Certificate renewal flow chart
BASC flow chart – firearm or shotgun certificate renewals.
The table below shows the average number of days a police force takes to process different application types. The figures are colour coded to indicate relative performance (green top 10, red bottom 10, yellow average).
| Force name | FAC Grant | SGC Grant | Coterminous Grant | FAC Renewal | SGC Renewal | Coterminous Renewal | Variation |
| Avon & Somerset | 161 | 139 | 150 | 58 | 55 | 61 | 61 |
| Bedfordshire | 32 | 18 | 22 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 7 |
| Cambridgeshire | 20 | 19 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 16 | 6 |
| Cheshire | 62 | 74 | 49 | 45 | 33 | 43 | 3 |
| City of London | 49 | 18 | n/a | n/a | 68 | 49 | n/a |
| Cleveland | 55 | 55 | 51 | 28 | 26 | 15 | 2 |
| Cumbria | 81 | 68 | 61 | 64 | 58 | 62 | 24 |
| Derbyshire | 75 | 73 | 63 | 42 | 40 | 42 | 17 |
| Devon & Cornwall | 76 | 96 | 65 | 66 | 65 | 67 | 7 |
| Dorset | 72 | 88 | 80 | 69 | 64 | 69 | 8 |
| Durham | 98 | 146 | 56 | 226 | 204 | 223 | 15 |
| Dyfed Powys | 81 | 81 | 69 | 62 | 42 | 64 | 15 |
| Essex | 28 | 31 | 33 | 29 | 34 | 28 | 5 |
| Gloucestershire | 106 | 59 | 23 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 19 |
| Greater Manchester Police | 111 | 164 | 82 | 118 | 108 | 116 | 5 |
| Gwent | 108 | 121 | 111 | 51 | 49 | 55 | 24 |
| Hampshire | 55 | 59 | 39 | 36 | 33 | 37 | 25 |
| Hertfordshire | 23 | 19 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 23 | 8 |
| Humberside | 111 | 94 | 109 | 69 | 63 | 70 | 22 |
| Kent | 67 | 64 | 62 | 56 | 49 | 55 | 23 |
| Lancashire | 74 | 82 | 75 | 40 | 35 | 38 | 4 |
| Leicestershire | 76 | 103 | 85 | 31 | 12 | 30 | 2 |
| Lincolnshire | 41 | 39 | 42 | 23 | 21 | 23 | 2 |
| Merseyside | 78 | 70 | 76 | 32 | 30 | 33 | 4 |
| Metropolitan Police | 100 | 112 | 92 | 62 | 52 | 61 | 18 |
| Norfolk | 66 | 72 | 41 | 87 | 57 | 86 | 35 |
| North Wales | 71 | 56 | 65 | 49 | 44 | 51 | 24 |
| North Yorkshire | 100 | 109 | 78 | 26 | 21 | 28 | 4 |
| Northamptonshire | 81 | 174 | 57 | 65 | 59 | 64 | 36 |
| Northumbria | 98 | 129 | 89 | 78 | 74 | 76 | 2 |
| Nottinghamshire | 86 | 93 | 81 | 73 | 60 | 72 | 20 |
| South Wales* | 59 | 84 | 58 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| South Yorkshire | 119 | 93 | 115 | 90 | 80 | 88 | 15 |
| Staffordshire | 103 | 111 | 96 | 101 | 83 | 96 | 13 |
| Suffolk | 88 | 90 | 63 | 72 | 20 | 73 | 11 |
| Surrey | 62 | 75 | 64 | 40 | 23 | 36 | 4 |
| Sussex | 48 | 63 | 41 | 32 | 21 | 31 | 3 |
| Thames Valley Police | 39 | 49 | 39 | 20 | 10 | 20 | 10 |
| Warwickshire | 32 | 32 | 31 | 25 | 27 | 25 | 6 |
| West Mercia | 41 | 41 | 41 | 37 | 36 | 37 | 9 |
| West Midlands Police | 127 | 139 | 128 | 108 | 87 | 105 | 13 |
| West Yorkshire | 79 | 60 | 84 | 71 | 63 | 70 | 15 |
| Wiltshire | 86 | 111 | 48 | 46 | 49 | 47 | 9 |
* South Wales, unlike all other police forces in England and Wales, are not updating the firearms licensing database NFLMS until the renewal has been fully processed. Therefore, they are unable to officially state how long the processing of a renewal is taking and the answer is not applicable.
Figures supplied by Simon Dicketts, Central Administrator, National Firearms Licensing Management System (NFLMS), Home Office.
The table below shows the average number of days a police force takes to process different application types. The figures are colour coded to indicate relative performance (green top 10, red bottom 10, yellow average).
