Applying for a Firearms
Certificate (FAC)
This page is intended to give prospective
shooters information on the procedures involved in applying for a Firearms
Certificate (FAC) in the United Kingdom. The procedure has been significantly
complicated since the Cullen Inquiry with the introduction of a requirement to
have 2 referees and extra forms for them to complete. However I'm sure we all
want the ownership of firearms to continue in as safe a way as possible and
anyway what's a few forms compared to the enjoyment of shooting as hobby for 5
years!
Only full members of target shooting
clubs or those with permission to shoot over land may apply for a FAC. If your
sole use of firearms is for target shooting then you must remain a member of at
least one target shooting club or the police will no longer consider that you
have a legitimate reason for owning firearms and are likely to revoke your FAC.
The
Application Form (Form 101)
This is the main form and its contents
are prescribed by the Home Office. The form is used for applying for the grant,
renewal or variation of a FAC. Some police forces issued supplementary forms
which ask additional questions but they are not mandatory and do not necessarily
have to be completed. However unless the questions are irrelevant to the issue
of applying for a licence to purchase, own and use firearms and ammunition, my
view is that it is better to complete all forms honestly as it will no doubt
help your application to slip smoothly through the police's administrative
procedures.
Form 101 is issued by your local police
force and can usually be collected from any police station. If supplies are not
available a call to the Firearms Licensing Department (in Humberside this is at
Firearms Licensing Officer, Tower Grange Police Station, Holderness Road, Hull, HU8
9HP, telephone number 01482
597482) will normally get a form posted to you.
The form itself is pale blue and comes in
an A3 sized folded sheet together with 2 'referee' forms (Form 125) in single A4
size. The form should be completed and sent or taken to the Police Firearms
Licensing Department and must be accompanied by 4 identical current photographs
of the applicant (passport size), one of which must be signed on the back in ink
by the applicant. Each of your 2 referees must also sign and date a separate
photograph using the words "I CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A CURRENT TRUE LIKENESS
OF ….." with your name inserted.
You are not entitled to withhold
information about any offence you may have committed. This includes motoring
offences, convictions in places outside the UK and (by virtue of the
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order1975) convictions which
are 'spent' under the 1974 Act. A conditional discharge and an absolute
discharge count as convictions for this purpose.
Suitability
to Possess Firearms
The police must be satisfied that you are
a fit person to be entrusted with firearms without danger to public safety or to
the peace. The police will take into account whether there is any known history
of alcohol, drug or medication abuse, violent of unsociable behavior or mental
or psychiatric disorder. Your referees will be asked to indicate any such
occurrences and mention anything which gives them cause for concern about your
suitability to possess firearms.
If you are applying for the grant of a
FAC you must provide the names and addresses of 2 referees both of whom must
have known you personally for at least 2 years. Referees must be of good
character and members of your immediate family, police officers/employees,
registered firearms dealers or non-UK residents may not act as referees. No
payment may be made for references. (Registered firearms dealers may act as a
referee in the case of a renewal of a FAC where the dealer is an official
of the target club).
Forms 125 must be completed with the
factual details required by the forms and should be passed on to your referees.
Applications for renewal of a FAC must
also be accompanied by 2 references and one of the referees in such cases must
be an official of the approved club named on your FAC.
You can apply at any time to vary your FAC if you want to add a new gun or have a gun you have sold or transferred taken off to regain a 'slot 'for a replacement. One-for-one variations are usually free but there is a charge if you want to add an extra gun(s).
The application must be accompanied by a
cheque for the appropriate fee
Coterminous
FAC & Shotgun Certificate (SGC)
If you also want to possess shotguns for
clay shooting or game/rough shooting You may apply for a coterminous FAC and SGC
in which case the joint fees are reduced if both applications are dealt with at
the same time. (Multi-shot shotguns used in Practical Shotgun disciplines must
be included on a FAC). If you already have a shotgun then the police may try and
persuade you to go for a coterminous certificate. Depending on how long your
shotgun certificate has to run, this may be an economical option anyway.
The Police will undoubtedly require you
to keep guns and ammunition in a British Standard 'Kitemarked' gun safe(s) or in
a properly constructed gun room. Home made cabinets may be acceptable but you
should seek police advice as to construction requirements. Humberside police
expect you to have a British Standard alarm system if you wish to hold more than
9 guns. An alarm is not however a legal requirement. The gun safe must be
securely rawl-bolted to a solid wall of the house and not be in a position which
is readily visible to casual view. Inside a wardrobe, concealed under the stairs
or in a loft are good places. Ammunition must be kept in a separate lockable
metal box, again securely fixed to a wall. Some cabinets have a separate,
lockable section for ammunition.
One thing you absolutely must not do is tell the Police that anyone other than yourself has keys to your safe (unless others in your house have FACs for all of the guns kept inside. A recent case where a solicitor had told his 85 year old mother where he kept a spare key for emergencies resulted in a revocation of his FAC (which he'd held for many years) by the police which was upheld following an appeal.
This is a link to the British Shooting Sports page regarding Home Office Guidance regarding the security of firearms. It makes good reading and will probably answer any queries you might have.
There is no legal limit to how many guns
and ammunition you may apply for. However, the greater the quantity then the
greater will be the necessity to justify your requests to the police. I usually
advise new applicants to be realistic and put down what guns they are likely to
buy in the 5 years duration of the FAC and quantities of ammunition which are
economical to purchase but are reasonable.
For our Club, I usually advise applicants
to put down a carbine rifle (i.e. one chambered for pistol ammunition such as
.357 magnum, .44 magnum such as a Winchester or Marlin underlever), a .22 rifle
(perhaps 2 as a semi-automatic may be required for 'action' disciplines and a
bolt-action may be more appropriate for precision target shooting) a
muzzle-loading pistol and muzzle-loading revolver. We can also shoot large
calibre centre-fire rifles at our affiliated club (Killingholme Full Bore Club)
and it would therefore be in order to put down for a .303, 7.62mm, or .270 rifle
etc.
You will have to enter the quantity of
ammunition you wish to hold and also the quantity you wish to purchase at any
one time. You could, for example, put down 1,200 .22s to 'hold' and 1000 to
'buy' (discounts are not likely to be offered on quantities under 1000 and some
dealers may look for purchases of 5000 before reducing their prices!). For
centrefire ammunition I usually ask for 800 to hold and 500 to buy.
Black powder can only be bought and stored if you have an Explosives Certificate and a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) "Recipient Competent Authority Transfer Document" (these are free at present but must be applied for on forms obtainable from the police - Pyrodex (a black powder substitute) can be obtained without any certification. You may only store a maximum of 30 kilos of powder but as it is relatively expensive, doesn't have an indefinite shelf life and is potentially dangerous, this shouldn't worry you at all. It is worth bearing in mind however that the 30 Kg total would also include any powder in loaded rounds and/or shotgun cartridges and even in primers!
Storage of black powder is best in a
lockable wooden box and Humberside Police are happy for the box to be portable
so in the event of fire it could be taken outside. I feel it is advisable that
the box should be kept out of view and most certainly out of the reach of
children - which of course goes for all firearms and related equipment.
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