Briefing on Section 7 Permits and
Section 28B Extensions

Section 7 permits

A police permit issued under Section 7 of the Firearms Act 1968 allows a person to have in their possession a shotgun or a firearm without holding a valid certificate. Such a permit also allows for the possession of ammunition, subject to the provisions of Section 1 of the above Act, providing the ammunition is listed on the permit.

The permit allows the purchase of ammunition for a shotgun but not the purchase of ammunition for a firearm, subject to the provisions of Section 1. 

The relevant legislation allowing the purchase of ammunition for a shotgun is listed below.

Restriction on sale of ammunition for smooth-bore guns

This section applies to ammunition not covered by Section 1 of the principal Act, which is capable of being used in a shotgun or in a smooth-bore gun:

  1. It is an offence for a person to sell any such ammunition to another person in the United Kingdom who is neither a registered firearms dealer nor a person who sells such ammunition by way of trade or business unless that other person:
    • (a) produces a certificate authorising him/her to possess a gun of a kind mentioned in subsection (1) above; or
    • (b) shows that he/she is by virtue of that Act or this Act entitled to have possession of such a gun without holding a certificate; or
    • (c) produces a certificate authorising another person to possess such a gun, together with that person’s written authority to purchase the ammunition on his/her behalf.
  2. An offence under this section shall be punishable on summary conviction with imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or a fine, not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or both.

A number of forces are currently using Section 7 permits, due to applicants’ certificates expiring prior to their renewal. This is not the primary intended purpose for the permit. As a result, BASC has seen problems with this approach, particularly relating to attached conditions.

Section 7 permits are often issued to relatives of a deceased person to allow the sale of firearms as part of an estate. Because of this they are often conditioned with provisions such as, “The firearms may not be used” or “The firearms must be stored in secure conditions at all times.” Obviously, such conditions are not appropriate for anyone wishing to continue to use their firearms and should not be added.

Section 28B

Section 28B was introduced under the Policing and Crime Act 2017 in order to give forces more leeway in the renewal of certificates.

Essentially, if the certificate holder applies more than eight weeks in advance of the expiry of their certificate (with all appropriate paperwork in order), the certificate’s life is automatically extended by eight weeks. The relevant legislation is shown below.

Section 28B certificates: limited extension
  1. This section applies where:
    • (a) an application is made for the renewal of a certificate on or before the day which falls eight weeks before the day at the end of which the certificate is due to expire, but;
    • (b) the chief officer of police does not determine whether or not to grant the application before the certificate is due to expire.
  2. The certificate continues in force by virtue of this subsection until whichever of the following events occurs first:
    • (a) the chief officer determines whether or not to grant the application;
    • (b) the extension period ends.
  3. In subsection 2, “the extension period” means the period of eight weeks, beginning with the day after the day at the end of which the certificate was due to expire.
  4. If the event mentioned in subsection 2a occurs first, and the chief officer grants the application, any period for which the certificate continued in force under subsection 2 is to be treated for the purposes of section 28A(1) as part of the period for which the renewed certificate is in force.
  5. This section does not apply in relation to the renewal of a certificate granted or last renewed in Northern Ireland.

A common error with Section 28B is that RFDs believe that a certificate has expired. This is despite the certificate holder being in possession of the original certificate and the Section 28B extension letter.

Under the terms of Section 28B, a certificate holder can purchase firearms and ammunition listed on the certificate during the eight-week extension period. This is different to the situation with Section 7 permits as detailed above.

It is important to note that Section 28B only applies if the correctly completed application is received eight weeks in advance of the expiry date. A letter confirming the extension should be sought if a new certificate has not arrived ten days before expiry.

Given the current problems with renewals, BASC strongly recommends that applicants take advantage of Section 28B and get their applications in twelve weeks prior to expiry (full advice is available here).

We also recommend that current certificates are not surrendered in advance, but a copy of the old certificate accompanies the renewal paperwork.

Want to read more on firearms and firearms licensing? Head to our dedicated pages here.

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