Force name | FAC Grant | SGC Grant | Coterminous | FAC Renewal | SGC Renewal | Coterminous | Variation |
Avon & Somerset | 112 | 117 | 92 | 56 | 52 | 63 | 50 |
Bedfordshire | 52 | 39 | 50 | 46 | 41 | 46 | 19 |
Cambridgeshire | 48 | 40 | 44 | 45 | 40 | 46 | 20 |
Cheshire | 59 | 59 | 49 | 20 | 27 | 20 | 4 |
City of London | n/a | 81 | n/a | n/a | 12 | n/a | n/a |
Cleveland | 44 | 32 | 42 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
Cumbria | 49 | 39 | 34 | 34 | 28 | 34 | 12 |
Derbyshire | 61 | 57 | 56 | 39 | 39 | 38 | 19 |
Devon & Cornwall | 53 | 54 | 53 | 45 | 38 | 43 | 3 |
Dorset | 70 | 73 | 67 | 62 | 57 | 62 | 5 |
Durham | 76 | 81 | 69 | 73 | 68 | 73 | 2 |
Dyfed Powys | 66 | 74 | 64 | 54 | 34 | 53 | 18 |
Essex | 39 | 38 | 39 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 4 |
Gloucestershire | 76 | 52 | 73 | 23 | 21 | 28 | 13 |
Greater Manchester Police | 89 | 78 | 80 | 117 | 116 | 116 | 5 |
Gwent | 76 | 62 | 73 | 62 | 63 | 57 | 17 |
Hampshire | 47 | 50 | 38 | 25 | 18 | 27 | 18 |
Hertfordshire | 44 | 38 | 39 | 43 | 40 | 42 | 14 |
Humberside | 87 | 87 | 84 | 61 | 50 | 62 | 19 |
Kent | 61 | 63 | 57 | 61 | 55 | 60 | 22 |
Lancashire | 56 | 59 | 56 | 39 | 36 | 38 | 6 |
Leicestershire | 42 | 40 | 39 | 33 | 3 | 31 | 4 |
Lincolnshire | 26 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 3 |
Merseyside | 54 | 49 | 51 | 41 | 44 | 41 | 1 |
Metropolitan Police | 63 | 62 | 59 | 44 | 41 | 45 | 10 |
Norfolk | 50 | 52 | 40 | 55 | 43 | 54 | 16 |
North Wales | 66 | 63 | 68 | 49 | 38 | 52 | 21 |
North Yorkshire | 77 | 89 | 63 | 37 | 32 | 38 | 6 |
Northamptonshire | 73 | 85 | 64 | 12 | 10 | 19 | 24 |
Northumbria | 39 | 41 | 31 | 51 | 48 | 49 | 2 |
Nottinghamshire | 67 | 57 | 55 | 58 | 37 | 56 | 22 |
South Wales | 101 | 90 | 99 | 45 | 37 | 45 | 17 |
South Yorkshire | 67 | 62 | 67 | 81 | 79 | 76 | 4 |
Staffordshire | 66 | 55 | 78 | 107 | 96 | 94 | 13 |
Suffolk | 48 | 50 | 40 | 48 | 16 | 46 | 8 |
Surrey | 62 | 69 | 52 | 47 | 46 | 40 | 3 |
Sussex | 48 | 45 | 37 | 42 | 44 | 39 | 4 |
Thames Valley Police | 77 | 67 | 77 | 72 | 44 | 68 | 17 |
Warwickshire | 34 | 38 | 33 | 36 | 43 | 35 | 6 |
West Mercia | 39 | 45 | 38 | 41 | 42 | 41 | 9 |
West Midlands Police | 95 | 81 | 94 | 123 | 112 | 119 | 18 |
West Yorkshire | 49 | 41 | 54 | 55 | 47 | 52 | 11 |
Wiltshire | 66 | 76 | 55 | 53 | 50 | 50 | 3 |
Figures supplied by Simon Dicketts, Central Administrator, National Firearms Licensing Management System (NFLMS), Home Office.
The table below shows the average number of days a police force takes to process different application types. The figures are colour coded to indicate relative performance (green top 10, red bottom 10, yellow average).
