Can You Own a Gun in England? Licenses, Costs, and Storage

Yes, you can own a gun in England, but only if the police grant you a certificate first, and only for certain types of firearm. Ownership is treated as a privilege granted case by case under the Firearms Act 1968, not a right. You have to show a legitimate reason for wanting the gun, pass background and medical checks, arrange secure storage, and accept that self-defence will not be accepted as a reason. Handguns and automatic weapons are banned outright for civilians.

What You Can Legally Own

England runs a two-certificate system, and which one you need depends on the weapon.

Rifles and Other Section 1 Firearms

A Firearm Certificate covers rifles, certain long-barrelled pistols, and anything that isn’t a shotgun or a prohibited weapon. The certificate names each firearm you’re allowed to hold and caps the ammunition you can keep at any one time. Adding a new gun means asking the police to vary the certificate before you buy.

Shotguns

A separate Shotgun Certificate covers smoothbore guns with a barrel of at least 24 inches and a bore no larger than 2 inches. The gun must have either no magazine or a fixed magazine holding no more than two cartridges.1Parliament. Minutes of Evidence: Select Committee on Home Affairs Pump-action and semi-automatic shotguns with bigger magazines fall under the Firearm Certificate route instead, and some are banned entirely.

Air Weapons

Most air rifles and air pistols sit outside the certificate system altogether, provided they stay under the power limits: 12 foot-pounds of muzzle energy for a rifle, 6 foot-pounds for a pistol.2GOV.UK. Air Weapons: A Brief Guide to Safety Above those thresholds, the weapon needs a Firearm Certificate or is prohibited. Below one joule, it isn’t classed as a firearm at all.

Antique Firearms

Antiques are exempt from the certificate system, but the definition is narrower than most people expect. The firearm has to have been made before 1 September 1939, use an obsolete propulsion system or cartridge type (muzzle-loading, pin-fire, needle-fire, and others listed in the Antique Firearms Regulations 2021), and be held as a curiosity or ornament.3GOV.UK. Antique Firearms Regulations 2021 and the Policing and Crime Act 2017 If you want to fire it, you need a certificate.

What You Cannot Own

Section 5 of the Firearms Act 1968 bans several categories outright. No civilian certificate reaches them; possession requires written authority from the Home Secretary, which is granted only in narrow situations such as approved museums and specialist dealers. The prohibited categories include:

  • Automatic firearms — anything that fires more than one round on a single trigger pull.
  • Most handguns, meaning any firearm with a barrel under 30 cm or an overall length under 60 cm, with narrow exceptions for muzzle-loading pistols and signalling devices.
  • Self-loading and pump-action rifles, except those chambered for .22 rimfire.
  • Self-loading and pump-action shotguns below the length thresholds (excluding .22 rimfire and air weapons).
  • Rocket launchers, mortars, grenades, and explosive ammunition.
  • Disguised firearms — any gun made to look like another object.
  • Bump stocks that use recoil energy to increase rate of fire.4Legislation.gov.uk. Firearms Act 1968, Section 5

Proving a Good Reason

The single biggest hurdle in any application is showing what the law calls a “good reason” to own the firearm. Vague answers sink applications.

Target shooting is the most common accepted reason. You’ll need to demonstrate active membership in a Home Office approved shooting club, which gives you a lawful, supervised place to use the weapon. Most clubs put new members through a probationary period shooting with club-owned guns before they’ll back a certificate application.

Pest control and wildlife management on land you own or have written permission to use are also accepted, but the police will want specifics: what pests, on what land, and why a firearm is the right tool. A farmer dealing with foxes has a straightforward case. Someone with a suburban garden does not.

Self-defence is not accepted. This is one of the sharpest differences between English and American law, and the Home Office and courts have held that line consistently. Personal protection is not a good reason for a firearms certificate in England.

How the Application Works

You apply through your local police force’s firearms licensing unit. The form covers your personal history, medical background, your reasons for wanting a firearm, and where you plan to store it.

Referees

Both Firearm and Shotgun Certificate applications now need two referees. Shotgun applicants used to need only one; that changed recently. Each referee must have known you personally for at least two years with reasonable contact during that time, and cannot be an immediate family member, a serving police officer, a police employee, or a registered firearms dealer.5Greater Manchester Police. Firearms Application Guidance Notes Police will contact them and may interview them.

