Shotgun Licence Delays: What Have BASC and the CPSA Actually Done?
Shotgun licence delays are the focus of this Guns & Clays investigation. We have sent a Freedom of Information request to the Home Office to establish what representations, meetings and proposals have been made by two of the UK's most prominent shooting organisations concerning shotgun certificates, firearms licensing fees and service standards.
Shotgun Licence Delays
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Why we've made this request
Shotgun certificate holders across Great Britain pay statutory fees for the grant and renewal of their certificates, yet applicants in some police areas continue to experience significant delays.
BASC and the CPSA are two of the most prominent organisations representing shooting interests in the UK. We want to establish what action they have taken with government to address shotgun licence delays on behalf of applicants and certificate holders.
- Were BASC and the CPSA consulted about firearms licensing fees?
- What did they tell the Home Office about delays and backlogs?
- What meetings have taken place?
- What written proposals or recommendations were submitted?
- Did either organisation press for measurable service standards?
FOI status
The request has been sent to the Home Office Freedom of Information team.
We will update this page when the Home Office acknowledges the request, asks for clarification, or provides its response.
Related investigation
To examine shotgun licence delays alongside the organisations’ representations, we are also collecting police-force information about application and renewal waiting times.
View our UK Shotgun Certificate Delays tracker for the police-force investigation.
Freedom of Information Request Sent to the Home Office
Date sent: 12 September 2026
Submitted by: Richard Halsall, Guns & Clays
Freedom of Information Act 2000 – Firearms Licensing: BASC and CPSA Correspondence and Engagement
The request asks the Home Office to provide recorded information held for the period 1 January 2024 to 12 September 2026 concerning the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) and the Clay Pigeon Shooting Association (CPSA). It covers shotgun licence delays, licensing fees, performance and the organisations’ engagement with government.
- Copies of correspondence, including emails, letters and meeting notes, between the Home Office and BASC concerning shotgun certificates, firearms licensing delays, licensing fees and firearms licensing performance.
- Copies of equivalent correspondence between the Home Office and the CPSA concerning the same subjects.
- Records of meetings between Home Office officials and BASC representatives concerning firearms licensing, including agendas, minutes, briefing papers and attendee lists where held.
- Records of equivalent meetings between Home Office officials and CPSA representatives.
- Copies of written submissions, proposals, consultation responses or representations from BASC or the CPSA concerning firearms licensing fees, including the 2025 and 2026 fee changes.
- Any recorded analysis, advice or briefing supplied by BASC or the CPSA concerning firearms licensing delays, backlogs, performance targets or service improvement.
- Any records of the Home Office seeking the views of BASC or the CPSA on proposed changes to firearms licensing policy, including fee levels and service-delivery arrangements.
- Any internal Home Office analysis, recommendation or decision that refers to representations received from BASC or the CPSA about firearms licensing delays, fees, backlogs or service standards.
What happens next?
The request was sent to the Home Office on 12 September 2026.
We will record acknowledgements, clarifications and disclosures.
BASC and the CPSA will be offered a fair opportunity to respond.
We will compare the evidence with the police-force licensing data.
Transparency matters
This investigation into shotgun licence delays does not begin with the assumption that either organisation has failed to act. Its purpose is to establish, from recorded evidence, what was said, what was requested and what measurable effect that work has had.
Official sources and further reading
These links provide access to official information from the Home Office, BASC and the CPSA. They are background resources; our findings will depend on the evidence disclosed and any responses received.
- Home Office publication scheme — information about the department’s published records and transparency resources.
- BASC firearms information — the association’s firearms resources.
- Clay Pigeon Shooting Association official website — information and updates from the CPSA.
Follow the investigation
We will update our investigation into shotgun licence delays when the Home Office responds and as further police-force data becomes available.
- Explore our independent shooting investigations and analysis for related research and updates.
- Browse our clay pigeon shooting advice and guides for practical explanations and further reading.
