Applying for the grant of a
shotgun certificate
Applications for the grant of a shotgun certificate must be made, to the Chief Officer of police, for the area in which you reside.
They must be made on the prescribed form 103. These can be obtained either from the Firearms Licensing Department, a local police station or downloaded from this site.
Most of the questions on this form are straight forward, but a few have caused confusion with some applicants.
Part A - includes questions 1-16 and relate to personal details.
Q4: “Other names” – Married women should include their maiden name. If you have changed your name by deed poll you must include your previous name here.
Q6: Always include your full address including post code and home telephone number. Please note that this must be your permanent place of residence; business addresses, hotels, clubs or other temporary addresses can not be accepted.
Q12: Always include a day time telephone number and/or mobile number in order that we can contact you if there is a query and also in order that you can be contacted to arrange an appointment if necessary. This could prevent a lengthy delay.
Q14: This question often raises problems and causes delay. Please read the notes on the back of the application form relating to this question.
Remember you must declare all convictions, no matter how trivial or how long ago they occurred. This includes traffic convictions and offences committed outside the UK.
Part B - refers to details of shotguns and storage.