In short
- UKARA is a database, not a licence. The United Kingdom Airsoft Retailers Association runs it so that shops can check that a buyer is a registered skirmisher: someone who plays regularly at an airsoft site.
- There is no licence for airsoft guns in the UK. The law asks for a defence, a legal ground for the sale, when a realistic imitation firearm (RIF) is sold. The defence is the seller's to show, and UKARA is the usual evidence for it.
- Three games, two months. A UKARA site registers you after three games there over at least two months. You must be over 18, live in the UK and show ID.
- It expires. A registration follows your site membership, which usually runs for 12 months. You renew through your site.
- No UKARA yet? At 18 you can buy a two-tone gun today: the same gun in a mostly bright colour.
UKARA in one paragraph: a database, not a licence
UKARA stands for the United Kingdom Airsoft Retailers Association. It runs a database of players who skirmish regularly at registered sites, so that a retailer can check a buyer before selling a realistic imitation firearm (RIF). Your entry is what people call a UKARA number, a UKARA membership or, wrongly, a UKARA licence (or license).
There is no licence for airsoft guns in the UK: you do not need one to own a gun or to play. What the law regulates is the sale.
Licence, defence or registration?
| Term | What it is | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Airsoft licence | Does not exist in the UK | Nowhere: it is a search term, not a document |
| Defence | The legal ground on which a RIF may be sold to you | The Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 and its regulations |
| UKARA registration | Evidence of that defence, held in a retailers' database | A UKARA-registered site, once you have played there |
| UKARA number | The reference a shop uses to look you up | Issued with your registration |
| Site membership | Your membership of the skirmish site itself | The site; often the starting point for UKARA |
Why retailers ask for it: the VCRA defence
The Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (VCRA) made it an offence to sell, manufacture or import a realistic imitation firearm, with defences for a short list of legitimate purposes. Airsoft skirmishing is one of them. The offence is the seller's, so the seller must be able to show that the gun was sold for skirmishing.
A shop cannot watch you play. A register that says "this person has played at an insured site, more than once, over a period of time" is the practical answer.
Four things UKARA is not
Myth
You need a licence to own an airsoft gun.
Fact
No licence exists. Owning a RIF or a two-tone gun is not an offence: the Act regulates selling, making, importing and converting.
Myth
UKARA is a legal requirement.
Fact
It is one way of evidencing a defence, set up by retailers. The law asks for the defence, not for UKARA by name.
Myth
With UKARA you can carry your gun anywhere.
Fact
It changes nothing about public places. A replica travels in a closed bag or case, out of sight.
Myth
UKARA lasts for life.
Fact
It expires: usually after 12 months, with your site membership.
How to get UKARA step by step: three games, two months
You do not apply to UKARA yourself. A skirmish site in the scheme registers you once you have played there: three games at the same registered site over at least two months, the third 56 days or more after the first.
How to get a UKARA number
- Time
- At least two months
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Find a site that registers players
Not every site takes part, so ask before you book.
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Play your first game
Hire a gun or bring a two-tone, and tell the staff you are working towards UKARA so that your game days are recorded.
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Play twice more, with time in between
Three games in total at the same site, the last at least 56 days after the first. Three weekends in a row do not count.
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Fill in the player form
Your site validates the form and enters you in the database. You must be over 18, live in the UK and show ID.
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Receive your number
Shops use your UKARA number to look you up at the checkout.
What it costs and how to renew
UKARA states that player registration is free, and your site handles it. What a site can charge for is its own membership, which a registration usually goes with. Ask at your first game.
How long does UKARA last? UKARA publishes no term: its site only says that the database holds an expiry date. According to the UK retailer Patrol Base, site memberships usually last 12 months, and your registration follows your membership.
Renewal goes through your site and the terms differ: some sites want to see that you still play, others only that your membership is paid. Ask before yours lapses.
UKARA at a glance
- Who registers you
- A skirmish site in the scheme
- Games needed
- Three, at the same site
- Minimum period
- Two months (56 days)
- Valid for
- Usually 12 months, with your site membership
- Who can register
- Over 18, UK resident, with ID
- Cost
- Registration is free, says UKARA; site membership is priced by the site
Buying from a shop with your UKARA number
At a UK retailer you give your UKARA number at the checkout and the shop checks it against the database. Expect the gun to go to the address on your registration. No number, no RIF: the shop will point you to a two-tone.
The Airsoft Bazaar webshop ships from the Netherlands, and the same rule travels with the parcel: sending a RIF into Great Britain takes a defence just as selling one does. When you order one of our airsoft guns for delivery in the UK, you confirm at the checkout that you have a defence. If we need evidence we e-mail you after your order and you have 5 working days to reply, so keep your UKARA number and the name of your site to hand.
Ordering a replica from our webshop to the UK
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Age. You confirm once that you are 18 or over with an ID check through our verification partner Stripe Identity, valid for two years.
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Name. The name on the delivery address must be your own.
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Customs. Shipping to the UK costs €19.95, and import VAT and duties are charged on delivery.
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Gas and batteries. Green gas and CO2, which power gas guns, and lithium batteries cannot be shipped to the UK.
