Weapons and firearms
Which weapons are prohibited on Coral Island, when you need a firearm certificate, where firearms may never be taken, and the amnesty in October 2026.
The law from 1 October 2026
From 1 October 2026 firearms, ammunition and prohibited weapons on Coral Island are controlled by the Firearms and Ammunition Ordinance 2026 and the Firearms Regulations 2026. Knives and other offensive weapons are covered by the Criminal Code Ordinance 2026.
The firearms law is administered by the Commissioner of the Coral Island Police Service through the Firearms Registry, at the firearms counter at the Police station, Puerto Coral.
The law applies to everyone on the island and in its waters and airspace, whatever the law allows in Los Santos.
You need a Coral Island certificate
You need a Coral Island firearm certificate to have, buy or be given any firearm or ammunition on the island (section 7). The certificate lists each firearm you may hold and the ammunition for it.
A firearms licence issued in Los Santos, or anywhere else outside Coral Island, has no effect here. It does not allow you to bring, keep or carry a firearm on the island.
Certificates are granted only to people aged 21 or over who are citizens or hold a residence permit (or, for security officers of a licensed security firm, a work visa), who have a good reason for each firearm, and who pass the checks, the safety test and a storage inspection. Personal protection is not a good reason.
There is no online application. You apply in person at the firearms counter. Read the firearm licensing policy before you apply.
Categories of firearm
| Category | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Category A | Handguns, such as pistols and revolvers, that are not automatic |
| Category B | Shotguns with a barrel at least 45 centimetres long that are not automatic |
| Category C | Rifles that are not automatic, including hunting and precision rifles |
A firearm that is automatic, meaning it fires more than one round with one pull of the trigger, is a prohibited weapon and cannot be licensed at all. The Commissioner decides any question about which category a firearm belongs to (section 4).
Prohibited weapons
These are prohibited weapons (Schedule 1). No certificate, permit or licence allows a member of the public to have one:
- automatic firearms of every kind, including sub-machine guns, machine pistols, assault rifles and automatic carbines
- shotguns with a barrel shorter than 45 centimetres, and any firearm that has been sawn off or shortened
- firearms disguised as other objects
- sound moderators, and devices that convert a firearm to fire automatically
- grenades, grenade and rocket launchers, and explosive devices made or adapted as weapons
- armour-piercing, explosive and incendiary ammunition
- stun guns and other electric stun weapons
- less-lethal launchers and their ammunition
- knuckle-dusters
Having, making, selling or carrying a prohibited weapon is an offence with a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment (section 6). If you have one, hand it in at the Police station, Puerto Coral. Anything handed in during October 2026 is covered by the amnesty.
Knives and other weapons
It is an offence to have an offensive weapon in a public place without good reason or lawful authority (section 59 of the Criminal Code Ordinance 2026). That covers anything made or adapted to cause injury, any article with a blade or point, and a bat, club, bar or tool carried to injure someone.
Good reasons include:
- using the article for your work, for fishing or farming, or for clearing land
- hunting where it is lawful
- taking it to or from your place of work, or home from the shop where you bought it
If a police officer asks, be ready to explain why you have it. Knuckle-dusters and stun weapons are prohibited weapons whatever your reason.
Carrying a firearm
A firearm on your certificate may be carried in a public place only (section 15):
- unloaded and in a closed, locked case, with the ammunition carried separately, when you are going directly between your registered address, a licensed range, a dealer, the Police station or a place of lawful hunting
- while you are lawfully hunting or shooting at a licensed range
- under a carry permit
Shotguns and rifles are never carried uncased in a public place except while lawfully hunting or at a licensed range.
Carry permits, which allow a handgun to be carried loaded and concealed, are exceptional. They are granted only to security officers of licensed security firms, for duty, and to people facing a specific and continuing threat to their life (section 16).
Carry your certificate whenever you have a firearm away from home. Never carry or use a firearm after drinking or taking drugs.
Places firearms may never be taken
No firearm, ammunition or prohibited weapon may be taken into these places, even by someone who holds a certificate or a carry permit (Schedule 2):
- Government House and the Government Complex, Puerto Coral, including their grounds and public counters
- any court, the Court Registry, and anywhere a court is sitting
- the Police station, Puerto Coral, except to hand in or collect a cased firearm at the firearms counter
- Coral Island Airfield, including the terminal, and any aircraft, except a firearm being declared on arrival or carried under an import or export permit
- casinos, and anywhere gaming takes place under a licence or permit of the Coral Island Gaming Commission
- bars and other premises licensed to sell alcohol for drinking there, while they are open
- the Island Health Clinic
- any school, and any polling station on a polling day
- any event held under an event permit, and any public assembly or procession
- the Reef Line Protected Area, Mangrove Bay Marine Park and the Salt Pond Wildlife Reserve
- any protected place, including Coral Control and every Defence Force installation
The maximum penalty is 7 years' imprisonment (section 17).
Bringing a firearm to the island
- No firearm, ammunition or component may be brought to or taken from Coral Island without an import or export permit for that consignment, applied for at the firearms counter. Prohibited weapons are never permitted (section 31).
- Anyone arriving with a firearm or ammunition, and the master or pilot of any craft carrying one, must declare it at once to a police officer, an immigration officer or the Harbour Master and deliver it, unloaded, to the Police station, Puerto Coral (section 32). It is held there until a certificate or permit covering it is produced, or it leaves the island again.
- Firearms, ammunition and prohibited weapons may not be carried on scheduled passenger flights between Sandy Shores Airfield and Coral Island Airfield, on your person or in your baggage (section 34).
- Visitors may shoot only at a licensed range or on a lawful hunt, under a visitor's firearm permit, or at a licensed range using the range's own firearms under the direct supervision of a range officer.
A firearms licence issued in Los Santos is not valid on Coral Island.
The amnesty in October 2026
From 1 to 31 October 2026 anyone may hand in a firearm, ammunition or prohibited weapon at the Police station, Puerto Coral, and will not be prosecuted for having it (section 39). You are given a receipt. The amnesty does not cover any other offence.
If you already had a handgun, shotgun or rifle on the island on 1 October 2026, you may keep it at your address, unloaded and not carried in public, while you apply for a certificate. You must apply by 31 October 2026. If your application is refused, hand the firearm in within 7 days.
Every prohibited weapon must be handed in by 31 October 2026.
After the amnesty you can still hand in a firearm at any time and be given a receipt (section 38).
Reporting a lost or stolen firearm
If a firearm, ammunition, certificate or permit is lost or stolen, report it to the Coral Island Police Service within 24 hours of finding out (section 25). Report in person at the Police station, Puerto Coral, or to any police officer.
If you know of someone carrying a weapon unlawfully, or of a firearm being brought to the island, report a concern.