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For most Canadians, carrying a handgun is off the table. But a narrow group of people, including trappers, guides, ranchers, free miners, foresters, surveyors, and remote workers, have a lawful path to carry one for protection of life. It is called an Authorization to Carry. The process is real, legal, and far more navigable than most people believe.

It is also widely misunderstood. People are told they cannot qualify without a fixed address (false), that the handgun freeze closed the door (it did not), or that the whole thing is impossible (it is not). Eligible, prepared applicants get approved.

Do You Qualify?

How you get an ATC is needs based. The Regulations recognize three circumstances, and you have to genuinely fit one.

• Protection of life. Your life, or someone else's, is in imminent danger from one or more people, police protection is not sufficient, and a handgun is reasonably justified against death or grievous bodily harm. These cases are rare and usually short lived.
• Handling valuables. Your principal activity is handling, transporting, or protecting cash, negotiable instruments, or other goods of substantial value. It is read more broadly than just armoured cars.
• Wilderness work and trapping. This is where most successful applicants land. You work in a remote wilderness area and need protection of your life or the lives of others from wild animals, or you are a licensed trapper.

Self check: Do you hold a restricted PAL, fit one of the three circumstances, and genuinely need a handgun because carrying a long gun or relying on others is not practical for your work? If yes to all three, you are a candidate.

Who Does Not Qualify

Recreational hunters, hikers, campers, and anglers do not qualify. Neither does owning land in a rural area, or spending time in bear country, or working on your own cabin. The Canadian Firearms Program reads working as actively employed or self employed in the area where you are asking to carry, and it will ask you to prove it.

This is the single most common reason an application fails before it is ever properly considered. If you cannot point to a lawful occupation that puts you in a remote wilderness area, the wilderness stream is not open to you, and no amount of paperwork will change that.

What an ATC Costs

The federal application fee is $40 for a term of one year or less and $80 for a term over one year, set out in the Firearms Fees Regulations. An ATC issued for protection of life is $100. The fee is non-refundable and is paid to the Canadian Firearms Program by certified cheque or money order. These fees were not touched by the March 31, 2026 inflation adjustment that raised PAL fees.

There is a waiver most people miss. If you have already paid for an occupational ATC issued for one year or less, and within twelve months of that issuance you request another authorization to carry for the same use, the fee for that second authorization is waived.

The Proof of Proficiency Standard

An ATC application requires a Proof of Proficiency on the specific firearm you intend to carry. It is administered by a qualified administrator, not self-certified, and the administrator must submit every result to the Chief Firearms Officer, pass or fail. There is no quiet retry.

The standard set out below is the one published by the Chief Firearms Officer for British Columbia and Yukon. Other provinces and territories set their own, so confirm with the Chief Firearms Officer for your jurisdiction. Note that there are two separate standards, one for wilderness protection and one for trapping, and the difference between them is where people come unstuck.

Who can administer it

The administrator must hold a valid PAL for restricted firearms at the time of the administration, and must also be a range safety officer, a member of an approved shooting range executive, or an instructor for a recognized firearms course or discipline.

Firearm, ammunition, holster and target

• The firearm you test with must be the firearm you intend to carry. A maximum of two firearms can be listed on an ATC, and each one requires its own Proof of Proficiency.
• Wilderness protection has a minimum calibre of .357 Magnum. Trapping has a maximum calibre of .22 rimfire, unless you seek special dispensation from the Chief Firearms Officer. One is a floor, the other is a ceiling, and people mix them up.
• Your ammunition must have a similar muzzle velocity, calibre and bullet weight to the ammunition you intend to carry in the field.
• The holster must be worn on a belt around the waist, outside your clothing, with at least one strap and snap closure that securely retains the firearm, and it must completely cover the trigger. A holster retention device is required. Shoulder and cross-draw holsters are not permitted.
• Steel targets are not permitted.

The wilderness course of fire

• Standing and kneeling at each of 5, 10 and 15 metres.
• Six rounds per firing position at each distance, unsupported, within 20 seconds, in one continuous motion.
• The scoring area is a circle with a 9 inch (23 cm) radius. You need 15 hits out of every 18 rounds fired for each shooting position.
• You are separately marked pass or fail on preparing the firearm and magazine or speed loader safely, holstering safely, and drawing from the holster and firing smoothly.

The trapping course of fire

• Six rounds from each of 3 and 5 metres, standing.
• The scoring area is a circle with a 2 inch (5 cm) radius. You need 10 hits out of every 12 rounds fired.

If you fail

On the wilderness standard, failing a shooting position means you retest that position at all three distances. You get a maximum of two retests per distance. Fail after three attempts at any distance and you cannot attempt the assessment again for at least 30 days. The trapping standard works the same way across its two distances.

Silvercore has run its Wilderness ATC program since 1994 and administers this test as a one-day live-fire course. Firearm rentals and ammunition are not provided, so you bring your own equipment.

The Handgun Freeze Did Not Close the Door

Since October 21, 2022, individuals generally cannot buy, sell, transfer, or import newly acquired handguns in Canada. The freeze is on handguns, not on restricted licensing or training. You can still earn your restricted PAL and you can still train. Authorization to Carry holders are an exempted category, and businesses with a valid business firearms licence can still acquire handguns.

No handgun to test on? Under the freeze, the Canadian Firearms Program has indicated (March 2026 correspondence) that an applicant who does not own the firearm can rent one from a range, if available, or legally borrow an appropriate firearm to complete the required proof of proficiency. Keep that exchange in writing.

Where It Is Valid, and For How Long

An ATC is issued for a maximum term of two years. First-time applicants should expect one year. It is issued per province or territory, so if your work crosses a boundary you need a separate authorization for each jurisdiction.

Do not narrow your own geography or your own dates. If you tell the Chief Firearms Officer that you work in one valley from May to September, that is the only place and the only window in which you are authorized, and you are in contravention the moment the work changes. There is no fixed definition of what counts as remote. If your work could take you anywhere in the province, say so.

As of August 2026. Firearms law changes, and Proof of Proficiency standards are set by each Chief Firearms Officer. Confirm the current freeze status, fees, and testing standard with the Canadian Firearms Program or your Chief Firearms Officer. Educational information, not legal advice.