a 'raw' barrel). Please note that Polish firearm terminology is distinct from English one, therefore the aforementioned terms do not map exactly to what's regarded as essential parts in Polish law or its interpretation. The somewhat vague definitions may create legal risks regarding import, sale and ownership of less conventional firearms, some accessories, historical artefacts (even if severely damaged, thoroughly rusty etc.) It also means that licensed persons wishing to purchase spare parts or conversion kits often need to use up another slot in their permit.

Carrying firearms[]

Only firearms owned for self-defense, protection of persons and property and sport shooting purposes can be carried loaded in public places. Firearms have to be carried concealed in a holster close to the body so other people cannot see them. Police can limit or forbid carrying while issuing the permit at its discretion.

Guns cannot be carried during public events and assemblies, in ports and on ships (with exceptions) and in courts and state's attorney offices. Person carrying must be sober. Guns carried in public transport must be unloaded (no round in the chamber, no connected magazine) except on self-defense and protections of persons and property permits – in this case the magazine can be loaded and connected, but no round in the chamber.

Hunting guns can be carried loaded only on hunting grounds.^[31]

There are no regulations regarding movement of unloaded guns, as long as they are under direct supervision of a licensed person. However the Ministry of Internal Affairs may forbid or limit carrying loaded and/or unloaded guns in certain places for a limited time. It has become a common practice to issue such limits during major events such as international conferences, visits of prominent political figures, mass public gatherings, significant sports championships or even on such occasions as National Independence Day.^[32]

Unrestricted guns[]

Black powder guns made before 1885 can be purchased and carried without permit in Poland

Replicas of black powder firearms designed before 1885 require no permit to own, and are therefore quite popular in the shooting community. Separate bill of law<^[33] allows businesses to sell black powder only to licensed customers. This legal loophole is often circumvented by obtaining a European Gun Card for your black powder firearm, asking a colleague (there's no restriction on private sale or just giving out of black powder) or by buying powder in neighboring countries, mostly in Czechia.

Black powder firearms can be carried loaded in public places (but not in public transport) without permit.^[34]

Other types of unrestricted weapons include:

• Air guns up to 17 Joules of muzzle energy. More powerful air guns need to be registered with the police, but no permit is required;
• Alarm guns with caliber less than 6 mm;
• Deactivated weapons (certificate of deactivation is required);
• Pepper sprays;
• Electroshock weapons with current not exceeding 10 mA.

Other restricted weapons[]

Other types of weapons that require permit according to the law include:

• Specific cold weapons, including hidden blades, brass knuckles, nunchakus, wooden or metallic batons;
• Crossbows;
• Electroshock weapons with current exceeding 10 mA.

Firearm ownership[]

There are currently 587,853 registered firearms and 234,916 permits issued.^[35] Please note that the latter number is larger than the number of people owning guns, as one person can hold multiple permits for different purposes. According to Small Arms Survey there are total 968,000 licit and illicit firearms or around 2.5 per 100 people.

Gun deaths and crime[]

Gun crimes are very rare in Poland. According to police statistics number of homicides and homicide-attempts using firearm decreased from 111 in 2002 to 25 in 2018. Number of suicides using firearm increased from 55 in 79 in the same period, corresponding to increase in firearm ownership among ordinary people.

Mass shootings are almost non-existent. Examples include school shooting in May 2019 when a student wounded two people using an unlicensed black powder firearm and some fireworks.^[36][37]

See also[]

• Overview of gun laws by nation

References[]