Changing rules on gun ownership – action required
Read our guide to responding to the Home Office consultation on gun ownership in England, Scotland and Wales.
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.
Read our guide to responding to the Home Office consultation on gun ownership in England, Scotland and Wales.
Q&A – Latest proposals for European Firearms Directive Updated 26th May 2017 The final text of the new Firearms Directive 2017/853 has been published in the EU Journal. It will come into effect on the 13th June 2017. Implementation should be completed by the 13th September 2018. Several EC regulations are still
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