WHAT IS UKARA?
The official UKARA Website can be found here: http://ukara.org.uk/

UKARA is a database of players who all have a legitimate reason for purchasing a Realistic Imitation Firearms (RIF) from a retailer and who attend regular games at participating game sites across the UK. Each player is registered to a specific game site (the one they made the original application at).

WHAT IS UKARA FOR?
It is actually a criminal offence to sell a RIF to anyone and therefore all retailers (and even individual sellers) potentially face hefty fines or even prison sentences if they sell RIFs to someone that does not have a reasonable defence or meet the legal criteria to buy one. Therefore the UKARA system was devised by retailers to help them identify who meets the legal criteria and has helped greatly to keep our sport safe and above board.

These defences and criteria also apply to second hand sales so if you are selling a second hand RIF, ensure the purchaser has a legitimate defence to buy or meets the legal criteria. Defences and legal criteria can be found below:

Selling of RIFS (see section 37)
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/38/part/2/crossheading/imitation-firearms

Transporting RIFS to and From Insured and Organised Airsoft Games
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2007/2606/regulation/3/made

HOW TO OBTAIN UKARA ACTIVE STATUS?
We are a UKARA site. In order to become a registered airsoft player you firstly must be 18 or over. Secondly, you are required to take part in three games at the same UKARA registered game site (i.e. us), over a minimum of 56 days e.g. the third game being 56 days or more after the first. It sounds a bit odd, but that's how UKARA works - to ensure a commitment over a decent amount of time. 

When you are next playing at AWA, ask at the shop for a membership form and we will start signing days off for you straight away. Once complete, you'll need to show us some photo id, pay a £10 admin fee, and provide us with 2 x passport photos. After which we'll register you with UKARA and send you a membership number and card through the post.

In order to keep your registration active, you must play at the site you registered with at least once per year. The way we do it, is every time you play with us (and write your membership number down!) we reset you for another year with UKARA.

WHAT UKARA ACTIVE STATUS WILL NOT DO FOR YOU?
UKARA only applies to the purchasing and selling of RIFs and not the actual ownership of one. Anyone over the age of 18 can legally buy or sell a two tone (blue / green etc.) airsoft gun (Imitation Firearm or IF) without the need for any UKARA registration or breaking of any law. However, if you are seen in public brandishing an Airsoft gun or RIF, two tone or otherwise, having an active UKARA status will not stop you from either being shot by armed police units or being prosecuted and doing prison time, therefore always act safely, keep your guns covered, and with the interest of the unaware general public in mind when transporting RIF's to and from a game site.

An active UKARA status is NOT NEEDED to play at a game site, anyone can play with any airsoft gun as long as they are over the age of what the game site insurance covers them for (for example with us that is anyone 12 years old or above), and the gun passes the game site’s power (fps) rules.