Bored at work....wondering about certificates and licenses

[walesdave]

Morning all,
Bit bored at work and mind is wandering......I'm picking up a new Sec2 shotgun today which I'm going to convert to Sec1 and got thinking about the different pieces of paper we have to allow us to own various guns....

I know the point has been made in several posts that we don't hold firearms licenses but we are certified as fit to own firearms; can anyone explain this is words of one syllable as I've never really got it?

Cheers

David

[Blackstuff]

A license grants you authority to do something. i.e. the 'power' is bestowed upon you. A certificate shows you have the authority to do something. i.e. you have the 'power/right' but it requires the certificate to show you are fit to exercise it. Or that's my understanding anyway.

[Sim G]

The "certificate" is now treated as a license because of the conditions attached to ownership of firearms since 1920. It is for all intents and purposes a licence now.