How to get a Firearms Licence (LTOPF) and Permit to Carry (PTCFOR)

The LTOPF (Licence to Own and Possess Firearms) lets you own a gun and keep it at home. Each gun also needs its own registration. The PTCFOR (Permit to Carry Firearms Outside of Residence) is a separate permit that lets you bring the gun outside your house.

The three ways to get it

Online

Partly

This is partly online. Renewals are mostly online.

A first application still needs you to appear for biometrics and to bring the gun in for inspection. Warning - the public FEO site feo.csg.pnp.gov.ph sits behind a bot check, so it can look broken from some networks and some VPNs.

Try a normal browser on mobile data.

Download the eGovPH app and register. FEO account sign-up now goes through eGovPH.
Go to feo.pnp-csg.org and sign in with your eGovPH account, or migrate your old FEO account.
Fill in the online LTOPF application form.
Book your drug test at the PNP Crime Laboratory and your neuro-psychiatric exam at the PNP Health Service. Their results are sent straight into the FEO system.
Attend the gun safety seminar at an accredited gun club and get the certificate.
Upload the rest of your documents.
Pay the assessed fee through the online payment options.
Wait for the SMS updates. FEO sends a text after each step.
Go to FEO or your regional office for the biometrics, the gun inspection, and to get the licence card.

Walk-in

Yes

The PNP also runs LTOPF and firearms registration caravans in the regions. Watch the FEO Facebook page for schedules.

Never let a fixer hold your papers.

Get your drug test, neuro-psychiatric clearance, National Police Clearance and gun safety certificate first. These take the longest.
Fill in and notarize two copies of the LTOPF application form.
Put every document in the order on the FEO checklist.
Go to the PNP Firearms and Explosives Office at Camp Crame, Quezon City, or to your regional or provincial FEO office.
Submit at the evaluation window. They give you an order of payment.
Pay at the cashier and keep the receipt.
Have your photo, fingerprints and signature taken.
Bring the gun in for inspection if you are registering one.
Wait for the release, or for the SMS telling you the card is ready.

Representative

Partly

Part of this works, but not all of it.

You have to appear yourself for the drug test, the neuro-psychiatric exam, the biometrics and the gun inspection. Nobody can do those for you.
A PNP-licensed gun dealer can file and follow up the paperwork for you as an accredited agent. Many gun shops sell this as a service.
If you want a family member to file or claim, bring a Special Power of Attorney, a photocopy of your valid ID, and their own valid ID, and confirm with the office first.

What to bring

Two filled-out and notarized LTOPF application forms
Neuro-psychiatric clearance from PNP Health Service at Camp Crame, a PNP regional office, or a DOH-accredited government hospital
Drug test result from the PNP Crime Laboratory or an accredited testing centre
Gun safety seminar certificate from a PNP FEO-accredited gun club
National Police Clearance (and NBI clearance or court clearances, depending on the office)
Proof of citizenship - PSA birth certificate, passport, or DFA certificate
Proof of address - a billing statement in your name at the address on the form, or your spouse's billing plus the marriage contract, or a barangay clearance
Two valid government-issued IDs
Three to seven 2x2 ID photos, depending on the office
Proof of income - pay slip, income tax return, pension certificate, bank certificate, or land title
For each gun: the sales invoice or deed of sale, plus a certificate of inspection (ballistics and macro-etching) by the FEO
Firearm licence bond policy
For PTCFOR: an authenticated copy of your LTOPF, an authenticated copy of the firearm registration, an NBI clearance, and a threat assessment from the intelligence unit of your local police (new applicants) or your previous permit (renewal)

The details

Who can apply

A Filipino citizen who is at least 21 years old, has no criminal record, has a steady income, passed a drug test and a neuro-psychiatric test, and finished a gun safety seminar from a PNP-accredited gun club. You also need a home address that matches your papers.

Police and soldiers, retired officers, sports shooters and gun collectors have their own categories.

Cost

LTOPF for a private person, current published schedule: Type 1 (1 to 2 guns) is PHP 1,000 for 5 years or PHP 2,000 for 10 years. Higher types cost more, up to Type 5 (gun collector, more than 15 guns) at PHP 25,000 for 5 years or PHP 50,000 for 10 years.

Senior citizens pay about 20 percent less. Government workers, police and soldiers pay about 50 percent less.

Firearm registration (per gun): small arms about PHP 2,000 for 5 years or PHP 4,000 for 10 years. PTCFOR: You also pay outside costs that are not PNP fees: the neuro-psychiatric exam, the drug test, the gun safety seminar (about PHP 500 in the 2015 schedule), the National Police Clearance, and a firearm licence bond.

How long it takes

The PNP says a complete online application can be finished in less than a day if all your papers are valid. In real life the slow part is getting the medical, drug test, clearances and gun safety certificate first, which usually takes a few weeks.

How long it lasts

Ltopf: 5 years or 10 years, your choice.
Firearm registration: 5 years or 10 years, same choice.
Ptcfor: 2 years from the day it is approved.

Tips

Do not let the licence expire. Under RA 10591 as amended, missing the renewal date does not just fine you - it revokes the licence AND the registration of every gun under it, and an unregistered gun is a criminal offence.
Choose the 10-year option if you can afford it. It is cheaper per year than paying twice for 5 years, and it is half the paperwork.
The LTOPF is not a permit to carry. Bringing the gun outside your house without a valid PTCFOR is illegal, even if your licence and registration are perfect.
Do your drug test and neuro-psychiatric exam at PNP facilities. Their results feed straight into the FEO system, so nothing gets lost.
Renew your PTCFOR early. It only lasts 2 years, which is much shorter than the licence, so people forget it.

Not verified

The research could not confirm these against an official 2026 source. Phone the office before you travel.

the PNP FEO fee page is behind a bot check and will not load for checking. The Type 1 amount is confirmed by two sources
for the same reason
. The last officially published amount is PHP 6,000 plus a PHP 200 card fee, under PNP Fiscal Directive No. 012-15 of 2015. Gun shops sell full-service PTCFOR packages for around PHP 19,000, but that is the shop's service price, not the government fee.
for the exact card release time - the FEO Citizen's Charter is not reachable for checking
the FEO does not publish a representative rule on a page that can be checked. What is certain is that the medical tests and the biometrics are personal. PNP-licensed dealers filing on a client's behalf is normal practice.