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Firearms consignment in Canada is not one process. A used hunting rifle, an OIC-listed semi-auto, a grandfathered prohibited handgun, and an estate safe with mixed classes do not belong in the same dealer lane. If you get that wrong, you waste time at best and create a legal problem at worst.
The first question is not "who is the nearest gun shop?" It is "what licence authority does the dealer actually hold for this firearm and this activity?" That matters more than province, distance, or the word dealer on the sign once the file becomes specialized.
Disclaimer: This page is informational, not legal advice. Verify current federal rules directly with the Canadian Firearms Program and Public Safety Canada before acting. Last updated: April 2026.
Which Firearms Consignment Lane Applies to You?
Start here. If you can sort the firearm into the right lane, the rest of the decision gets easier.
- Ordinary dealer consignment: This is the standard used-gun lane. Non-restricted firearms and many restricted long guns can still move through ordinary dealer channels if the dealer holds the right retail and consignment authority.
- Prohibited-capable business lane: If the firearm is prohibited, a prohibited handgun, a prohibited device, or part of a mixed-class file, ordinary dealer status is not enough. The business licence has to authorize that exact class and activity.
- Grandfathered handgun lane: People search
12(6)as shorthand, but the statute is more exact than the search term. If you are dealing with a grandfathered prohibited handgun file or an inherited pre-1946 handgun file under section12(7), you are not in the ordinary consignment lane. - Export, deactivation, or ASFCP / disposal lane: Some firearms are better routed away from consignment altogether. If the firearm is OIC-affected and the legal or market lane is narrow, export, deactivation, or the government disposal path may be the cleaner answer.
Two live dates matter right now. The individual declaration deadline for the government program was March 31, 2026. That date has passed. The current amnesty expiry for affected prohibited firearms is October 30, 2026. If you are holding an OIC-affected firearm and still deciding what to do, the clock is not theoretical anymore.
This is also where geography starts to matter less than people think. If you are in Ontario, Alberta, Nova Scotia, or northern BC, the right licence authority is more important than the closest counter. A nearby shop that cannot lawfully handle the file does not save you any time.
Why Licence Authority Matters More Than Your Nearest Dealer
Dealer is too broad a word for this problem.
Most gun shops can honestly help with ordinary used firearms. That does not mean they can legally receive a prohibited firearm on consignment, transfer a grandfathered prohibited handgun, import a prohibited firearm, or act on an export file. Those powers live in the business licence conditions, not in the store's branding.
Everything Old holds Business Firearms Licence 13848437.0001, valid September 24, 2024 through September 23, 2027. The verified authorities that matter on this page are specific:
- prohibited firearms consignment
- prohibited handgun, prohibited firearm, and prohibited device import
- export on consignment
12(6)handgun transfers- RCMP Firearms Verifier status (for classification and identification)
That is the operational difference between "a dealer who sells guns" and "a dealer who can lawfully touch this file." If your firearm is prohibited, mixed-class, or tied to a grandfathered handgun transfer question, the wrong dealer does not just waste a phone call. The wrong dealer cannot do the work.
This is why national specialty files routinely move past local geography. A searcher in Halifax or Edmonton does not need the nearest dealer first. They need the right licence authority first. Once that piece is correct, transport, carrier, transfer, export, or deactivation can be handled in the right order.
When Consignment Is the Right Answer, and When It Is Not
Consignment is not the automatic best answer. It is one tool. The right lane depends on what the firearm is, how fast you need out, and whether the item has real collector or export value.
| Option | Best when | Main drawback |
|---|---|---|
| Consignment | The firearm has real market depth, collector interest, or a narrow but lawful buyer lane worth working | It takes time, and the fee comes off the top |
| Outright sale to a dealer | Speed matters more than squeezing out the last dollar | The dealer has to buy below expected resale value |
| Export | The domestic market is blocked or thin, but a lawful international market still exists | Permit, carrier, and destination-country paperwork add work |
| Deactivation | You want to keep the physical object and remove the legal problem | It is permanent, often ugly, and it kills functional market value |
| ASFCP / disposal | You want certainty and closure on an eligible OIC-affected firearm | It is a program path, not a market path, and the declaration deadline was March 31, 2026 |
The blunt version is this: for a common OIC-listed semi-auto, the math may not justify the wait and the fee. For a rarer piece, a documented collector item, or a prohibited handgun with a lawful transfer path, consignment can be the difference between flat disposal and a real market result.
Export deserves separate attention because it is often the real sale lane for prohibited material. If the domestic buyer pool is effectively closed, the question stops being "can I consign this locally?" and becomes "does the dealer have the licence and permit path to move it lawfully out of Canada?" See Cross-Border Export of Prohibited Firearms.
Deactivation is the other lane people underestimate. Everything Old does not currently perform deactivations in-house — we coordinate the file with a business authorized to perform deactivations. End-to-end turnaround is typically 1 to 4 weeks. That can be the right answer if the owner wants to keep the object, not sell it. It is the wrong answer if preserving functional or collector value is the point. See Deactivation Standards and RCMP Requirements.
