How to get a Shotgun License UK

Amidst the Corona chaos brutally ravaging the UK, lots of people are thinking about what to do next. "Now COVID is here, I've got time to think about what I want. And I've wanted to blast shotguns for a long time." Stripped of the daily grind, now is a great time for you to slam in your application.

And you can get rolling by reading the raw instructions on your application right here. But let’s clear up one thing first. It’s your right to a certificate. It’s for the police to find reason as to why you can’t have one.

As long as:

(1) You give a good reason to own one

Now, on with the action.

1. You need a shotgun certificate before you can buy the gun. Like most licensing laws in the UK, those for firearms can be time consuming and prohibitive. But you gotta work with the system as you find it.

2. Look up your local 5-O. Their website will talk you through the granular on anything relevant to your administrative area. Some forces run a digital operation - you can slip in an application online. Others want a hard copy mailed to them.

3. The British state is a smart beast and won’t handle your docs for free. They gotta break even on this, bear min. The charge is £79.50. (Why not £79.55? Why not £80.00? I would if I was running the show.)

4. When you’ve got the forms, fill them in. Don’t fuck it up because you’re probably going to have to print a blank off and start again.  

5. Anyone who might unload on themselves or others should not have a firearm. To this end there’s a meaty section on your health status. You need to declare any mental health problems, stress-related illness, cancer, heart problems, alcoholism, brain-related diseases.

6. Next up - a chunk on previous convictions. If you’ve behaved like a bell-end in the past, this could come back to haunt you. If you’ve been locked up for three years or more, you can’t have a gun. If it was between three month and three years - you can’t have one from five years from date of release.

7. Now you need to supply a counter-signatory. This individual must have known you for two years, min. No police officers, police civvies, firearms dealers. They also need to be legit, with an honest and responsible reputation.  

8. Get a passport-photo of yourself. Send this, your completed forms, and your payment to the address provisioned to you by the Po.
   

You're done with the first steps.

If you clear the first hurdle - you’re now onto the infamous visit from the firearms licensing officer. The officer needs to be satisfied that you are procuring a shotgun for bonafide reasons. And so they will visit your abode and have a chat with you.

Shooting sports are a legitimate reason to own a shotgun.

There’s a buy decision you’ll need to make at this point. You can source and install a firearms cabinet in advance of the Fed’s visit. Or you can wait and get it sorted later. The decision hinges on whether you want to shell out ahead of your police approval.

If you get a legally-compliant cabinet and get it properly installed - you will save time if the police clear you on their first visit. The police talk with you, take a look at the cabinet, make their decision and then post your certificate. They don’t need to come back.  

However - if you don’t get clearance - and you’ve purchased the cabinet already - you’ll have to rip out and offload onto eBay or some other secondary market. Bolt nut marks, scuffs and other defects will degrade its value.

If you hold off on the cabinet buy, but make the grade for the license - the Po will return a second time to check the cabinet is compliant and installed correctly. Then you’ll get the certificate.

Police forces right now are snowed with malicious infectors, social distance enforcement activity, and protection of food distribution assets. This means they're mega busy. But if you slip in your application now - you may just get your approval in time for the summer.