Arms / A5
Machine gun or destructive device
The person wants to own a machine gun, or a destructive device such as an artillery piece or a grenade launcher with live rounds.
What we score
Is there any lawful route for an ordinary citizen to own one? Score the more permissive route.
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 | Ownership with no licence or registration. |
| 8 | Registration or a fee only. |
| 6 | Permission on objective criteria with real cost and delay (e.g. US NFA tax stamp). |
| 4 | Discretionary permit, available to collectors or by exemption. |
| 3 | Banned; administrative penalty. |
| 2 | Banned; crime, under 1 year. |
| 1 | Banned; 1 to 5 years. |
| 0 | Banned; over 5 years. |
Evidence used: Weapons categories and exemption routes; number of private owners where known; penalties.
How each country scores
| Country | Law | Practice | Process | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 4.5 | 4.5 | 0 | 4.5 | Federal law bans possession of machine guns made after 19 May 1986 (18 U.S.C. 922(o)). Pre-1986 registered guns and destructive devices can be transferred after ATF approval, fingerprints and a $200 NFA tax; the 2025 reconciliation law cut the tax to $0 only for suppressors, SBRs, SBSs and AOWs. That route scores 6 in most states. About a quarter of the population lives in states that ban civilian machine guns or destructive devices outright, often as felonies (e.g. CA, NY, NJ, IL, WA, HI, DE, RI), scored about 1. Transferable machine guns cost tens of thousands of dollars because the registry is frozen. |
| Czechia | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4.0 | Fully automatic weapons are category R1. Under Act 90/2024 § 46, an R1 exemption is issued only to holders of a ZL2 firearms business licence who show a need for a listed purpose (collecting or museum activity, film, training, protection of sensitive sites). Ordinary private persons therefore have a narrow, licence-dependent route. Possessing one without authorisation is a crime (§ 279, up to 2 years; prohibited combat means § 280, 2 to 8 years). |
| Switzerland | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4.0 | Automatic firearms and military launchers with explosive effect are prohibited (Weapons Act Art. 5(1)(a)). Cantons may grant exemption permits for 'collecting' (Art. 28c(2)(c)) if the collector proves safe storage and keeps an inventory (Art. 28e), so collectors have a discretionary route to machine guns. Explosive munitions are banned except by Central Office exemption (WaffV Art. 26). Unlawful possession carries up to 3 years (Art. 33). |
| Netherlands | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3.4 | Automatic weapons and explosive devices are category II and banned (art. 26 Wwm, up to 8 years under art. 55(3)). The Minister may grant an exemption (art. 4) only to a museum or collector he has formally recognised, with a collection plan and membership of a recognised collectors' association. The explanatory memorandum to the 2019 amendment says such exemptions are granted only in individual cases. Ordinary citizens have no route. |
| New Zealand | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3.4 | Machine guns are restricted firearms under the Arms Act 2026; possession without authority carries up to 7 years (s32(4)). A bona fide collector, heirloom holder or museum can apply for an endorsement to possess restricted firearms and magazines, and the chief executive may impose conditions such as rendering items inoperable. This discretionary route exists for few private owners. Live explosive ordnance falls under separate explosives law. |
| Germany | 4 | 1.5 | 0 | 2.5 | Machine guns and grenade launchers are war weapons. Holding one without a permit under the War Weapons Control Act is a crime with 1 to 5 years (§ 22a(1) Nr. 6 KrWaffKontrG). Fully automatic weapons are also banned under WaffG Annex 2. The only route is a discretionary BKA exemption (§ 40(4) WaffG), for example to expand a 'culturally significant collection', which ordinary citizens do not get. |
| Denmark | 4 | 1.5 | 0 | 2.5 | Våbenloven §§ 1-2 allow police to permit any firearm, and police issue discretionary collector permits ('samlertilladelse'), each with a stated purpose and a background check. I could not confirm that any private collector holds a working automatic weapon. Unlicensed possession of an automatic weapon or explosives is 'especially aggravating' under § 192 a straffeloven: 2 to 8 years. |
| Singapore | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | Machine guns are prohibited guns. Unlicensed possession is punished under GEWCA s17 with up to 5 years plus a fine, and unlicensed possession of prohibited explosives under s27 with up to 5 years plus a fine of up to S$100,000. Neither can be licensed for private ownership. Trafficking guns carries the death penalty under the Arms Offences Act. |
| Mexico | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | Automatic weapons (LFAFE art. 11(d)) and artillery, grenade launchers and explosive projectiles (art. 11(g)-(h)) are reserved for the armed forces, and civilians are barred from possessing them (art. 11 Bis). Possession carries 5-12 years for automatic weapons and 6-15 years for heavy weapons (art. 83 Ter III-IV), and art. 92 makes these mandatory pretrial-detention offences. There is no collector exemption. |
| United Kingdom | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | Automatic weapons are prohibited (Firearms Act 1968 s5(1)(a)) and possession carries a 5-year mandatory minimum and a 10-year maximum. Section 5 authority from the Secretary of State goes to dealers, museums and film suppliers, not private collectors, who may hold only deactivated items. Live grenades and shells fall under the same s5 rules and explosives law. |
| Ireland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | Since 1 September 2019, Firearms Act 1925 s2E bars any application for a certificate for an EU Category A firearm (automatic weapons, military arms, explosive munitions), and s2D makes acquiring or possessing one an offence with up to 7 years. The only exceptions are the Defence Forces, the police and the National Museum (s2(7)); there is no collector route. |