If you wish to store fireworks or other explosives you need to be licensed with Trading Standards (unless you already hold a licence from Suffolk Police or the Health and Safety Executive).
The cost of licence(s) you need, will depend on the amount of explosives you have and when you wish to sell them.
Fireworks Storage licence
With this licence you can store fireworks throughout the year BUT only sell fireworks:
- between 15 October and 10 November
- between 26 December and 31 December
- Chinese New Year, the first day and the three days immediately preceding it
- on the day of Diwali and the three days immediately preceding it
If you wish to sell fireworks all year round you will also need a Fireworks Annual Licence.
Licence period
Licences normally run from 1 October to 30 September the following year.
You must renew your licence before 30 September or you will be removed from the register of persons able to store explosives.
Current Fees (April 2024)
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Storage of up to 250kg NEC
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1 year
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2 Years*
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3 Years*
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4 Years*
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5 Years*
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New Licence
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£119
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£154
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£190
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£226
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£260
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Licence Renewal
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£59
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£94
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£132
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£166
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£202
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Storage of 250 kg to 2000kg NEC
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1 Year
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2 Years*
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3 Years*
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4 Years*
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5 Years*
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New Licence
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£202
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£266
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£333
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£409
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£463
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Licence Renewal
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£94
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£161
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£226
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£291
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£357
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Variation - name of licensee or address
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£40
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Variation - any other kind of variation
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The reasonable cost** to the licensing authority of having the work carried out
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Transfer / Replacement of Licence
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£40
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* Licences for greater than 1 year are subject to agreement with licensing authority.
**Reasonable cost is associated with hourly rates charged by your Authority.
Any new applications will require a visit to the storage site, therefore please allow at least 3 weeks for your licence to be issued and before you arrange delivery of any fireworks.
Guidance
The following guidance on the storage of fireworks can be found and downloaded (for free) from the Health & Safety Executive website.
The Explosive Regulations are supported by a suite of overarching and sub-sector guidance.
Overarching guidance consists of two documents:
Sub-Sector guidance:
Due to the diverse nature of the industry, HSE has worked with a variety of industry groups to produce more detailed guidance specific to each subsector.
Storage Advice
This flowchart (PDF, 199KB) may assist in identifying the quantity of explosives that you would be able to store legally.