Background and Medical Checks

The police search criminal records and intelligence databases, and they contact your GP for a medical report. You pay the GP’s fee, which is not covered by the NHS. There’s no fixed government rate, so charges vary between practices.

The Home Visit

For a first-time application, a firearms enquiry officer will visit your home before any certificate is granted. The officer interviews you about your reasons, assesses your suitability, and inspects your storage.6GOV.UK. Firearms Licensing: Statutory Guidance for Chief Officers of Police Further visits after that first grant are at police discretion.

What It Costs

Licensing fees rose in February 2025 under the Firearms (Variation of Fees) Order 2025. The current fees paid to the police are:

On top of the licence fee, budget for the GP report and a gun cabinet if you don’t already own one. A first-time applicant can easily spend several hundred pounds before buying a firearm.

How You Have to Store It

Every certificate holder must keep firearms and ammunition secure whenever they’re not in use. In practice that means a steel gun cabinet bolted to a solid wall. Cabinets should conform to BS 7558, the British Standard the Home Office’s Firearms Security Handbook uses as its benchmark.8Home Office. Firearms Security Handbook 2020 Only authorised people should have access to the keys, and the police look closely at households with children.

Ammunition for Section 1 firearms must also be stored securely, and your certificate caps how much you can hold. Shotgun cartridges have no legal quantity limit but still have to be kept secure. Poor storage can cost you the certificate and the guns.

Age Rules

No one under 18 can buy or hire any firearm, shotgun, air weapon, or ammunition in England. Below that, the rules vary by weapon:9Metropolitan Police. Age Restrictions for Firearm and Shotgun Certificates

  • A person aged 14 or over can possess a rifle and ammunition on a Firearm Certificate. Under 14, possession is limited to supervised settings such as approved clubs and cadet corps.
  • A person aged 15 or over can possess an assembled shotgun. Under 15, they can only carry one under supervision of someone aged 21 or over, or with it in a securely fastened cover so it can’t be fired.
  • Air weapons are generally off-limits under 18, with exceptions for supervised private-land use with the landowner’s permission, approved clubs, and cadet corps.

Where a certificate holder is under 18, an adult must take responsibility for storage. For air weapons around under-18s, the Firearms (Air Weapons) Rules 2023 require the weapon to be stored securely, out of sight of anyone under 18, and kept apart from compatible ammunition when not in use.10GOV.UK. The Storage of Air Weapons in Relation to Under 18s

Keeping the Certificate

Firearm and Shotgun Certificates last five years. Renewal means fresh background checks and another fee.11House of Commons Library – UK Parliament. Firearms Licensing Letting a certificate lapse while you still hold firearms is a criminal offence, so mark the date well in advance.

You must tell the police if you change address. That’s a legal duty under the Firearms Act 1968, not a courtesy. Selling, transferring, or otherwise disposing of a firearm has to be reported too. Police can inspect your storage at any point, and if your circumstances change in a way that affects suitability, they can revoke the certificate.

Penalties for Getting It Wrong

The penalties for illegal possession in England are among the harshest in Europe, and this is one area where not knowing the rules will not save you.

For a prohibited weapon under Section 5, the court must impose a minimum of five years’ imprisonment on anyone aged 18 or over. Only exceptional circumstances can bring the sentence below that, and the bar is high. Offenders aged 16 or 17 face a minimum of three years.12Sentencing Council. Firearms – Possession of Prohibited Weapon The minimums apply to first-time offenders and cannot be dropped below the floor even for a guilty plea.

Possessing a Section 1 firearm without a valid certificate carries up to five years’ imprisonment. Even lesser offences, such as carrying an air weapon in public without lawful authority or breaching certificate conditions, can bring significant fines and a criminal record.

If Your Application Is Refused

If the police refuse your application or revoke a certificate, you can appeal to the Crown Court. The appeal has to be lodged within 21 days of the decision letter, filed with your local Crown Court and copied to the police firearms licensing team.

The appeal isn’t a review of the police’s reasoning. The court hears the case fresh, normally a Circuit Judge sitting with two lay magistrates, and reaches its own decision on the merits. You can bring new evidence to the hearing, such as medical reports and character references, that wasn’t part of the original application. Legal aid is not available for firearms appeals, so you’ll need to pay for representation or appear in person.