Force name | FAC | SGC | Coterminous | FAC | SGC | Coterminous | Variation |
Avon & Somerset | 96 | 102 | 92 | 49 | 45 | 53 | 27 |
Bedfordshire | 53 | 53 | 48 | 41 | 38 | 41 | 22 |
Cambridgeshire | 51 | 51 | 43 | 28 | 25 | 31 | 20 |
Cheshire | 54 | 60 | 50 | 36 | 40 | 37 | 7 |
City of London | 0 | 96 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Cleveland | 43 | 30 | 37 | 13 | 7 | 1 | 1 |
Cumbria | 61 | 41 | 57 | 50 | 34 | 48 | 14 |
Derbyshire | 47 | 46 | 41 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 15 |
Devon & Cornwall | 56 | 55 | 52 | 39 | 37 | 37 | 4 |
Dorset | 146 | 159 | 133 | 97 | 89 | 98 | 24 |
Durham | 46 | 55 | 45 | 44 | 41 | 43 | 3 |
Dyfed Powys | 56 | 60 | 53 | 48 | 29 | 45 | 19 |
Essex | 65 | 63 | 62 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 10 |
Gloucestershire | 97 | 61 | 79 | 33 | 26 | 37 | 16 |
Greater Manchester | 95 | 95 | 90 | 83 | 74 | 78 | 5 |
Gwent | 61 | 53 | 68 | 58 | 53 | 57 | 21 |
Hampshire | 63 | 54 | 49 | 25 | 18 | 30 | 16 |
Hertfordshire | 67 | 42 | 39 | 37 | 36 | 35 | 18 |
Humberside | 78 | 79 | 89 | 45 | 41 | 49 | 18 |
Kent | 54 | 50 | 48 | 59 | 55 | 58 | 14 |
Lancashire | 38 | 42 | 33 | 24 | 26 | 25 | 2 |
Leicestershire | 41 | 38 | 46 | 31 | 6 | 28 | 6 |
Lincolnshire | 49 | 48 | 40 | 49 | 52 | 45 | 7 |
Merseyside | 69 | 69 | 75 | 43 | 39 | 40 | 7 |
Metropolitan Police | 62 | 58 | 54 | 44 | 41 | 43 | 10 |
Norfolk | 37 | 36 | 32 | 33 | 28 | 31 | 15 |
North Wales | 69 | 64 | 72 | 47 | 44 | 51 | 28 |
North Yorkshire | 81 | 85 | 77 | 35 | 25 | 35 | 2 |
Northamptonshire | 62 | 64 | 65 | 16 | 12 | 21 | 21 |
Northumbria | 43 | 43 | 37 | 43 | 42 | 41 | 3 |
Nottinghamshire | 57 | 46 | 55 | 48 | 27 | 44 | 19 |
South Wales | 155 | 143 | 133 | 151 | 62 | 141 | 29 |
South Yorkshire | 78 | 76 | 77 | 74 | 73 | 72 | 2 |
Staffordshire | 61 | 59 | 65 | 82 | 64 | 73 | 14 |
Suffolk | 49 | 51 | 43 | 45 | 20 | 44 | 9 |
Surrey | 75 | 60 | 63 | 54 | 46 | 49 | 3 |
Sussex | 42 | 39 | 37 | 36 | 33 | 33 | 4 |
Thames Valley Police | 91 | 67 | 90 | 76 | 43 | 73 | 16 |
Warwickshire | 271 | 24 | 25 | 34 | 40 | 30 | 11 |
West Mercia | 36 | 36 | 35 | 38 | 41 | 36 | 13 |
West Midlands Police | 82 | 72 | 83 | 102 | 75 | 95 | 20 |
West Yorkshire | 57 | 45 | 51 | 64 | 56 | 60 | 11 |
Wiltshire | 59 | 62 | 52 | 46 | 45 | 44 | 4 |
Figures supplied by Simon Dicketts, Central Administrator, National Firearms Licensing Management System (NFLMS), Home Office.
| Police force | FAC Grant | SGC Grant | Coterminous Grant | FAC Renewal | SGC Renewal | Coterminous Renewal | Variation |
| Avon & Somerset | 83 (46) | 92 (49) | 74 | 52 (n/a) | 48 (n/a) | 51 | 20 (n/a) |
| Bedfordshire | 40 (60) | 49 (61) | 44 | 29 (42) | 25 (33) | 28 | 9 (7) |
| Cambridgeshire | 57 (35) | 55 (34) | 38 | 27 (29) | 28 (25) | 30 | 17 (14) |
| Cheshire | 69 (81) | 93 (31) | 64 | 42 (78) | 46 (39) | 42 | 14 (10) |
| City of London* | n/a (10) | 9 (5) | n/a | n/a (0) | 9 (3) | n/a | n/a (n/a) |
| Cleveland | 38 (47) | 40 (50) | 42 | 4 (2) | 3 (3) | 1 | 2 (0) |
| Cumbria | 120 (168) | 116 (168) | 106 | 120 (168) | 120 (168) | 114 | 24 (35) |
| Derbyshire | 57 (65) | 63 (69) | 56 | 34 (43) | 30 (40) | 35 | 18 (37) |
| Devon & Cornwall | 59 (89) | 56 (85) | 56 | 48 (50) | 45 (47) | 48 | 3 (n/a) |
| Dorset | 63 (91) | 61 (102) | 52 | 82 (74) | 76 (73) | 84 | 22 (n/a) |
| Durham | 57 (38) | 54 (37) | 55 | 52 (39) | 50 (39) | 52 | 2 (1) |
