Green firearm licences still valid – for now
The old green firearm licences issued under the previous firearms act are still valid, provided that the owners never applied for new licences for those particular firearms. However, if the holder of a green firearm licence had applied for a renewal in terms of the Firearms Control Act (Act 60 of 2000) and received the new white licence card, the green licence is invalid. If the application for a new licence had not been approved, the old green licence would still be valid.
There is a logical assumption that the old green licences would be declared invalid at some point. Meanwhile, SA Hunters advises members with old valid green licences, to apply for their firearm licences in terms of the new Act, and to comply with the requirement of submitting a valid competency certificate with their application.
Background information
Discussion between SA Hunters and SAPS started in 2020 to establish a meaningful process to switch all green licences to white licences. That followed on an attempt by the state to revoke an interdict granted in favour of SA Hunters by the Gauteng North High Court in 2009, that the green licences would remain valid until the main issue in that case had been heard and finalised. However, SAPS never responded, and the case was never concluded.
SA Hunters and its legal team strongly disagreed with the State’s approach and submitted a plan to SAPS for a process to migrate green firearm licences to white firearm licences in a seamless manner.
Because the discussions between SA Hunters and SAPS petered out, no further information is available on the status of this process.
