Avoiding the pitfalls when getting your shotgun licence

We can’t change the licensing process, but we can change how we navigate it. Whether you’re waiting to finally purchase your first over-and-under or helping a friend join us on the stands, the goal is efficiency.

Based on the countless hours we’ve spent liaising with licensing departments and watching applications stall or fail over easily avoidable errors, here’s our blueprint to streamline the process and avoid the common pitfalls.

The single most common drag on any application ahead of submission is the medical pro-forma. By law, your local police force requires a verified report from a GMC-registered doctor to go along with your application.

Like it or loathe it, it’s here to stay – and actually rather sensible.

If you hand the medical pro-forma to your NHS GP, it can sit on a dusty desk for months. Many practices de-prioritise firearms licensing paperwork because it is considered non-NHS work. Some have even been known to simply refuse to complete them because of their personal views – legally this doesn’t stack but there we go…

The insider route: You aren’t obligated to use your own GP practice. You can use a specialised, independent online medical service that deals exclusively with firearms medicals. For a reasonable fee, these services will request your medical records directly from your GP, who cannot refuse to oblige, and sign off your pro-forma within days rather than weeks or months.

Once your submission goes in, don’t wait for your local Firearms Enquiry Officer (FEO) to call you to set up a home visit. Get down the gun shop straightaway and buy the damn cabinet.

Trot off home and get ‘on the tools‘ fixing it securely to the fabric of your house, ideally a brick wall, using the manufacturer supplied fixings.

FEO’s are stretched (a topic for another day) so once your application is in they’ll more than likely only call you on the morning of the day they’re looking to visit or the night before.

Either way, if your cabinet is still sitting in its cardboard box in the hallway or worse, still in the shop, your application will go straight to the bottom of the pile. You might even get a small mental note in the FEO’s mind against you.

A few quick install and visit tips while we’re on the subject:

• Location: Out of sight – FEO’s love it when the cabinet cannot be seen by passersby and visitors. Places like under the stairs, inside a built-in wardrobe or in a loft space tick the boxes. Just think of places residents don’t go and start there.
• Test: When the officer visits, they will physically push and pull the cabinet pretty hard to test its anchors. If there is even a millimetre of play, you’ll fail – make sure it’s rock solid. If there are gaps behind it where a crowbar can wedge in, that’ll fail too. Tight to the wall and as solid as can be will pass.
• Keys/code: Keep the codes and keys entirely to yourself. The FEO might ask where you intend to keep the keys and if you suggest a drawer where your partner, family or housemates have access it won’t go down well. Nor does keeping them on your keyring either. We like key-coded safes for double protection but you’ll still have backup keys which will need a place.

We heard of someone who installed their first cabinet on a stud wall and when the FEO gave it good tug, not only did the cabinet come away but it brought the plasterboard with it! Suffice to say the FEO nor homeowner were  impressed.

One left the house thinking “did they read the install guidance?” and the other stood there wondering “who’s that chap down the pub that does plastering?“.

Double-loss.

Your referee (or two, depending on your postcode) is not just a character witness, they’re a crucial cog in the administrative machine.

They must be a resident of Great Britain, have known you personally for at least two years and be of good standing. Professionals always go down well – directors, lawyers , etc.

The mistake some shooters make is choosing a well-meaning friend who’s notoriously bad at answering the phone and/or replying to emails. Before you submit their details, sit down with them and explain that the police will contact them and a slow or missed response from them directly translates to a longer wait for you.

Choose someone organised, contactable and prepared to answer the phone when an unknown number gives them a call.

When you apply for your license it’s all about testing you for suitability. Lacking candour, integrity and simply skipping over the truth gets you a heavy boot out of the process or at least gets you a proper grilling beyond what you may feel is necessary, but with good cause.

Remember, the police already know all the answers – don’t think for a minute they don’t. The sole reason they ask stuff they already know is to check how honest and reliable you are. That’s the simple truth.

Convictions, cautions, fixed penalty notices – including speeding tickets – all matter. Our rule is “if in doubt, write it out“.

The same goes for anything medically related, they’ve got access to everything so take your time and detail it all.

Even things from ten years ago are might be relevant so list them, let the police decide on the absolute relevance.

It’s well documented that the UK licensing system is dated and very under-resourced. You just to have to work with it right now.

That said, it’s still intended to be a thorough process with public safety at its core. So think what you like of the current operating practice – the administrative engine of people and computers always reacts best to absolute perfection.

By submitting a flawless, fully prepared and detailed application with a pre-completed medical report, you remove the easy reasons the licensing department has to delay or throw out your application.

Remember, owning a shotgun is not a right, it’s a privilege and therefore the process is there to decide whether you’re worthy in all regards of having such privilege.

And once the certificate finally lands in your hands, the effort and wait is immediately worthwhile.

The only decision left is which shotgun feels right in your hands? Back off to the shop again…