UKARA Explained: What It Is and How to Get It

UKARA is a free register of airsoft players, run by the United Kingdom Airsoft Retailers Association. It isn't a licence. It lets a shop check that you're a genuine skirmisher before selling you a realistic imitation firearm (RIF). To register, you play three games at the same UKARA-registered site, with the third at least 56 days after the first.

This guide covers what UKARA is and why it exists, how to register, what it costs, what happens if you're under 18, and what you can buy without it.

What UKARA is

UKARA is an association of airsoft retailers. It was set up in response to the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006, which restricted the sale of realistic imitation firearms. It runs a database of registered players, game sites and retailers.

UKARA describes the database's purpose as allowing "retailer members of UKARA to verify the legal status of purchasers". In practice, when you buy a full-colour airsoft gun, the shop looks up your UKARA number to confirm you're a registered player.

UKARA is not a licence

Players often call it a "UKARA licence", but there is no licence involved. No government body issues it, and the law doesn't require you to hold one to play airsoft or to own an airsoft gun.

What UKARA gives you is a way to show a retailer that you're a genuine skirmisher. That matters because of how the 2006 Act works, which the next section explains.

Why it exists: RIFs and the law

Section 36 of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 makes it an offence to manufacture, sell or import a realistic imitation firearm, or to modify an imitation firearm so that it becomes realistic. A RIF is an imitation that is "indistinguishable, for all practical purposes, from a real firearm" (section 38).

The law provides defences. Under the 2007 Regulations made under the Act, a seller has a defence if the RIF is being made available for "permitted activities" covered by public liability insurance. The Regulations define permitted activities as "the acting out of military or law enforcement scenarios for the purposes of recreation", which describes an airsoft skirmish.

A retailer can't take your word for it that you skirmish. UKARA gives them a way to check: game sites verify that a player has actually been playing, and the retailer looks up the result.

The section 36 offences cover Great Britain. Northern Ireland has equivalent provisions in Schedule 2 to the same Act, and UKARA registers players anywhere in the UK.

How to get UKARA registered

You register through a game site, not directly with UKARA. According to UKARA, you must:

• be over 18
• live in the UK
• be able to show ID, such as a passport, driving licence or bank statement
• play three games at the same UKARA-registered game site
• play over at least two months, with the third game 56 days or more after the first

The site checks your games and your ID, then validates your application. UKARA publishes a paper player form on its website that you print, fill in and hand to your site. Site-issued membership numbers follow a format of three letters and five digits, for example ABC12345.

Does it have to be the same site?

Yes. All three games have to be at one UKARA-registered site. Games spread across different sites don't count towards a single registration. UKARA's rules also stop a site from registering players on behalf of another site.

How much does UKARA cost?

UKARA says player registration is free. You still pay your site's normal game fees for the three games, and those vary from site to site.

How long does UKARA last?

UKARA's website doesn't say how long a player registration lasts before it needs renewing. It does refer to registrations expiring. Ask the site that validates you how they handle renewal. They keep the records.

What if you're under 18?

You can't register with UKARA until you're 18. Separately, the Firearms Act 1968 (section 24A) makes it an offence for anyone under 18 to buy an imitation firearm, and an offence to sell one to them. That covers two-tone guns as well as RIFs.

Being under 18 doesn't stop you playing. Many sites run games for younger players with hire kit, but minimum ages and rules for juniors are set by each site, so check with the site before you book.

Buying an airsoft gun without UKARA

Without UKARA, an adult can still buy an airsoft gun that isn't a RIF. These are usually called "two-tone" guns.

Section 38 of the Act says an imitation isn't realistic if its size, shape or principal colour is unrealistic for a real firearm. The 2007 Regulations list the colours that count as unrealistic: bright red, bright orange, bright yellow, bright green, bright pink, bright purple and bright blue, or transparent material.

Repainting a two-tone gun so that it becomes realistic is itself an offence under section 36, because it counts as modifying an imitation into a RIF.

Can you own an airsoft gun without UKARA?

The section 36 offences are about making, modifying, selling and importing RIFs. Owning one isn't listed among them. Carrying any imitation firearm in a public place without lawful authority or reasonable excuse is a separate offence under section 19 of the Firearms Act 1968. If you're unsure where you stand, the sources below are the place to start, and the police or a solicitor can advise on your situation.

Finding a UKARA-registered site

You need a UKARA-registered site to start the three-game clock. UKARA publishes its list of approved sites, and we check the directory against that list every night.

On 28 September 2026, 165 of the fields listed on Airsoft Fields held UKARA registration. Search by postcode or town to find one near you: find an airsoft field.

Sources

• UKARA, player and game site registration: ukara.org.uk
• Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006, section 36 (offences) and section 38 (meaning of realistic imitation firearm)
• The Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (Realistic Imitation Firearms) Regulations 2007, regulation 3 (defences) and regulation 7 (unrealistic colours)
• Firearms Act 1968, section 19 (carrying in a public place) and section 24A (under-18s)