Renewing your FFTir licence: dates, EDEN and pitfalls

Your FFTir licence is not renewed by you: it is renewed by your club, in ITAC. Three dates govern the 2026/2027 campaign — renewals open on 24 August, the licence becomes visible on EDEN on 1 September, and the old licence stays valid until 30 September at the latest.

When to renew your FFTir licence

Renewing an FFTir licence is not a step the member takes themselves: it is the association that does it, in ITAC, its management intranet. The federal campaign page is in fact written for club officers, not for the shooter1. The shooter has only two things to supply.

Those two things are a valid medical certificate and payment of their subscription to the club. Once the file is validated and paid by the association, the paperless licence becomes available on EDEN, the member's personal space: "Collect your paperless licence (once validated and paid for by the association)"4.

So there is no "renew" button to press on a particular day. The right question is not when do I renew, but from when can my club do it — and the answer comes down to three dates.

The three dates of the 2026/2027 campaign

The federal protocol and an independent UFA note, updated on 28 July 2026, give the same calendar12. Three dates are enough to sum it up, and a fourth marks the end of the transition period.

Here is this article's main contribution, because no third-party page says it clearly: on 1 September, without a new licence in hand, you are not breaking the law. The federal protocol is explicit. The 2025/2026 licences "will still appear on EDEN and their validity (QR code) will be assured until the renewal first takes effect or until 30 September 2026 at the latest"1.

This overlap period covers the first thirty days of the new season. The old licence's QR code stays scannable at the range while the club carries out the renewal. It is a continuity mechanism, not a vague tolerance: the cut-off is written down. The end, by contrast, is sharp — on 1 October 2026, the 2025/2026 licence "is no longer valid under any circumstances", according to the UFA2.

Two points matter. 1 September is an opening date, not a guarantee of display: until the club has validated and paid, the licence does not appear on EDEN4. And the federal insurance of a 2026/2027 member runs until 30 September 2027, some thirty days beyond the end of the sporting season1.

The general-audience pages that exist — dealers, regulatory encyclopedias, club hubs — describe the application procedure correctly, but almost all of them pass over this transition period in silence. Yet it is the most anxiety-inducing point of the subject, and the one worth setting down in black and white.

ITAC, EDEN: the club's role

Two systems carry similar names and fill opposite roles. ITAC is the association management intranet: that is where the club creates, renews, validates and collects payment for licences. EDEN is the member's space: it is used to consult and collect the licence once it is available4. The first is an officer's tool, the second a shooter's.

The practical consequence is simple: anything blocking a renewal is sorted out in ITAC, so at the club, never from EDEN. The member's portal only displays the result of an operation carried out elsewhere. The double condition is constant — the paperless licence appears only "once validated and paid for by the association"4. Neither an email nor a page refresh changes anything until the club has acted.

My licence does not appear on EDEN

This is the most frequently asked question at the start of the campaign, and the answer is almost always the same. The paperless licence appears on EDEN only once validated and paid for by the association in ITAC4. The UFA sets out the two prerequisites on the member's side: "You must have paid the subscription" and "the medical certificate held in EDEN must be valid"5.

Before writing to the club, it is worth running through the ordinary causes:

• The club has not yet validated the renewal in ITAC — by far the most frequent cause in the first days.
• The subscription has not yet been collected, and payment governs display5.
• The medical certificate is missing from the file, or is not up to date in EDEN5.
• You are changing association: the new club is then the one renewing, which mechanically delays the appearance on EDEN.

One often-ignored nuance explains a good share of the delays: licences are created and renewed in batches, by volunteers5. Between the moment you pay at the club and the moment the licence shows in your space, a normal wait elapses, which is nothing like a malfunction. The source of a blockage is always in ITAC, never on EDEN.

The medical certificate at renewal

The medical certificate is the only medical document in the renewal, and it follows its own clock. It must be dated less than a year before the licence is renewed or created1, and its validity runs one year from its issue6. Without it, the licence is not issued: contrary to a widespread idea, no health questionnaire replaces it for the FFTir.

The point that causes unwarranted worry is the certificate that expires mid-season. The rule is clear: "once renewed and/or validated by your association, the federal licence is valid until the end of the sporting season"6. A certificate that expires after an effective renewal therefore does not bring the licence down.

An up-to-date certificate is nonetheless still required to compete, and the federation sends "an email alert 2 months before expiry"6. We set out its required wording and its calendar in our guide to the FFTir medical certificate.

