Clubs criteria

1. With the exception of guest day notifications, all notifications should be sent to the police firearms licensing department through whom approval was applied for.
2. The club must be a genuine rifle and/or muzzle-loading pistol club set up for the purpose of target shooting. The constitution of the club should implement the conditions of approval.
3. Club officers must be people who are not disqualified from possessing a firearm.
4. Club officers should be aware of firearms laws relevant to the membership of the club, and make their best efforts to ensure that all members remain of good Police firearms licensing departments should not be asked to disclose whether or not someone has a criminal record. Prospective members should not be required to apply for a firearm or shotgun certificate as a means of determining ‘good character’. The police will not normally grant a certificate because somebody is a probationary member of a club.
5. The liaison officer should normally be a member of the club committee. He or she should establish contact with the local police firearms licensing officer and decide between them how information should be supplied and with what They should also set up a system so that the liaison officer can contact the firearms licensing officer as necessary and vice versa.
6. An attendance register should be kept of all members. In the case of a firearm held on a member’s firearm certificate, the register will record the calibre, type and serial number of the firearm(s) used and the date. All visiting shooters should be logged in the same way. In the case of competition shoots between clubs, the responsibility for recording the attendance of a team member will lie with the club that the shooter In the case of open competitions, the organising club will record details of competitors. Clubs should retain their attendance records for a minimum of six years.
7. Notifying the police when a person’s membership has ceased, or as soon as such a person has not shot with the club for a period of 12 months, will allow the chief officer of police to check in the case of certificate holders whether that individual is still using his or her firearm(s) regularly at another club or approved range. The police should be informed within one month of cessation of membership.
8. Casual membership enquiries need not be reported – only those which reach the stage of a formal application. The police should be advised when an application is submitted formally to the club.
9. Whether a prospective member has ever had an application for a firearm or shotgun certificate refused, or had a certificate revoked, should form the basis of a question on the club’s membership application form. There are many reasons for refusal/revocation and not all will count against an individual. Clubs will therefore need to ascertain why the certificate was refused/revoked in order to make an informed decision.
10. There are three categories of approval: full-bore rifle, small-bore rifle and muzzle- loading pistol. Rifles chambered for pistol ammunition above .22 rim-fire calibre are regarded as full-bore rifles. Clubs seeking approval in order to use such rifles will therefore need access to a suitable range with adequate financial arrangements in place to meet any injury or damage The national associations are able to provide advice on the construction and use of ranges.
11. The security arrangements for storing firearms must be satisfactory to the local chief officer of police acting through the force’s firearms licensing department.
12. The ban on day or temporary membership is to stop casual shooters being able to come in off the street and shoot. It should not be confused with properly organised guest days, competition shoots between clubs or events open to individuals who are not members of that club. An organised and notified guest day is required only for guest members who are neither members of another approved club nor firearm certificate holders, visitor’s permit holders or holders of permits issued under section 7 of the 1968 Firearms Act.
13. Examples of recognised outside organisations whose members may be guest members of approved rifle and muzzle-loading pistol clubs are scouts and guides, schools, Rotary clubs and Women’s The duty to notify the police of guest days is laid on the club secretary. This may be delegated to the appointed liaison officer.
14. A probationary period of three months is a minimum. It is open to clubs to set a longer probationary period should they wish, or to extend the probationary period for an individual if they deem this necessary. The club may end a probationer’s membership at any point.
15. Recognised coaching qualifications for the purposes of the Home Office and Scottish government criteria for approved clubs are:

National Rifle Association – Club Instructor, Cadet Adult Instructor, Range Conducting  Officer; Range Conducting Officer Assessor;

National Small-bore Rifle Association – Range Conducting Officer, Club Instructor (Rifle, Pistol or Airgun) NSRA Club Coach, NSRA County Coach, Regional Coach and Youth Proficiency Scheme Instructor;

The Muzzle Loaders Association of Great Britain – Approved Instructor.

UKPSA Range Officers – Range Officer, Approved Instructor or Trainer.

16. The national associations are able to give advice on safety training courses for probationary members.
17. Although the probationary period may be waived in certain cases, the individual concerned has no right to insist on It is for the club to decide whether or not the probationary period should be waived for specific persons.
18. The Secretary of State or Scottish government may, in exceptional circumstances, allow a club to have more probationary members than full members. This may be appropriate, for example, in a university club at the beginning of the academic year.
19. Clubs can have non-shooting categories of membership such as associate, family, social or honorary. Such members are not covered by section 15 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 (as amended) and must not have access to firearms and ammunition except as participants in a guest.