The proposed changes were announced by representatives of the Ministry of Interior at a meeting of the parliamentary Committee on National Security, Defense and Public Order on November 26, 2025.
Victor Grosu, State Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, stated that the reform is driven by two main factors.
The first is the commitment to transpose the EU Directive on the Control of Acquisition and Possession of Firearms, as required by the Association Agreement and its Chapter 24 “Justice, Freedom and Security”.
The second is the need for greater state control due to the increasing number of incidents involving civilian firearms.
One of the main amendments updates key terminology in line with European legislation. Grosu noted that the definitions of firearm, major component and ammunition have been revised. And new terms such as theatrical and acoustic firearms, prior authorization, specially equipped premises and European Firearms Passport have been added.
The introduction of the European Firearms Passport will allow Moldovan owners to transport firearms through EU countries with the appropriate permits. Grosu emphasized that this is “a technical condition within the process of preparing for [Moldova’s] accession to the EU.”
The bill envisions increased oversight of civilian firearms and ammunition. Dealers would face stricter reporting requirements and tracing standards, as well as a complete ban on online sales of firearms, their major components and ammunition. Gun labeling standards would also be updated.
Rules on non-lethal weapons would become more stringent. According to the bill, access to such weapons will be regulated more strictly, and certain types of weapons, including acoustic, theatrical and tranquilizer-filled weapons, will be phased out of civilian circulation by 2030.
The bill introduces a number of requirements for current firearms owners: permit renewal every three years, accompanied by mandatory qualification and safety training; suspended permits will no longer count towards the renewal deadline; and firearms seizure mechanisms will apply if the owner refuses to comply.
Denis Meleca of the Inspectorate General of Police explained that the bill also removes the current obligation for relatives to transfer firearms upon the death of the owner. Instead, the police will contact legal heirs in advance using information from national databases.
Meleca said the updated training requirements are justified by the high number of firearms-related incidents reported in recent years.
MP Renato Usatii raised the issue of digitizing training certificates to avoid manual checks. Meleca replied that a working group of the Interior Ministry and the Ministry of Education is already working on integrating training data directly into the firearms information system.
The committee also discussed clarifying the powers of the State Protection and Security Service (SPS). Meleca explained that the amendments would ensure that the law is in line with the legislative powers of the SSS, particularly with regard to import authorizations for firearms used to protect official delegations – powers that are not within the competence of the SSS.
Following discussion, the committee unanimously approved the bill, which will now go to the legislature for consideration.
