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Firearm certificates on issue by police force area, England and Wales

Accredited official statistics

Firearm certificates on issue at 31 March in each police force area in England and Wales, in the latest year and the year before, from the Home Office's statistics on firearm and shotgun certificates.

England and Wales

140,257

31 Mar 2026 · from Table 2

Verified against source, 4 November 2026, 22:13 UTC
Firearm certificates on issue by police force area, England and Wales
  • 31 Mar 2026
  • 31 Mar 2025
05k10k15kDevon and Cornwall9,92810,248West Mercia6,8296,932North Yorkshire6,4256,588Avon and Somerset6,1346,315Sussex5,5395,883Thames Valley5,4525,561Kent5,2895,394Hampshire4,8025,036Norfolk4,6374,923Essex4,6174,782Dyfed-Powys4,4534,488Suffolk3,9754,221Lincolnshire3,6673,771Metropolitan Police3,5073,681Wiltshire3,4943,498Northumbria3,2623,426Derbyshire3,2283,290Staffordshire3,1083,231Cumbria3,0873,188Lancashire3,0083,003Dorset2,9643,064West Yorkshire2,8432,986Humberside2,7582,977North Wales2,7102,771Surrey2,5672,717Cheshire2,5552,623Gloucestershire2,4452,535Cambridgeshire2,3142,523Northamptonshire2,2792,348Durham2,2762,379Leicestershire2,2692,337South Yorkshire2,1912,213Warwickshire2,1472,324South Wales1,9121,934Greater Manchester1,8581,891Nottinghamshire1,8021,853Hertfordshire1,7921,844West Midlands1,7091,795Gwent1,4021,457Cleveland1,0861,143Bedfordshire1,0571,240Merseyside874890London, City of63

Source: Home Office. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Data table

43 rows

Area31 Mar 202631 Mar 2025
Devon and Cornwall E230000359,92810,248
West Mercia E230000166,8296,932
North Yorkshire E230000096,4256,588
Avon and Somerset E230000366,1346,315
Sussex E230000335,5395,883
Thames Valley E230000295,4525,561
Kent E230000325,2895,394
Hampshire E230000304,8025,036
Norfolk E230000244,6374,923
Essex E230000284,6174,782
Dyfed-Powys W150000044,4534,488
Suffolk E230000253,9754,221
Lincolnshire E230000203,6673,771
Metropolitan Police E230000013,5073,681
Wiltshire E230000383,4943,498
Northumbria E230000073,2623,426
Derbyshire E230000183,2283,290
Staffordshire E230000153,1083,231
Cumbria E230000023,0873,188
Lancashire E230000033,0083,003
Dorset E230000392,9643,064
West Yorkshire E230000102,8432,986
Humberside E230000122,7582,977
North Wales W150000012,7102,771
Surrey E230000312,5672,717
Cheshire E230000062,5552,623
Gloucestershire E230000372,4452,535
Cambridgeshire E230000232,3142,523
Northamptonshire E230000222,2792,348
Durham E230000082,2762,379
Leicestershire E230000212,2692,337
South Yorkshire E230000112,1912,213
Warwickshire E230000172,1472,324
South Wales W150000031,9121,934
Greater Manchester E230000051,8581,891
Nottinghamshire E230000191,8021,853
Hertfordshire E230000271,7921,844
West Midlands E230000141,7091,795
Gwent W150000021,4021,457
Cleveland E230000131,0861,143
Bedfordshire E230000261,0571,240
Merseyside E23000004874890
London, City of E2300003463

Download CSVDownload JSON with full provenance

Source and licence

Publisher
Home Office
Check it yourself
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/firearm-certificates-in-england-and-wales
Licence
Open Government Licence v3.0 – Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Retrieved
4 November 2026, 22:10 UTC
Raw files fetched

Verification

Verified against source, 4 November 2026, 22:13 UTC Run at 4 November 2026, 22:13 UTC; 86 of 86 figures matched the live source.

ResultCheckDetail
PassProvenance recordedHome Office; Open Government Licence v3.0; retrieved 2026-11-04T22:10:45Z; 3 raw file(s)
PassRaw files match recorded SHA-2563 of 3 files intact
PassRe-parsing raw files reproduces figures86 of 86 figures and the headline reproduced; the meta's missing match
PassFigures are finite numbers86 figures, 0 invalid
PassLive source matches every figure86 of 86 figures match exactly after downloading 3 source file(s) again (3 byte-identical); the headline matches; the meta's missing match
PassGOV.UK table is currentlatest period 2026-03-31 ended 218 days before retrieval (limit 480), from Firearm and shotgun certificates, April 2025 to March 2026: open data tables
PassTable 2 of the same release agrees43 of 43 forces' figures at 2026-03-31 match Table_2's 'Firearm certificates on issue as at 31 March', gaps included
PassThe forces add up to England, Wales and England and Wales4 of 4 cases of the forces' certificates on issue match the Home Office's own total
PassSource page answershttps://www.gov.uk/government/collections/firearm-certificates-in-england-and-wales – HTTP 200

Notes

  • Certificates on issue at 31 March, from the Home Office's open data tables, which give the 43 police force areas. England and Wales's figure is the Home Office's own, from Table 2 of the same release.
  • The Home Office counts each certificate holder in the police force area of their primary address, which may not be where their weapons are kept.