Laws on Guns, Explosives and Weapons in Singapore (Part 2)

In a world of rapidly evolving threats, the ability to control and manage dangerous weapons is more important than ever. Recognising the need for a unified and modernised approach, Singapore enacted the Guns, Explosives and Weapons Control Act 2021 (Act), which was passed by Parliament on 5 January 2021 and came into force on 1 July 2025.

Consolidating, refreshing and even replacing multiple existing pieces of legislation, the Act strengthens the regulatory regime for guns, gun accessories, explosives, explosive precursors (i.e. chemical substances that can be combined to create explosives), weapons and noxious substances – collectively referred to as guns, explosives and weapons (GEW). It tightens and clarifies controls over GEWs as well as enhances the police’s operational effectiveness, while ensuring a calibrated regulatory and enforcement framework.

To shed more light on the Act, this article will cover the following topics:

• What is the Guns, Explosives and Weapons Control Act?
• What is the regulatory regime for explosives under the Act?
• What is the regulatory regime for weapons and noxious substances under the Act?
• What are the offences and penalties under the Act pertaining to explosives and weapons?

Please note that this article only focuses on the regulatory regime for explosives and weapons under the Act. Do refer to our other article for information on the regulatory regime for guns under the Act.

What is the Guns, Explosives and Weapons Control Act?

How are GEWs defined under the Act?

The Act is Singapore’s primary statute for regulating GEWs. The Act governs the control, licensing, possession, manufacture, import, export, transport, storage, use, and disposal of such dangerous items. GEWs are defined under the Act, as follows:

• Guns: Under the Act, guns refer to any object capable of being aimed at a target and causing hurt or injury by either propelling a projectile (e.g. a bullet) or discharging any corrosive substance or poison with explosive force.
• Explosives: Explosives are defined as any explosive substance or device, fireworks or ammunition. This includes devices such as bombs, grenades or mines, or substances such as gunpowder and dynamite.
• Other controlled weapons: Under the Act, weapons encompass a wide variety of objects that can be used offensively, including knives, swords, spears, machetes, axes, nunchucks, bows and arrows etc. The full list of controlled weapons can be found in Schedule 1 of the Act.

To whom does the Act apply to?

The Act applies to a wide range of stakeholders beyond individual persons. The Act casts a wide regulatory net to ensure that every party involved in the lifecycle of GEWs is accountable under the law – from production and storage to eventual disposal. Key stakeholders covered under the Act include:

• Private security firms that handle guns or related equipment
• Sporting associations, such as shooting clubs that use guns in competitive or recreational settings
• Licensed traders, dealers, and manufacturers involved in the sale, repair, import or export of guns or explosives
• Collectors and enthusiasts, including those who possess antique guns or realistic replicas

What was the previous regulatory regime for GEWs? 

Prior to the enactment of the Act, Singapore’s regulatory regime for GEWs was spread across several pieces of legislation, each covering a specific aspect of control. These laws had served the country for decades since the respective pieces of legislation were enacted, but became outdated in light of modern technological advancements and evolving security threats. The pieces of legislation which were either repealed or amended as a result of the enactment of the Act are:

• Arms and Explosives Act (AEA): The AEA governed the licensing, storage, manufacture, and import/export of firearms and explosives. While it laid the groundwork for basic regulatory control, the law was introduced in the early 20th century and lacked provisions for contemporary issues such as digital fabrication, cross-border online sales, or bundled licensing for integrated businesses. The AEA has been repealed and replaced by the Act.
• Dangerous Fireworks Act (DFA): The DFA prohibited the illegal possession, sale, or use of fireworks, recognising the public safety hazards posed by unauthorised pyrotechnics. However, it was a standalone piece of legislation that dealt only with one specific category of explosives. The DFA has been repealed and replaced by the Act. The Act absorbs and expands upon the DFA’s provisions by including all classes of fireworks and other explosive materials within a single legal regime.
• Explosive Substances Act (ESA): The ESA was an act relating to explosive substances, and prohibited the making and unlawful use of explosive substances. The ESA has been repealed and replaced by the Act.
• Arms Offences Act (AOA): This legislation focused on criminal offences involving arms, providing severe penalties such as mandatory death sentences for crimes involving the use or attempted use of firearms. The Act retains many of the serious penalties introduced under the AOA, and incorporates them into a broader and more coherent legal framework. Consequently, the AOA has been amended in light of the Act.
• Corrosive and Explosive Substances and Offensive Weapons Act (CESOWA): The CESOWA provides penalties relating to the unlawful possession and use of corrosive and explosive substances as well as the carrying of offensive weapons. To avoid repetition, the CESOWA has also been amended in light of the Act.

