The Weapons and Ammunition Law (Royal Decree M/45 of 1426H) classifies weapons into categories, each with its own rules and penalties: military weapons, individual firearms (such as pistols and rifles), hunting weapons, and bladed weapons. The common mistake is assuming that a "weapons case" is one thing, when the gap between unlicensed possession of an individual pistol and carrying a military weapon is the gap between months of imprisonment and many years.
Possessing an individual firearm or its ammunition without a license carries imprisonment of up to eighteen months and a fine of up to SAR 6,000, or either, with confiscation of the weapon. Buying or selling an individual firearm without a license is treated more severely: up to two years and a fine of up to SAR 7,000, or either. A lighter band of violations carries up to one year and SAR 5,000, covering matters such as using a licensed weapon outside its licensed purpose, possessing a hunting weapon without a license, or allowing another person to use one's licensed weapon.
Whoever is proven to have carried, acquired, sold, or bought a military weapon or its ammunition faces imprisonment of up to fifteen years and a fine of up to SAR 150,000, or either. Penalties climb further for smuggling offenses: up to twenty years and SAR 200,000 for smuggling or manufacturing with intent to trade, and up to thirty years where the intent is to breach internal security. The technical classification of the seized weapon, and the intent behind the possession, are the first two battlegrounds of the defense at this level.
Licenses are available to Saudi citizens aged twenty-one or above, of full legal capacity, of good conduct, with no disqualifying record, applied for through Absher and granted after security vetting. Foreign residents cannot be licensed to possess weapons except in extremely narrow exceptions. License holders remain bound by use and carry restrictions, including the prohibition on carrying weapons in public places and the holy sites, and remain responsible where negligence lets someone else use their weapon.
We contest first the technical classification of the weapon, because the applicable provision depends on it; then the element of possession itself, since a weapon found in a shared vehicle or home is not automatically attributable to everyone in it; then intent, where the prosecution sometimes infers trading or security-related purpose from mere multiplicity or quantity, an inference that can be rebutted. We also pursue the return of licensed weapons held in custody after cases conclude.
Many old weapons inherited from parents and grandparents remain in homes without a valid license, with no intent by their holders to commit any violation. The law provides tracks to regularize these weapons, register or surrender them without penalty in certain circumstances, and we always advise proactively correcting the status of any unlicensed weapon in a family's possession before it is discovered during a search or an incidental incident, since voluntary correction is far better than forced discovery.
The figures and terms above are statutory maximums; the actual judgment depends on the facts of each case and the defendant's circumstances. To assess your case in Jeddah, contact us on WhatsApp.
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