Dealers, manufacturers, gunsmiths and armourers: registers and record-keeping
Who needs what
Trading in firearms, manufacturing firearms and conducting business as a gunsmith each require a licence plus the matching competency (trade, manufacture, gunsmith). An armourer working under a dealer or gunsmith performs repairs and servicing within that business's authorisation and records, and does not acquire an independent right to trade.
The register is the core control
Every dealer, manufacturer and gunsmith must keep a register in the prescribed form recording, for each firearm and for ammunition: the date, make, model, calibre and serial number; the identity and licence, permit or authorisation particulars of the person from whom it was received or to whom it was disposed; and the nature of the transaction. Firearms received for repair must be receipted and tracked until returned. Records must be open to police inspection and retained for the period the Regulations prescribe.
Handover discipline
No firearm may be delivered to a person who does not produce a valid licence or permit for that firearm, and the transaction must be recorded before the firearm leaves the premises. Loss, theft or damage must be reported immediately, and stock must be reconciled.
Traps
- Answering that a dealer 'may sell to anyone with an identity document'.
- Forgetting that ammunition transactions are also recorded.
- Treating a register entry as an administrative nicety - failing to keep the prescribed records is an offence regardless of good faith.
Worked example
A dealer takes a rifle in trade. Before it enters stock the dealer records the firearm's make, model, calibre and serial number, the seller's identity and the licence or permit under which it was received, and the date. A later sale without those entries leaves both the firearm and the dealer's licence exposed.