The Fireworks Regulations 2004

• Citation: S.I. 2004/1836
• Sections: 13

Section 1 Citation, commencement and extent

(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Fireworks Regulations 2004 and, except for regulations 9 and 11, shall come into force on 7th August 2004.

(2) Regulations 9 and 11 shall come into force on 1st January 2005.

(3) These Regulations shall not extend to Northern Ireland.

(4) Regulation 7 of these Regulations shall not extend to Scotland.

Section 2 Revocation of the Fireworks Regulations 2003

The Fireworks Regulations 2003 are revoked.

Section 3 Interpretation

In these Regulations—

“ adult firework ” means a—

category F2 firework;

category F3 firework; or

category F4 firework.

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“assembly” means an assembly which includes any firework;

“ category F2 firework ” has the meaning set out in paragraph 2 of Schedule 1 to the 2015 Regulations;

“ category F3 firework ” has the meaning set out in paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 to the 2015 Regulations;

“ category F4 firework ” has the meaning set out in paragraph 4 of Schedule 1 to the 2015 Regulations;

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“ explosives ” has the meaning set out in regulation 2(1) of the Explosives Regulations 2014;

“ firework ” means any article, intended for entertainment purposes, containing explosive substances or an explosive mixture of substances designed to produce heat, light, sound, gas or smoke or a combination of such effects through self-sustained exothermic chemical reactions;

“local licensing authority” means in relation to—

the City of London, the Common Council for the City of London;

an area in the rest of London, the London Borough Council for that area;

an area where there is a fire and civil defence authority, that authority;

the Isles of Scilly, the Council of the Isles of Scilly;

an area in the rest of England, the county council for that area or where there is no county council for that area, the district council for that area;

an area in Scotland, the council for the local government area; and

an area in Wales, the county council or the county borough council for that area;

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“pyrotechnic composition” means a substance or a mixture of a substance designed to produce an effect by heat, light, sound, gas or smoke or a combination of these as the result of non-detonative self-sustaining exothermic chemical reactions;

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“the 1987 Act ” means the Consumer Protection Act 1987 ;

“the 2003 Act ” means the Fireworks Act 2003 ;

“ the 2015 Regulations ” means the Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2015;

“the court” means—

in relation to a decision by a local licensing authority located in England and Wales, a magistrates' court in whose jurisdiction the local licensing authority is situated; and

in relation to a decision by a local licensing authority located in Scotland, the sheriff in whose jurisdiction the local licensing authority is situated;

“the importation enforcement duty” means the duty imposed by section 27(1) of the 1987 Act, insofar as that duty is, by virtue of section 12(1) of the 2003 Act, exercisable in relation to the enforcement of the prohibition imposed by regulation 11 below;

“the licensing enforcement duty” means the duty imposed by section 27(1) of the 1987 Act, insofar as that duty is, by virtue of section 12(1) of the 2003 Act, exercisable in relation to the enforcement of the prohibition imposed by regulation 9 below;

“the possession enforcement duty” means the duty imposed by section 27(1) of the 1987 Act, insofar as that duty is, by virtue of section 12(1) of the 2003 Act, exercisable in relation to the enforcement of the prohibitions imposed by regulations 4 and 5 below;

“the use enforcement duty” means the duty imposed by section 27(1) of the 1987 Act, insofar as that duty is, by virtue of section 12(1) of the 2003 Act, exercisable in relation to the enforcement of the prohibition imposed by regulation 7 below; and

“throwdown” means a firework comprising impact-sensitive explosive composition and grains of inert material wrapped in paper or foil and which functions to produce a report when thrown onto the ground.

Section 4 Prohibition of possession of fireworks by persons below the age of eighteen

(1) Subject to regulation 6 below, no person under the age of eighteen years shall possess an adult firework in a public place.

(2) In paragraph (1) above “public place” includes any place to which at the material time the public have or are permitted access, whether on payment or otherwise.

Section 5 Prohibition of possession of category 4 fireworks

Subject to regulation 6 below, no person shall possess a category F4 firework .

