Canada · firearms licensing

How Long a PAL Takes and How to Check Its Status

By Hunters Guide. Checked against RCMP Canadian Firearms Program sources on September 20 and 21, 2026.

A first PAL takes at least 28 days, the RCMP's minimum wait for anyone who does not already hold a valid licence. The RCMP also gives 35 calendar days to log it into processing. Mail it, and add 2 to 4 weeks just to get it entered. It publishes no end-to-end number, so the honest answer is longer than four weeks with the far end unstated.

Already applied? Your status is in the RCMP's Individual Web Services or your MyCFP Account, or on the phone at 1-800-731-4000, weekdays from 9 am to 5 pm. Checking your status covers all three.

The stages between the course and the card

Six stages sit between the Canadian Firearms Safety Course and a licence in hand: the course and its tests, the application, an initial review, a waiting period, screening, and issue of the card. The RCMP puts a number on three of them.

For the rest it says nothing, and the table says so rather than guessing. (Still deciding whether to apply? Start with how to get a PAL in Canada.)

Notice what's missing: any figure for the stretch between the file being opened and the card landing in the mailbox. No RCMP page fills that gap.

What is the 28-day waiting period?

The 28-day waiting period is a minimum interval the RCMP applies to every applicant who does not currently hold a valid firearms licence. The information sheet for form RCMP GRC 5592e, version 2026-01, states it in one sentence: "There is a minimum 28-day waiting period for all applicants who do not presently hold a valid firearms licence."

That's the entire statement. It doesn't say what starts the clock. It doesn't say the licence follows on day 29. Read "minimum" the way it's written.

What fills the time, per the same sheet: "Processing a firearms licence application involves a variety of background checks. In some cases, in-depth investigations are conducted."

The processing time the RCMP publishes

The RCMP's published processing figure for a PAL is a service standard of 35 calendar days, and it covers the initial review of an application rather than the decision on it. The RCMP Fees Report for fiscal year 2024-25, dated 2025-10-30, says under the non-restricted PAL fee: "The CFP is committed to a service standard of 35 calendar days to complete the initial review of a submitted application for service fees impacted by the Service Fees Act."

It also reports the result: "The service standard of 35 days to have an application entered to the stage of 'In Package Processing (Received)' was met 218,651 times out of 220,833 applications received for a rate of 99.01% meeting the standard."

Solid number. But "In Package Processing (Received)" is the front door. Opened and logged, not decided. Nothing in the report covers the back end.

For mail, the Individual Web Services page (2026-03-30) adds: "please allow 2 to 4 weeks for the application to be entered into the system." That's before the 35 days even start.

Where a paper application goes

A paper PAL application is form RCMP 5592, and the RCMP's information sheet for that form gives exactly one mailing address. Quoting the 5592e information sheet, version 2026-01: "Mail your completed application form and all attachments to: Royal Canadian Mounted Police, P.O. Box 1200, Miramichi NB E1N 5Z3."

Mail is the fallback, not the default. The application page, dated 2026-01-15, says: "If you are not eligible to apply online, you must complete and submit an application by mail."

And for anyone who does mail it: "Applications require a handwritten signature. E-signatures are not valid for paper-based applications." The sheet adds that it "must be signed within six (6) months of mailing".

What the RCMP says slows an application down

The delays the RCMP names are all on the applicant's side of the form: incomplete sections, a rejected photo, an unanswered conjugal-status question, and a fee-waiver request. All four are in the 5592e information sheet, version 2026-01, in these words.

• Incomplete form. "An incomplete form will cause delays in processing your application."
• Photo. "If rejected, a new photo will be required, causing a delay in the processing of your application." Our PAL photo requirements list every specification.
• Conjugal status. "You must answer both questions 17. a) and b) or your licence application will be delayed."
• Fee waiver. "By checking the box for the fee waiver on the application, you may be contacted by the CFO. The processing of your application will be delayed."

References come up too, though not as a named delay. The sheet says they "will be contacted to provide notice of your application and permit them to flag public safety concerns."

