DIRECT ACCESS TO THE PROCEDURE
Possession Registration via Purchase Contract — Individual
Go to DIGECAM portal Book appointment
Before you click, have ready:
  • Sale contract signed with a gun shop or registered private seller
  • Current DPI
  • Antecedentes Penales y Policiacos, current (vigentes) per DIGECAM's requirements sheet
  • Q60 payment receipt from an authorized bank
  • The physical firearm (must be presented for serial-number verification)
Cost: Q60 · Time: response time not published in the DIGECAM requirements sheet (2 November 2026) · Deadline: 8 days from the private-transfer public deed (Art. 61) · Verified: DIGECAM requirements sheet, 2 November 2026

The firearm possession registration via purchase contract for an individual is the mandatory procedure at DIGECAM (Direccion General de Control de Armas y Municiones, the firearms control directorate under the Ministry of National Defense) to register a legally acquired firearm in your name. It costs Q60 — one of DIGECAM’s cheapest procedures — ; the DIGECAM requirements sheet gives no response time for this transfer (checked 2 November 2026). For a private transfer, submit the public deed for registration within 8 days (Art. 61). Authorized-shop purchases follow Art. 59: DIGECAM returns registration and delivery authorization within five business days, before the shop delivers the firearm.

Quick summary: Hybrid procedure (online plus in person). Cost Q60. Time: response time not published in the DIGECAM requirements sheet (2 November 2026). Deadline: 8 days from the public deed for private transfers (Art. 61). Validity: permanent while you remain the owner. Requirements: public-deed testimony for a private transfer (Art. 61) or the shop paperwork under Art. 59, DPI, current background checks, presentation of the physical firearm.

What Is Possession Registration?

Possession registration is the inscription of a firearm in DIGECAM’s national system in the name of a specific person. It is MANDATORY for every civilian-use firearm acquired in Guatemala, per Arts. 62 and 63 of the Firearms and Munitions Law (Decreto 15-2009).

Possession is different from carry:

  • Possession = the right to OWN the firearm. It lets you keep it at home or at your place of work, transport it under specific conditions (unloaded, in a case, to authorized ranges or workshops), and pass it on as inheritance.
  • Carry = the right to BEAR the firearm in public on a habitual basis. It requires an additional DIGECAM carry license.

Possession alone covers a defense weapon at home, with no carry outside. It is the cheapest option and the one with the lightest regulatory burden. Possession registration is permanent while the firearm remains in your name; it does not need renewal.

Who Can Register Possession

Eligible:

  • Guatemalan citizens with a valid DPI; the under-25 restriction in Art. 80 concerns carry licences
  • No criminal record for offenses against life, integrity, sexual freedom, drug trafficking, or aggravated robbery
  • No active court orders for violence
  • Who acquired the firearm by sale (does not apply to inheritance, donation, or other paths — those have separate procedures)

Ask DIGECAM about individual restrictions:

  • The checklist requires current background records; it does not establish automatic denial for every open case or court measure.
  • The under-25 restriction in Art. 80 concerns carry licences, not possession registration

Requirements

Personal documents

Firearm and sale documents

  • Testimony of the public deed for a private transfer (Art. 61), with full firearm data:
    • Make and model
    • Caliber (mm or inches)
    • Type (pistol, revolver, shotgun, rifle)
    • Full and legible serial number
    • Country of origin
    • Year of manufacture (if visible)
  • Seller’s documentation:
    • If a gun shop: SAT invoice plus copy of the DIGECAM dealer license, current
    • If a private individual: copy of the seller’s DPI plus copy of their original DIGECAM possession certificate (which will be cancelled when the transfer is processed)
  • Q60 payment receipt from an authorized bank
  • The physical firearm — you must present it at the DIGECAM appointment so they can verify the serial number and characteristics

Step by Step

Stage 1 — Before buying the firearm

  1. Verify the seller is legitimate. If you buy from a gun shop, ask for a copy of their DIGECAM dealer license. If you buy from a private individual, ask to see the original of their DIGECAM possession certificate and check that the serial number on the firearm matches.

  2. Verify your DPI and background checks are current and ask DIGECAM about any applicable restriction before purchasing.

Stage 2 — Purchase

  1. Execute a public deed for a private transfer before a notary (Art. 61); two witnesses or a private signed template do not replace it. For a shop purchase, follow Art. 59.

  2. Receive the signed copy of the contract and the SAT invoice (if you bought from a gun shop). Do NOT take the physical firearm yet if you bought from a private seller — coordinate the handover for the time of the DIGECAM appointment.

  3. Request a copy of the previous possession certificate (if the seller is a private individual). This will be cancelled when the new possession is registered in your name.

Stage 3 — Pay and book online (REGISTER WITHIN 8 DAYS of the private-transfer deed)

  1. Pay the Q60 at an authorized bank.

  2. Confirm service arrangements with DIGECAM and consult digecam.mil.gt/citas; the transfer checklist does not specify a location-selection menu.

  3. Confirm how to submit the documents; the transfer checklist requires the original public-deed testimony and a duplicate.

Stage 4 — In-person DIGECAM appointment

  1. Show up with ALL originals AND THE PHYSICAL FIREARM:

    • Sale contract
    • DPI
    • Background checks
    • Payment receipt
    • The firearm (in a closed case, unloaded), plus 2 rounds for the ballistic print, packed separately (Arts. 48 and 63; Reglamento Art. 24)
    • Seller’s documentation

  2. Physical verification of the firearm. The DIGECAM technician compares the firearm’s serial number with the contract. If they do not match, the procedure stops.

