Canada · firearms licensing

PAL vs POL

By Hunters Guide. Checked against RCMP Canadian Firearms Program and Justice Laws sources on September 18, 2026.

The PAL is the only firearms licence Canada issues to new adult applicants. The POL was its older counterpart, a possession-only licence that closed to new applicants and then, in 2015, gained acquisition powers by act of Parliament.

If you are applying today, you are getting a PAL.

Can anyone still get a POL today?

New applicants cannot obtain a POL, and the RCMP says so without qualification. Its licensing guidance states that "The Possession and Acquisition Licence is the only licence currently available to new applicants."

The residents page puts the same point in terms of age. The RCMP states that "The Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL) is the only licence available to new applicants aged 18 or older." Under 18 there is a minor's licence, which is a different document again and not a POL.

The POL is not the only closed route into firearms ownership. The RCMP notes that Firearms Acquisition Certificates issued under the former law counted as licences, that they are expired, and that a PAL is now required instead. Canada has been consolidating licence types for decades, and the POL was one more step in that.

What a Possession Only Licence was

A Possession Only Licence was a firearms licence for people who already owned firearms when Canada brought in its modern licensing regime. It authorized them to keep what they had.

It was a grandfathering instrument. It existed so that established owners were not forced through an acquisition-grade application for guns that were already in their cabinets.

The name did the explaining: possession only, with no acquisition. A POL holder could keep and use their firearms but could not walk into a shop and buy another one. That is the distinction almost everyone still repeats when the acronym comes up.

What changed for POL holders in 2015

A transitional provision in the Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act gave POL holders acquisition powers, which removed the one thing that made a POL different from a PAL. The provision, headed Conversion of possession only licence, states that such a licence "authorizes the holder to acquire any firearms that they are authorized to possess under the licence". It came into force on September 2, 2015.

So the common description of a POL is now out of date. From that day, a POL in someone's wallet carried acquisition privileges for the classes of firearm it already covered. The card said one thing and the statute said another, and the statute won.

How POLs became PALs

Not by a recall. The order that brought the 2015 change into force says it plainly: "While the POL is no longer available for renewals, current holders of a POL will automatically be converted to a PAL." That is how the POL emptied out.

Renewing is also lighter than applying fresh. The RCMP confirms that "When renewing a Possession and Acquisition Licence with the same privileges, you do not need to resend your training information." Ask for privileges you did not hold before and you have to prove the training for them. That is where the CFSC re-enters the picture, and where our guide on how to get a PAL in Canada covers the paperwork.

One thing we will not guess at. The RCMP does not publish a count of POLs still in force, and its 2025 Commissioner of Firearms Report breaks individual licences into two categories only, Possession and Acquisition Licences and minor's licences. Read that as the POL no longer being a category the program tracks separately, rather than as a published statement that not one remains.

Why the POL still comes up in used firearm sales

The POL keeps surfacing in private sales because the acronym outlived the restriction it described, and sellers remember the restriction. Anyone who learned the rules before 2015 may believe a POL holder cannot legally buy from them, and will say so with confidence.

The RCMP's rule for a private transfer turns on the licence, not its name. Before a non-restricted firearm changes hands, the seller "must obtain confirmation from the Registrar of Firearms that the transferee (buyer) holds, and is still eligible to hold, a firearms licence authorizing that person to acquire a non-restricted firearm." The name printed on the card is not the test.

Questions about the PAL and the POL

Can you still apply for a POL?

No. The RCMP states that the Possession and Acquisition Licence is the only licence currently available to new applicants. Anyone applying today, aged 18 or older, gets a PAL. The POL is closed as an application route and has been for years.

Could a POL holder buy a firearm?

Not originally, and then yes. A Possession Only Licence authorized possession of firearms the holder already had. A transitional provision of the Common Sense Firearms Licensing Act changed that in 2015 by giving those holders the power to acquire the firearms they were already authorized to possess.

What happens when a POL comes up for renewal?

It becomes a PAL. The order that brought the 2015 change into force says "While the POL is no longer available for renewals, current holders of a POL will automatically be converted to a PAL."

Does a seller need to check whether a buyer holds a PAL or a POL?

The RCMP frames it around the licence, not its name. Before a non-restricted firearm is transferred, the seller "must obtain confirmation from the Registrar of Firearms that the transferee (buyer) holds, and is still eligible to hold, a firearms licence authorizing that person to acquire a non-restricted firearm." That is done by requesting a reference number.