Air weapon licensing in Scotland: guide

Appendix 7: Criteria for Approving an Air Weapon Club

The following criteria should be considered by air weapon clubs seeking approved status under section 18 of the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015.

The Chief Constable of Police Scotland, as the responsible authority for determining approved status, should consider each application against these criteria. Clubs should not be granted approval unless they meet the criteria set out below.

The criteria are:

1. the club is a genuine air weapon target shooting club with a written constitution;

2. the principal officers of the club are responsible people who can be entrusted with the proper administration of the club. The club must appoint a member to act as a liaison officer with the police;

3. the club has regular use of ranges, whether indoor or outdoor, where shooting can be carried out safely and securely;

4. the security arrangements for the storage of club air weapons are considered satisfactory;

5. if using shared premises, suitable and robust arrangements should be in place to ensure that members of the air weapon club do not have access to more powerful weapons used by, for example, an approved rifle club;

6. the club should have in place adequate financial arrangements, such as insurance cover, to meet any injury or damage claims arising out of the activities of the club;

7. the club has at least 5 members at the time of application and at all times whilst approved unless, exceptionally, the Chief Constable determines that there are special circumstances which justify a lesser number;

8. the club will maintain a register of the attendance of all members together with the competitions, if any, in which they took part;

9. members, prospective members and guests must sign a declaration that they are not prohibited from possessing an air weapon by virtue of section 21 of the Firearms Act 1968 (which applies to persons who have served a term of imprisonment/detention);

10. guests must be supervised on a one-to-one basis at all times by a full club member when handling air weapons.