  3. Confirm identification checks when submitting the file; the transfer checklist does not describe new biometric capture or an exemption for existing users.

  4. Cancellation of previous possession (if applicable). If you bought from a private seller, DIGECAM voids the seller’s possession and transfers it to you in the system.

Stage 5 — Vetting and delivery

  1. DIGECAM reviews the file. Its requirements sheet gives no response time (checked 2 November 2026).

  2. Pick up the possession card. Art. 63 lists the holder, firearm and registration details it contains; it does not specify a QR code.

Cost and Time

ItemCostTime
DIGECAM registrationQ60—
Antecedentes PenalesAbout Q30 (La Hora, Jan 2026)Confirm timing with the issuer
Antecedentes PoliciacosAbout Q30 (MINGOB; no gratuity law in force)Confirm timing with the issuer
Public deed (required for private transfers, Art. 61)Obtain a quote from the notary; Art. 61 does not set professional feesArrange with the notary
TotalQ60 DIGECAM + Q30 per background record + notarial fees quoted separatelyConfirm registration processing time with DIGECAM
Legal deadline to register—8 days from the private-transfer public deed (Art. 61). At an authorized shop, DIGECAM issues the possession card within 5 business days and the firearm is handed over already registered (Art. 59)
Registration validity—Permanent (while you are the owner)
Failure to notify a private transferArt. 61: Q1,000 fine on the notary who omits the 15-day notice; no late-registration fine on the buyer stated in this article—

Common Mistakes

  • Buying without a formal contract. Without a written contract you cannot register. “Informal” black-market firearms can have provenance problems.
  • Waiting to register. Submit a private-transfer public deed within 8 days (Art. 61). Authorized-shop purchases follow Art. 59. Holding three or more unregistered civil or sporting firearms is illegal deposit under Art. 115 (5-8 years, non-commutable).
  • Failing to verify the serial number on the firearm against the contract. An altered or erased number raises separate legal issues under the LAM; obtain legal advice before proceeding.
  • Not bringing the firearm to the appointment. The DIGECAM technician must physically verify the firearm. Without presenting it, no processing.
  • Buying from a private seller without verifying their DIGECAM possession certificate. If the seller does not have the possession in their name, they cannot legally transfer it and your purchase is useless for registration.
  • Assuming possession registration = carry. They are separate procedures. With possession only, you may NOT carry the firearm in the street. For that you need a separate carry license.

Even if you only have possession (no carry license), the following duties apply:

Safe storage — recommended practice, not a LAM duty

The Firearms and Ammunition Law contains no general secure-storage article for civil firearms. Art. 65 governs collection firearms (and requires war-class collection pieces to have the firing pin removed and deposited at DIGECAM); Art. 69 covers depositing a firearm with a third party, in writing, notified to DIGECAM within 3 business days. Earlier versions of this page presented storage as an “Art. 65” obligation; it is not.

What we recommend anyway, because the firearm stays registered in your name whatever happens to it:

  • Firearm unloaded in a secure location
  • Ammunition stored separately from the firearm
  • Out of reach of minors and unauthorized third parties
  • Safe recommended — not legally required, but it is the difference between a theft you report and a firearm you cannot account for
  • If a third party uses it to commit a crime, the registry points at you; general Penal Code liability for negligence applies independently of the LAM

Where you can keep the firearm

  • Your home (the address declared at DIGECAM)
  • Your place of work (if you declared this additional address at DIGECAM)
  • Authorized transit: to an authorized shooting range, to an authorized gun shop for repair, or to DIGECAM. ALWAYS unloaded, in a closed case, with copies of the possession certificate and the sale contract.

Where you may NOT keep it

  • Secondary residences not declared
  • Vehicles parked in the street (theft risk)
  • Venues that bar firearms in practice — schools, banks, courts, hospitals, bars and government offices. Note that the LAM has no prohibited-locations article (Art. 95 governs shooting instructors); these restrictions come from venue rules and property rights, so check the specific place

Mandatory reports

  • Stolen or lost firearm: report to the PNC or Public Ministry + copy to DIGECAM as soon as possible (Art. 66 LAM; no deadline in hours — free and mandatory)
  • Address change: confirm with DIGECAM how to update your details
  • Sale or donation of the firearm: must be done with a formal contract and new DIGECAM registration to the buyer
  • Modifications to the firearm (barrel change, sight system, caliber conversion): notify DIGECAM and register the modification

Penalties for Non-Compliance

ConductLAM ArticlePenalty
Holding 3 or more unregistered civil or sporting firearmsArt. 1155-8 years prison, non-commutable + seizure
Carry without license (even if possession is registered)Art. 1238-10 years prison, non-commutable + seizure
Possession or carry with an altered or erased serial numberArt. 113 / Art. 129Possession: 5-8 years; carry: 10-12 years, non-commutable
Clandestine modification of the firearmArt. 1346-8 years prison, non-commutable
Receiving a stolen firearmApplicable Penal Code offense depends on the factsObtain case-specific legal advice
Selling the firearm without DIGECAM authorization (a private sale by public deed under Art. 61 is excepted)Art. 1035-8 years prison, non-commutable + seizure
Transporting or moving the firearm without a DIGECAM licenceArt. 1188-10 years prison, non-commutable + seizure
Private transfer without the required public deed and registrationArt. 61Public deed and submission for registration within 8 days required; Art. 123 punishes illegal carry, not this paperwork omission
Allowing a minor to access the firearm with harmful resultApplicable offense depends on the facts; Art. 333 concerns forgery instrumentsObtain case-specific legal advice