Hi Guys,

A quick question I am a Dutch person living in Germany.
Do I need to register anywhere in Germany with like an organisation or something to go airsofting?
What are the general guidelines in Germany for weapon limitation like FPS/Joule etc?

Cheers,

Jeroen Schoonbrood

No registration needed.

under age of 18 only below 0.5j, above free until 7.5J. ;)

carry only in a closed bag or case (a lock is necessary, only zipper is not closed enough).

weapons above 0.5J need to be marked with an F in a pentagon. you must not import weapons above 0.5J.

Hoi Jeroen,

There is no assiciation like the NABV in germany. Instead, each player is forced to obey laws by himself. For instance, any gun with an energy of more than 0.5 Joule has to be imported to germany by an enlisted importer (or store) and bear an "F", caliber and model markings. Any gun above 0.5 Joule bought abroad is illegal. Furthermore, only semi-automatic is allowed for above 0.5 J.

And, although <7.5 Joule is allowed to buy & own by law, field limits are lower. Depending on the category of the weapon and field up to ~2.5j max (Spring Sniper), as I have seen so far. So no worry to get hit by 7.5j. ;)

In Addition to Louis I´d like to say that guns (things that propell other things through a barrel) in germany may only shoot semi automatically (objects shooting projectiles under 0.5 joules are considered toys but may not be carried in public if they can be mistaken with real firearms) and every gun imported has to be tested by the "Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt" (PTB) or "Beschussamt" if they exceed 7.5 joules (what would make them firearms that require license) or shoot fully automatically (what would make them illegal to posess in germany).

If they pass they are marked with the F in a pentagon. So its not the F that makes the guns legal but the "Beschuss". As a private person its difficult (some "Beschussamt"s simply reject testing ASG / for private persons), expensive (about 300€ per gun i have heard) and time consuming (round about 2 months is not uncommon). Gundealers can leave a sample of the tested gun and be allowed to import and sell similar guns.

So bad news if you have already a big stock of Airsoft guns to be imported from the netherlands.

Legal ASGs should be transported in some sort of locked container (Gunbag with locked zippers is perfectly fine). There is some sort of confusing wording in ther german law for this. So with a good lawyer you should be finde transporting simply not ready to access.... but why the risk... Funfact: For gun like looking toys the law is more specific: They have to be transported in a locked container. The wording even says "festes verschlossenes behältnis" what means solid locked container. So in theory gunbags suitable for real firearms are not allowed for toyguns.

Airsoft guns above 0.5 joule have to be stored in a locked container. A wardrobe with a (diy fitted) lock or a transportation containers is perfectly fine.

Hi Guys,

Thank you all for the quick replies I do not have any airsoft replica's at the moment so it's a good thing I put the questions here first.

A follow-up question/remarks.

I cannot have in my possesion any airsoft replica that has the capability to fire full auto?

It is beter for me to order guns from a German shop so that I don't have to import them again?

No license/registering is required under 7.5 joules?

Storage is locked up and with common sense?


For example I went to a Dutch store asking about how to start with the airsoft hobby.
The person at the store said to me to start with an AEG G&G M16 for ease of use and reliability is this gun legal in Germany as it has an option for full auto?

Thanks again :) just want to be sure that I'm not breaking any laws :P

Cheers,

Jeroen.

(Arisoft)Guns may not shoot full auto.

sub 0.5 Joule toys may shoot what ever you like. (as long as not carried in public)

So in germany there are two categories that dont exist internationally:

AEGs: up to 230 FPS / 0.5 Joules

S-AEGs: up to 7.5 Joules (law) oder 1-2 joules (depends on field)

S-AEGs are AEGs that are physically locked to semi only. If the semi lock can be reverted to auto with common tools its illegal. german retailers cut out a piece of the selector plate so the AEG loses its ability to shoot full auto. A selector plate is not seen as common tool and the "destruction" of it is not revertable.

Buying from german retailer is the only viable option as import is way more expensive and complicated. Unless you get the energy dropped to 0.5 Joules. Then import is legal but you may not up the energy again.

In addition , greengas or CO2 ("Kaltgase") guns must be semi only and are not legal in full auto below 0,5 J as the electric AEGs are, they must have the F mark too.

To sum up, there is no toy gas gun.

To change the power source by yourself from eg. electric to gas or spring to gas ist not allowed, therefore you need a gunsmith.

It is possible for you to change aftermarket parts if they are made for your gun, spring, barrel etc.

Never import a gun above 0,5J and if necessary  a 0,5J gun from EU countries otherwise it will take a long time untill you get your toy gun (they check the power).

If you import from overseas a barrel or cpl. gearbox you must own the F marked gun the parts are for.

Some customs pass it throgh, some want to see the bill or yor gun with F mark.

Best practise for you, buy a semi only gun with F mark here, if you go back or visit friends in NL change the selectorplate.

Aditionally it is not allowed to attach target illumination devices such as laser sights and flashlights or any devices that are capable of thermal- or night vision sight on guns. The import of such devices that are dedicated for guns, such us (functioning) PEQs, LLMs, weapon lights or night vision scopes for example is also prohibited. 

hello folks. I have a question I have a HAO PTW replica. I would like to legally shoot in Germany the replica is below 0.5j but it has a cylinder replacement ... i.e. a quick spring change. how can i register a replica ?? or where ??? Can I legally have a replica in parts ?? as not working until registered ?? Thx for anserws 

If it‘s below 0,5J@0,2g you‘re fine, no need to register it, just keep it in a !locked! Gun case.

Hi Keinzell ,but isn't PTW a replica with a quick spring change by an extendable cylinder ?? is this not subject to these restrictions?

That‘s a tricky question, most shops deactivate quick change systems, but if you take an ICS for example, which is modded <0,5 and doesn‘t have a quick change systems, you still could swap the upper gearbox in seconds.

It could be a problem if it gets confiscated.

One way to avoid that would be sending a 0,5J cylinder to a friend in Germany, cause if you‘re carrying the systema without a part that‘s essential for it to work you‘re not gonna have a problem with that regulation.

thank you good man :) this is very helpful information bless you

This is a tricky topic.

By law IT is prohibited to have a toy that can be modified with regular Tools to shoot above 0.5 Joules (exactly Not more than 0.55 in average with no single Shot over 0.6 in a 10 Shot sample measured by two Sensors that measure the Speed of the BB one 0.5 Meters from muzzle and one 1.5 Meters from muzzle)

Is an new spring a regularly available Tool? Probably Not. Up to a judge to decide. No Police man will know about this Details. If someone wanted, Like 90% of all Airsoft guns could be argued illegal in Germany.

If dealing with import, a crucial Part of a gun is legally equal to the gun IT is meant for. What is a crucial Part of a Airsoft? Inner Barrel and Gearbox. Ptw cylinder? No Police man will know about those specifics.

If by coincidence you end Up being Controlled by the Police, the safest Thing ist a gun with "F" so the policemen can recognize this official sign.

As you dont have an F it appears as the gun is a lookalike. But If that "lookalike gun" Able to fire no one knows If really sub 0.5. Many Shops in Germany therefore write <0,5 Joule in their Toys. This is Not required for Toys or official in any way. But if controlled this would lead the First thoughts of Police to toy istead of ????.

This is what i would do If you have the possibility. Create a Sticker with "< 0,5 Joule" and Stick ist to the gun. Then dont carry or transport any Tool that Could increase the Energy past 0.5 Joules.