Possession of a firearm with intent is an offence under Sections 16 and 16A of the Firearms Act 1968, and it covers two distinct situations: holding a firearm or ammunition with intent to endanger life or cause serious damage to property, and holding a firearm or imitation firearm with intent to make someone fear unlawful violence. No shot has to be fired and no one has to be hurt. The offence is complete the moment possession and the relevant intent coincide. Section 16 carries a maximum of life imprisonment; Section 16A carries up to ten years.
Section 16: Intent to Endanger Life
Section 16 makes it an offence to possess any firearm or ammunition with intent to endanger life or cause serious injury to property, whether or not any injury or damage actually results.1legislation.gov.uk. Firearms Act 1968 – Section 16 The prosecution has to prove two things: that you possessed the firearm or ammunition, meaning you physically held it or had knowledge of and control over it, and that you intended it to be used to put someone’s life at risk or cause serious property damage.
That intent requirement is a high bar. Carelessness is not enough. The prosecution must show a deliberate objective rather than recklessness about possible consequences.
Two features of the section catch defendants out. First, ammunition alone is sufficient. You do not need to have a gun; holding bullets with the intent that they be used to endanger life satisfies the section.1legislation.gov.uk. Firearms Act 1968 – Section 16 Second, the offence extends to enabling someone else. Handing a weapon to another person knowing they plan to use it dangerously brings you within Section 16 even if you never intended to pull the trigger yourself.
Section 16A: Intent to Cause Fear of Violence
Section 16A criminalises possessing a firearm or imitation firearm with intent to make someone believe that unlawful violence will be used against them or another person.2Legislation.gov.uk. Firearms Act 1968 – Section 16A The focus is psychological. The crime is complete when the weapon is used as a tool of intimidation, regardless of whether you ever intended to fire it.
The prosecution must show your goal was to produce a particular belief in the victim’s mind: that unlawful violence was coming. The statute does not require fear of immediate attack. A sustained campaign of intimidation and a single face-to-face confrontation both fall within its scope so long as the intent to generate that belief is proved. As with Section 16, enabling another person to commit the offence attracts the same charge.2Legislation.gov.uk. Firearms Act 1968 – Section 16A
Real Firearms Versus Imitations
The two sections treat imitation weapons differently, and that difference matters.
Section 16 does not cover imitations. Because the offence turns on endangering life or damaging property, the object has to be capable of causing that harm. A replica that cannot fire does not qualify. The Act’s definition of a firearm is otherwise broad, covering any lethal barrelled weapon that can discharge a shot, bullet, or other missile, and extending to prohibited weapons such as automatic rifles and restricted handguns.
Section 16A does cover imitations.2Legislation.gov.uk. Firearms Act 1968 – Section 16A A person staring at what looks like a gun barrel cannot tell whether the weapon is real, and the law treats the fear as the same either way. Under Section 57, an imitation firearm is anything with the appearance of a firearm, whether or not it can discharge a missile.3legislation.gov.uk. Firearms Act 1968 – Section 57 Toy guns, replicas, and deactivated weapons can all qualify if they look convincingly real.
How Intent Is Proved
Intent is where most contested trials are fought. Defendants rarely announce their plans, so courts infer intent from the surrounding circumstances. Prosecutors look at where the weapon was found, how it was stored, whether it was loaded, what the defendant said before or during the incident, and whether messages, recordings, or surveillance footage suggest planning. A loaded firearm concealed on someone heading toward a rival’s address tells a very different story than an unloaded shotgun locked in a cabinet.
Intent also does not have to be immediate or unconditional. In R v Bentham, the court held that it is enough for the defendant to foresee danger arising “if and when the occasion arises.” Carrying a weapon as a contingency, planning to use it only if a confrontation escalates, still satisfies the mental element. Conditional intent counts.
Possession Without Holding the Weapon
You do not need to be physically holding the firearm. Constructive possession applies when you know the weapon exists and you have the ability to control it, even if it is stored elsewhere. A gun hidden in your car, kept at a friend’s house on your behalf, or stashed in a shared property can all establish possession, provided the prosecution proves both knowledge and control. Mere proximity is not enough; courts have rejected the argument where the only evidence was that the defendant happened to be near the weapon.
Sentences
Both offences are indictable-only, meaning they are tried in the Crown Court before a judge and jury.
- Section 16 carries a maximum of life imprisonment. The maximum is reserved for the gravest cases, but even less extreme circumstances routinely attract lengthy custodial sentences.4legislation.gov.uk. Firearms Act 1968 – Schedule 6
- Section 16A carries a maximum of ten years’ imprisonment.5The Crown Prosecution Service. Firearms
Where within those limits a sentence falls depends on factors the judge weighs. A loaded weapon almost always pushes the sentence higher than an unloaded one. Targeting a vulnerable victim, acting in a public place, or combining the firearm offence with other criminal conduct are aggravating factors. An impulsive act with no prior planning may attract a somewhat lower sentence than a calculated one, though “lower” here still typically means years in prison.
Mandatory Minimums for Prohibited Weapons
When either offence involves a prohibited weapon listed under Section 5(1) of the Firearms Act, such as an automatic rifle, certain handguns, or a weapon disguised as another object, mandatory minimum sentences apply. In England and Wales, Section 311 of the Sentencing Code requires at least five years’ custody for an adult, reduced to three years for offenders aged 16 or 17 at the time of the offence.6Sentencing Council. Firearms – Possession of Prohibited Weapon In Scotland, Section 51A of the Firearms Act sets the same floors, with five years for offenders aged 21 and over and three years for those under 21.7legislation.gov.uk. Firearms Act 1968 – Section 51A
A court can go below these minimums only where it finds exceptional circumstances relating to the offence or the offender, and “exceptional” is read narrowly. A difficult background on its own rarely qualifies.7legislation.gov.uk. Firearms Act 1968 – Section 51A
Charges That Often Come Alongside
A single incident often produces more than one firearms charge. The Firearms Act contains several related offences prosecutors use in parallel:
- Section 17 covers using or attempting to use a firearm or imitation firearm to resist or prevent lawful arrest. It also creates a presumption: if you are caught possessing a firearm while committing or being arrested for a Schedule 1 offence, the burden shifts to you to show a lawful reason for having it.8legislation.gov.uk. Firearms Act 1968 – Section 17
- Section 18 covers carrying a firearm or imitation firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence or to resist arrest in the course of one. It captures situations where the intended crime is something other than endangering life or causing fear.
- Section 19 covers having a loaded firearm, imitation firearm, or other specified weapon in a public place without lawful authority, with no need to prove any intent to harm or frighten.
Someone who carries a prohibited handgun into a public space and points it at another person during a dispute could face charges under Sections 5, 16 or 16A, and 19 at once.
What Follows a Conviction
A conviction under Section 16 or 16A has consequences that outlast the sentence. Under Section 52, a sentencing court can order forfeiture and disposal of any firearms involved and cancel the offender’s firearm or shotgun certificate. In practice, anyone convicted of a serious intent-based firearms offence will lose any certificates they hold and face enormous difficulty obtaining one again.
The criminal record itself creates lasting obstacles. A conviction for an offence carrying a maximum of life imprisonment is never spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, so it must be disclosed on job applications, professional licence renewals, and similar checks indefinitely. A Section 16A conviction, with its ten-year maximum, carries a long rehabilitation period before it becomes spent. Travel restrictions follow too, as many countries refuse entry to people with serious firearms convictions.