Explosives Certificate

[SportingShooter 0]

This is going to be a fairly short one!

 

I thought that, seen as I have done a sticky on both FAC and SGC, I would put up a brief post on Explosives Licensing and Certificates.

 

What do you need an Explosives Certificate for?

If you plan to use Black Powder in any of your firearms you will need an EC in order to purchase and store it.

This does not apply to cartridges which are factory loaded with Black Powder such as those made by Gamebore.

 

The main reason you would need an EC is if you have a Muzzle Loading Shotgun/Rifle or a Breech Loading Shotgun/Rifle which requires Black Powder to be loaded into the cartridges i.e. Big Bore Wildfowling guns and some rifles e.g. the .45-70 Govt. cartridge.

 

There are two types of EC.

 

The first entitles you to Purchase but not store Explosives i.e. Black Powder.

 

The second entitles you to Purchase and Store Explosives i.e. Black Powder.

 

Step 1

You should have had a thought about this before you bought a gun that requires Black Powder but read as much as you can. Have a look Here.

You can download the forms Here

 

Step 2

The forms for an EC are not the easiest to understand!

 

Part A

This section is pretty simple, it is just asking for your personal details and you Shotgun/Firearms Certificate numbers.

 

If you intend to store the Black Powder, which you almost all will, then you need select the appropriate one from the list, Acquire and Keep.

 

General Information

This section is as the name suggests, just general information about you, and just needs to be completed honestly as with an FAC/SGC.

 

Questions 3 & 4 ask you if you have had any EC before, and if so, what experience you have of using explosives. This section is only to be completed if you have held an EC before, it does not apply to new applicants.

 

Purpose

You will need to specify whether you intend to use the Black Powder in Muzzle Loading Shotguns, Muzzle Loading Rifles or if you plan to reload ammunition with Black Powder. Just comes down to your personal needs.

 

Explosives Required

You will need to tick which explosives you wish to acquire and keep here. The vast, vast majority of you will be applying for Black Powder so just tick the box on that row.

 

If you plan to acquire and keep, as the majority will, then skip part B and go straight to C.

 

Part C

Where the explosives are to be kept

I’ll assume that the majority of you will be wanting to keep your Black Powder at home, and so you will need to fill out the section “Other Legal Address†Let me explain this one. If you intend to store upto 15kg of ALL Powders, then you do not have to register the address at which the will be kept. This allowance includes all of your Black Powder and all of the other powders that you keep in the house. Be they loose powders in flasks for reloading or those which are already loaded into factory cartridges, the 15kg includes ALL of these.

You can have a combination of the two. I.e. you can hold 10kg of Black Powder and 5kg of “Other†powders or you can hold up to 15kg of Black Powder but then cannot hold any other powders.

 

Anyway, you need to fill in that “Other legal Address†part. And you do not need to fill in the section below, which asks for the Previous or Present License or Registration for a place of Keeping, as if either you are a new applicant or have your explosives at home, you do not require to register the address as long as you keep under 15kg of powder, as stated above.

 

Part D

This is just a declaration which you will need to complete. Again, answer honestly.

 

Security

The normal storage for keeping Black Powder at home is to keep the powder in a Partitioned Wooden box. There is a requirement for the Black Powder to be stored in containers of no more than 550grams. This may get slightly confusing, so there is a section in This document which will explain it better. It is also possible for you to buy ready made boxes.

 

Location of the box

You need to make sure that the box is not;

>Under or near any means of access or escape, e.g. under the stairs;

>In the same room as flammable liquids such as petrol or solvents;

>In areas where there are risks of fire.

 

The few people I know with EC’s tend to keep them in a wooden box, either in their Gun Room, or in a Garage attached to the house. There is no requirement to “Bolt Down†the box, it just needs to be secured.

 

I will admit that Explosives Licensing is not my strong point! That’s why I have included a lot of links in this post.

I hope it gives you a slight inkling into the EC.

 

Regards

SS