A new application
The percentage says how many NPCC-reported grant applications were completed within four months. It does not say how long each person waited.
FIREARMS LICENSING / NPCC / Q1 2026–27
One licence,
two speeds.
In Avon & Somerset, the overall figure is 88.64%. For new grants, the same four-month measure falls to 7.59%; for renewals, it reaches 97.49%.
Sources: NPCC / Q1 2026–27 · HMICFRS / 28 August 2026
For: firearms-certificate applicants, local reporters and readers concerned with public safety.
The short answer: the large percentage blends different services. You can compare all 43 NPCC rows and see exactly what this speed measure does — and does not — measure.
Next: split the headline, choose another row, and keep processing separate from safety. The question: how wide is the same gap?
The figures come from the official NPCC table, for applications completed in the 12 months to 30 June 2026. The system context and 38-unit frame come from HMICFRS's review, published on 28 August 2026.
IS NOT ONE SERVICEsame window / different entries
TOTAL / 4 MONTHS88.64%4,979 of 5,617 completed within the window
NEW GRANTS7.59%
RENEWALS97.49%
Gap between the two services: 89.90 percentage points
01 / THE CONCLUSION
88.64% is a blend, not a verdict.
In the NPCC table, a force's overall percentage combines grants and renewals. In Avon & Somerset, 4,979 of 5,617 completed applications fall within four months: that is where 88.64% comes from.
But the two services behind it are not alike. New grants show 7.59%; renewals show 97.49%. This table does not tell us why. It does tell us that the overall figure does not show the difference.
NEW GRANTS7.59%within four months
RENEWALS97.49%within four months
REPORTED TOTAL88.64%4,979 / 5,617 applications
The reader gain: ask “which service?” before asking “which percentage?”. That is a reading correction, not a causal explanation.
02 / COMPARE THE ROWS
Choose a force. Keep the same question.
The list below keeps NPCC's reported grant and renewal percentages. Selecting a row updates the reading card; it does not change the data or construct a cause.
You can also use the numbered buttons. The initial row is Avon & Somerset.
01 / SELECTEDAvon & Somerset
- Renewal − grant
- 89.90 pp
- Completed
- 4,979 / 5,617
- Temporary permits
- 6
Grant and renewal percentages are carried through from NPCC. We do not infer their application counts.
43 NPCC ROWSGRANTSRENEWALS
Download the rows as CSVthe same fields, with no people or case data
03 / THE DEFINITION
The two percentages answer a narrow question.
An application renewed
The percentage does the same for renewals. NPCC publishes the two categories separately before the combined figure.
Four months, not average time
It is a threshold measure. A value of 7.59% cannot be used to calculate an average, a median, or a delay 16 times longer.
Included: applications completed in the 12 months to 30 June 2026, for grants and renewals of shotgun, firearm and registered-dealer certificates, according to NPCC's notes. Not used for turnaround: withdrawn applications and one-day operations such as reprints and temporary permits.
04 / THE UNITS
43 rows do not mean 43 control units.
NPCC / TABLE43police forces
HMICFRS / INSPECTION38firearms and explosives licensing units
HMICFRS uses a 38-unit frame when describing practice, oversight and service differences in England and Wales. NPCC publishes 43 force rows here. Some units serve more than one force, so we do not overlay them onto a false map.
The service looks different
The grant/renewal rows make one part of processing variation visible and checkable.
This is a safety ranking
There is no measure here of suitability decisions, controls or public risk. Speed is not safety.
05 / THE SAFETY BOUNDARY
Speed is not safety.
A higher percentage does not prove a safer decision; a lower percentage does not prove a weaker one.
The four-month threshold groups completions. It does not show the distribution of days, open cases or remaining waits.
Volume, case mix, backlogs and recording can affect the reading. This table does not test those explanations.
That is why we do not calculate:“16 times slower”, “16 times more dangerous”, or any other conclusion about people from 98.34% versus 6.35%.
Recheck: after the next NPCC quarterly release, or sooner if the table or HMICFRS framework changes.
06 / SOURCES AND METHOD
Sources keep the comparison bounded.
01 / FIGURESNPCC / PDF / 29 JULY 2026
2026–27 Q1 firearms licensing data
Rows with applications received, completed, completed within four months, published grant and renewal percentages, and temporary-permit context.
Open the NPCC release ↗02 / CONTEXTHMICFRS / 28 AUGUST 2026
Firearms licensing system not fit for purpose
Institutional context about inconsistent practice, service differences and the proposed national body. The 38-unit frame remains different from the 43 forces in the table.
Open the HMICFRS page ↗Three-step method:
- keep NPCC's published grant/renewal percentages;
- check the overall as
completed within four months ÷ completed × 100, rounded to two decimals; - keep source context separate from any cause or safety verdict.
View JSON data and definitionsthe decisive archive and hashes are documented in SOURCES.md
07 / THE NEXT QUESTION
The useful question for the next table.
If a national service publishes one number, readers should be able to split it into grants and renewals. Otherwise a good average can hide the service a new applicant needs.
A percentage is the start of a question.
Here, the right question is “for whom, and for which kind of application?”. Keeping that question close keeps the number close to reality.
Same table. Two services. A comparison that promises no more than it can measure.