BC's Low-Velocity Firearm Safety Notice: What Sellers Must Hand Out

By Travis Bader, founder of Silvercore Outdoors.

Last updated: 30 October 2026

Since 1 October 2026, every business in British Columbia that sells, rents or supplies a low-velocity firearm has had to give each customer the Low-Velocity Firearm Safety Notice. The notice itself lists BB guns, pellet guns, airsoft guns and paintball guns as examples, and it is attached to Ministerial Order M274. The Ministry cannot post it on gov.bc.ca while the public service is in election caretaker mode, so retailers and field operators keep asking us what they are meant to hand out. Here it is.

Download the documents:

Low-Velocity Firearm Safety Notice (PDF, 2 pages). This is the one to print or email to customers.
Ministry letter to low-velocity firearm businesses, 23 July 2026 (PDF)
Ministerial Order M274 with the notice attached (PDF)

This post explains British Columbia provincial law in plain language. It is not legal advice.

Where the Requirement Comes From

Section 74 of the Firearm Violence Prevention Act (FVPA) requires a person who carries on the business of selling, renting or supplying low-velocity firearms to give each person who buys, rents or receives one the information the minister specifies. Failing to do so is an offence under Act s. 66(1)(h).

On 8 July 2026, Nina Krieger, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, signed Ministerial Order M274 under Act s. 74(1)(b). It requires those businesses to give each customer the information in the Low-Velocity Firearm Safety Notice attached to the order. The order took effect on 1 October 2026, the day the FVPA came into force, and it is published on BC Laws.

On 23 July 2026, the Ministry wrote to the low-velocity firearm sellers it had identified and attached the approved notice. The letter says the notice can be given physically, such as a printed copy, or electronically, such as by email or a hyperlink, before or on purchase, rental or supply. The order sets the content only. It does not specify a form or manner, so the letter's statement on printed and electronic copies is the Ministry's guidance.

Retailers and fields asked us where the minister's content was published, so I put that question to the Ministry. On 30 October 2026 the Ministry confirmed in writing that the notice and the 23 July letter are not confidential and can be shared, and that it cannot update its website to publish the notice while the public service is in caretaker mode for the election.

Who Has to Hand It Out

The order applies to anyone who carries on the business of selling, renting or supplying low-velocity firearms. In practice that means:

Sporting goods stores and gun stores that sell BB guns, pellet guns, airsoft guns or paintball markers.
Airsoft and paintball fields that rent guns or markers to players, including players under 18 renting for use on the premises (Act s. 13).

The order names low-velocity firearms, and the notice lists airsoft, BB guns, pellet guns and paintball guns as examples. An airsoft gun that cannot cause serious injury is not a firearm under the Act. It is an imitation firearm if it could reasonably be mistaken for a firearm. Either way, the order's wording does not reach it. Give the notice with every airgun, airsoft and paintball sale or rental anyway. It costs next to nothing, and your staff never have to sort the inventory by muzzle energy at the till.

Selling, renting or supplying a permitted device, such as a starter pistol, bear banger, flare gun, captive bolt pistol or nail gun, is exempt from s. 74(1) when the action is taken for the purpose of using the device exclusively for what it is designed for (Gen. Reg. s. 36, 37).

How to Give It

At the counter, print the two-page notice and hand a copy over with each sale or rental.
Online or at booking, show the link at checkout before payment, and repeat it in the order confirmation or booking email. The Ministry's letter accepts email and hyperlinks.
At a field, give it at check-in with the waiver, so every renter receives it, including players under 18.
Keep a record. A line on the receipt, a checkbox on the waiver or the confirmation email itself shows you gave it.

A poster on the wall does not give anything to the customer. The order requires the information to be given to the person who buys, rents or receives the gun, so give each person a copy or a link.

