Shotgun certificates/Firearms certificates may be revoked or refused by the Chief Officer of Police if the Applicant cannot fulfil the criteria they have to meet in order to either be granted or obtain a renewed certificate.

Such reasons may include;
The holder is of an unsound mind or otherwise unstable to be entrusted with a firearm/shotgun;
The holder does not have a good reason for acquiring the firearm/shotgun;
The holder is a danger to public safety or to the peace should he be permitted to have the firearm/shotgun certificate.

Obtaining a shotgun licence however is considerably less difficult than obtaining a firearms certificate. Reasoning behind obtaining a shot gun licence can be often less stringent than those reasons behind wanting to obtain a firearms certificate.

It may be the case that you have a criminal record by which you served a custodial sentence. As such you may not be granted a firearm licence for this reason. However, there are certain rules which govern this prohibition:-

If you have been sentenced to a total of 3 years or more in prison then you will be prohibited from the possession of obtaining a firearms certificate for life;

If you have been sentenced to more than 3 months or less than 3 years then you will only be prohibited from the possession of firearms for a period of five years from the date you were released.

All of the above can, however, be Appealed at Court if you believe you have been unfairly categorised.
We have notable success liaising with the Local Firearms Department in making an Application to have a prohibition for a licence removed. Contact our specialist Shotgun License Solicitors to see if we can help.

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