Citation(s) from the GunPolicy.org literature library
Germany. 2002 ‘Marking Requirements, Marking Notification Requirements.’ Weapons Act (Waffengesetz) of 2002; Part II (Section 24). Berlin: Federal Law Gazette. 11 October
Relevant contents
(1) Anyone who manufactures or transfers guns on a commercial basis into the territory governed by this Act shall clearly and permanently mark at least one essential component of the weapon with the following information without delay:
1. the name, trading name or registered trademark of a weapon manufacturer or a weapon dealer with a commercial establishment within the territory governed by this Act,
2. the country of manufacture (national abbreviation under ISO 3166),
3. designation of the ammunition, or, if no ammunition is used, the designation of the projectiles,
4. in the case of imported weapons, the country of importation (national abbreviation under ISO 3166) and the year they were imported, and
5. a serial number.
The serial number pursuant to sentence 1, no. 5 shall be applied to the barrel on assembled long weapons and on the butt of assembled short weapons. Sentence 2 shall apply solely to guns manufactured on or after 1 April 2008 which are acquired or permanently transferred into the territory governed by this Act. Sentences 1 and 2 shall not apply to guns requiring a licence which form or are to form part of a collection of historical and cultural importance pursuant to Section 17. Sentence 1, nos. 2, 4 and 5 shall not apply to guns as referred to in Section 23 (1) second sentence. Essential components of guns requiring a licence shall be marked with a serial number and recorded in weapons registers pursuant to Section 23 when traded individually.
(2) Guns which impart kinetic energy of no more than 7.5 joules to the projectile shall bear a type designation and a mark as shown in Figure 1 in Annex 1 to the First Ordinance on the Weapons Act of 24 May 1976 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 1285) in the version in force when this Act entered into force or a mark specified in a statutory instrument in accordance with Section 25 (1) no. 1 c.
(3) Anyone who commercially manufactures or transfers ammunition into the territory governed by this Act shall immediately mark the smallest packaging unit indicating the manufacturer, production series (production code), permit number and designation of the ammunition; the manufacturer's code and designation of the ammunition shall also be marked on the shell. Ammunition which is reloaded shall also bear a special mark. The person under whose name, trading name or trademark the ammunition is sold or handed over to others and who is responsible for ensuring that the ammunition complies with the provisions of this Act shall also be regarded as the manufacturer.
(4) Anyone who trades in weapons may hand over guns or ammunition to others on a commercial basis only after ascertaining that the guns are marked in accordance with subsection 1 or after being convinced on the basis of random samples that the ammunition bears the manufacturer's mark in accordance with subsection 3.
(5) Anyone who manufactures guns, ammunition or projectiles for firing devices, reloads ammunition or trades in these objects on a commercial basis within the territory governed by this Act and who wishes to use a trademark for these objects shall notify the national institute of metrology PTB in writing in advance, enclosing a copy of the trademark. Persons who transfer these objects and wish to use the trademark of a manufacturer in another country shall report these trademarks.
(6) Subsection 3 third sentence and subsection 4 shall not apply to ammunition which forms part of a collection (Section 17 (1)) or is intended for such a collection.