It never ends the Nightmare FAC/SGC/Air Weapon renewal!

[ovenpaa]

Ouch, what an absolute litany of errors.

We have our RFD renewal this year and I am dreading it as I have no real idea of what would happen if the RFD expired before the new one is issued, well no idea other than I would be in unlawful possession of firearms... From memory the Viking had her FAC expire some 6-7 weeks ago now and still no sign of anything so her firearms are lodged with an RFD which is a nonsense as it just means I had to spend ages transferring them all across to our RFD register and she still has access to them.

[snayperskaya]

I sent my FAC in to Warwickshire and West Mercia for a one-for-one variation fairly recently and it came back with my renewed certificate which they processed nearly a month and a half early, granted there were a few small errors (which were sorted out with a minimum of fuss) but I was surprised it was processed early with no renewal visitl.

[IainWR]

FAC renewals went electronic wef 1 Jan 18. I haven't yet had time to play with the system in detail to see how well it works.
Since about the middle of 2017, the Policing & Crime Act introduced the 8-week automatic extension to FACs validity provided that you submit the renewal application correctly at least 8 weeks ahead of the renewal date.

[Alpha1]

FAC renewals went electronic wef 1 Jan 18. I haven't yet had time to play with the system in detail to see how well it works.
Since about the middle of 2017, the Policing & Crime Act introduced the 8-week automatic extension to FACs validity provided that you submit the renewal application correctly at least 8 weeks ahead of the renewal date.

Is that just in your area or Country wide. What happens about submitting the old paper copy of the certificate for renewal and how do you make payment if the system is electronic.

Edit: I copied this of my local forces web site. I guess it must be just in your area.
Download forms
The application forms are available below as fillable PDF files to complete and print out.

Please read and print out the guidance notes on this page carefully before completing the forms.

The electronic submission of grant/renewal or variation forms is currently unavailable however transfer of weapons forms can be completed and emailed to the Firearms Licensing e mail address as above. Use the links below to complete, print and return by post.

[Fedaykin]

Electronic submission would massively speed things up and stop the majority of silly errors caused by Firearms Licensing not transcribing forms correctly. I would also argue some form of Card type driving license style FAC card would make things simpler for everybody.

As for the issues thrown up by the medical check process, not so easy. I think it will be largely down to us making sure there are no issues, so ensuring we are registered with a GP that we have actually seen. If you have never seen your doctor then I suggest you pay for a medical. If they are Anti shooting then you need to switch to another practice sharpish and then chase to make sure your records have gone over. In respect of Anti shooting Doctors that requires our representative organisations building up a picture of problem GP's. If you have moved since your last renewal and changed Doctors check that your records have switched over ASAP!

[IainWR]

FAC renewals went electronic wef 1 Jan 18. I haven't yet had time to play with the system in detail to see how well it works.
Since about the middle of 2017, the Policing & Crime Act introduced the 8-week automatic extension to FACs validity provided that you submit the renewal application correctly at least 8 weeks ahead of the renewal date.

Is that just in your area or Country wide. What happens about submitting the old paper copy of the certificate for renewal and how do you make payment if the system is electronic.

Edit: I copied this of my local forces web site. I guess it must be just in your area.

These are GB-wide laws. It may well be that many police websites have not been updated - I haven't had time to explore the system yet. The old paper forms remain valid till, I believe, 28 Feb. After that, I understand, it's the new ones, though I guess you can print them out (maybe you have to print them out - I'm not clear on how they have dealt with the issue of requiring a physical signature).

Once I've found the answers I'll post again if nobody beats me to it.

[TomH]

FAC renewals went electronic wef 1 Jan 18. I haven't yet had time to play with the system in detail to see how well it works.
Since about the middle of 2017, the Policing & Crime Act introduced the 8-week automatic extension to FACs validity provided that you submit the renewal application correctly at least 8 weeks ahead of the renewal date.

Is that just in your area or Country wide. What happens about submitting the old paper copy of the certificate for renewal and how do you make payment if the system is electronic.

Edit: I copied this of my local forces web site. I guess it must be just in your area.

These are GB-wide laws. It may well be that many police websites have not been updated - I haven't had time to explore the system yet. The old paper forms remain valid till, I believe, 28 Feb. After that, I understand, it's the new ones, though I guess you can print them out (maybe you have to print them out - I'm not clear on how they have dealt with the issue of requiring a physical signature).

Once I've found the answers I'll post again if nobody beats me to it.

So convenient for FAC holders connected to the internet, but less so for those that aren't. Which with the demographic of firearms ownership must be quite a few.

[Alpha1]

You can sign the PDF forms on line if you have a suitable PDF program that acomadates electronic signatures.
I understand that a lot of people wont have that facility and it sort of negates the advange of using a online system. Most people will just print the form off and fill it in then post it.

[ovenpaa]

We are in the Lincolnshire Wolds having moved from Bedfordshire in 2015. Our records were up here electronically with a couple of weeks and interestingly are for the most, accessible for us on line so with a simple login a patient can check all sorts of things through something called 'SystmOnline' Mine has my vaccination records, past medication and appointments, yearly bloods, the ability to book an appointment on-line and request prescriptions. This is a small Lincolnshire village so it cannot be that difficult.

[GeeRam]

We are in the Lincolnshire Wolds having moved from Bedfordshire in 2015. Our records were up here electronically with a couple of weeks and interestingly are for the most, accessible for us on line so with a simple login a patient can check all sorts of things through something called 'SystmOnline' Mine has my vaccination records, past medication and appointments, yearly bloods, the ability to book an appointment on-line and request prescriptions. This is a small Lincolnshire village so it cannot be that difficult.

Head of Lincolnshire Firearms Team just been interviewed on BBC Countryfile 5 mins ago, as well county GP liasion......

Really surprised that BBC have spent 10mins highlighting issue with renewals for FAC and SGC and issue with BMA guidelines, as I thought BBC wouldn't on principle talk about guns on Countryfile.
Pretty good and non-biased report on the issue as well.............not what I was expecting from the BBC.