This is where the main source of refusal lies: the licence and the certificate do not follow the same cycle. The licence is set on the sporting season — renewed in August, it ends on the following 31 August. The certificate is set on its anniversary date of issue, which can fall at any time. Two clocks out of step, and a gap that is paid at the worst moment: at the counter, when a document has expired without your seeing it coming.

Shooting logbook and controlled sessions

Renewing the licence is not, on its own, enough to maintain the federation's favorable opinion for Category B. That opinion rests on a valid federal licence and on regular practice of shooting, under the arrêté of 28 April 2020: renewal presupposes "regular practice of shooting […] throughout the period of the previous authorization"7. Practice is proved by the shooting logbook and the controlled sessions.

Watch the legal basis, because many pages still cite repealed texts. The reference in force is the arrêté of 28 April 2020, which requires "three controlled shooting practice sessions […] at least two months apart" for a first application7.

The arrêté of 16 December 1998, often wrongly invoked, has been repealed since 30 April 20208. In the "Tir sportif" section of the code, the former article R.312-43 on the shooting logbook no longer exists, while R.312-43-1 now covers only introductory sessions9.

What renewal costs

The federal share of an adult licence is €69, that of a young shooter €49: these are the 2025/2026 amounts, which the federal circular puts at "€69.00 (up €5)" for an adult and "€49.00 (up €5)" for a young shooter12. The €5 increase you sometimes read about therefore concerned the previous season. For 2026/2027, no dated federal circular has been published, but the federal page "S'inscrire à la FFTir" shows a second block, "Federal subscription amount (2026/2027 season)", carrying the same €69 and €493. The Réunion league for its part announces an "unchanged" rate13, repeated word for word by a club on the island — same network, weak cross-check14.

But the federal share is only one line of the bill. The total paid to the club adds three components, two of which vary from place to place: the federal share, the league share and the club's own subscription. The price of the licence, the internal rules recall, breaks down into a federal share and a percentage reserved for the league15. The €85 affiliation subscription does not appear on your bill: it is owed by the association to the federation.

The Réunion league's example — €144 for an adult, €93 for a young shooter, the club affiliation subscription held at €8513 — shows the gap between the federal share and the price paid at the counter. Those €144 are a local total, federal share and league share included, not the €69 federal share. Do not build your budget on the €69 alone: the local share, invisible in the national texts, often more than doubles the bill.

Expired licence: the authorization lapses

Failing to renew in time is not just a matter of missing a season's shooting. For a Category B firearm holder, what is at stake is property, and it rests on an article the market almost never cites. Article R.312-15 of the code de la sécurité intérieure provides that "the authorization is null and void by operation of law upon the expiry of a period of three months following the end date of validity of the licence"11.

The service-public factsheet puts it in plain terms: without renewal, "the authorization loses its validity at the end of a period of 3 months following the end date of validity of the licence"10. Now the licence runs from 1 September to 31 August3: the count therefore starts from 31 August, not 30 September. The QR code overlap is a separate grace period, not an extension of the licence.

A 2025/2026 licence ending on 31 August 2026 thus leads to an authorization that is void around 1 December 2026. That is exactly the date the UFA gives — "from 1 December 2026, for want of a 2026-2027 licence, holders of Category A and B firearms and ammunition will have to dispose of them within 3 months, their holding authorization having lapsed"2 — without, however, citing the basis for it, which is indeed R.312-15.

Here is what an expired licence puts at stake, in the order the deadlines fall:

• The federation's favorable opinion, conditional on a valid licence and regular practice7.
• The validity of the Category B authorization, null and void by operation of law three months after the end of validity of the licence11.
• Disposal of the firearms: R.312-18 requires disposal "within the period of three months following […] the date on which the authorization became void"11, so before around 1 March 2027.

If your authorization has lapsed, rebuilding it means starting over on the full route of a Category B firearm authorization: which is exactly what renewing in time avoids.

Changing club: transferring mid-season

Renewal is the moment when many shooters change association, and a transfer is possible at any point in the sporting season15. What matters here is where it meets renewal: the licence is carried in ITAC by the new club, and it is between the two that the only real risk arises — a campaign that falls between two associations.

The rest — the three letters of the procedure, the fate of controlled sessions already validated, the Category B authorization in progress and the prior opinion sought from the club being left — is covered in our dedicated article on changing shooting club.