The RCMP publishes nothing about references who never answer. It does publish this: "refusal to provide your personal information or personal information of supporting references will result in you not receiving a PAL."

How to check your PAL application status

The RCMP lists three routes for a status check: an online account, a phone call to the Canadian Firearms Program, or an inquiry by fax or mail. Email is ruled out. Its contact page says: "We will not respond to e-mail inquiries regarding application status." It also says to allow five business days for a reply to a fax.

There are two online accounts, not one. The Individual Web Services page lists "check your application status" among its sign-in functions. The contact page files new licence applications under a separate MyCFP Account, with its own support line.

The RCMP keeps the two apart. Its application page says "if your MyCFP account is deleted, it will not affect your Individual Web Services account". Which one holds your file is a question for the support lines.

What the status line tells you

Not much, by design. The Individual Web Services page answers the common complaint head on: "The application status displayed online is of a general nature and will typically inform you if your application has been received, is in processing or has been finalized."

Received. In processing. Finalized. That's the whole published vocabulary. The Fees Report adds one internal stage name, the one the 35-day standard above is measured against: "In Package Processing (Received)".

What signing in asks for

Individual Web Services needs a GCKey or Sign-in Partner account, plus a code sent to your email each time you sign in. Once inside, the contact page says "You will need your firearms licence number and other personal information to confirm your identity." A first-time applicant has no licence number yet. For them the RCMP points to the MyCFP inbox in the table above.

A renewal filed online gets its own reference. The Individual Web Services page says "You will receive a confirmation number to prove your renewal is in progress." Keep it. How to renew your PAL covers that route.

If the status hasn't moved

The RCMP's next step is a phone call. The same Individual Web Services answer ends: "For more detailed information you may wish to contact the Canadian Firearms Program directly by calling 1-800-731-4000."

The contact page gives the hours as "Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm (nationwide)". Callers outside Canada and the United States use 1-506-624-6626. The fax is 613-825-0297, and the mailing address is Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canadian Firearms Program, Ottawa ON K1A 0R2.

If you'd rather use the wait than count it, the CFSC practice test covers the topic areas the course examines. More in the guides index.

Questions about PAL wait times and status

Is the 28-day waiting period the whole processing time?

The RCMP does not present it that way. Its PAL information sheet describes "a minimum 28-day waiting period for all applicants who do not presently hold a valid firearms licence." Minimum is the operative word. Screening, printing and mailing sit on top of it, none with a published time.

Does applying online make a PAL faster?

The RCMP does not publish a comparison. It does publish an allowance of 2 to 4 weeks for a mailed application to be entered into its system, time an online submission does not spend in an envelope. Beyond that, it says nothing about which route finishes first.

What does the 35-day service standard actually cover?

Initial review only. The RCMP Fees Report for 2024-25 describes it as the time to have an application entered to the stage of "In Package Processing (Received)", met for 99.01% of the 220,833 applications received that year. It is a standard for opening the file, not for deciding it.

Where do I check my PAL application status online?

The RCMP’s Individual Web Services page lists "check your application status" among its sign-in functions, and its contact page says to "consult your MyCFP Account". Sign-in to Individual Web Services is a GCKey or Sign-in Partner account plus an emailed authentication code. Checked September 21, 2026.

What does "in processing" mean on a PAL application?

The RCMP describes the online status as "of a general nature" and says it "will typically inform you if your application has been received, is in processing or has been finalized." That is the whole published vocabulary. Beyond stating that processing "involves a variety of background checks", the RCMP does not publish what happens inside that stage.

Is there a phone line for questions about a PAL application?

The Canadian Firearms Program national contact centre is 1-800-731-4000, Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. The RCMP states it "will not respond to e-mail inquiries regarding application status," so phone, a MyCFP account, fax or mail are the routes it lists.

Does a mailed application need a handwritten signature?

The RCMP says so on its application page: "Applications require a handwritten signature. E-signatures are not valid for paper-based applications." The information sheet adds that the form "must be signed within six (6) months of mailing".