| Dyfed-Powys | 59 (76) | 53 (59) | 55 | 36 (73) | 22 (40) | 38 | 12 (16) |
| Essex | 106 (222) | 134 (258) | 84 | 36 (134) | 32 (210) | 36 | 9 (27) |
| Gloucestershire | 100 (87) | 66 (71) | 88 | 38 (83) | 34 (74) | 44 | 18 (26) |
| Greater Manchester | 80 (102) | 86 (99) | 68 | 62 (143) | 48 (151) | 59 | 7 (99) |
| Gwent | 72 (68) | 66 (49) | 65 | 62 (55) | 57 (46) | 60 | 25 (26) |
| Hampshire | 66 (185) | 64 (183) | 60 | 55 (77) | 48 (74) | 54 | 13 (91) |
| Hertfordshire | 31 (51) | 29 (51) | 31 | 22 (30) | 20 (28) | 21 | 4 (10) |
| Humberside | 99 (89) | 109 (87) | 101 | 55 (55) | 49 (50) | 57 | 20 (18) |
| Kent | 45 (171) | 43 (179) | 43 | 66 (122) | 64 (225) | 65 | 15 (69) |
| Lancashire | 96 (195) | 109 (195) | 84 | 44 (45) | 53 (45) | 43 | 7 (68) |
| Leicestershire | 39 (23) | 39 (20) | 44 | 32 (18) | 6 (12) | 31 | 7 (5) |
| Lincolnshire | 134 (120) | 148 (130) | 108 | 105 (81) | 70 (62) | 107 | 25 (36) |
| Merseyside | 89 (61) | 98 (66) | 86 | 1 (67) | 3 (60) | 1 | 1 (21) |
| Metropolitan Police | 66 (51) | 60 (45) | 60 | 46 (39) | 42 (34) | 47 | 13 (13) |
| Norfolk | 36 (38) | 37 (38) | 36 | 24 (18) | 18 (10) | 24 | 17 (13) |
| North Wales | 89 (75) | 80 (68) | 78 | 73 (60) | 55 (42) | 74 | 30 (29) |
| North Yorkshire | 75 (59) | 94 (67) | 64 | 20 (19) | 16 (19) | 22 | 3 (n/a) |
| Northampton | 63 (60) | 60 (68) | 57 | 37 (33) | 34 (26) | 38 | 27 (50) |
| Northumbria | 42 (37) | 42 (42) | 37 | 42 (22) | 40 (23) | 41 | 2 (3) |
| Nottinghamshire | 69 (86) | 66 (93) | 60 | 68 (75) | 37 (54) | 63 | 21 (23) |
| South Wales | 144 (93) | 143 (69) | 133 | 183 (86) | 125 (70) | 181 | 29 (n/a) |
| South Yorkshire | 59 (105) | 57 (109) | 51 | 61 (77) | 53 (68) | 56 | 1 (14) |
| Staffordshire | 62 (73) | 55 (73) | 67 | 82 (107) | 72 (93) | 78 | 13 (13) |
| Suffolk | 38 (24) | 40 (23) | 32 | 45 (26) | 9 (8) | 44 | 10 (9) |
| Surrey | 51 (43) | 53 (53) | 45 | 36 (32) | 36 (33) | 32 | 1 (n/a) |
| Sussex | 40 (38) | 42 (35) | 35 | 41 (28) | 40 (26) | 38 | 6 (7) |
| Thames Valley | 98 (128) | 58 (131) | 97 | 43 (67) | 44 (116) | 41 | 24 (27) |
| Warwickshire | 46 (186) | 42 (178) | 39 | 50 (165) | 34 (143) | 48 | 14 (51) |
| West Mercia | 59 (189) | 51 (144) | 49 | 53 (169) | 34 (141) | 53 | 19 (54) |
| West Midlands | 86 (92) | 80 (95) | 85 | 106 (113) | 85 (93) | 108 | 16 (21) |
| West Yorkshire | 54 (160) | 50 (158) | 53 | 64 (58) | 60 (55) | 64 | 8 (n/a) |
| Wiltshire | 71 (45) | 80 (48) | 57 | 47 (40) | 42 (36) | 45 | 4 (7) |
*City of London’s figures may not be comparable to other forces due to their unusually small licensing area.
BASC flow chart – firearm or shotgun certificate renewals.
Spent and Misfired Cartridge Disposal What sort of waste are spent shotgun cartridges? According to guidance from the Environment Agency (EA), spent shotgun cartridges are classed as a ‘Directive Waste’. The phrase “Directive Waste” refers to European legislation called the Waste Framework Directive. Directive wastes include nearly all household, commercial
Firearms licensing during coronavirus outbreak Latest update First time grant applications for shotgun and firearm certificates Some police forces are not accepting first-time grant applications because of difficulties they may be having with carrying out home visits during local and national Covid-19 restrictions. However, some police forces have been adapting