Explosives law

Anyone wishing to handle explosive substances commercially or privately requires a permit from the competent authority.

Explosive substances include, for example, black powder for muzzle loading, firecracker powder for firing firecrackers, nitrocellulose powder for reloading cartridge cases and the use of rocket motors in model rocket construction.

Responsible authorities

The responsible authorities are the large district towns including the administrative communities or the Ludwigsburg District Office for all other localities in the Ludwigsburg district.

It is now possible to make an appointment online. You can book an appointment for your desired service here.

Prerequisites

Reliability, personal suitability, minimum age of 21 years, need and proof of specialist knowledge. If you do not yet have a certificate of competence, you will first need a clearance certificate for participation in a specialist course.

Required documents

• Valid identity card or passport for EU citizens
  Course certificate
• Certificate of need (for muzzleloader shooters or reloaders) or membership certificate (for firearm shooters or model rocket builders)
• To check the reliability of persons from another EU Member State, the applicant is required to submit a certified translation of a certificate from the competent judicial or administrative authority of the home country or country of origin concerning certain facts that are relevant to the assessment of reliability (e.g. extract from the criminal record). The certificate should not be older than three months. Otherwise, only facts that have been confirmed by the competent authority in the home country or country of origin can be taken into account.

A permit is required by anyone who handles explosive substances on a commercial basis, sells these substances on a commercial basis, uses them in agricultural or forestry operations or commercial enterprises or employs staff who handle these substances.

Prerequisites

The same requirements apply as for the non-commercial handling of explosive substances. Individual requirements may be waived if the applicant does not personally handle explosive substances.

All necessary requirements must be fulfilled by the applicant and all persons entrusted with the management of the company and its branches.

Required documents

• Completed application forms
• Valid identity card or passport
• Proof of specialist knowledge
• Certificate of good conduct
• To check the reliability of persons from another EU Member State, the applicant should be required to submit a certificate in the form of a certified translation from the competent judicial or administrative authority of the home country or country of origin concerning certain facts that are relevant to the assessment of reliability (e.g. extract from the criminal record). The certificate should not be older than three months. Otherwise, only facts that have been confirmed by the competent authority in the home country or country of origin will be recognized as evidence.

Anyone who handles explosive substances as a responsible person on behalf of a license holder requires an official certificate of competence for handling and/or dealing with explosive substances. These are, for example

• Supervisors, especially heads of relevant operating departments
• Authorized blasters
• Operations foreman or foreman
• Technical supervisory personnel in explosive ordnance disposal,
• Warehouse managers and
• Persons who transport explosive substances, hand them over to other persons during transportation or receive them from the transporter.

Only natural persons may hold a certificate of competence for the handling and/or transportation of explosive substances.

Prerequisites

The same requirements apply as for the non-commercial handling of explosive substances. The requirement is implied by their professional activity.

Documents required

• Copy of identity card or comparable identification document

for proof of personal reliability:

• If resident in Germany:
  • Certificate of good conduct
  • Extract from the central trade register

for proof of personal reliability:

• For residence abroad:
  • Documents from the home country that prove personal reliability.

For proof of the company's legal form:

• Company headquarters in Germany:
  • For companies entered in a register: Extract from the commercial register or the partnership register
  • otherwise a copy of the articles of association (e.g. for a civil law partnership (GbR))
• Registered office abroad:
  • Documents from the country of the company's registered office proving the legal form.
• If you intend to handle explosive substances yourself, proof of specialist knowledge (e.g. certificates from courses attended or proof of professional activity) is required.