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Energy. The webshop serves the whole of Europe and also holds guns above the British limits. Check the energy on the product page: what you order is your responsibility.
Airsoft guns in the webshop
Shown here: guns within the limits for Great Britain. In Northern Ireland the line is 1 joule.
In stock, ships right away
GLOCK (Umarex) Airsoft GBB G18C
In stock, ships right away
ELITE FORCE (Umarex) Airsoft CO2 H8R Gen2
In stock, ships right away
GLOCK (Umarex) Airsoft GBB G45Before you buy a RIF
0 of 7 ticked
Buying second-hand and from abroad with UKARA
The VCRA does not distinguish between a shop and a player who sells a used airsoft gun. A private seller commits the same offence by selling a RIF where no defence applies, so a careful seller will ask for your UKARA number or other proof. A seller who does not ask is not doing you a favour.
The same Act covers bringing a RIF into Great Britain, or causing one to be brought in, and a RIF that comes in where no defence applies is liable to forfeiture. When you buy from the continent, keep your registration details to hand in case the parcel is checked; UKARA describes its database as open to the border agency for that purpose.
Same law as a shop
Agree in the chat what evidence you will give before you pay. Collecting in person lets you show it face to face.
Listings in the United KingdomYou are the importer
The buyer checks that the item may be owned at home, the seller that it may be shipped there. Add customs charges and ask for the energy in joules.
The whole marketplaceUsed airsoft guns on the marketplace
From other players across Europe. For a RIF, expect to be asked for your UKARA number.
What you can buy without it: two-tone
A two-tone gun is the same replica with most of its surface in a bright colour. Because it is not a realistic imitation firearm, it may be sold to anyone aged 18 or over. It is a common first gun, and it gets you through your three games with kit of your own.
Two-tone now, or wait for UKARA?
For two-tone
- You can buy it today if you are 18 or over.
- Inside it is the same gun as the realistic version.
- You learn what you like before spending serious money.
Against
- It looks like what it is: a brightly coloured gun.
- Respraying it in realistic colours is covered by the Act: without a defence, do not.
- It can be harder to sell on later.
Other ways to prove a defence
UKARA is the best-known route, not the only one: honest evidence that you fall under one of the purposes the law names can do the same job, and each seller decides what it accepts. The Home Office's guidance says retailers should seek to determine that the buyer holds third party liability insurance, and it names UKARA's database as one way players are registered.
Purposes the law recognises
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Skirmishing. In the words of the regulations: the acting out of military or law enforcement scenarios for recreation, organised with public liability insurance. Evidence: UKARA, another player register or proof of site membership.
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Historical re-enactment. Membership of a group that organises and holds re-enactments.
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Film, television and theatre. A production that needs the gun as a prop.
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Museums and galleries. For a collection or display.
The law asks for a reason, not for a card. UKARA is that reason written down where a shop can find it.
Frequently asked questions
What is UKARA?
The United Kingdom Airsoft Retailers Association and, in everyday use, the database it runs of players who skirmish regularly. Retailers check it before they sell a realistic imitation firearm: being in it is the usual evidence that a defence applies to the sale.
Do you need a licence for an airsoft gun in the UK?
No. There is no airsoft licence in the UK, and owning an airsoft gun within the power limits needs no permit. When a realistic imitation firearm is sold, the seller needs a defence, and your UKARA registration is the usual evidence. You must be 18 to buy any airsoft gun.
How do I get a UKARA number?
Through a skirmish site in the scheme. Play three games at the same site over at least two months, then hand in the player form. You must be over 18, live in the UK and show ID.
How long does UKARA last and does it expire?
A registration has an expiry date. It follows your site membership, which usually runs for 12 months, and you renew through the site. Some sites want to see that you still play, others only that your membership is paid.
Can I buy a RIF without UKARA?
Only if you can give other evidence that a defence applies, for example membership of an insured skirmish site or a re-enactment group, and the seller accepts it. Where no defence applies, a RIF cannot be sold to you; a two-tone gun can, if you are 18 or over.
Is there a faster way to get UKARA?
No. The two-month minimum is part of the scheme. Start the clock early: book your first game now and play with a hired or two-tone gun in the meantime.
Sources
- Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006, section 36 legislation.gov.uk, accessed 12 November 2026
- Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006, section 37 legislation.gov.uk, accessed 12 November 2026
- Realistic Imitation Firearms Regulations 2007 legislation.gov.uk, accessed 12 November 2026
- Firearms Act 1968, section 24A legislation.gov.uk, accessed 12 November 2026
- Firearms Act 1968, section 57A legislation.gov.uk, accessed 12 November 2026
6 more sources
- Guide on Firearms Licensing Law Home Office, accessed 12 November 2026
- United Kingdom Airsoft Retailers Association UKARA, accessed 12 November 2026
- What is a UKARA or airsoft defence? Patrol Base (retailer), accessed 12 November 2026
- Buying replicas in the webshop Airsoft Bazaar help centre
- Airsoft law per country Airsoft Bazaar help centre
- Shipping countries and rates Airsoft Bazaar help centre