If you are still weighing the government route against a market route, compare Gun Buyback Program Canada with ASFCP Buyback Compensation Tables before you assume the program answer is the better one for your firearm.
US consignment is not offered. Everything Old can buy and import from the US market, and it can export Canadian-owned firearms through the correct legal channel, but it does not accept US-origin consignment files.
What Changes for 12(6) Handguns, the Handgun Freeze, and Other Prohibited Firearms
This is where ordinary consignment language stops helping.
People search 12(6) because that is the shorthand they know. Current official material is more precise and distinguishes grandfathered handgun files, including 12(6.1), from inherited pre-1946 handgun files under section 12(7). The practical point on this page is simpler: these are not ordinary handgun sale files, and they should not be handled as if they were.
No new prohibited licences are issued to individuals. Grandfathering is closed. That means the lawful transfer pool for prohibited handguns and other grandfathered prohibited firearms only gets narrower over time.
The Bill C-21 handgun transfer freeze also changed the background assumption. There are no ordinary RPAL-to-RPAL handgun transfers. Period. If the firearm is a regular restricted handgun, the ordinary private-transfer lane is frozen. If it is a grandfathered prohibited handgun, the lane is narrower still and depends on the exact grandfathered authority in play. Start with The C-21 Handgun Freeze: What Owners Need to Know and Complete Guide to 12(6) Grandfathered Prohibited Handguns.
OIC-affected prohibited firearms create another separate rule that catches people off guard. If an affected firearm has already been taken on consignment by a business, it must be returned to the owner. A properly authorized business may instead act as the owner's agent for export or deactivation. That is one more reason this page routes the legal lane first and the shipping talk second.
If you are still not sure whether the firearm is actually on a prohibited list, check that before you decide anything else. The right next stop is OIC Prohibition List — Complete Guide, not a generic consignment FAQ.
How National Firearms Consignment Actually Works Once the File Is Qualified
Once the lane is qualified, the process gets simpler. Not easy. Simpler.
- Send the firearm details first. Make, model, calibre, serial number, condition, current province, current storage location, and clear photos. If you have registration papers, transfer papers, estate documents, or provenance, include those too.
- Get the legal route confirmed before anything moves. That means class, transfer lane, and whether the file belongs in ordinary consignment, prohibited-capable consignment, export, deactivation, or another path entirely.
- Follow the transport instructions for that exact file. Do not assume ATT rules, carrier rules, or delivery rules are the same across non-restricted, restricted, prohibited, and export files. They are not. Do not promise yourself an Xpresspost, Canada Post, or home-pickup solution before the class and route are confirmed.
- Dealer inspection and transfer prep happen in the right order. Once the firearm is lawfully in the correct workflow, the dealer inspects condition, confirms the route, and prepares the file for sale, export, or deactivation as appropriate.
- Restricted and prohibited transfers finish only after approval. When a final buyer is found, restricted and prohibited firearms stay with the transferor until approval is granted and the new registration is issued. That is why these files take longer than an ordinary used long-gun sale.
This is also where a real appraisal can matter. If the value question is not obvious from photos or if the firearm needs hands-on classification work, Everything Old's verified appraisal rate is $95 + GST per hour, plus gunsmith costs if required.
The process detail that matters most is still the oldest one: do not move the firearm before instructions. That is true for the owner in Victoria, and it is true for the owner in Thunder Bay.
What to Do If It Is an Estate File or the Paperwork Is Incomplete
Estate files are common, and they are rarely tidy.
Start by gathering whatever you do have:
- registration certificates or older transfer papers
- death certificate and estate authority documents if the owner has died
- clear photos of the full firearm and all markings
- serial numbers
- any notes, invoices, or chain-of-title material that show where the firearm came from
Missing paperwork does not always kill the file. It does change the order of work. An incomplete file may need classification confirmation first, estate handling first, or a paid appraisal before anyone can say with a straight face what the lawful sale lane is.
This is especially true for mixed-class estates. A safe that contains an ordinary hunting rifle, a restricted handgun, and an older prohibited firearm is not one job. It is three different legal questions sharing one room.
If you are acting for an estate, do not overcomplicate the first contact. Describe what is in the safe, send the documents you have, and let the dealer sort the legal lane. For the full executor angle, see Estate Firearms — Executor Legal Obligations.
What to Send Everything Old Before You Move the Firearm
Before you drive it anywhere, box it up, or start calling ordinary gun shops, send the file first.
- firearm make, model, calibre, and serial number
- province and current storage location
- class if known
- clear overall photos plus close-ups of markings
- registration papers, transfer papers, or estate documents if available
- a one-line description of the decision problem: sell, consign, export, deactivate, estate disposal, or "not sure"
That is enough for an informed first pass.
Everything Old can then tell you whether the file belongs in ordinary consignment, prohibited-capable consignment, export, deactivation, or a different legal route. That is the real service at this stage: not hype, not a generic "we buy guns" answer, but a clean judgement about which lane you are actually in.
Use the contact page and send the facts: Contact Everything Old.
US-origin consignment is still a firm no. Canadian-owned files only.