How much does the CFSC cost? 2026 prices and PAL fees

A CFSC course costs $150 to $350, depending on your province, class size, and what the quote includes. Add the RCMP licence fee of $70.38 and a photo, and the realistic all-in cost of a non-restricted PAL is about $220 to $440. Going for restricted privileges pushes that to roughly $345 to $615, because the combined weekend costs more and the licence fee is higher.

Every classroom teaches the same RCMP curriculum, so price differences come down to delivery. Here is the full breakdown: what each line item costs, where quotes hide extras, and the two places bundling saves real money.

What you’ll actually pay, start to finish

The licence is valid five years. Holding a PAL costs nothing year to year, and you pay again at renewal.

Prices move by city, not just by province. Find a course in your province to see who teaches near you and what they charge.

Doing the CFSC and CRFSC back-to-back

If there’s any chance you’ll want restricted privileges, take both courses in one go. It’s cheaper twice over.

On the course. In Alberta the CFSC is $150 and both courses together are $250, so the CRFSC costs $100 as an add-on. One Ontario provider charges $350 alone and $425 for both, a $75 add-on. Another takes $40 off when you book the pair, and a BC provider runs the combined weekend at $270 with exams included. Booked on its own later, the CRFSC typically runs $170 to $200, so the add-on price is roughly half.

On the licence fee. This is the part people miss. A PAL with restricted privileges costs $93.84 when you apply for it upfront. Apply non-restricted first at $70.38, then upgrade later, and the upgrade is a further $46.92, for $117.30 in total. Deciding upfront saves $23.46.

Put the two together and going restricted from the start typically costs $90 to $150 less than adding it a year later.

The trade-off is a longer weekend and two tests instead of one. Read what the tests actually cover before committing to both in the same weekend.

The RCMP licence fee went up in March 2026

The Canadian Firearms Program raised its fees on 31 March 2026:

These aren’t one-off increases. The RCMP indexes firearms service fees every year to the All-items Consumer Price Index, as the Service Fees Act requires, so expect a small bump each spring. Check the RCMP service fees page before you budget.

Do you need a photo, and does it cost anything?

Yes, a photo is required. No, it doesn’t have to cost you anything.

The RCMP publishes a specification, not a list of approved vendors. Your photo must be 45 mm wide by 57 mm high with your head at least 30 mm, submitted as a JPG between 200 KB and 6 MB, taken within the last 12 months, portrait orientation, neutral expression, plain light background. A guarantor signs the back. On a renewal application, no guarantor signature is needed.

Since nobody dictates where the photo comes from, meeting that spec with your own camera costs nothing. If you’d rather not deal with it, a pharmacy or big-box photo counter charges roughly $17 to $20 for a set of two. Full details are on the RCMP photo requirements page.

Plan around the guarantor rather than the photo. They must have known you at least two years and can’t be one of your two references, which is the piece that most often holds an application up. Our PAL application checklist covers who qualifies.

Study material: what’s free and what isn’t

Providers supply or lend the official RCMP student handbook on course day, and that’s included in a normal quote. What you don’t get is a copy to keep.

Three options, and what they really cost:

• Free practice questions. Several providers publish CFSC quizzes as marketing. Useful for gauging the written test, worth nothing toward your licence. What’s legitimate and what isn’t is covered in can you take the CFSC online?
• A borrowed handbook on course day. Already in your course fee. Fine if you plan to learn the material in class.
• Your own printed handbook. The official 5th-edition student handbook runs 354 pages, and we sell it for $54.95 with shipping included. Worth it if you want to read the safety and storage modules before you walk in, or keep a reference afterward. Ordering details are here.

Reading ahead pays off more than most first-timers expect. Storage rules and ammunition matching are among the most commonly missed questions on the written exam, and both are easier to absorb over a week than in a single classroom session.

What drives the price

• Province and city. Urban Ontario and BC courses cluster in the $250 to $350 range, while Alberta’s nonprofit instructor network runs the same course at $150. Remote areas cost more because instructors travel.
• Class size. Small classes of 8 to 15 students cost more per seat and give you more time handling firearms before the practical test, which is what nervous first-timers actually benefit from paying for.
• What’s bundled. The real differentiator. A cheap headline price that excludes test fees, the handbook, and tax can total more than an honest all-in quote.
• Format. Combined CFSC and CRFSC weekends are cheaper than booking the two courses separately.

The five questions that expose a quote

Ask every provider the same five:

1. Does the price include both the written and practical tests?
2. Is the student handbook included, lent, or extra?
3. Is tax included in the advertised number?
4. What does a retest cost if I fail one part? (Retest policy varies by provider and province, see what happens if you fail.)
5. What’s your cancellation policy if I can’t make the date?

Providers who answer plainly tend to run their classrooms the same way.

Where not to save money

Two corners aren’t worth cutting:

• Unverified instructors. The course only counts if the instructor is designated by your province’s Chief Firearms Officer. A bargain course from someone who can’t confirm their designation is worth exactly nothing.
• “Online CFSC” offers. Any site selling an online CFSC certificate is selling prep material at best. The course is in-person by requirement, and the details are in can you take the CFSC online?

What comes after payment, the forms, references, and waiting periods, is covered in applying for your PAL after the CFSC.

A fair all-in price, a small class, and both courses in one weekend if restricted is anywhere in your future. That’s the whole formula. Find a course in your province, put those five questions to the providers that fit your schedule, and budget $70.38 or $93.84 on top for the licence itself.