The French SIA account and the sport shooter's digital gun rack

Every shooter who holds a firearm subject to traceability must have a French SIA account. It is created online with an identity document, proof of address and the license. The digital gun rack lists the firearms held: six months to correct it after opening, five days to confirm each purchase.

SIA account: compulsory for every shooter who holds firearms

The Système d'information sur les armes (firearms information system) opened to hunters on 8 February 2022 and to sport shooters on 27 February 202412. « Tous les détenteurs d'une arme soumise à traçabilité doivent créer leur compte » [all holders of a firearm subject to traceability must create their account], only holders of single-shot smooth-bore shotguns acquired before 1 December 2011 being exempt1.

According to the FFTir, a license holder with firearms and no account on 31 December 2024 is « en infraction avec la réglementation » [in breach of the regulations]3; the 2026 date comes from the Meuse prefecture4. The account gives access to several procedures1:

• the digital gun rack, to consult and update;
• the Category B authorization application and its renewal;
• the European Firearms Pass;
• updating personal details, address included;
• a contact form for the prefecture in charge.

Creating the SIA account: identity, address and license

The account is created on sia.detenteurs.interieur.gouv.fr, with scanned documents1:

1. Uploading a valid identity document: identity card, passport or residence permit.
2. Uploading proof of address, less than three months old according to the Meuse prefecture4.
3. Uploading the valid FFTir, FFBT or FFS license; « le SIA et EDEN communiquent pour vérifier la validité de la licence » [the SIA and EDEN communicate to check the license is valid].
4. Activating the account through the link received by email, without waiting: 48 hours according to the FAQ, 24 hours according to the Meuse prefecture14.
5. Choosing a password of at least twelve characters and three security questions.

At the end, the holder has an SIA number, « qui devra être communiqué à l'armurier en cas d'achat d'armes » [to be given to the dealer when buying firearms]1. A shooter who also hunts adds the license to the hunter's account, without creating a second account1.

SIA number and SIA account: two distinct things

« Le numéro SIA est la clef d'échange entre l'armurier et le détenteur pour toute transaction. Le compte SIA est un recueil global des informations concernant le détenteur » [the SIA number is the exchange key between dealer and holder for any transaction; the SIA account is an overall record of information about the holder]1. The number is unique and personal; some received it from a dealer as early as 2021. It is not an account: the holder creates the account, and the number is attached to it1.

The account documents are not those of the authorization either. The birth certificate extract and the FFTir's favorable opinion are for the Category B authorization application, filed afterwards from the account5.

Creating the SIA account alone or with help: pros and cons

Alone, online

With help

The digital gun rack: your firearms, checked in six months

The account « vous donne accès à votre râtelier numérique, c'est-à-dire à l'inventaire des armes que vous possédez » [gives you access to your digital gun rack, that is, the inventory of the firearms you own]6. On opening, firearms already declared to the prefecture appear « environ 15 jours après l'ouverture » [about 15 days after opening] according to the Meuse prefecture4. The holder then has six months to update the gun rack12:

• A missing firearm is added with its number in the Référentiel général des armes, then its serial number4.
• A duplicated firearm is flagged on its record: « cette arme est enregistrée en double dans mon râtelier » [this firearm is recorded twice in my gun rack]4.
• A sold firearm still listed waits for the transfer to be registered; between private individuals, the sale goes through a dealer or a broker.

Buying a firearm: five days to confirm in the SIA account

At each purchase from a dealer, « l'arme achetée est transférée automatiquement dans votre râtelier numérique » [the firearm bought is transferred automatically to your digital gun rack]. The buyer confirms the purchase online from the account; otherwise, « l'achat est validé automatiquement au bout de 5 jours » [the purchase is validated automatically after 5 days]75. The rule applies in Category C, declared by the dealer, as in Category B. See French firearm categories.

Ammunition: a licensed account, 3,000 rounds per firearm

Buying ammunition also goes through the SIA number. A "holder without title" account cannot buy any1: a shooter who created one imports the license into it. In Category B, the firearm's authorization also covers its ammunition, up to 3,000 rounds per firearm per twelve-month period8; the FAQ adds a ceiling of 1,000 per firearm per day1. Ammunition bought at the club and fired on site does not leave it1. The detail is in French firearm and ammunition quotas.