What the Notice Covers

The notice runs two pages. It covers:

What low-velocity, imitation and federally regulated firearms are, with examples of each.
The ban on causing a public disturbance, and a warning that police respond to objects that look like firearms as if they are firearms.
The ban on selling, renting or supplying a low-velocity or imitation firearm to anyone under 18, and its exceptions.
Transport rules for minors on foot, and for everyone in vehicles and boats.
The six kinds of property where possession is generally prohibited: schools, post-secondary institutions, courts, hospitals, child care facilities and places of public worship.
Safe handling: trigger control, eye protection, muzzle direction, malfunctions, modifications and cleaning.
Penalties: violation tickets, prosecution, seizure, forfeiture, jail, fines and prohibition orders.

Where the Notice Is Simpler Than the Law

The notice is a plain-language summary, and it says it is not legal advice. On four points the Act and regulations differ from the notice, and your staff will get questions on each.

Vehicles and boats

The notice says to use a locked trunk, or where there is no trunk, a locked compartment or a locked non-transparent container, and to keep the item out of sight. General Regulation s. 4 requires a locked trunk or a locked compartment. A locked opaque container is allowed only where the vehicle or boat has no trunk or compartment that can be locked, or the item will not fit in it. Where there is a lockable compartment, use it before a locked case. Section 4 has no visibility rule. Keeping the item out of sight is still sound practice. Storing one in a way likely to cause a disturbance in a public place is an offence, and a vehicle in a place the public can access or see is a public place (Act s. 8(1), (2)).

Minors

The notice mentions minors carrying a gun on foot. Act s. 14(2) goes further: a minor must keep a low-velocity or imitation firearm in a locked opaque container whenever they transport, carry or store it, including at home. In a vehicle or boat the adult rule applies instead (Act s. 14(3)). On the premises of an airsoft, paintball or laser tag facility, while participating, s. 14 does not apply (Gen. Reg. s. 35).

Selling to someone who looks 18

The notice lists two exceptions to the under-18 ban: a customer with a firearms licence, and a facility supplying guns for use on its premises. The Act also exempts a seller where a minor produces credible false identification (Act s. 12). The General Regulation sets that as two pieces of identification: one passport, photo driver's licence or government photo ID showing the date of birth, and one more showing a name with a signature or photograph (Gen. Reg. s. 6). Check two pieces every time you are unsure.

Paintball markers

The notice lists paintball guns as low-velocity firearms. The Act defines a low-velocity firearm as one not designed or adapted to exceed 152.4 m/s or 5.7 joules, and a standard marker fires a 3 to 3.5 g ball at roughly 11 to 15 joules. The Ministry has not answered that question directly. Our FVPA guide covers the paintball question in full. Until a court or the Ministry settles it, fields and retailers should give the notice with every marker sold or rented.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to give the notice to every customer?

Yes. It goes to every person you sell, rent or supply a low-velocity firearm to (Act s. 74; Ministerial Order M274).

Can I email the notice instead of printing it?

Yes. The Ministry's 23 July 2026 letter to sellers says the notice can be given electronically, by email or a hyperlink.

Why is the notice not on gov.bc.ca?

The Ministry says it cannot update its website while the public service is in caretaker mode for the election. The order and the notice are on BC Laws as Ministerial Order M274.

Do I need to give it when I sell only BBs or pellets?

No. Section 74 and the order apply to low-velocity firearms only. Neither names ammunition.

What happens if a business does not give it?

Failing to give the information is an offence. The maximum fine is $2,500 for an individual and $50,000 for a business, rising to $5,000 and $100,000 for a repeat offence within 5 years (Act s. 66(1)(h), (2), (3)).

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Travis Bader, Silvercore Outdoors

This post summarizes BC's Firearm Violence Prevention Act, SBC 2021, c. 7, its regulations and Ministerial Order M274 as of 30 October 2026. It is not legal advice. For advice on your situation, speak to a lawyer.

BC's Low-Velocity Firearm Safety Notice: What Sellers Must Hand Out

Where the Requirement Comes From

Who Has to Hand It Out

How to Give It

What the Notice Covers