"WBK" - Guns requiring a licence (in Germany)

On this page we will give you an overview of the current (January 2024) status of affairs with regards to exporting firearms from Germany and importing them into your country. However, gun laws are subject to continuous modification. Please make sure that you are always up-to-date with regards to your local regulations! Here is a quick overview:

1. Non-German customers

2. Non-commercial buyers from the EU, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein

3. Commercial buyers from the European Union

4. Clients from the United States

5. Clients from Middle and Far Eastern countries

6. Storage fees 

1. Non-German customers

From all non-German customers we will at least need a) and b), sometimes also c):

a)      copy of a valid passport or photo identity card

b)      import licence* / or an official confirmation that an import licence is not required**

c)       if you are from outside the EU please also send an End-Use-Certificate***

*The import licence must be valid for at least 4 months from the moment it arrives at Hermann Historica. It must be properly name Hermann Historica as the exporter with the following data only:

**Even if a gun does not need any kind of (import) licence in your country, but needs one in Germany, we must have written confirmation from your authorities that this is the case. A stamp and signature from either your police or town authorities on the invoice you receive from us will be sufficient. Just sending a list of license-free arms in your country or even a copy of your gun law is unfortunately not accepted by our authorities. We recommend importing via a licensed gun dealer.

***If an End-Use-Certificate is required, please complete the attached form, print and sign, and return a scan to us as soon as possible.

Please note that obtaining an export licence, once we have received all your paperwork, may take up to 4 weeks for shipments within the EU, and up to 8 weeks for non-EU countries.

2. Non-commercial buyers from the EU, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein

Please email to us a good quality scan of

-          your valid passport or governmental photo ID

-          your import permit (valid at least 4 months of date of issue),

-          or authorize your gun dealer by completing and returning the attached Gun Dealer Authorization Form

3. Commercial buyers from the European Union

Please let us have a good copy of your commercial business license and your gun dealer’s license and, if required, an import permit for the guns in question (valid at least 4 months after date of issue).

Please note that pickup of guns that need a gun licence in Germany is not possible!

4. Clients from the United States

Please email to us a good quality scan of

-          your valid passport or governmental photo ID,

-          the completed and signed End-Use Certificate (EUC) that we will provide you with after the auction.

Export: all guns requiring a gun license in Germany also require an export license. We organize this for you at Euro 25 per gun. We will need your EUC for doing so.

Shipping: FEDEX, UPS and DHL in Europe do not ship firearms of any kind. Air cargo airport-to-airport is the only - expensive - option. To get cost down we therefore consolidate all US purchases into one single shipment to our licensed importer MMBI in Maryland (www.mmbimports.com). Cost per gun currently varies between Euro 85 per revolver or pistol, and Euro 95 resp. Euro 125 per rifle (depending on their length - < 120 cm > ). Rates change as cargo cost fluctuates quite a bit (mostly depending on season and available cargo space and fuel surcharges).

Importing: MMBI will handle customs clearance (cost is usually 3% of value), ATF registration (if needed), import marking (unless antiques) and forwarding to you by FEDEX or USPS.Fees for import vary between 100 and 150 USD for the first gun (antique - non-antique) and 50 resp. 100 (antique vs. non-antique) for each additional gun. Forwarding to you will cost packing and shipping fees between USD 80 and 150, depending on weight and volume - but you can certainly go there and pick them up by yourselves.

IMPORT RESTRICTIONS: there are many import restrictions on guns in both Federal (BATFE) and State laws, the most important being the BATFE "Factoring Criteria". Please download the latest version from the BATFE website (www.atf.gov) ! There you will see that very compact guns such as Walther PPKs, Walther Models 1, 2, 3, 8, most European "pocket pistols", revolvers with 2" or 2.5" or 3" barrel length, guns marked "US PROPERTY" and many other guns must not be imported into the USA. Please check all these restrictions prior to bidding, as we cannot be made responsible if import into the US is denied to you! For additional questions regarding very rare guns, which might require proof firing by BATFE, you can also check their website or call their hotline (304) 616-4558 - or ask MMBI.

Timeline: For all guns sold during the auction AND PAID within five weeks after the auction ended we will request from MMBI the necessary documentation for importing the guns to the USA. Once obtained, we will apply for an export permit. Obtaining these documents usually takes 5 – 6 months. Once the license is in our hands we will book a flight and ship all firearms to MMBI, who then need to customs clear, repack, register with ATF, if necessary, and forward to you. Add it all up = 5 weeks + ~ 6 months + 2 weeks + MMBI to you = ~ 8 - 10 months after the end of the auction the firearm will be with you. Patience is needed!

5. Clients from Middle and Far Eastern countries

Please email to us a good quality scan of

-          your valid passport or governmental photo ID,

-          your import permit (valid at least 4 months of date of issue), or authorize your gun dealer by completing and returning the attached Gun Dealer Authorization Form,

-          the completed and signed End-Use Certificate (EUC)

Please also provide us with an accredited German translation of your import permit and the EUC.

If you want to import your firearms through your gun dealer, please complete the attached Gun Dealer Authorization Form and send it back to us. Please make sure that we will accordingly receive all requested documents via your gun dealer.

Please note that obtaining an export license, once we have received all your paperwork, may take up to 4 weeks for shipments within the EU, and up to 8 weeks for non-EU countries.

6. Storage fees 

The number of guns we are allowed (and able) to store in our safe room is limited. Therefore we really need to ship all guns sold as fast as possible, as at any given moment we have literally thousands of guns waiting to be picked up by our gun team.

We are therefore unable to hold your guns longer than 12 weeks after the invoice date without charging a warehouse fee. Since all guns that are subject to a license in Germany need to be kept in an authorized, secured facility, the monthly flat fee for any such gun is € 10 per gun per month.

If the delay in shipment is caused by the German authorities not issuing export permits
on time, storage fees can be suspended for up to 24 weeks.

Please note: we are entitled to bring a gun to auction again, if even after 12 months and two requests to move your purchases the guns have still neither been shipped nor picked up by your authorized forwarding agent. In this case you will be regarded as the consignor of the gun(s), to whom the auction proceeds will be forwarded, minus consignor’s commission, warehouse fees and other related expenses (if any).