In every case, the licence follows a host association. If you are between two clubs, or tempted to shoot without one during a transition, bear in mind that no FFTir licence is held outside a club.

Renewing after a long break

A break of a year or more changes the picture, but does not close the door. Renewal always goes through a club, and each season is a fresh act: last year's licence is not proof that the new one has been issued15. Taking up a recreational licence again stays simple — a club, an up-to-date medical certificate, a subscription.

It is the firearm-holding part that gets complicated. Two mechanisms wake up after a break. First the favorable opinion: "the absence of shooting practice for twelve consecutive months" bars its issue7, which may mean rebuilding regular practice before any new Category B application. Then the authorization: if it fell during the break, it must be applied for again, with the matching controlled sessions10.

What falls, and in what order

A break does not produce a single effect but a cascade, and each level has its own clock. Reconstructing it avoids two symmetrical errors: believing everything collapses the day the licence expires, and believing nothing happens until you are checked.

The line that surprises most is the second. A Category B authorization does not survive the licence that carries it: factsheet F2250 is explicit, "if you have not renewed your sport shooting licence, the authorization loses its validity at the end of a period of 3 months following the end date of validity of the licence"10. A licence not renewed by 30 September therefore carries the authorization away toward the end of the calendar year, with no letter and no notification.

Then comes disposal, and that is where the break stops being administrative. Article R.312-17 covers "beneficiaries of authorizations that have expired and whose renewal has not been applied for", and article R.312-18 requires them to dispose of the firearms "within the period of three months following either the date of expiry of the authorization or the date on which the authorization became void"16. That period organizes the exit; it extends nothing.

Starting again after this cascade is not a renewal but a first application. The favorable opinion then presupposes rebuilding three controlled sessions at least two months apart7 — an irreducible minimum of four months before you can so much as file the application. That is the practical reason a licence is renewed even in a season when you do not shoot: it costs one subscription, whereas letting it lapse costs four months and a disposal.

FFTir renewal in three dates

Sources 16 references

The campaign calendar rests on two dated, independent sources — the federal protocol and a UFA note of July 2026 — cross-checked against each other. The amounts come from federal publications — the 2025/2026 circular and the registration page, which carries a 2026/2027 block — corroborated by the Réunion league and its club relay. The articles of the code were reread on Légifrance in their version in force. Association sources, being unofficial, are flagged as such. Click a note marker in the text to highlight the matching source.

