Northern Ireland Office

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Under Article 45 of the Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 (the Order) the Secretary of State has the discretion to authorise a person to purchase, possess, acquire, manufacture, sell or transfer any prohibited weapon and or prohibited ammunition so long as it does not adversely affect public safety and the peace.  Prohibited weapons and prohibited ammunition are generally too dangerous for members of the public to possess.  

Article 45 refers to prohibited weapons and their components not just firearms and prohibited ammunition. It also gives the definition of what constitutes prohibited weapons or prohibited ammunition.

Applications

Applications take the form of a letter, addressed to the Northern Ireland Office's National Security Operations Unit, in which the applicant explains clearly what prohibited weapon(s) or prohibited ammunition they want, why they want it, the make, calibre, model and serial number of the weapon and its historical significance, the applicant's experience with such weapons and how they will secure it and, if appropriate, use it safely.

The Secretary of State will consult the Chief Constable and seek advice from other bodies or individuals as he considers necessary and may attach conditions to the authorisation to ensure that the weapons or ammunition will not endanger the public safety or the peace.  If authorisation is not to be granted the applicant will be told the reason and given an opportunity to make further representations before a final decision is reached.

Each authorised person will also need a firearm certificate or a firearms dealer's certificate.  The Chief Constable cannot issue such certificates to permit persons to purchase, acquire, possess, manufacture, sell or transfer any prohibited weapon or prohibited ammunition if they are not already authorised by the Secretary of State.

An authorisation can be varied or revoked at any time by the Secretary of State.

Renewal

The Northern Ireland Office's National Security Operations Unit will write to the person who holds the authorisation (approximately) 6 weeks prior to the expiry of the authorisation to invite them to request its renewal explaining why they continue to want the prohibited weapon and/or prohibited ammunition.  

Examples - this is not an exhaustive list.

1. Deactivated historical weapons held by collectors and re-enactors are no longer considered to be firearms if the weapon has a Proof House mark and a certificate from a Proof House showing that it has been deactivated to the 1995 Home Office standard.  Their possession would not require authorisation from the Secretary of State or a firearm certificate from the Chief Constable.
2. A prohibited weapon that is modified in some way (such as in the case of changing an automatic rifle modified to become a 'straight pull' or bolt action weapon) remains a prohibited weapon and requires the Secretary of State's authorisation.
3. Some air or gas powered weapons that can be readily modified to fire small arms ammunition are specifically prohibited.  See the Firearms (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 for further information.