Structure and Summary of the Act Air weapon certificates Section 9 – Alignment of different types of certificate
32.This section allows air weapon certificates to be made co-terminous with firearm or shotgun certificates issued under the 1968 Act. This allows for all certificates to be due for renewal at the same time, minimising the workload for the applicant and the Chief Constable. Regulations under section 35 are expected to make provision for a proportionately lowered fee where such air weapon certificates are granted or renewed for significantly shorter duration. This section does not affect the duration of firearm or shotgun certificates.
33.Subsections (1) and (2) allow an applicant who already holds a valid firearm and/ or shotgun certificate to request that the expiry date on an air weapon certificate – if granted or renewed – match the expiry date on their existing firearm and/ or shotgun certificate(s). Because the standard duration for firearm, shotgun and air weapon certificates are all set at five years, an air weapon certificate issued in this way will necessarily have a shorter than normal duration when it is first granted.
34.Subsections (3) and (4) allow an applicant who already holds a live air weapon certificate to request that that certificate be renewed before it has run its full five year lifespan, and re-issued on the same date that a new or renewed firearm and/ or shotgun certificate is granted, so that the expiry dates on all certificates are aligned. This will necessarily mean that the air weapon certificate which they originally paid for on a five year basis will not have lasted for its full duration.