Firearms licensing: Shotgun certificates
Renewal of a Shotgun Certificate
Shotgun certificates normally last for five years, the exception being when the holder voluntarily chooses to surrender it when applying for the grant of a firearm certificate in order to obtain a coterminous shotgun certificate.
If your shotgun certificate runs its full term, then about 6-8 weeks before its expiry date, you should receive a notice of renewal, complete with application form.
This of course depends on certain factors, particularly if you have moved house and not informed us! In such circumstances we cannot possibly remind you.
The onus of responsibility for renewal of your certificate, rests with you. The fact that we did not or were unable to get a reminder to you, or that it got lost in the post, is not an acceptable excuse for failing to renew on time.
If you have not received a renewal notice within the four weeks prior to your current certificate's expiry date, you must contact your local Firearms Team, or obtain a renewal form from your local police station.
Should your current certificate expire before you apply for a renewal, you may well be committing the serious offence of being in possession of unlicensed weapons. You may also have to apply for a grant, at extra cost, instead of a renewal. If you find yourself in this position you should contact your Firearms Team immediately for advice.
If all is well and you receive your renewal application, you will discover that it is the same Form 103 as for a grant application. Help on completing this form can be found under that section.
Please return your application for renewal as soon as possible, and certainly before the expiry date. Remember to include the correct fee and your four photographs correctly endorsed by your countersignature.
Depending on circumstances, if you submit your application in good time, you should receive your new certificate before your old one expires. Common sense dictates that those certificate holders who have not been visited by the police on their previous renewal, should be visited now. Considering the life of a certificate to be five years, it is not too excessive to ask to check your security after this period of time.
Please be sure to include full details of all the shotguns you possess, including serial numbers. The details that you supply us, should match the details held on our computer records, providing you have always informed us of the disposal and acquisition of each shotgun.
If these records do not tally, then it is inevitable that we will be making further enquiries. It is an important duty of the police to keep track of all licensed weapons thus helping to ensure that they do not fall into the wrong hands.
Should it be deemed necessary to visit, one of our Enquiry Officers will contact you to arrange an appointment. If he/she finds that all is in order then your new certificate will be forwarded to you. Should there be a discrepancy either in your security or some other matter, then you will be notified, and usually given ample opportunity to put it right. When the problem is resolved, your new certificate will be issued.
Your renewed certificate will show all the shotguns you currently possess in Table 1 on the front; and include those you acquired during the lifetime of the old certificate (and still possess), which were entered in Table 2 on the back.