Section 6 Exceptions to regulations 4 and 5

(1) Regulations 4 and 5 above shall not prohibit the possession of any firework by—

(a) any person who is employed by, or in business as, a professional organiser or operator of firework displays and who possesses the firework in question for the purposes of his employment or business;

(b) any person who is employed in, or whose trade or business (or part of whose trade or business) is, the manufacture of fireworks or assemblies and who possesses the firework in question for the purposes of his trade, employment or business;

(c) any person who is employed in, or whose trade or business (or part of whose trade or business) is, the supply of fireworks or assemblies, for the purpose of supplying them in accordance with the provisions of the 2015 Regulations ;

(d) any person who is employed by a local authority and who, in the course of his employment, possesses the firework in question for any of the following purposes—

(i) the putting on of a firework display by that local authority; or

(ii) the use by that local authority of the firework in question at a national public celebration or a national commemorative event;

(e) any person for use, in the course of a trade or business of his or in the course of his employment, for special effects purposes in the theatre, on film or on television;

(f) any person employed by or otherwise acting on behalf of a local authority, enforcement authority or other body, where—

(i) the authority or body has enforcement powers, conferred by or under any enactment, applying to the firework in question; and

(ii) the person so employed possesses the firework in question for the purposes of the authority or body exercising those enforcement powers;

(g) any person who is employed by a department of the Government of the United Kingdom and who, in the course of his employment, possesses the firework in question for any of the following purposes—

(i) the putting on of a firework display by that department;

(ii) the use by that department of the firework in question at a national public celebration or a national commemorative event; or

(iii) the use by that department of the firework in question for research or investigations;

(h) any person who—

(i) is in business as or employed by a supplier of goods designed and intended for use in conjunction with fireworks or assemblies; and

(ii) possesses the firework in question solely for the purposes of testing those goods to ensure that, when used in conjunction with fireworks or assemblies of the same type, they will perform their intended function or comply with any provision made by or under any enactment and relating to the safety of those goods; or

(i) any person who is employed by an establishment of the naval, military or air forces of the Crown and who, in the course of his employment, possesses the firework in question for any of the following purposes—

(i) the putting on of a fireworks display by that establishment; or

(ii) the use by that establishment of the firework in question at a national public celebration or a national commemorative event.

(2) Regulation 5 above shall not prohibit the possession of any firework by any person who is employed in, or whose trade or business (or part of whose trade or business) is, the transport of fireworks and who possesses the firework in question for the purposes of his trade, employment or business.

Section 7 Prohibition of use of certain fireworks at night

(1) Subject to paragraph (2) below, no person shall use an adult firework during night hours.

(2) Paragraph (1) above shall not prohibit the use of a firework—

(a) during a permitted fireworks night; or

(b) by any person who is employed by a local authority and who uses the firework in question—

(i) for the purposes of putting on a firework display by that local authority; or

(ii) at a national public celebration or a national commemorative event.

(3) In this regulation, “night hours” means the period beginning at 11 pm and ending at 7 am the following day and a “permitted fireworks night” means a period—

(a) beginning at 11 pm on the first day of the Chinese New Year and ending at 1 am the following day;

(b) beginning at 11pm and ending at midnight on 5th November;

(c) beginning at 11 pm on the day of Diwali and ending at 1 am the following day; or

(d) beginning at 11 pm on 31st December and ending at 1 am the following day.

Section 8 Prohibition of supply of excessively loud category 3 fireworks

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Section 9 Licensing of fireworks suppliers

(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (2A) below, no person shall supply or expose for supply any adult firework, save in accordance with either—

(a) a licence granted in respect of each premises under his control at which the fireworks are supplied or exposed for supply; or

(b) a licence granted to him, if the fireworks which he supplies or exposes for supply are kept at premises which are not under his control.

(2) Paragraph (1) above shall not prohibit the supply or exposing for supply, otherwise than in accordance with a licence, of adult fireworks—

(a) on the first day of the Chinese New Year and the three days immediately preceding it;

(b) on the day of Diwali and the three days immediately preceding it;

(c) during the period beginning on the 15th October and ending on the 10th November; or

(d) during the period beginning on the 26th December and ending on the 31st December.

(2A) Paragraph (1) above shall not prohibit the supply or exposing for supply, otherwise than in accordance with a licence, of adult fireworks—

(a) to a person who is employed in, or whose trade or business (or part of whose trade or business) is the supply of fireworks or assemblies, for the purpose of that person’s supplying them in accordance with the provisions of the 2015 Regulations ;

(b) to a person who is employed by, or in business as, a professional organiser or operator of firework displays for the purpose of that person’s employment or business; or

(c) to a person who is employed in, or whose trade or business (or part of whose trade or business) is, the transport of fireworks, for the purpose of that person’s trade, employment or business.

(3) An application for a licence under this regulation shall be made to the local licensing authority in whose area—

(a) the premises concerned are located in the case of a licence mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) above, or

(b) the principal business premises of the applicant are located in the case of a licence mentioned in paragraph (1)(b) above.

(4) A local licensing authority may only grant a licence to a person (“A”) under paragraph (1), if satisfied that—

(a) A, or another person on A's behalf, holds a valid licence for the storage of the fireworks under the Explosives Regulations 2014; or

(b) a licence for storage of the fireworks is not required under the Explosives Regulations 2014.

