The Firearms (Amendment) Rules 2016

Made: 22nd March 2016

Coming into force: 1st April 2016

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 26A(1), 26B(1) and 53 of the Firearms Act 1968[^f00001], makes the following Rules.

Citation and commencement

1

These Rules may be cited as the Firearms (Amendment) Rules 2016 and come into force on 1st April 2016.

Amendment to the Firearms Rules 1998

2

The Firearms Rules 1998[^f00002] are amended as follows.

3

In rule 5(1) (shotgun certificates), omit the words “and, in the case of an application for renewal, shall be accompanied by the certificate to be renewed if it is available”.

4

In Schedule 1 (form of application for firearm and shotgun certificates, and firearm certificate)—

• (a) for the form in Part I (application for the grant or renewal of a firearm or shotgun certificate), substitute the form in Schedule 1 to these Rules (application for the grant or renewal of a firearm or shotgun certificate);

• (b) for the form in Part IV (application to vary a firearm certificate), substitute the form in Schedule 2 to these Rules (application to vary a firearm certificate).

General

5

An application for a firearm certificate or a shotgun certificate may continue to be made using an application form which is replaced by virtue of rule 4(a) if it is received by the chief officer of police for the area in which the applicant resides on or before 1st June 2016.

6

An application to vary a firearm certificate may continue to be made using an application form which is replaced by virtue of rule 4(b) if it is received by the chief officer of police for the area in which the applicant resides on or before 1st June 2016.

SCHEDULE 1 — Application for the grant or renewal of a firearm or shotgun certificate

SCHEDULE 2 — Application to vary a firearm certificate

Signed

Mike Penning — Minister of State — Home Office — 22nd March 2016

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Rules)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Rules make a number of amendments to the Firearms Rules 1998 (S.I. 1998/1941).

Rule 3 amends Rule 5 of the Firearms Rules 1998 in order to remove the requirement for an application for renewal of a shotgun certificate to be accompanied by that certificate.

Rule 4 replaces the existing prescribed forms for applications for the grant or renewal of a firearm or shotgun certificate and for applications to vary a firearm certificate. These changes have been made in order to make the forms easier for an applicant to understand and reflect a new approach to ascertaining an applicant’s medical fitness to hold a firearm or shotgun certificate.

Rules 5 and 6 make provision to enable chief officers to process applications which are made using the old forms that are to be replaced, provided that the application concerned is received on or before 1st June 2016.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1968 c. 27. Sections 26A and 26B were substituted for section 26 as originally enacted by section 37 of the Firearms Amendment Act 1997 (c. 5). There are other amendments to the Firearms Act 1968 which are not relevant to these Rules.

[^f00002]: S.I. 1998/1941. Rule 5 has been amended, but those amendments are not relevant to these Rules. Schedule 1 was amended by S.I. 2010/1759, 2013/1945, 2013/2970 and 2014/1239.