Inherited firearm: declared in the SIA account at once

A shooter adds an inherited firearm directly to the gun rack of their license holder's account, without opening a "holder without title" account1. For a Category A or B firearm they wish to keep, article R312-51 sets three stages9:

1. Declaring the firearm without delay through the account.
2. Lodging it with a dealer within three months of the declaration at the latest.
3. Meeting the conditions for authorization within twelve months, otherwise parting with it or having it deactivated.

Moving house: proof of address in the SIA account

A change of address is declared in the account: « Vous devez enregistrer un justificatif de domicile actualisé » [you must record an updated proof of address]10. Failing to report it when moving to another département is punished by a €750 fine10. A second home where the firearms may be kept is also declared, up to four, which legitimises transporting the firearms between them1.

What the gun rack does not track: ammunition and sessions

The system records the identity of holders, firearms and their components, manufacturers and dealers, and administrative titles11. The gun rack answers one question: which firearms the holder owns. It keeps neither the ammunition stock left at home nor the rounds fired. The controlled sessions on which the FFTir's opinion rests are recorded in the club's register12: see the three controlled sessions rule. That tracking is kept separately, on paper or in a spreadsheet.

Creating the SIA account alone or with help, by situation

Four misconceptions about the French SIA account

• "I have an SIA number, so I have an account." No: the number and the account « sont deux choses différentes » [are two different things], and the holder creates the account even with a number already1.
• "The SIA records my shooting sessions." Controlled sessions are recorded in the register kept by the club12, and the SIA records holders, firearms and titles11.
• "Without my confirmation, the purchase stays pending." It is validated automatically after five days7.
• "An inherited firearm requires a separate account." A shooter adds it to the gun rack of their license holder's account1.

Sources 12 references

The articles of the code de la sécurité intérieure were reread on Légifrance in their version in force on 24 September 2026; the official SIA FAQ, the service-public.gouv.fr factsheets and the FFTir and prefecture pages were consulted the same day. French documents keep their French titles and quotations, with a short translation in brackets. Click a note marker in the text to highlight the matching source.

