Expired PAL: What Happens and What to Do

Jul 16, 2026

Information & Education

Expired PAL: What Happens and What to Do

By Travis Bader, founder of Silvercore Outdoors. Personally teaching CFSC and CRFSC since 1994.

Every month, someone calls our office after pulling out their wallet at a gun store, or packing for a hunt, and noticing the date on their firearms licence has come and gone. The first question is always the same. Am I in trouble? The honest answer is: it depends on how long ago it expired, and what you do next.

The short answer

Your PAL does not simply die on the printed expiry date. Under section 64(1.1) of the Firearms Act, a licence that is not renewed before it expires is automatically extended for six months. During that extension you can still renew, but you cannot use your firearms or buy new firearms, ammunition, or magazines. Once the six months run out, the renewal path closes. From that point you apply again as a new applicant, with the 28-day minimum before a licence can be issued, and you need to deal carefully with any firearms still in your possession.

Continue on the Silvercore Path

What actually happens the day your PAL expires?

Less than most people fear, and more than most people realize.

A PAL is valid for five years, expiring on the date printed on the card. What changed in 2017 is what happens when that date passes. The Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act added an automatic extension to the Firearms Act: if a licence is not renewed before it expires, it is extended for six months, starting on the day it would have expired. This came into force on November 30, 2017 and applies to every individual licence that has expired since.

The purpose, in the government's own words, was to give licence holders who missed their renewal (an extended trip, a deployment, a hospital stay, or plain forgetfulness) time to come back into compliance without the risk of criminal prosecution for possessing their own firearms. During those six months, you are still a licence holder in the eyes of the law. You are just a licence holder with your privileges mostly switched off.

What can't you do during the six-month extension?

The extension keeps your possession legal. It does not keep you shooting. Section 64(1.2) of the Firearms Act says the holder of an extended licence must not, until the licence is renewed:

Use their firearms. No range trips, no hunting, no shooting on your own property.
Acquire any firearms, ammunition, or cartridge magazines. Stores check licence status, and yours will show as being in the extension period.

There is more. Any Authorization to Transport you held ended on the original expiry date. The extension does not carry it forward, and new authorizations are restricted during the extension period. The Canadian Firearms Program's system will also not process transfers or registrations of restricted or prohibited firearms while your licence is in the extension window. If you hold restricted firearms, they stay where they are, legally stored, until your renewal comes through.

In practical terms: your firearms can sit in your safe, and that is about it.

Can you still renew during the extension?

Yes, and this is the single most important thing to take from this page. If you are inside the six-month window, renew today. Not this weekend. Today.

You can still renew online through the RCMP's Individual Web Services, the same as any other renewal. There is no course to retake and no exam. The fee is the same as it always was: $70.38 for a non-restricted licence, $93.84 with restricted privileges, as of March 31, 2026.

One catch worth knowing. When you renew during the extension, your new five-year licence is dated from your original expiry date, not from the day your renewal is processed. Renew at the end of the six months and you effectively get a four-and-a-half-year licence for a five-year fee. The extension is a safety net, not free time.

Keep proof that you applied. A confirmation number, a screenshot, a printout. If you are ever asked about your licence status while your card shows an expired date, evidence of a renewal in progress is what you want in hand.

What happens after the six months run out?

Now you have a real problem, and it is better to face it squarely than to let it sit.

Once the extension ends, your licence is no longer valid in any form. The renewal path is closed. And if you still have firearms, you are in possession of firearms without a licence, which is an offence under section 91 of the Criminal Code. That is not written to frighten you. It is written so you understand why the next steps matter.

In our experience, and in the Canadian Firearms Program's own posture, the approach to people who come forward on their own is oriented toward getting them back into compliance, not prosecuting them. The people who run into serious trouble are generally the ones who ignore the situation for years or who come to the attention of police some other way first.

The right move is to call the Canadian Firearms Program at 1-800-731-4000, explain your situation, and follow their direction on your firearms while you reapply. Depending on your circumstances, that may mean storing them with a properly licensed individual or business until your new licence arrives. Do not move firearms around, and especially not restricted firearms, without knowing you are authorized to do it. If your situation has any complications at all, a call to a firearms lawyer before you do anything is money well spent.

How do you reapply after your PAL has fully expired?

You apply as a new applicant. The renewal form (RCMP 5614) and online renewal are only for licences that are still valid, including the extension period. Once fully expired, you use form RCMP 5592, the same application a first-time applicant files, available on the RCMP website or by calling 1-800-731-4000.