1. Fédération française de tir — EDEN, protocole des licences 2026/2027 (2026/2027 campaign content; publication date displayed as "22 July 2023", most likely a reused permalink): renewals open in ITAC on 24 August 2026, made available on EDEN from 1 September 2026, validity of the old licence's QR code "until the renewal first takes effect […] or until 30 September 2026 at the latest", federal insurance until 30 September 2027, and a medical certificate less than a year old compulsory. ⚠️ Publication date unreliable; dates confirmed by ref. 2.
2. UFA — Union française des amateurs d'armes — Licence FFTir saison 2026-2027, published 14 July 2026, updated 28 July 2026: technical closure on 16 August, technical opening on 24 August, "From 1 October 2026, the 2025-2026 licence is no longer valid under any circumstances", and "From 1 December 2026, for want of a 2026-2027 licence, holders of Category A and B firearms and ammunition will have to dispose of them within 3 months, their holding authorization having lapsed". ⚠️ Association source, retained as a second dated source cross-checking the official one; the 1 December date is re-anchored on ref. 11.
3. Fédération française de tir — S'inscrire à la FFTir, consulted 30 July 2026: "The licence, valid from 1 September to 31 August of the following year, is issued by one of the 1,650 clubs affiliated to the FFTir"; two blocks of amounts, "Federal subscription amount (2025/2026 season)" and "Federal subscription amount (2026/2027 season)", carrying the same €69 adult, €49 young shooter and €85 association. The update date displayed (28 January 2025) predates the 2026/2027 content the page carries: we date the consultation, not the display.
4. Fédération française de tir — EDEN, premiers pas, updated 7 July 2022: "Collect your paperless licence (once validated and paid for by the association)", account activation and uploading of the medical certificate.
5. UFA — Union française des amateurs d'armes — Licence FFTir saison 2025-2026, published 24 August 2025, updated 6 September 2025: conditions for the licence to display on EDEN — "You must have paid the subscription" and "the medical certificate held in EDEN must be valid" — creation by the club in ITAC and batch processing explaining the wait. ⚠️ Association source.
6. Fédération française de tir — EDEN, certificat médical, updated 3 July 2024: "at the date of issue, the medical certificate is valid one year", "once renewed and/or validated by your association, the federal licence is valid until the end of the sporting season", and an email alert "2 months before the expiry deadline".
7. Légifrance — arrêté of 28 April 2020 on favorable opinions and attestations issued by federations (art. R.312-5 of the code de la sécurité intérieure), version in force: federal licence issued with a view to sport shooting (art. 1), "three controlled shooting practice sessions […] at least two months apart" for a first application (art. 3), "regular practice of shooting […] throughout the period of the previous authorization" at renewal (art. 4). Repeals the arrêté of 16 December 1998 (art. 7).
8. Légifrance — arrêté of 16 December 1998 on the minimum number of controlled sessions, the shooting logbook and the daily register, last version in force 2014-2020: "at least three controlled shooting practice sessions, at least two months apart". ⚠️ Repealed since 30 April 2020; not to be cited as being in force, contrary to many competing articles.
9. Légifrance — "Tir sportif" section of the code de la sécurité intérieure (R.312-39-1 to R.312-43-1), version in force at 30 July 2026: article R.312-43 (former shooting logbook and daily register) has been repealed since 1 July 2020, by article 3 of decree no. 2020-486 of 28 April 2020, whose article 13 sets entry into force on the first day of the third month; R.312-43-1 is now devoted to introductory shooting sessions.
10. Service-public.gouv.fr — Category B firearm for a sport shooter, factsheet F2250, verified 20 March 2025: "Present a valid licence from the Fédération française de tir"; "If you have not renewed your sport shooting licence, the authorization loses its validity at the end of a period of 3 months following the end date of validity of the licence"; application to renew the authorization "at the latest 3 months before the end date of validity of the authorization", valid 5 years.
11. Légifrance — code de la sécurité intérieure, "Validité de l'autorisation" section (R.312-13 to R.312-19), versions in force (R.312-15 since 10 February 2022, R.312-18 since 1 August 2018), consulted 30 July 2026: "the authorization is null and void by operation of law upon the expiry of a period of three months following the end date of validity of the licence" (R.312-15); the holder "shall dispose of them within the period of three months following either the date of expiry of their authorization or the date on which their authorization became void" (R.312-18). Legal basis for the lapse at around 1 December 2026.
12. Fédération française de tir — Information fédérale, montants des licences 2025/2026, published 30 June 2025: "adult: €69.00 (up €5) Young: €49.00 (up €5)", association subscription €85 unchanged. The 2024/2025 federal share (€64 / €44) follows from this €5 increase.
13. Ligue régionale de tir de La Réunion — Tarif des licences de tir, saison 2026-2027, published 27 April 2026: "the price of federal shooting licences and club subscriptions will remain unchanged […] for the 2026-2027 season", adult licences "held at 144 Euros", young shooters "at 93 Euros", club federal subscriptions "at 85 Euros". ⚠️ Regional league; the €144 / €93 are local totals (federal share + league share), not the federal share.
14. CTPN Réunion — Club de tir de la Police nationale de La Réunion — Tarif des licences de tir, saison 2026-2027, published 27 April 2026: adult licences "held at 144 Euros", young shooters "at 93 Euros", clubs' federal subscriptions "at 85 Euros". ⚠️ A club, and a word-for-word relay of the league's announcement (ref. 13), attributed in the text to the regional league president: weak cross-check, same network — not an independent source.
15. Fédération française de tir — Règlement intérieur de la FFTir (adopted by the extraordinary general meeting of 5 June 2004; PDF hosted by the FFTir, consulted 30 July 2026): the previous season's licence is not proof that the new one has been issued (art. 4); price of the licence and percentage reserved for the league set in general meeting (art. 5); transfer by resignation sent by recorded delivery, transfer "deemed valid" if no document has arrived within 15 days (art. 9); federal year from 1 September to 31 August (art. 10).
16. Légifrance — "Armes soumises à autorisation" sub-section, articles R.312-17 and R.312-18 of the code de la sécurité intérieure, consulted 7 August 2026: disposal is required of "beneficiaries of authorizations that have expired and whose renewal has not been applied for" (R.312-17 I), who dispose of them "within the period of three months following either the date of expiry of their authorization or the date on which their authorization became void" (R.312-18).