Broom Regulatory Control

• Type: Ministry of Magic Regulatory Body
• Location: A division within the Department of Magical Transportation, Ministry of Magic, Whitehall, London, England.
• Owner/Residents: Staffed by Ministry of Magic employees (specific members are unnamed in the novels).
• Key Features: Responsible for the legal and safety regulation of all Broomsticks used for transport and sport within the British Wizarding World.

The Broom Regulatory Control is a crucial, if seldom seen, office within the Ministry of Magic's Department of Magical Transportation. Its primary mandate is to create, oversee, and enforce regulations pertaining to the manufacture and use of Broomsticks. This function is vital for ensuring the safety of witches and wizards and for upholding the International Statute of Secrecy by preventing Muggles from witnessing unregulated magical flight. Key responsibilities of this body include:

• Setting Safety Standards: The office ensures that all commercially produced broomsticks are enchanted with fundamental safety features, such as a reliable Braking Charm.
• Controlling Modifications: It is illegal for individuals to bewitch or modify their brooms to exceed certain ministry-approved speed limits or to add charms that have not been vetted for safety. This regulation prevents dangerous tampering that could lead to accidents.
• Model Approval: Every new model of broomstick, from a family-friendly Cleansweep to a high-performance Firebolt, must presumably be submitted to the Broom Regulatory Control for approval before it can be sold to the public.

The existence of this regulatory body highlights the long history of broomstick travel and the subsequent need for governmental oversight as broom technology became more advanced and widespread. It operates alongside other offices in its department, such as the Floo Network Authority and the Portkey Office, to manage all major forms of magical transport.

While the Broom Regulatory Control never appears directly in the main narrative of the *Harry Potter* series, its influence is a constant, underlying element of the Wizarding World. The regulations it enforces shape the nature of broomstick travel and the sport of Quidditch.

• World-Building: The department serves as an example of the Ministry of Magic's bureaucratic reach into the everyday lives of witches and wizards, showing a society with established laws and safety protocols for its magical technology.
• Impact on Quidditch: The brooms used in official Quidditch matches, such as Harry Potter's Nimbus 2000 and later his Firebolt, would have been manufactured in compliance with the department's regulations. This ensures a baseline of safety and fairness in the sport.
• Safety Precedent: When Harry Potter receives the Firebolt from an anonymous Sirius Black in his third year, Professor McGonagall confiscates it to be stripped down and checked for jinxes by Professor Flitwick and Madam Hooch. This meticulous, private safety inspection mirrors the official function that the Broom Regulatory Control performs on a mass scale for all broomsticks.

• The majority of the information regarding the Broom Regulatory Control comes from the supplementary book, Quidditch Through the Ages, rather than the seven core novels.
• A named expert from the Broom Regulatory Control, Cuthbert Waffling, was mentioned in a *Daily Prophet Newsletter* feature on J.K. Rowling's former official website. He commented on the dangers of bewitching one's own broom. (J.K. Rowling Official Website).