The driving motivation behind the modernisation of Singapore’s regulatory regime for GEWs is three-fold:

1. Threat of terrorism remains high and poses risk of violence in Singapore: According to the Singapore Terrorism Threat Assessment Report published in July 2025, the terrorism threat to Singapore remains high overall. Self-radicalisation also remains a key threat in Singapore. In fact, in the one-year period from July 2024 to July 2025, there have been 8 instances of Singaporeans who were self-radicalised. GEWs can be used by persons with malicious intent to carry out a terrorist attack in Singapore.
2. Technological changes pose new challenges to enforcement: The above risk is coupled with the increased ease of obtaining GEWs unlawfully, because of technological changes. The emergence of technologies such as 3D printing and drones, and greater ease of access to information on the manufacturing of illegal GEWs on the Internet, has made it easier for such malicious actors to cause harm.
3. Need to optimise resources to regulate a growing industry: The number of GEW licences issued has more than doubled since the AEA was last amended in 2007, increasing from around 20,00 licences in 2010 to more than 4,000 in 2020. In particular, more arms licenses have been issued for sports shooting. There is thus an increased need to optimise the resources of law enforcement to deal with the expanded scope of licensees.

What is the Regulatory Regime for Explosives Under the Act?

What is the definition of an “explosive” under the Act?

Under the Act, explosives are broadly defined to include the following:

• Explosive substances: Explosive substances are substances which can produce a practical effect by explosion or a pyrotechnic effect. Such substances include gunpowder, dynamite, blasting powder and nitro-glycerine. Explosive substances can be either solid or liquid substances. Under the Act, even desensitised explosives (DEs), i.e. explosive substances whose explosive properties have been suppressed by methods such as wetting with water or alcohols, or dilution with other substances, also come under the definition of explosive substance. Previously, most DEs were regulated as flammable materials under the Fire Safety Act, and not as explosives.
• Ammunition: Ammunition refers to objects consisting of a cartridge case fitted with a live primer and projectile, and can also be fitted with a propelling charge. Ammunition is typically used in guns.
• Fireworks: Fireworks refer to any object containing explosive substances, which are designed to entertain people by producing light, sound, gas, and smoke by means of an exothermic (i.e. heat-generating) chemical reaction.
• Sand crackers: Sand crackers are pellets containing explosives which are activated when set on fire or rubbed on any abrasive surface.
• Explosive devices: Explosive devices refer to devices that contain explosive substances, like bombs, grenades, or mines. They also include components of such devices, including detonators or fuses.

What activities involving explosives are regulated?

Under the Act, if you are conducting any regulated activities involving explosives, you will need to apply for a corresponding licence for that activity. These licences are referred to as individual licences. The regulated activities and their corresponding licence types are set out in the table below. The new licence types introduced under the Act are the “Repair”, “Use (Rock Blasting)” and “Use (Fireworks Displays)” licence types.

To apply for an individual licence, you can do so on the GoBusiness webpage, which can be accessed by using either your SingPass or CorpPass.

What is the class licencing regime and what are the exempted explosives (if any)?

The Act introduces a key innovation – the class licencing regime, which is a simplified licensing regime which seeks to streamline regulatory processes for lower-risk explosives and activities. The purpose of introducing a simplified licensing regime is to reduce regulatory compliance costs for the industry by minimising the burden of having to apply for licences even for lower-risk explosives and activities, without compromising on security and safety standards.

