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Actual Laser Laws by Country

New Zealand has prohibited the import/possession >1mW without a permit

In December 2013, the Government introduced new controls to manage the health and safety risks from high-power laser pointers.

There are two main risks from high-power laser pointers.

People may not be aware of the potential harm these devices can cause and inadvertently shine them in their own eyes or other people’s eyes.
People maliciously (or ignorantly) shine them at vehicles such as aircraft and dazzle the pilot. Even when shone from several hundred meters away high-power laser pointers can dazzle and cause temporary flash blindness. Distracting or dazzling a pilot in this way for instance, is a serious aviation safety risk, particularly during critical phases of flight such as during critical phases of flight such as during take-off and/or landing. Car drivers, cyclists, and ship crews are also at risk if dazzled by high-power laser pointers.

The new controls cover the importation, supply and acquisition of high-power laser pointers.

The Custom Import Prohibition (High-power Laser Pointers) Order 2013 restricts the importation of high-power laser pointers to those people who have obtained authorisation to import them from the Director-General of Health.

To get permission to import high-power laser pointers people have to apply to the Director-General of Health using the Application Form (Word, 143 KB). More information is provided on the Questions and answers page.

Health (High-power Laser Pointers) Regulations 2013 restrict the sale/supply of high-power laser pointers to those who are authorised suppliers and also restricts the acquisition of such devices to those who are authorised recipients.

To become an authorised supplier or an authorised recipient of a high-power laser pointer you need to apply to the Director-General of Health using the Application Form (Word, 143 KB). More information is provided on the Questions and answers page.

The new regulations came into force on 1 March 2014

The controls only apply to laser pointers with an output power of greater than 1 milliwatt.

The new regulations do not ban laser pointers outright. They impose controls on the supply chain and people are required to justify why they need the higher power devices (as opposed to a lower power laser pointer).
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High-power laser pointers | Ministry of Health NZ
 





Garoq said:
Basically the FDA does not want anyone to SELL handheld lasers or complete handheld laser "kits" over 5mW output in the US. It doesn't matter if the handheld laser has the safety features or not.

It is perfectly legal to build them yourself from parts however.
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Where do those 2.5W laser engraver kits China is hosing out land according to the law?
 
av8r1 said:
Where do those 2.5W laser engraver kits China is hosing out land according to the law?
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Being kits they most likely fall under the OEM regulations. The FDA have bigger fish to fry anyway. They're more worried about cheap eBay laser pointers and "DJs" using imported non-compliant laser projectors to do unsafe public laser shows. Not to mention other un-certified/non-compliant laser devices that are being imported.
 
Say someone is threatening me with a gun or knife. Would it be justified to blind them with a powerful laser and run?
 
ChemChaos said:
Are you trying to get a rise out of me?
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Are you trying to get a rise out of everyone on LPF with :
ChemChaos said:
Say someone is threatening me with a gun or knife. Would it be justified to blind them with a powerful laser and run?
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The question lacks even the most common, common sense and regard for human life.
What Country in your daydream world allows people to legally/justifiably blind people with lasers for any reason?

Blinding weapons are even illegal for use in a war against an enemy --107 nations have signed the Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protocol_on_Blinding_Laser_Weapons
 
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Encap said:
Are you trying to get a rise out of everyone on LPF with :


The question lacks even the most common, common sense and regard for human life.
What Country in your daydream world allows people to legally/justifiably blind people with lasers for any reason?

Blinding weapons are even illegal for use in a war against an enemy --107 nations have signed the Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protocol_on_Blinding_Laser_Weapons
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So what you are telling me is

If someone pointed a GUN at you putting your life in danger, and you had a laser, you would just stand there and accept the attacker?

Edit: Ah, I see. That is why I asked the question: Because I didn't know the answer. So thank you for that wikipedia article.
 
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ChemChaos said:
If someone pointed a GUN at you putting your life in danger, and you had a laser, you would just stand there and accept the attacker?
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What's a laser going to do other than confuse them and make them more volatile? If anything they'll just start popping off rounds in random directions.

If you live in a country where guns are legal, get a gun to defend yourself. If not, you probably don't have much to worry about.
 
diachi said:
What's a laser going to do other than confuse them and make them more volatile? If anything they'll just start popping off rounds in random directions.

If you live in a country where guns are legal, get a gun to defend yourself. If not, you probably don't have much to worry about.
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That is a good point. Lasers wouldn't be a super good defense mechanism.
 
ChemChaos said:
That is a good point. Lasers wouldn't be a super good defense mechanism.
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No, they wouldn't. Good deterrence for people out of firearms range, but that's about it.

Seriously, read the other threads on this subject. It's all been discussed already.
 
Hello. I'm korean laserpointer entrepreneur.

In Korea, related regulations are designated as "Safety Management Regulations for Industrial Products" and are divided into detailed legal provisions.

Among these contents, those related to the regulations designated as "portable laser equipment".

This provision has been constantly changing to become very complex and demanding over the years. (even in 2021!)

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According to the recently revised regulations... From 2022 onwards, it is necessary to prove that the product was sold for business, military, industrial, and research purposes, and it is foreseen that it will be amended to “must not be sold to general consumers.”
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This is considered very reasonable. Sell exactly to those who really need it. However, do not indiscriminately sell dangerous goods to the general consumer!
 
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