New conditions for firearm and shotgun certificates in England, Wales and Scotland come into force on Tuesday 29 September. The Firearms (Amendment) Rules 2026 were made on Wednesday 23 September, signed by Home Office minister Sarah Jones, and require certificate holders to keep the police informed about their health. The Rules do not say how the new conditions apply to certificates granted before that date, so holders should check with their police force.
For security and protection professionals who hold a certificate, for sport, range work, instructing or training, this is a new ongoing duty, not a one-off form.
What holders must now report
Under the new conditions, the holder must inform the chief officer of police who granted the certificate, without undue delay, if they:
- are diagnosed as suffering from, or are treated for, a relevant medical condition; - find that symptoms of a relevant medical condition they previously disclosed have worsened since the certificate was granted; - consult any medical practitioner who is not their own GP, or a GP from the same practice, about a relevant medical condition. In that case they must give the practitioner's contact details and details of the treatment received.
The same wording is added to the conditions for both firearm certificates and shotgun certificates.
What counts as a relevant medical condition
The Rules define it by reference to the new application form: "A 'relevant medical condition' is a medical condition which is listed in the section entitled 'Medical Information' of the application for the grant or renewal of a firearm and/or shot gun certificate in Schedule 1 to these Rules." Holders should read that section of the new form to see which conditions are covered.
New forms and a transition window
The Rules also replace the application form and the firearm and shotgun certificates themselves. Applications on the old form can still be processed if the police force for the area where the applicant lives receives them on or before Thursday 29 October 2026. After that, only the new form will do.
What to do now
If you or your team hold certificates, make sure everyone knows about the new conditions, which come into force on Tuesday, and that they cover seeing any doctor outside their GP practice, including specialists and private or hospital doctors, about a relevant medical condition, as well as a new diagnosis. Anyone part way through a grant or renewal on the old form should get it to their force by 29 October. Breaching a certificate condition puts the certificate at risk, so this is worth a short briefing rather than an assumption that people will notice.
This piece is based on the statutory instrument itself (S.I. 2026/1050). We found no accompanying Home Office announcement at the time of writing.
