Short guide to firearms licensing

The UK has some of the strictest gun laws in the world. People who want to own guns for legitimate reasons (for sport or as part of the rural economy) must get a licence from the police. The use of firearms in crime is taken very seriously and firearms offences carry heavy penalties.

The law on firearms

The law governing firearms regulation in the UK is very complex. It includes several pieces of primary and secondary legislation. The legislative framework has been criticised for being incoherent and difficult to find.

The Law Commission (the independent body responsible for reviewing the law) published a review of firearms law in 2015 and recommended it be codified so that the legislation is clear, consistent and can be understood by ordinary people. It also recommended several key terms be defined by new legislation. Part 6 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017 went some way to implementing the Law Commission’s recommendations to define key terms but stopped short of codifying the law.

The Home Office maintains a collection of resources relating to firearms licensing, including the Statutory guidance for police on firearms licensing which helps police chiefs carry out checks when assessing someone’s suitability to own firearms or become a registered firearms dealer and the Home Office guide to firearms licensing law which is designed to educate the police, gun owners and the public about firearms law.

Firearms statistics

As of March 2024, there were 147,364 firearm certificates and 495,798 shotgun certificates issued in England and Wales. In total, 510,717 individuals in England and Wales held either a firearm or shotgun certificate in March 2024.

The use of firearms in crime is relatively rare in England and Wales. There were 5,252 offences involving a firearm (not including air weapons) in the year ending December 2024. This was a decrease of 20% from the year ending December 2023.

22 homicide victims were killed by shooting in the year ending March 2024. This is equivalent to 4% of all homicides and is seven fewer than the previous year.

Licensing

Firearms licensing is managed locally by police forces. People wanting to get a firearms licence must apply directly to their local police force.

Police forces in England, Scotland and Wales are required to follow Home Office statutory guidance on firearms licensing when making decisions about whether to grant a firearms license

The process for obtaining a shotgun certificate is simpler than for other firearms, due to shotguns having legitimate uses such as “helping farmers control vermin on their land and in rural pursuits” as well as “clay pigeon shooting and sporting pursuits”.

Police decision-makers must satisfy themselves that the applicant can be entrusted with a firearm, has good reason to own one, and will not cause danger to public safety. Public safety is expected to be the main consideration for the police before issuing a licence.

Firearms licences must be renewed every five years but between this time police forces are expected to continually monitor license owners to ensure they still meet the criteria to own a firearm.

The police can revoke a license at any time if they deem that the individual is no longer fit to own a firearm and the courts also have powers to cancel licenses in certain circumstances.

Licensing fees increased in February 2025 for the first time since 2015. The cost of a firearms certificate increased from £88 to £198 and the cost of a shotgun certificate increased from £79.50 to £194 (a £144% rise).

Calls to change firearms licensing laws

There have been calls to change firearms licensing laws following the Plymouth shootings in August 2021, in which five people were shot and killed by a licensed shotgun owner.

In a preventing future deaths report, the Senior Coroner for Plymouth, Torbay and South Devon, Ian Arrow, called for a “root and branch” reform to firearms licensing laws, stating that the Firearms Act was at “odds with public safety and the fundamental principle that owning a gun is a privilege and not a right.”

Mr Arrow recommended that the government should:

• align the licensing regime for shotguns with other firearms,
• review the length of time firearm certificates are granted for, and
• introduce a new power for the police to search a certificate holder’s house enabling immediate seizure of firearms, shotguns and ammunition.

Government position on calls to change firearms licensing laws

In February 2025, the Labour government issued a formal response to the consultation on recommendations the Home Office had received about changes to firearms legislation.

The Labour government committed to consult further on aligning shotgun and firearms licensing “later this year” to:

look again at the differences in the controls and whether it is sensible, in order to address the risks that shotguns and firearms present if misused, to consider greater alignment of the controls.

Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance campaign group, has described the proposals to align shotgun and firearms licensing as “draconian and unreasonable” and that “this is clearly a policy designed to reduce gun ownership by making it restrictive, expensive and bureaucratic.”

Superintendent Steven Duncan, Head of National Firearms and Explosives Licensing for Police Scotland, previously spoke in support of aligning shotgun and firearms licensing, telling the Scottish Affairs Committee that this would make the process “consistent and clear for everyone”.