1. Ministère de l'Intérieur, Secrétariat général, DEPSA — Foire aux questions sur le SIA, détenteurs particuliers (in French), version of 15 October 2024 (PDF published by the Pyrénées-Orientales prefecture), consulted on 24 September 2026: opened to hunters on 8 February 2022, to sport shooters on 27 February 2024; « Tous les détenteurs d'une arme soumise à traçabilité doivent créer leur compte » [all holders of a firearm subject to traceability must create their account], except single-shot smooth-bore firearms acquired before 1 December 2011; features (gun rack, Category B authorisation and renewal, European pass, personal details, contacting the prefecture); documents: identity, « Votre numéro SIA si vous en disposez. Ce numéro SIA n'est pas obligatoire pour créer un compte » [your SIA number if you have one; it is not compulsory to create an account], proof of address, FFTir, FFBT or FFS licence; licence checked between the SIA and EDEN; 48-hour activation link; 12-character password; SIA number « qui devra être communiqué à l'armurier en cas d'achat d'armes » [to be given to the dealer when buying firearms]; « Le numéro SIA est la clef d'échange entre l'armurier et le détenteur pour toute transaction. Le compte SIA est un recueil global des informations concernant le détenteur » [the SIA number is the exchange key between dealer and holder for any transaction; the SIA account is an overall record of information about the holder]; « le numéro de SIA et le compte dans le SIA sont deux choses différentes » [the SIA number and the SIA account are two different things]; one email address per category of account; prefectures' digital help points; « Vous avez 6 mois après l'ouverture de votre compte SIA pour renseigner les informations concernant vos armes dans le râtelier numérique » [you have 6 months after opening your SIA account to fill in your firearms' details in the digital gun rack]; up to 4 second homes, to « légitimer le transport des armes entre les différentes résidences » [legitimise transporting firearms between the residences]; inherited firearms added to the gun rack of the hunter's or shooter's account; « Un compte détenteur sans titre ne permet pas d'acheter des munitions » [a holder-without-title account cannot buy ammunition]; « 1000 munitions par jour et un maximum de 3000 sur l'année » [1,000 rounds per day and a maximum of 3,000 over the year] per firearm; ammunition bought at the club for use on site, not taken away.
2. Fédération française de tir — Système d'information sur les armes – SIA (in French), published on 29 February 2024, consulted on 24 September 2026: opened to sport shooters on 27 February 2024; personal SIA number given to the dealer at each acquisition; access to the digital gun rack and « 6 mois à compter de la date de création de son compte » [6 months from the date the account is created] to update it.
3. Fédération française de tir — SIA – Création Espace Détenteur (in French), published on 17 December 2024, consulted on 24 September 2026: account created « avant le 31 décembre 2024 » [before 31 December 2024], failing which licence holders with firearms are « en infraction avec la réglementation » [in breach of the regulations]; help from club officers, sub-prefectures, dealers and France Services centres.
4. Préfecture de la Meuse — Créer mon compte SIA (in French), updated 4 November 2025, consulted on 24 September 2026: identity document front and back, proof of address less than 3 months old; activation link valid 24 hours; creation « avant le 05 janvier 2026 » [before 5 January 2026] for ball-trap, ski and biathlon licence holders; declared firearms appearing in the gun rack « environ 15 jours après l'ouverture de mon compte » [about 15 days after my account is opened]; missing firearm added by its RGA number and serial number; duplicate flagged with « cette arme est enregistrée en double dans mon râtelier » [this firearm is recorded twice in my gun rack].
5. Service-Public (DILA) — Armes de catégorie B pour un tireur sportif, fiche F2250 (in French), checked on 20 March 2025, consulted on 24 September 2026: authorisation application online after creating the SIA account, with a birth certificate extract less than 3 months old and the FFTir's favourable opinion; firearm transferred to the digital gun rack, purchase validated automatically after 5 days.
6. Préfecture des Bouches-du-Rhône — Le nouveau système d'information sur les armes (SIA) (in French), updated 18 September 2025: the account « vous donne accès à votre râtelier numérique, c'est-à-dire à l'inventaire des armes que vous possédez » [gives you access to your digital gun rack, that is, the inventory of the firearms you own].
7. Service-Public (DILA) — Armes de catégorie C, fiche F2246 (in French), checked on 20 March 2025, consulted on 24 September 2026: the firearm bought is transferred automatically to the digital gun rack; purchase confirmed online from the SIA account, otherwise validated automatically after 5 days.
8. Légifrance — article R312-47 du code de la sécurité intérieure (in French), version in force since 1 January 2024: the firearm's authorisation « vaut autorisation d'acquisition et de détention des munitions correspondantes » [is also authorisation to acquire and hold the matching ammunition], « 3 000 cartouches par arme au titre du 2° de l'article R. 312-40 » [3,000 rounds per firearm under 2° of article R312-40], « par période de douze mois » [per twelve-month period].
9. Légifrance — article R312-51 du code de la sécurité intérieure (in French), version in force since 29 June 2024, consulted on 24 September 2026: a Category A or B firearm found or inherited that one wishes to keep is declared « sans délai par l'intermédiaire du compte » [without delay through the account]; lodged with a professional « au plus tard trois mois à compter de la déclaration » [within three months of the declaration at the latest]; « un délai de douze mois à compter de sa déclaration » [twelve months from the declaration] to meet the conditions for authorisation.
10. Service-Public (DILA) — Détention d'une arme : faut-il signaler son changement d'adresse ?, fiche F31661 (in French), checked on 28 January 2026, consulted on 24 September 2026: through the SIA account, « Vous devez enregistrer un justificatif de domicile actualisé » [you must record an updated proof of address]; « Ne pas signaler son nouveau domicile en cas de déménagement dans un autre département est sanctionné par une amende de 750 €. » [failing to report a new home when moving to another département is punished by a €750 fine].
11. Légifrance — articles R312-84 à R312-90 du code de la sécurité intérieure, « Système d'information sur les armes » (in French), consulted on 24 September 2026: R312-85 (version of 30 April 2020) — identification data of holders, firearms and firearm components, manufacturers and dealers, and administrative titles; R312-88 (version of 29 June 2024) — firearm data kept for thirty years.
12. Fédération française de tir — « 2020, nouveau régime de la délivrance des avis préalables » (in French), 7 May 2020: the shooting logbook is abolished, replaced by the register of controlled sessions kept by the association.