(5) A local licensing authority may refuse to grant a licence, or may revoke a licence which it has granted, if the applicant has committed—

(a) an offence under section 11 of the 2003 Act;

(b) an offence under regulation 62 of the 2015 Regulations;

(c) an offence under section 32 of the Explosives Act 1875; or

(d) an offence in relation to the use, storage or keeping of fireworks under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 .

(6) Where a local licensing authority refuses to grant a licence, or revokes a licence, it shall notify the applicant of its decision.

(7) A local licensing authority shall charge a fee of £500 a year in connection with the grant of a licence in accordance with this regulation.

(8) A person may appeal to the court against a decision of a local licensing authority to refuse to grant him a licence, or to revoke a licence, and any such appeal shall be made within 28 days of the decision in question being notified to that person.

Section 10 Information about ... fireworks

(1) No person shall supply or expose for supply any adult firework or sparkler unless—

(a) where category F2 fireworks or category F3 fireworks are supplied or exposed for supply in any premises, he displays in a prominent position in those premises a notice, which measures no less than 420 millimetres by 297 millimetres and whose letters are no less than 16 millimetres high, stating the required information, or

(b) where category F2 fireworks or category F3 fireworks are supplied or exposed for supply in circumstances not mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) above, he gives the required information to any person to whom the fireworks are supplied or exposed for supply.

(2) In paragraph (1), the “ required information ” means information that—

(a) it is illegal to sell category F2 fireworks or category F3 fireworks to anyone under the age of 18; and

(b) it is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to possess category F2 fireworks or category F3 fireworks in a public place.

(3) No person shall supply any firework unless, if requested to do so by a local licensing authority, he provides that authority with the following information—

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(b) the name and address of the person to whom he is supplying the fireworks , except where that person is an economic operator within the meaning of regulation 2(1) of the 2015 Regulations ;

(c) the date when the fireworks were supplied to him;

(d) the date when he supplied or proposes to supply the fireworks to another person; and

(e) the total amount of explosives contained in the fireworks supplied.

(4) No person shall supply any adult firework unless he maintains for a period of three years, beginning with the date on which he supplies that firework, a record of the following information—

(a) the name and address of the person who supplied the firework to him;

(b) the name and address of the person to whom he is supplying the firework;

(c) the date when the firework was supplied to him;

(d) the date when he supplied the firework to another person; and

(e) the total amount of explosives contained in the firework supplied.

(3A) A person who supplies adult fireworks shall, if requested by a local licensing authority within the period mentioned in paragraph (3) above to provide any of the information mentioned in that paragraph, provide to that authority such information as is specified in the request.

(4) Paragraphs (3) and (3A) above shall not apply if, in a single transaction, the total amount of the explosives contained in the fireworks supplied is less than or equal to 50 kilograms.

Section 11 Importation of fireworks

No person shall import any firework, unless he has given the following information to the Commissioners of Customs and Excise—

(a) his name and address;

(b) the name of the person who is to store the fireworks following their importation; and

(c) the address of the premises at which the fireworks are to be stored following their importation.

Section 12 Transfer of enforcement duties

(1) The possession enforcement duty in England and Wales is hereby transferred to the chief officer of police of each police force and shall be the duty of every chief officer of police in relation to the police area for which the force in question is maintained .

(2) The possession enforcement duty in Scotland is hereby transferred to the chief constable of each police force and shall be the duty of every chief constable in relation to the police area for which the force in question is maintained .

(3) The use enforcement duty in England and Wales is hereby transferred to the chief officer of police of each police force and shall be the duty of every chief officer of police in relation to the police area for which the force in question is maintained.

(4) The importation enforcement duty is hereby transferred to the Commissioners of Customs and Excise and shall be the duty of the Commissioners of Customs and Excise.

(5) Every weights and measures authority of Great Britain is hereby relieved of the possession enforcement duty and the importation enforcement duty.

(6) Every weights and measures authority in England and Wales is hereby relieved of the use enforcement duty.

(7) In relation to every metropolitan county, the licensing enforcement duty is hereby transferred to the fire and rescue authority for that county and any weights and measures authority for that county or any part of that county is hereby relieved of the licensing enforcement duty.

Section 13 Proceedings

In England and Wales a magistrates' court may try an information in respect of an offence under section 11 of the 2003 Act arising from a contravention of a prohibition imposed by these Regulations if the information is laid within twelve months from the time when the offence was committed, and in Scotland summary proceedings for such an offence may be brought at any time within twelve months from the time when the offence was committed.