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Like most collector items, firearms and ammunition are collected for historical, thematic, commemorative or investment reasons.

Interested in becoming a collector?

There are four types of firearm-related collector licences in Victoria:

• Antique handgun collectors licence
• Category 1 firearm collectors licence
• Category 2 firearm collectors licence
• Ammunition collector licence

Existing licence holders
Collectors are no longer required to hold multiple collectors licences. This means that you can:

• Hold antique handguns under your category 1 firearm collector licence.
• Hold firearms previously registered under an antique handgun/category 1 licence under your category 2 firearm collector licence.

You can request that the Licensing & Regulation Division to merge your licences when your lower category of licence is due for renewal (e.g. roll your category 1 and category 2 licences together when your category 1 licence is up for renewal).

Note: Holders of an antique handgun collectors licence can display their antique handguns without a display permit and collect them for investment purposes however they can only do these things if they keep their antique handgun collectors licence (i.e. and do not merge that licence into a category 1 or category 2 firearm collectors licence).

Category 1 and category 2 collectors can display their firearms or ammunition under certain conditions provided they have a Display Permit. There are separate Display Permit application forms for individual collectors and for those approved collector clubs acting on behalf of their members:

• Individual collector Display Permit application (ammunition)
• Individual collector Display Permit application (firearms)
• Approved collector club Display Permit application

Collectors can also carry or use their firearms under certain conditions provided they have a Permit to Carry or Use Collector Firearms. Again, there are different permit forms for individual collectors and for those approved collector clubs acting on behalf of their members:

• Individual collector Permit to Carry or Use Firearms application
• Approved collector club Permit to Carry or Use Firearms application

References and help

LRD's Collector Licence Requirement Table (PDF) will help you determine which licence you need and whether you need to register your firearms.

The Approved Collector Clubs Newsletter provides information about legal changes and emerging issues in the industry which may affect your club, rights and responsibilities.

LRD's FAQ page answers your more frequent questions while the News and Events page provides new information as it becomes available.

Licensing & Regulation Division is here to assist you with specific queries regarding licensing and enforcement.

If you're ready to become a collector, LRD's page on applying for a new firearm licence is for you.