The Home Office has announced that a 3% inflationary uplift will be applied to the entire firearms licensing fee structure, effective from Thursday 4 June 2026 in England, Scotland and Wales. Incremental fee increases are something that the Countryside Alliance and other shooting organisations have long called for, as they avoid severe fee hikes like those we saw last year.

Many licence holders may baulk at further increases to the firearms licensing fee structure, as the dire performance of many police licensing departments persists even after the huge fee increases last year. Many of the failing licensing departments are beginning to cut through their hefty backlogs with their increased funding, but in several parts of the country waiting times for licensees remain in the years, not months - let alone weeks. It is hoped that these fee increases will help all police licensing departments to keep up with rising costs and deliver the appropriate level of service for the cost paid by gun owners.

As police licensing departments continue to falter, the Countryside Alliance continues to campaign for their centralisation, which would deliver consistent, effective and efficient service across England and Wales.

The new licensing fee structure is:

The government advises that firearms licensing applications received by the police on or after 4 June 2026 will incur the new fee. If an application and related payment has been received by the police on or before 3 June 2026, the police will honour the fee that has been paid. The government maintains that applications to renew firearm and shotgun certificates should continue to be made within the usual timescales and warns that applicants should not apply ‘extra early’ in order to avoid paying the new fees. In these cases, the police may return applications and request that the new fee is paid. The National Police Chiefs’ Council has advised that most forces accept renewals up to four months before expiry date. Check with your local force to find out what their renewal timescales are.

Full details on these increases, and information on the calculation of coterminous grant and renewal fees can be read on the government website here.