The Future

This visionary article explores how the UK’s firearms licensing system might look if designed from scratch.

Moving beyond a century of reactive laws—from the 1920 Firearms Act to post-Keyham reforms—it proposes a digitally enabled, service-focused framework built around public safety, consistency, and clarity.

Introduction –

Ask any certificate holder—licensing delays, legal ambiguity, and patchy communication aren’t just an inconvenience. They’re a public safety risk

If the UK were to design its firearms licensing system from scratch tomorrow, what would it look like? With a century of legacy legislation behind us—from the 1920 Firearms Act to the post-Keyham reforms—the current framework is a patchwork of historical responses.

But what if we could start fresh?

To be clear. This article isn’t fantasy. It’s achievable and a call to action

🎯 Principles for a Modern Licensing System

1. Serve the Public

Good service to certificate holders matters—but responsible licensing affects everyone. We’ve seen how poor decisions can damage community trust and compromise safety. A modern system must put fairness, transparency, and public confidence first.

2. Focus on Public Safety

Licensing isn’t just administration—it’s risk management. Lessons from past tragedies remind us: public protection must be the system’s central goal. Everything else flows from that.

3. Digital by Default, Inclusive by Design

A streamlined digital portal should be the norm—but never at the cost of access. Paper options remain where needed. Efficiency and equity can coexist.

4. Efficient Processing & Smart Safeguards

Applications and renewals should be timely, error-resistant, and secure. No medical proformas. No paper-based loopholes. Fraud risk reduced through smart design.

5. Central Oversight, Local Delivery

Leadership at the national level ensures consistency with local units continuing to engage. This balance helps eliminate patchy training, conflicting processes, and appeals driven by regional disparity.

6. Clarity & Accessibility of the Law

Rewrite the legal framework in plain English. Define terms clearly. Replace decades of piecemeal amendments with a single, understandable system—so applicants know their responsibilities and authorities apply the law fairly.

7. Transparent Cost Recovery

Fees should be proportionate, visible, and linked to service standards. Applicants deserve to know what they’re paying for—and how delivery is being measured.

🧠 What Would Be Lost—and Gained?

We’d lose the historical inertia of legacy legislation, but gain a system built for today’s risks and realities. Certificate holders would benefit from clarity and fairness; police forces from consistency and resourcing; and the public from a licensing regime that’s proactive, not reactive.

There will be challenges – Eliminating the current Court Appeal process will not be an overnight endeavour but the current system involves thousands of pounds worth of police, Court and legal effort when an estimated 90% don’t require anything more than independent arbitration.

Some might say this is wishful thinking—but firearmslicensing.net has already proved digital safeguards are possible (See our digital membership card). So why wait?

If you support a smarter licensing future, start the conversation—share your ideas, challenge assumptions, and help push for change.

A quick read to summarise the recently announced Home Office position on sound moderators.

Introduction

The Home Office consulted on a proposal to remove sound moderators (commonly known as suppressors) from firearms licensing controls.

The original thinking behind including such “accessories” within regulatory control is unclear but it seems to be rooted in a misunderstanding that such items were the tools of assassins and murderers.

The proposed change to Firearms Act 1968 could remove this section at 57(1)(d)

“an accessory to a lethal barrelled weapon or a prohibited weapon where the accessory is designed or adapted to diminish the noise or flash caused by firing the weapon”

from the definition of a Firearm.

In practical terms Police are currently holding records of tens of thousands of metal tubes which are typically recorded on Firearms Certificates as “NVN” (No visible numbers).

Some questions remain about when this will take place and what the new offence of possessing a sound moderator without a firearms certificate will look like.

I strongly suspect this will cause more unnecessary confusion and leave a legally imprecise situation. i.e. if a sound moderator fits both a Section 1 rifle and an unregulated air rifle – what is it?

However overall, this direction from the Home Office is a victory for common sense and has the potential to remove significant administrative burden from police and the shooting community with no demonstrable risk to public safety.

Key Findings from the Consultation

– 94% agreed that police certification to possess a sound moderator should be removed.

– 98% agreed there is no public safety risk in deregulating sound moderators.

– 95% supported their health and safety benefits, especially for hearing protection.

– 96% felt the criteria for a Legislative Reform Order (LRO) had been met.

Most respondents were certificate holders or those involved in shooting sports. Notably, even a high percentage of police and public respondents supported the proposal.

Concerns Raised

• Risks of substandard moderator manufacture if deregulated.
• Potential misuse by criminals or poachers due to reduced sound.
• Suggestions that moderators should still only be sold to certificate holders, even if no variation is needed.

Government Position

• Sound moderators are inert, non-dangerous accessories.
• The government agrees with simplifying their legal treatment.
• It plans to remove moderators from the definition of “firearm” via primary legislation.
• A new offence will be created: possessing a sound moderator without holding a valid firearms certificate—thus removing the admin burden of certificate variations but retaining some control over possession and ownership.

The full government response can be found via this link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/684953fe7cba25f610c7da8c/Sound+moderators+-+Consultation+response+document+_030625_+final__8_.pdf