Canadian Firearms OIC Index

A plain-English index of key Canadian firearms Orders in Council, SOR amendments, amnesty orders, and current official sources.

Last verified: June 9, 2026

This is a plain-English index of the main federal instruments behind Canada's current firearms classification and amnesty landscape. It is not legal advice, and it is not a firearm-status lookup. If a specific firearm, transfer, transport plan, compensation claim, or legal deadline matters to you, check the current law, official RCMP and Public Safety Canada pages, and qualified advice.

The Short Version

When Canadian firearms owners talk about an "OIC," they are usually talking about a Cabinet decision that led to a registered statutory instrument. The practical trail is usually:

  1. the P.C. number, meaning the Privy Council order number;
  2. the SOR number, meaning the registered statutory order or regulation;
  3. the Canada Gazette record, where the instrument was published;
  4. the Justice Laws consolidation, where the current text is maintained.

The central regulation is SOR/98-462, the Regulations Prescribing Certain Firearms and Other Weapons, Components and Parts of Weapons, Accessories, Cartridge Magazines, Ammunition and Projectiles as Prohibited or Restricted. Justice Laws currently lists it as current to March 17, 2026 and last amended on March 7, 2025.

Core Index

DateCitationWhat It Does In Plain English
September 16, 1998SOR/98-462The base federal classification regulation. It prescribes firearms and other items as prohibited or restricted.
July 31, 2015SOR/2015-213, P.C. 2015-1177Added Part 2.1 treatment for named CZ858 and SAN Swiss Arms firearms and temporarily changed the regulation title to include non-restricted.
May 1, 2020SOR/2020-96, P.C. 2020-298The May 2020 prohibition amendment. It added named firearm families and variants, the 20 mm bore and 10,000 Joule criteria, and M16/AR-10/AR-15/M4 upper receivers.
May 1, 2020SOR/2020-97, P.C. 2020-299The 2020 amnesty order tied to the May 2020 prohibition amendment.
December 5, 2024SOR/2024-248, P.C. 2024-1279The December 2024 prohibition amendment. Canada Gazette describes it as adding 104 families and 324 unique makes and models, including current and future variants.
December 5, 2024SOR/2024-249, P.C. 2024-1280The 2024 amnesty order tied to the December 2024 prohibition amendment.
March 7, 2025SOR/2025-86, P.C. 2025-322The March 2025 prohibition amendment. Canada Gazette describes it as adding 40 families and 179 unique makes and models, including current and future variants.
March 7, 2025SOR/2025-87, P.C. 2025-323The 2025 amnesty order tied to the March 2025 prohibition amendment.

How To Read The Index

The classification regulation and the amnesty orders do different jobs.

The classification regulation says what is prescribed as prohibited or restricted. The amnesty orders deal with temporary protection from criminal liability while affected owners come into compliance with the law. A compensation program can sit beside those instruments, but compensation rules are not the same thing as classification rules.

That distinction matters. A firearm can be affected by a classification amendment, while the owner's practical options depend on the amnesty order, current Public Safety Canada program rules, licence status, storage rules, transport limits, and the facts of the particular firearm.

What Changed Recently

The recent sequence is the part most readers are usually trying to untangle.

In May 2020, the federal government amended the Classification Regulations through SOR/2020-96. The RCMP summarizes that change as covering nine named types of firearms and their variants, firearms with a bore of 20 mm or greater, firearms capable of discharging a projectile with muzzle energy greater than 10,000 Joules, and upper receivers of M16, AR-10, AR-15, and M4 pattern firearms.

In December 2024, SOR/2024-248 added another large set of entries to the schedule. The Canada Gazette regulatory analysis describes that package as 104 families and 324 unique makes and models, including current and future variants.

In March 2025, SOR/2025-86 added another set of entries after item 200. The Canada Gazette regulatory analysis describes that package as 40 families and 179 unique makes and models, including current and future variants.

Public Safety Canada's June 9, 2026 release says the 2020, 2024, and 2025 Amnesty Orders have been extended and are set to expire 90 days after the Supreme Court of Canada renders its decision in the appeal challenging the May 2020 prohibition. That change moves the amnesty file from a fixed the former fixed deadline date to a court-dependent expiry.

What This Page Does Not Decide

This page does not decide whether a firearm is prohibited, restricted, non-restricted, grandfathered, eligible for compensation, eligible for deactivation, transferable, transportable, or usable.

For that, the starting points are the current Justice Laws text, the Canada Gazette instrument, the RCMP Canadian Firearms Program, Public Safety Canada program material, and qualified advice. The Firearms Reference Table can also be practically important, but the legal basis comes from the Criminal Code and regulations.

Official Sources