Lower-risk explosives are explosives deemed to pose less risk out of all the explosives regulated under the Act, and include:

• Wire sparklers
• Signalling and safety devices, such as flares, smoke generators, and distress signals.
• Industrial and technical devices, including explosive-powered industrial tools, i.e. fastening tools that use a controlled explosive charge to drive fasteners like nails or rivets into hard materials, and welding equipment
• Vehicle safety and fire-suppression system and components, including airbags, seatbelt pre-tensioners and fire extinguisher igniters

For the above lower-risk explosives, you do not have to apply for an individual licence in order to possess, use, transport, store, supply, or import and export such explosives. Instead, as long as you abide by and comply with the class licensing requirements prescribed, you will be automatically treated as licensed. The Police Licensing & Regulatory Department (PLRD) will conduct regular checks to ensure compliance with the class licensing requirements. Where the PLRD detects any breaches, regulatory actions may be taken against the class licensees, including the disapplying of the class licence. In such situations, the class licensee would have to apply for an individual licence in the future to conduct the same activities.

The general class licensing requirements that class licensees have to comply with are:

• That the class licensee only properly uses a lower-risk explosive.
• That the class licensee does not abandon any lower-risk explosive that he/she acquired, or that he/she stores or possesses.
• That the class licensee takes all reasonable steps necessary to ensure that the lower-risk explosive in his/her possession is not lost or stolen. Reasonable steps should also be taken to ensure that the lower-risk explosive is not accessible, or supplied or transferred, to anyone else who is not authorised to possess such lower-risk explosive.
• That the class licensee takes all reasonable steps to protect other people from being alarmed relating to the carrying out of any activity authorised by the class licence.

Lastly, under the Act, Christmas crackers and party explosives are exempt from needing licences to possess, use, transport, store, supply, or import and export them. In other words, you would only need an individual licence if you are manufacturing Christmas crackers and party explosives, but not if you are conducting any other activities in relation to them.

What is the Regulatory Regime for Weapons and Noxious Substances Under the Act?

What is the definition of a ”weapon” or “noxious substance” under the Act?

Under the Act, objects set out in the First Schedule are considered “weapons”. These include:

• Arrows
• Bows and crossbows
• Bayonets
• Swords, including machetes, parangs and kukris
• Knives, including diving knives, hunting knives, butterfly knives, “balisongs”, gravity knives, flick knives and switchblades
• Throwing stars and shurikens
• Knuckledusters
• Spears, including halberds, glaives and martial arts weapons “Guandao” and “Yanyuedao”
• Blades which are connected to a rope or chain, which are to be either used as whips or thrown at the target
• Scythes
• Nunchucks
• Sais
• Axes
• Blow guns or blow pipes

Prior to the enactment of the Act, “noxious substances” were regulated together with weapons under the AEA. However, under the Act, “noxious substances” have been separated as a distinct category. “Noxious substances” are defined to mean any nauseating or lachrymatory (i.e. tear-inducing) substance, and include:

• Containers holding noxious substances, including cartridges, cylinders or pressurised cans
• Objects which can be used to cause hurt or injury by discharging noxious substances onto the target, such as pepper spray guns or canisters

Regulatory regime for weapons under the new Act

Under the Act, if you are conducting any regulated activities involving weapons, you will need to apply for a corresponding individual licence for that activity. The regulated activities and their corresponding licence types are set out in the table below.

However, just as is the case for the regulation of explosives, different regulatory controls apply based on how the weapons are categorised. Broadly speaking, weapons are categorised into 3 different types, corresponding to the level of risk that the items pose to safety and security, with Type 1 representing the highest level of risk and Type 3 being the lowest:

1. Type 1: Weapons designed to cause hurt and have very limited legitimate day-to-day uses
2. Type 2: Weapons designed to cause hurt but have legitimate uses
3. Type 3: Weapons designed as tools of trade but may be misused to cause hurt

The licence types required for each category of weapons are set out in the table below.

Regulatory regime for noxious substances under the Act

Under the Act, if you are conducting any of the specified activities involving noxious substances, you will need to apply for a corresponding individual licence for that activity. The regulated activities and their corresponding licence types are set out in the table below.

