Explosives licence

The legal requirements under The Explosives Act 1875 for a person to hold a licence or registration for explosives storage, has now been replaced by The Manufacture and Storage of Explosives Regulations 2005.

Most applications to this service will concern the storage of fireworks for sale through retail shops and which can be purchased by the public. They are known as hazard type 4 explosives.

Where only that type of explosive is kept a person may apply for registration but no more than 250kg net explosive mass of those goods can be kept at a premise. Storage of larger amounts requires an explosives licence.

If you wish to apply or renew a licence or registration for explosives you need to complete an application form. All such licensing must be renewed annually by 31 August.

Fees

• First time application for registration - £72
• Renewal - £36
• First time application for licence - £120
• Renewal - £77

Please make cheques payable to Plymouth City Council.

To apply or renew, please download and complete the application form from the documents table below. There is guidance on page 4 of the form. In the event of any query please contact the trading standards duty officer on 01752 304141 or email trading.standards@plymouth.gov.uk.

Vehicle air bag inflators etc, nail gun cartridges

There are some exceptions in the regulations where a person does not need to hold an explosives licence or registration if the explosive or explosive article kept is listed in Schedule I of The Control of Explosives Regulations 1991 and the net explosive mass does not exceed a maximum of 5 kilograms. These exceptions may apply to businesses such as repair garages and hire centres which prior to the new Regulations would typically have been registered.

Important notice - fireworks licence

This is a separate licence to allow the sale of fireworks all year round. The fee has been set by Government at £500. Currently there are two such premises within the city.

Please contact The Principal Trading Standards Officer above if you would like to apply.

For more information on fireworks please visit the Department of Trade and Industry website and the Health and Safety Executive website for storing and selling fireworks safely and 'Fireworks in shops: Retailers risk assessment checklist.

Documents

To view these documents you might need to download some software. Visit our downloads page for more information.

	Explosives application form - an application form to register premises for the keeping of explosives and to store explosives on your premises. File format Adobe Acrobat (pdf) - 180KB
	Giving your own fireworks display - guidance for people planning their own fireworks display. File format Adobe Acrobat (pdf) - 62KB

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