People applying for firearm and shotgun certificates through Devon and Cornwall Police are waiting several months on average for their applications to be processed, according to new figures.

A Freedom of Information request found that new shotgun certificate applications are currently taking an average of 157 days to complete, while new firearm certificate applications are taking an average of 134 days.

Renewal applications are also taking several weeks, with shotgun certificate renewals averaging 85 days and firearm certificate renewals averaging 92 days.

The force said variations to existing certificates are currently processed more quickly, with an average processing time of 10 days.

The figures, provided by the force’s Firearms Licensing Department, are correct as of June 4 2026.

Devon and Cornwall Police currently has 23,847 shotgun certificate holders and 9,801 firearm certificate holders within its force area.