For the supply of both weapons and noxious substances, under the Act, the same regulatory requirements will apply for both physical shop dealers and e-commerce platforms. In other words, the following online platforms will also be regulated:

• Platforms which are set up by physical retailers that handle the entire supply process (e.g retailers with online shops)
• Platforms which are not retailers but play a role in the supply process, such as platforms that help in storing or repackaging the items, and/or delivering the items (e.g companies which provide a platform for retailers to advertise the sales and also handle the goods on behalf)
• Platforms which allow listings and act as middlemen (e.g. facilitate negotiations between the sellers and buyers), but do not physically handle the items (e.g companies which provide a platform for retailers to advertise the sales)

What are the Offences and Penalties Under the Act Pertaining to Explosives and Weapons?

For possession, use, etc. of explosives and weapons

The unauthorised possession and/or use of explosives, weapons and/or noxious substances is a serious criminal offence. For explosives and weapons, the penalties imposed depend on whether the explosive and/or weapon involved is a prohibited explosive and/or weapon, or not. Under the Act:

• Prohibited explosives refer to explosives that are so specially dangerous to life or property that, for the sake of public safety, are classified as prohibited explosives. Examples include mines with huge explosive force and a large blast radius.
• Prohibited weapons refer to weapons that are particularly dangerous by reason of their design, construction or any other fact, or by reason of their size, can be more readily concealed or particularly suited to unlawful use. Examples include small switchblades, which are easily concealed, or automatic crossbows, which can shoot arrows in rapid succession and, for that reason, are particularly dangerous.

In addition to end-users, the Act targets others involved in the supply chain. Anyone caught manufacturing, trading or supplying explosives, weapons and/or noxious substances without proper authorisation faces harsh penalties as well:

• Manufacturing: Under the Act, the manufacturing of explosives includes the acts of blending together of substances to make the explosives, altering the nature of any substance to make the explosive, or even disassembling, or repairing explosives. The manufacturing of weapons also includes the repairing, modifying or testing of such weapons.
• Trading: Trading of explosives, weapons and/or noxious substances refers to the importing or exporting of such items.
• Supply: Supplying of explosives, weapons and/or noxious substances include the acts of selling, exchanging, offering for sale, displaying, offering as a prize or reward, giving away for the purpose of advertisement etc.

The different penalties are set out in the table below:

Other serious offences: Abetment, attempts, and corporate liability

The Act extends criminal liability beyond direct perpetrators. Under the Act, those who abet, conspire, or attempt to commit the offences listed above are punishable as though they had completed the offence themselves. This ensures that planners, facilitators, and lookouts in explosive / weapon-related crimes are treated just as severely as the person directly involved in the commission of the offence.

For example, if a person helps to be a lookout while another sets off an explosive, they can be charged with abetment of unlawful possession or use of an explosive, facing the same penalties. Similarly, someone who conspires to smuggle weapons, even if the operation is foiled before execution, is liable as if the crime had succeeded.

Significantly, the Act also introduces corporate liability provisions. Companies can now be held criminally responsible for offences committed by employees or agents acting on their behalf or within the scope of their duties. This includes licensed dealers, transport firms, and security providers. If a company fails to conduct proper due diligence, secure its weapons, or prevent unauthorised use, it may face substantial fines, licence revocation, and even criminal prosecution of its officers. For example, a company has been granted an explosive manufacturing licence. However, its employees are also found to be trading the explosives manufactured by the company on the side. It is later discovered that the company had suspicions of such activities but failed to investigate or put a stop to them. In such a situation, the company may be liable for the unauthorised trading of explosives, alongside the individual employees.

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In conclusion, the Guns, Explosives and Weapons Control Act strengthens the regulatory regime for GEWs. Specific to explosives and weapons, the Act sets out clear definitions of what constitutes explosives and weapons, introduces a clear licensing regime (including a new class licensing regime), and consolidates the explosives / weapons-related offences and their penalties in one piece of legislation.

If you are charged with an offence under the Act, you can consider seeking further guidance and advice from a criminal lawyer. The lawyer will be able to advise you on whether you have any viable defences against the charge, and can even represent you in court proceedings.