Home › Blog › Your licence is about to expire: what the 90 day rule means

Your licence is about to expire: what the 90 day rule means

The date on your licence card is not the deadline. The deadline is 90 days earlier.

The rule

The Firearms Control Act says a licence renewal must be handed in at least 90 days before the licence expires. Hand it in on time and your licence stays valid while SAPS decides, even if that takes longer than the date on your card.

If you are late

If the 90 day mark has passed but the licence has not yet expired, go to your DFO now, with a complete pack, and explain honestly why you are late. A few days before the expiry date is a very different conversation from arriving after it.

Once the licence has expired, it cannot be renewed. You apply for a new licence for the same firearm on the SAPS 271. Take the firearm to your DFO first to be verified; it then stays in your safe, but you may not use it until the new licence is issued.

Do not forget the competency

Your competency certificate expires with the licence it relates to, so renew them together. People who remember the licence and forget the competency find out at the DFO's counter.

Work out your date

Our free renewal date checker tells you the last day to hand in, from the expiry date on your card.