Germany: Extremists with gun permits rise despite tighter weapons law

More than 1,600 extremists held firearms licences in Germany as of 31 December 2025, NDR research based on queries to all 16 state interior ministries shows — a rise from at least 1,500 recorded for 2024.

Of those licence-holders, more than 1,300 belonged to the far-right spectrum or the "Reichsbürger" scene. Left-wing extremists, Islamists and other groups account for a smaller share of the total.

The figures are minimum counts: not all states supplied complete data, so the true number is likely higher. The tally includes the so-called Kleiner Waffenschein, which covers blank-firing pistols and defensive sprays; a separate permit is required for live firearms.

On live firearms specifically, only eleven of the sixteen states responded. Their combined count exceeds 3,000 weapons in extremist hands. Federal government figures cited in the research put the number of live firearms held by right-wing extremists, Reichsbürger and self-declared sovereigns alone at more than 4,000 in 2024.

Breakdown by state shows the highest counts in Baden-Württemberg at 630, Saxony at 449, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern at 440, Hesse at 418 and Rhineland-Palatinate at 382. Saxony-Anhalt's interior ministry gave only a "mid-three-digit" figure. Populous states including Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia submitted no data on live firearms.

The former federal government tightened the weapons law two years ago to give authorities greater powers to revoke licences or deny new ones to extremists. Licence-holders frequently challenge revocations in court, complicating enforcement.