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CFSC / PAL overview

CFSC / PAL: Owner responsibilities and licensing

The PAL and Minor's Licence, safety-course rules and exceptions, renewing and address changes, lending, pointing offences, lost or stolen firearms, warning signs of violence and the ethics of firearm ownership.

  • 15 questions
  • Topic drill
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Owner responsibilities and licensing · Question 1Score 0/0

Your hunting partner has had two beers at lunch. What should you do?

Study reference: CFSC Student Handbook 5th ed. (2014) and RCMP firearms pages (Oct 2026), Ch. 11 Owner responsibilities and licensing — Handbook Introduction and Module 10; RCMP Licensing, Minors and Safety course exceptions

All 15 questions in this test

Every question and its answer choices. The correct answers and explanations appear when you take the test above.

  1. Your hunting partner has had two beers at lunch. What should you do?

    1. Make him use a shotgun instead of a rifle
    2. Let him shoot if he feels fine
    3. Not go shooting with him for the rest of the day
    4. Let him carry an unloaded firearm only

  2. Can a 13-year-old without a licence shoot a .22 rifle at a range?

    1. Yes, as long as a parent signs a consent form at the range office
    2. Yes, but only once they have turned 14
    3. Yes, if directly supervised by someone licensed for it
    4. No, unlicensed minors may never touch a firearm

  3. A town by-law bans discharging firearms within its limits. Which level of government made that rule?

    1. Territorial
    2. Federal
    3. Municipal
    4. Provincial

  4. How often must a Possession and Acquisition Licence be renewed?

    1. Every 10 years
    2. Never, it is for life
    3. Every 5 years
    4. Every year

  5. You move to a new home. Within how many days must you tell the Canadian Firearms Program?

    1. 90 days
    2. 30 days
    3. 7 days
    4. 1 year

  6. What does a Minor's Licence NOT allow a 15-year-old to do?

    1. Borrow a firearm to learn how to use it
    2. Use a borrowed shotgun for target practice
    3. Borrow a non-restricted rifle to hunt
    4. Acquire a firearm, even as a gift

  7. A relative who lives with you is talking about harming himself. What does the course advise about your firearms?

    1. Leave them locked, since safe storage is enough
    2. Hide the key to the cabinet and tell no one about the situation
    3. Unload them but keep them in the usual cabinet
    4. Remove them from the home and contact police if needed

  8. A person's court firearms prohibition order has ended. What must they do before applying for a licence?

    1. Get a letter from the judge who issued it
    2. Retake and pass the firearms safety courses
    3. Wait one year, then apply with no course
    4. Show their old course certificate again

  9. When may you lend your non-restricted rifle to someone who has no licence?

    1. For up to 30 days at a time
    2. If they have passed the CFSC tests
    3. If they promise to keep it unloaded until they reach the range
    4. Only while you supervise them directly and immediately

  10. What must a first-time applicant pass before applying for a Possession and Acquisition Licence?

    1. A medical exam with a family doctor
    2. A provincial hunter education exam
    3. The Canadian Firearms Safety Course
    4. A shooting accuracy test at a range

  11. Besides the CFSC, which course must you pass to acquire restricted firearms?

    1. A Chief Firearms Officer interview
    2. The Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course
    3. A provincial hunter education course
    4. An advanced CFSC range qualification for handguns

  12. What is the minimum age to take the CFSC tests?

    1. 14
    2. 16
    3. 12
    4. 18

  13. Who can hold a Minor's Licence?

    1. Young people aged 12 to 17
    2. Young people aged 16 to 20
    3. Adults learning to shoot for the first time
    4. Children of any age with consent

  14. Is it an offence to point an unloaded firearm at another person as a joke?

    1. Only if the other person reports it to the police
    2. Yes, it is an offence whether loaded or not
    3. No, as long as the safety is on and the action is closed
    4. No, it is only an offence if the firearm is loaded

  15. Your firearm is stolen. Whom must you tell?

    1. Only your insurance company
    2. Nobody, if it was locked up properly
    3. Only the store that sold it to you, so it can update its records
    4. The local police and the Canadian Firearms Program

Owner responsibilities and licensing: key rules to remember

Our summary of what the official handbook says on this topic, in our own words. Read it before or after the practice questions above, then check the original chapter. Read the official chapter ↗

Safety courses (2024-10-23), Licensing information (2024-03-07), Canadian residents (2024-10-25)

  • First-time applicants must pass the Canadian Firearms Safety Course (CFSC) before applying for a Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL).
  • After classroom instruction, the CFSC has a written test and a practical test.
  • Anyone 12 or older can take the CFSC; children under 12 may attend for education only and do not take the tests.
  • The PAL is the only licence available to new adult applicants (18+). It is renewed every 5 years.
  • The CFP mails renewal notices about three months before a licence expires.
  • Anyone who wants restricted firearms must also pass the Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course (CRFSC).
  • A firearms licence lets the holder possess and use firearms; a registration certificate identifies a restricted or prohibited firearm and links it to its owner.
  • You usually need a licence to possess a firearm even if you are not the owner and never handle it.
  • Licence holders must tell the Canadian Firearms Program within 30 days when their address changes.

Minors (2024-10-25)

  • A Minor's Licence is for ages 12 to 17 and requires passing the CFSC tests (minor sustenance hunters are an exception).
  • It allows borrowing non-restricted firearms for approved purposes such as hunting, target practice or instruction.
  • It does not allow acquiring firearms (even as a gift) or possessing restricted or prohibited firearms.
  • A parent or guardian must consent, and a Firearms Officer may interview them.
  • A minor without a licence may use a firearm only under the direct and immediate supervision of a person licensed for that firearm.
  • At 18 a minor must apply for a PAL.

Safety course exceptions (2024-10-23) and Classes of firearms (lending)

  • Some Manitoba and Quebec hunter-safety courses passed before 1995 count as the CFSC.
  • A Chief Firearms Officer may exempt someone who has owned a firearm continuously since January 1, 1979 and meets the safety standard.
  • After a court prohibition order ends, a person must retake and pass the safety courses before applying.
  • A borrower needs no licence if the owner directly and immediately supervises; otherwise the borrower needs a licence for that class.

Introduction and Module 10

  • Responsibilities come from federal law (Firearms Act, Criminal Code), provincial law (hunting rules such as blaze orange or distances from roads) and municipal by-laws (discharge bans).
  • Pointing a firearm at a person without lawful excuse is a Criminal Code offence, loaded or not.
  • Storing, displaying, transporting or handling a firearm contrary to the regulations is a Criminal Code offence; you may also lose the firearm and licence.
  • Report a lost or stolen firearm to the local police and to the Canadian Firearms Program (1-800-731-4000).
  • Keep an inventory with photos and documents, keep up with law changes, and do not advertise that you own firearms.
  • When violence or self-harm seems possible, remove firearms from the home, consider storing them elsewhere and contact police; the CFP line takes public-safety concerns.
  • Suicides and homicides are often impulsive; secure storage creates delay that can save lives.
  • Never use alcohol or drugs (including some prescription or allergy medicines) around firearms, and do not shoot with someone who has.
  • Get permission before shooting on any land; avoid firing near buildings or roads; keep your eyesight checked.

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