Last week the Government Home office, made a number of changes to the license fees for firearm and shotgun certificates.
The increases vary between 111% and 157% increases on the current fee structure – far beyond compound inflation since 2014, when the fee structure was last updated.
These changes were completed without any consultation with stakeholders or the public, this order lacks any mention of service level improvements, the calculation of costs, acknowledgment of the significantly rising mandated medical proforma costs for licensees, or any mention of the extension of the license period from five to ten years, which is made possible by the introduction of new medical markers.
The new fee structure, which comes into effect on 5 February 2025 and is broken down in this table:
From 5th February 2025 the new fees will be:
| Licence type | Fee for full-cost recovery |
|---|---|
| Grant of firearms certificate | £198 |
| Renewal of firearm certificate | £131 |
| Grant of shotgun certificate | £194 |
| Renewal of shotgun certificate | £126 |
| Coterminous grant of firearm and shotgun certificates | £202 |
| Coterminous renewal of firearm and shotgun certificates | £155 |
| Registration as a firearms dealer: grant | £466 |
| Registration as a firearms dealer: renewal | £466 |
| Registration as a firearms dealer: game fair etc | £30 |
| Replacement of lost or destroyed firearms certificate | £9 |
| Replacement of lost or destroyed shotgun certificate | £9 |
| Variation of firearm certificate (not like for like) | £47 |
| Grant of visitors permit: group | £233 |
| Grant of visitors permit: individual | £47 |
Martin Watkins Chair of Welsh Target Shooting Federation says:
''’The WTSF are disappointed that our athletes, many of whom are training for Olympic and Commonwealth events, are forced to pay these inflated costs in order to represent their country.
Increases of up to 157% the cost of shotgun and firearms certificates is going to have a significant financial impact on athletes taking part in our sport. We argue that if the government wants to recover the cost of firearms licensing, it must be for an efficient system that delivers for our athletes and the public. This is not the case with the current firearms licensing system with processing of licence renewal often taking many months with the separate licensing authorities some of which are providing an appalling service.”
Link to circular – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/circular-0012025-firearms-variation-of-fees-order-2025/circular-0012025-firearms-variation-of-fees-order-2025
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