Explosives Licensing

Explosives Acts 1875
Manufacture and Storage of Explosives Regulations 2005

Any person who stores fireworks must take appropriate measures:

To prevent fire or explosion
To limit the extent of fire or explosion including measures to prevent the spreading of fires and the communication of explosions from one location to another
To protect persons from the effects of fire or explosion

Risk assessments (RAs)

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR) and the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR) both require risk assessments to be undertaken.

Therefore a risk assessment should be undertaken but is only required to have been recorded if there are more than five people employed at the business.

Some useful guidelines have been produced by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and are available on their website: Fireworks in shops: Retailers’ risk assessment checklist (PDF 35KB) and Storing and selling fireworks safely (PDF 166kb).

Method of storage

Methods of storage are as follows:

An ISO freight container
A dedicated store room
A fully enclosed substantial (small gauge) wire mesh compound (and still in transit packaging)
A demarcated area for an amount not exceeding 75 kg, in their sealed/resealed transport packaging (this is not appropriate for small shops)
A substantial cupboard, cabinet, container or display case

The containers the fireworks are stored in must be clearly labelled as storing fireworks. If the fireworks are stored inside an ISO freight container the label should be an orange diamond with a black 4 (the 4 refers to the category). Category 4 is retail fireworks.

Manufacture of fireworks

Manufacturing of fireworks includes their repair, modification, dismantling etc. and anyone doing this requires a licence.

Storage licence

A person storing in excess of 250 kg HT4 and 100 kg of HT3 will need a licence.

Registration for storage

A person registered with the local authority can store:

Up to 250 kg of fireworks of HT4
Up to 100 kg of fireworks of HT3

Please note this is a net weight

Fireworks must be in containers each holding no more than 12.5 kg.

The amount of fireworks that can be kept on the shop floor is dependent on the size of the shop and goes up to 75 kg.

Floor area of sales area (square metres)	Quantity of Explosives (kg)
Not exceeding 20	12.5
Not exceeding 40	15
Not exceeding 60	20
Not exceeding 80	25
Not exceeding 100	30
Not exceeding 150	35
Not exceeding 200	40
Not exceeding 250	45
Not exceeding 300	50
Not exceeding 350	55
Not exceeding 400	60
Not exceeding 450	65
Not exceeding 499	70
Equal to or exceeding 500	75

Separation distances

Persons storing over 250 kg fireworks must maintain separation distances between stores and other buildings, thoroughfares etc.

If storing over 75 kg in a building adjoining a dwelling, further fire precautions are necessary such as installing a fire detection system.

The Fireworks Regulations 2004

A notice must be displayed where fireworks are supplied or exposed for supply stating:

It is illegal to sell fireworks to anyone under the age of 18
It is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to possess fireworks in a public place

When can you sell?

Fireworks can only be sold between:

15 October - 10 November
26 - 31 December
Three days prior to and including Diwali and the Chinese New Year.

How to apply

Apply for a new registration licence or storage licence using the links on the right. Ensure you have read the guidance notes above and to the right before completing the application forms.

Each form takes about 10 minutes to complete online and you can monitor your progress using the progress bar at the bottom of the screen.