Netherlands: Psychological Test Exposes Unsuitable Hobby Hunters

Dutch hobby hunters are being invited to take a psychological online test. The revocation of their hunting licence may be the consequence.

Editorial Wild beim Wild — 23 November 2025

In the world of hobby hunters in Holland there is considerable uproar.

The Ministry of Justice and Security has introduced the so-called E-Screener. This is a digital test that firearms owners must complete.

Within 40 minutes, 100 psychological yes-or-no questions must be answered online. All hunting licence holders and firearms permit holders must complete the E-Screener within the next 3 years, though not all at the same time. Those over 60 and under 25 will be tested first.

Next year, the age group between 40 and 60 will be assessed. The following year, firearms owners aged 25 to 40 will be called up for the E-Screener. The test costs 54.45 euros.

Anyone applying for a new hunting licence in Holland has been required to complete the E-Screener first since 1 October.

Holland: Psychological Test Exposes Hobby Hunters

The first participants in the E-Screener report that the questions are straightforward and that they completed it in good time. The police then evaluate the data collected. A consequence of the test may be that firearms owners have their weapons as well as their hunting licence — and thereby automatically their firearms permit — revoked in Holland.

20–25% fail test in Holland

According to information from the Dutch hunting association, approximately 20% of hobby hunters fail the test. In Limburg, this figure is as high as 25%. There, 160 individuals completed the E-Screener and 39 were subsequently required to surrender their firearm and hunting licence.

Every hobby hunter already in possession of a hunting licence will be required to complete the test. In the Netherlands, this affects approximately 27,000 wildlife killers.

Rampage 2011

According to Dutch media and the Dutch hunting association, the reason for introducing the E-Screener was a rampage in 2011. At that time, Tristan van der V. shot six people. He had a firearms licence, but the police should never have issued the permit given his mental health problems, the Supreme Court ruled in September.

In order to better assess the risks posed by firearms in the future, gun owners are now to be subjected to close scrutiny.

For some members, the police were at their front door the day after the test to collect their weapon and hunting licence. – Dutch Hunting Association

The Dutch hunting association is now advising those hobby hunters who receive a postal invitation from the police to take the E-Screener to postpone the appointment to February 2020, so as not to risk losing their hunting licence and firearm during the current hunting season. In addition, the hunting association has lodged a complaint against the procedure and is calling for a thorough evaluation.

The hunting association is calling for the abolition of the E-Screener. It would prefer the police to make unexpected home visits more frequently.

The Ministry of Justice and Security is convinced that the introduction of the test is in line with EU legislation.

So far (as of 26 November 2019), 948 people have participated in the tests. 204 failed and had to surrender their weapons to the police.

Update 2022 to 2025: E-Screener suspended

Since this article was first published in 2019, the E-Screener psychological test used in the Netherlands has come under considerable political and legal pressure.

In July 2022, the Ministry of Justice suspended the use of the E-Screener in proceedings under Dutch weapons and ammunition law with immediate effect. Various expert opinions, criticism from practitioners and significant implementation problems were cited as reasons. Instead of the test, form WM32 has since been used, in which applicants provide written statements on their mental health and other personal circumstances.

Prior to this, courts and external expert assessors had pointed to fundamental weaknesses, such as technical problems, a lack of transparency in the evaluation process, and the fact that such far-reaching psychological assessments cannot meaningfully be fully automated.

A commission appointed by the Dutch Parliament to draft a new Wet wapens en munitie recommended at the end of 2022 that the computer-based mass psychological screening be discontinued and replaced with other means of assessing psychological suitability. The government did not fully follow this recommendation, but stated in July 2023 that the E-Screener should not be permanently abolished, but fundamentally revised and potentially reintroduced in a modified form.

Since 2023 and 2024, the ministry has also been developing a new monitoring strategy for the psychological suitability of firearms owners. The focus is on a combination of questionnaires, reporting systems and individual professional assessments by specialists, rather than a single isolated computer test.

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