Two things about this route:

The 28-day minimum applies. Under the Firearms Licences Regulations, a Chief Firearms Officer may not issue a PAL until at least 28 days have passed since the application was made, unless the applicant already holds a licence at the time of applying. You no longer do. So the 28 days is your floor, and real processing usually takes longer.
You need proof of safety training. The application requires evidence that you completed the CFSC, and the CRFSC if you are applying for restricted privileges.

What if you can't find your CFSC or CRFSC course report?

Good news first: your course results do not expire. Passing the CFSC in 1998 counts the same as passing it last month. In fact, if you passed the CFSC before February 1, 1999, the RCMP treats you as having met the restricted course requirement as well.

If you held a PAL before, your training is almost certainly already on file with the Canadian Firearms Program, because you proved it when you first applied. Call 1-800-731-4000 and ask them to confirm your course results are in the system before you assume anything is lost.

If you have your original course report, photocopy it and keep the original somewhere you will not lose it. If you trained with Silvercore and cannot find your report, contact our office and we can look into pulling your course record for you.

If the CFP has no record and you have no report, retaking the course is the fix, and honestly, after five or more years away from firearms, a day in the classroom is not a bad way to come back.

Our combined CFSC and CRFSC weekend runs regularly across the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.

The expired PAL timeline, start to finish

Printed expiry date passes. Your licence is automatically extended six months. Possession stays legal, but there is no use and no buying firearms, ammunition, or magazines, and your ATT ends. Renew immediately online through Individual Web Services and keep proof of the application.

Inside the six-month extension. Same position, and the renewal path is still open. If you have not renewed yet, do it now. Your new licence dates from the original expiry, so every week you wait is licence time you paid for and will not get.

Extension ends. Six months past the printed date, your licence is invalid and the renewal path is closed. Any firearms you hold are now possessed without a licence. Call the CFP at 1-800-731-4000, follow their direction on your firearms, and start a new application.

Reapplying. You are a new applicant on form RCMP 5592, with proof of safety training required. Course results never expire. Confirm yours are on file with the CFP, and if you trained with Silvercore, contact our office for your course record.

The wait. A licence cannot be issued until at least 28 days after the application, since you no longer hold one, and processing commonly runs longer. Leave your firearms wherever the CFP directed until the new card is in your wallet.

Card arrives. You are licensed again, with restricted privileges only if you applied for them with CRFSC proof. Set a reminder for four and a half years from now. Renewal notices go out three months before expiry, but do not bet your licence on the mail.

How do you keep this from happening again?

Renew before the printed date, every time. The CFP mails renewal notices three months before expiry, and renewing early costs you nothing: the fee is the same and your new licence runs from your old expiry date, so there is no penalty for being ahead of it.

The full renewal process, timing and all, is covered in our guide: How to renew your PAL in Canada. If your licence is current and you are reading this out of curiosity, that page is the one to bookmark.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a grace period after my PAL expires?

Yes. Under section 64(1.1) of the Firearms Act, your licence is automatically extended for six months after the printed expiry date. During the extension you can still renew, but you cannot use your firearms or buy firearms, ammunition, or magazines.

Can I renew my PAL after it has expired?

Within six months of the printed expiry date, yes, including online through the RCMP's Individual Web Services. After six months, the renewal path closes and you apply as a new applicant using form RCMP 5592.

Do I have to retake the CFSC if my PAL expired?

No. Course results do not expire, and if you held a PAL before, your training is on file with the Canadian Firearms Program. Call 1-800-731-4000 to confirm. You only retake the course if neither you nor the CFP has any record of your training.

Can I keep my firearms while my PAL is expired?

During the six-month extension, yes. Your possession remains legal, though you cannot use the firearms. After the extension ends, you are in possession without a licence. Call the CFP at 1-800-731-4000 and follow their direction while you reapply.

Does the 28-day waiting period apply if I'm reapplying after my PAL expired?

Yes. The Firearms Licences Regulations set a 28-day minimum before a licence can be issued unless the applicant holds a licence at the time of applying. Once your extension has ended, you do not, so the 28 days applies.

Does my ATT survive the extension period?

No. Any Authorization to Transport ends on your original expiry date. The six-month extension does not carry it forward, and transfers of restricted or prohibited firearms are not processed while your licence is in the extension period.

How much does it cost to renew an expired PAL?

Within the six-month extension, the standard renewal fee applies: $70.38 for non-restricted, $93.84 with restricted privileges, as of March 31, 2026. After the extension, you pay the same fee as a new applicant.

If your licence has expired, the worst thing you can do is nothing. Inside six months, renew today. Past six months, pick up the phone, get squared away with the CFP, and start the application. Either way, the path back is well marked.

Travis Bader
Silvercore Outdoors