Fireworks manufacture, storage and sales licences

What this covers

You need specific licences to manufacture fireworks, store fireworks, and sell fireworks all year round (except when selling at specific times set out below).

It applies in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Why you need it

This licence is not an administrative preference — it exists because Parliament created it. The power to require it comes from Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

What the Act carries

These are the duties, penalties and exemptions our graph holds for Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 as a whole — the Act behind this licence, not the licence conditions themselves. They show what sort of instrument you are dealing with.

Duties on businesses

13

Penalties

14

Exemptions

5

Duties on businesses under the Act

• Protect the health, safety, and welfare of all employees s.2
• Protect the health and safety of non-employees and the public s.3
• Ensure safety of premises for non-employees and the public s.4
• Prevent and minimize harmful emissions from business premises s.5
• Ensure safety of products, equipment, and substances supplied for work s.6
• Take reasonable care for health and safety and cooperate with employer s.7

… and 7 more business duties in the same Act.

What happens if you get it wrong

• Ensure products and substances supplied for work are safe and provide safety information 2 years imprisonment
• Keep premises, access routes and plant safe for non‑employees 2 years imprisonment
• Prevent and control harmful emissions from your premises 2 years imprisonment
• Protect health and safety of people who are not your employees 2 years imprisonment
• Breach of general employer or self-employed duties 2 years imprisonment

… and 9 more penalties in the same Act.

Exemptions that may take you outside it

• Anonymised data exempt from health and safety disclosure restrictions — Information is disclosed in a form where the specific person or case cannot be identified
• Domestic servants in private households exempt from health and safety laws — Employment as a domestic servant in a private household
• Protection from civil lawsuits for general health and safety breaches — Claims brought in civil proceedings regarding breaches of sections 2 to 8
• Rail safety regulations exempt from general Secretary of State powers — Regulations made for or in connection with railway safety purposes
• Scottish businesses exempt from summary prosecutions by H&S inspectors — Operations or legal proceedings located in Scotland

Read our full dossier on Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

Who issues it

Your local council issues this, acting as the licensing authority for the area you trade in. Councils apply the same statute but set their own fees, conditions and timescales, so two neighbouring authorities can reach you differently.

Where to apply

Our guidance on this

Everything below is written out in full elsewhere on Guvnor — this page points at it rather than repeating it.

Duty, penalty and exemption labels are Guvnor’s analysis of the enabling instrument, not the instrument itself. Fees, forms and conditions are set by the issuing authority — always check the linked source.

← All licences