Arms / A1
Semi-automatic rifle
The person wants to buy a common centrefire semi-automatic rifle (e.g. an AR-15 pattern rifle with a 30-round magazine) and keep it at home.
What we score
What must they do to own it lawfully, and what happens if they own it without that?
Default assumptions: Unless a vignette says otherwise, the person is a 30-year-old citizen of sound mind with no criminal record, acting alone, on their own behalf and not for profit, in an ordinary residential area. Where subnational units (states, provinces, cantons, Länder) make their own law, each unit is scored and the result is weighted by population. 'The state' includes police, prosecutors, courts, regulators, tax authorities and anyone acting on their orders, including platforms obeying takedown orders.
Score anchors
Both the law score and the practice score use these anchors. Half points are used when a country sits between two of them.
| Score | What it means for this vignette |
|---|---|
| 10 | Buy over the counter with no check, licence or registration. |
| 8 | Instant background check or registration only. |
| 6 | Licence on objective criteria (shall-issue), with real cost, training or waiting time. |
| 4 | Licence requires showing a need (hunting, sport club), or is discretionary. |
| 3 | Banned; possession is an administrative offence. |
| 2 | Banned; possession is a crime with a fine or under 1 year. |
| 1 | Banned; 1 to 5 years. |
| 0 | Banned; over 5 years. |
Evidence used: Firearms act and regulations; assault-weapon and magazine bans; licensing criteria and approval rates; penalties for unlicensed possession.
How each country scores
| Country | Law | Practice | Process | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 6 | 6.5 | 0 | 6.3 | Federal law needs only a NICS check at a dealer, and in most states private sales need none (score 8.5). About 31% of the population lives in states that ban buying AR-15-pattern rifles, scored about 1: CA, NY, NJ, IL, MA, MD, CT, DE, WA (sale ban) and RI (purchase/possession ban from 1 July 2026, up to 10 years). Penalties include class D felonies of up to 7 years in New York. Colorado (about 2%) has required a 12-hour course and a sheriff's eligibility card since 1 Aug 2026. Virginia's 2026 ban is enjoined by state courts. Weighted, the de jure score is about 6. SCOTUS granted cert on 30 June 2026 in Viramontes v. Cook County to decide whether AR-15 bans are constitutional, with argument set for 2 Dec 2026. |
| Czechia | 4 | 5 | 0 | 4.6 | Under Act 90/2024 (in force 2026), a centrefire semi-automatic fitted with a magazine over 10 rounds is category R2. An R2 exemption (§ 48) is issued to a firearms-licence holder only for a listed reason: collecting, historical reenactment, or sport shooting with proof of 12 months of active club training. The same rifle with a 10-round magazine needs only an R3 permit, which is available for self-defence (§ 50). Possessing a firearm without authorisation is a crime under § 279 (up to 2 years). |
| Switzerland | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4.0 | Since 15 Aug 2019, a semi-automatic centrefire long gun with a magazine of more than 10 rounds is a prohibited weapon (Weapons Act Art. 5(1)(c)). It can be owned only with a cantonal exemption permit, granted on 'legitimate grounds' such as target shooting, which requires club membership or proof of regular shooting rechecked after 5 and 10 years (Arts. 28c-28d). Unlawful possession carries up to 3 years (Art. 33). The same rifle with a 10-round magazine needs only a shall-issue acquisition permit. |
| Netherlands | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4.0 | Firearms need a police-issued verlof (art. 28 Wwm), which requires a 'reasonable interest' (in practice membership of a recognised shooting club or hunting) and is renewed yearly. A semi-automatic long gun with a magazine over 10 rounds (EU category A7) is licensable only for listed KNSA disciplines (e.g. IPSC Rifle, Dynamic Service Rifle) with proof of club membership in that discipline. Possessing a firearm without a licence carries up to 8 years (art. 55(3)). |
| Denmark | 3.5 | 4 | 0 | 3.8 | Rifles need police permission under våbenloven § 2. Ordinary citizens can get it only through hunting (jagttegn) or as a member of an approved shooting club, with the weapon on the club's programme and police consent (§ 2 c; BEK 2531/2021 §§ 7-9); self-defence is not a reason. Detachable magazines over 10 rounds for semi-automatic centrefire rifles are banned for permit holders (BEK § 10 a). Unlicensed possession is punishable under våbenloven § 10 (fine, up to 4 months, aggravated up to 2 years), or § 192 a straffeloven (2-8 years) under especially aggravating circumstances. Half point down from 4 because the 30-round magazine itself is unobtainable. |
| Germany | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3.6 | A semi-automatic rifle needs a weapons possession card (WBK) based on a recognised need. For sport shooters that means 12 months of active club shooting (monthly or 18 sessions) under § 14 WaffG, and self-defence does not count. Since 2020, magazines over 10 rounds for long guns are prohibited items. Only registered pre-2017 stocks and rare BKA exemptions are allowed, and possessing one is a crime with up to 3 years (§ 52(3) Nr. 1 WaffG), so the 30-round configuration is banned. Unlicensed possession of the rifle itself is also up to 3 years. |
| Singapore | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | Under GEWCA 2021 s11 and s17, storing or possessing a gun without a licence is punished with up to 5 years' imprisonment plus a fine for a prohibited gun, or up to 36 months plus a fine for other guns. The courts read 'and' as making both jail and the fine mandatory. Individual licences cover sport shooting only, and SPF says all guns must be stored in an approved armoury, never at home. Keeping a rifle at home is therefore impossible to do lawfully. |
| New Zealand | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0.7 | Under the Arms Act 2026 (mostly in force 23 September 2026) centrefire semi-automatic rifles are 'restricted firearms', and magazines like a 30-round AR-15 magazine are restricted magazines. Possession needs a licence endorsement made specific by a permit to possess; possessing one without authority carries up to 7 years (s32(4)). Endorsements go to bona fide collectors, heirloom holders, museums, businesses and pest controllers, not to an ordinary owner. The 2019 post-Christchurch ban is carried over. |
| Mexico | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0.3 | Under LFAFE art. 11(c), rifles in .223/5.56 and 7.62 calibres are reserved for the armed forces, and art. 11 Bis (2025) bars civilians from possessing them. Possessing one without a permit carries 5-12 years (art. 83 Ter III), and art. 92 makes it a mandatory pretrial-detention offence. Civilians have no route to an AR-15 type rifle; the only legal seller is the army store, which does not sell them. |
| United Kingdom | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | Self-loading centrefire rifles have been prohibited since 1988 (Firearms Act 1968 s5(1)(ab)); only .22 rimfire semi-autos can be licensed. Possession is subject to a mandatory minimum of 5 years for adults (s51A; Sentencing Act 2020 s311) and a 10-year maximum. Northern Ireland's Firearms Order 2004 mirrors the ban. There is no route for a private citizen. |
| Ireland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | Since 1 August 2023, Firearms Act 1925 s3DA bars any new firearm certificate for a semi-automatic centre-fire rifle (inserted by Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023 s10), and certificates first granted after 18 September 2015 were revoked. Holders of such rifles also lose their certificate if found with a magazine over 10 rounds (s2F). Possessing a firearm without a certificate is an offence under s2 with up to 7 years for restricted firearms (5 for others). No route exists for a new owner. |