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Statutory guidance

Firearms licensing: statutory guidance for police

How police chiefs should carry out checks when assessing someone's suitability to own firearms or become a registered firearms dealer.

Updates to this page

From:
Home Office
Published:
20 October 2021
Last updated:
5 August 2025
Show all updates

  1. The statutory guidance amendments include changes relating to referees, evidence of domestic abuse or other violence, evidence of dishonesty, the balance of probabilities test, police powers to refuse or revoke certificates, out of court disposals, and surrender or seizure of firearms. The amendments are in line with changes to the Firearms Rules 1998.

  2. Updated the statutory guidance with the revised February 2023 version which supersedes the guidance issued in November 2021. The revised guidance includes new sections on social media checks and referees, medical checks and temporary permits for firearms licensing.

  3. Added Welsh versions of 'Statutory guidance for chief officers of police on firearms licensing' and 'Impact assessment: medical checks in the statutory guidance for firearms'.

  4. Added final version of the statutory guidance.

  5. First published.

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Documents

Firearms licensing: statutory guidance for chief officers of police (accessible)

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Firearms licensing: statutory guidance for chief officers of police

PDF, 509 KB, 46 pages

Details

This is the revised version of the statutory guidance which first came into effect on 1 November 2021 and was revised on 14 February 2023.  This version supersedes all previous guidance.

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