# UK - explosives licences-do i need one? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 10, 2003, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-explosives-licences-do-i-need-one/200749 "2003-09-10T14:10:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![paulberserker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@paulberserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulberserker)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2003, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-explosives-licences-do-i-need-one/200749/1 "2003-09-10T14:10:22Z")
right, i want to set up days out where i blow up old car wrecks and kitchen appliances (fridges etc) in a field. lets say i own this field. its not near residential areas. my purposes are entertainment based and i have no desire to use these explosives anywhere else or on anything other than items mentioned above. if i got the proper training or hired someone with training in the field of explosives, would i be able to obtain a licence for this kind of thing? would it need some kind of government or police supervision, like a fireworks display? and more importantly, would people be allowed to drink nearby (ie safe distance)? would my ownership of said field negate needing permission? -ie- this is my land and i’ll blow what the hell i like up on it. any legal explosive advise would be most appreciated ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2003, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-explosives-licences-do-i-need-one/200749/2 "2003-09-10T15:22:44Z")
You are potentially breaking so many laws there it’s unbelievable. For a start, blowing stuff up would require an explosives licence From [here](http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg115.htm) (I can’t find the actual rules online) > [@](#): > > HSE has published a detailed guidance booklet L10 Control of Explosives Regulations 1991: Notes for Guidance. This booklet contains the full text of the Regulations, and a step-by-step guide to how they will affect anyone involved with the acquisition, keeping, handling or controlling of explosives. It is available from HMSO ISBN 0 11 885670 7. > > You may also want to contact the Explosives Liaison Officer (ELO) of your local police station. Next, blowing up a fridge is a really bad idea, unless the freon (or whatever) has been drained. That’s an [environmental incident](http://www.crtech.co.uk/crtinfo/ec_reg2037_2000.asp) > [@](#): > > d) Recovery & Destruction > With immediate effect, all ODS used in refrigeration and air conditioning equipment must be recovered during servicing and maintenance of equipment or prior to dismantling or disposal of equipment. After 1 st January 2001 recovered CFCs must be destroyed by an approved technology. Recovered HCFCs can either be destroyed or can be re-used until 2015. This does not apply to domestic refrigerators and freezers on disposal until 1 st January 2002. > EC directive 2037/2003 People drinking nearby would almost certainly require an [entertainment licence](http://www.crewe-nantwich.gov.uk/online_services/legal/112_PublicEntertainment/pubEnt.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2003, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-explosives-licences-do-i-need-one/200749/3 "2003-09-10T15:45:07Z")
Plus there will be safety implications; i.e. the need to make sure that nobody is going to get killed by a flying chunk of appliance. ---
**Author:** ![Zorro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ad7895/32.png) [@Zorro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zorro)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2003, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-explosives-licences-do-i-need-one/200749/4 "2003-09-10T17:13:59Z")
Well you don’t need a licence to buy stack-loads of fireworks and you don’t need permission to hold a little fireworks display in your own field for a few friends during a party, and at a party, it’s only normal that people should be drinking… Make of that what you will. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2003, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-explosives-licences-do-i-need-one/200749/5 "2003-09-10T17:37:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zorro \* > \*\*Well you don’t need a licence to buy stack-loads of fireworks and you don’t need permission to hold a little fireworks display in your own field for a few friends during a party, and at a party, it’s only normal that people should be drinking… > > Make of that what you will. \*\* You do not need a licence to buy fireworks that are already licenced for sale to the general public. Have a look at [http://www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/topics1/guide/fireworkguide.pdf](http://www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/topics1/guide/fireworkguide.pdf) for further information as to what can be done legally. Note that I am linking to official sites which refer to UK law. They might be more reliable than anecdote. Of course the best person to ask is the person referred to in my first post:- the Explosives Liaison Officer (ELO) of your local police station. I expect she will know more about this stuff than us dopers.