Explosive Store Licence

Local authorities, together with the Department of Justice, assess applications to store or display explosives such as ammunition and fireworks, and may grant or refuse a licence based on their assessment.

Under national explosives legislation, explosives must be stored in one of the following:

  • a licenced factory or magazine
  • a store (licensed by the local authority)
  • a premises registered for keeping explosives

There are several licences you may apply for:

  • as a registered premises
  • for a store licence
  • for a factory or magazine licence

See information below on how to apply for each.

Note: it is sometimes wrongly assumed that being a registered firearms dealer (under the Firearms Acts) automatically means that the premises is also registered for storage under the Explosives Act when, in fact, this is separate legislation. A registered firearms dealer needs to have either a registered premises or a local authority store to keep their stocks of ammunition.