In the guide
In this guide, the words 'must' or 'must not' are used where there is a legal requirement to do (or not do) something. The word 'should' is used where there is established legal guidance or best practice that is likely to help you avoid breaking the law.
This guidance is for Scotland
It is illegal to sell and deliver knives, other bladed products and corrosive substances to anyone under 18; knives for domestic use can be sold to those aged 16 or older. When they are delivered, they must not be handed over to anyone under the minimum age. Corrosive substances, when sold remotely, must not be delivered to a residential address.
The legislation is enforced by the Police and Trading Standards. Sellers should always verify the age of the purchaser before a sale, and delivery companies should do so on delivery.
A local authority licence is required to supply knives that are not for domestic purposes to the general public.
Further restrictions are included in the Knives Act 1997, which specifically deals with knives advertised for use in 'combat'.
The UK Government Home Office has introduced schemes for businesses that aim to restrict access by under-18s to these products:
- responsible sales of acid and corrosive substances: voluntary commitments
- sale of knives: voluntary agreement by retailers
Sellers are encouraged to sign up to these schemes. However, please bear in mind that the knives scheme does not take into account the differences between English and Scottish law, in particular the fact that knives for domestic use can be sold to 16-year-olds in Scotland.
Certain types of knives and similar products are banned entirely.
The law
In the following text you will see references to both 'bladed articles' and 'bladed products', which are the terms used in different pieces of legislation. They have slightly different meanings, which are explained below.Criminal Justice Act 1988
It is an offence for any person to sell the following bladed articles to someone under the age of 18:
- knife, knife blade or razor blade. If the knife or blade is for domestic use, it can be purchased by anyone aged 16 or over
- axe
- other article that has a blade or is sharply pointed, and is made or adapted for use for causing injury to the person
The Act does not interpret these categories any further, but it is expected that they include:
- any kitchen knife
- cutlery and bread knives
- butchers knives, including meat cleavers
- hobby knives and knives for trade use
- utility and survival knives
- trade tools, including those used for gardening and farming that fit the description of a knife
- cut-throat razors
- machetes and swords
The prohibition does not apply to:
- folding pocket knives, if the cutting edge of the blade is less than three inches (7.62 cm)
- replacement cartridges for safety razors, where less than 2 mm of the blade is exposed
When an age-restricted bladed article is sold remotely (such as online or by phone), the package must be delivered into the hands of someone aged at least 18.
An age-restricted bladed article must not be delivered, nor arrangements made to deliver it, to a locker (for example, the type where the consumer would be given an access code to open the locker and collect the product). This is because it would not be possible to verify the age of the person collecting the item from a locker.
Knives Act 1997
It is an offence to market a knife, and also an offence to publish marketing material in relation to a knife, in a way that either:
- indicates or suggests that it is suitable for combat (the term 'suitable for combat' means that the knife is suitable for use as a weapon for inflicting injury or causing fear of injury to the person)
or - is otherwise likely to stimulate or encourage violent behaviour involving the use of the knife as a weapon
An indication or suggestion that a knife is suitable for combat may be made by a name or description in any of the following ways:
- applied to the knife
- on the knife or on any packaging in which it is contained
- included in any advertisement that expressly or by implication relates to the knife
There are exemptions to allow sales of such items for legitimate purposes, such as for use by armed forces, as antiques or as collectors' pieces.
Offensive Weapons Act 2019
Bladed articles / bladed products
'Bladed products' are a specific type of bladed article. They are defined as articles that are, or have, a blade and are capable of causing serious injury to a person, involving cutting that person's skin. They have extra restrictions on sale and delivery.
As bladed products are a type of bladed article, all requirements that apply to bladed articles also apply to bladed products, but not vice versa.
The Offensive Weapons Act 2019 makes it an offence for the seller to deliver, or arrange the delivery of, bladed products to residential premises, unless certain conditions are met that would allow the seller to prove that they took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to prevent the item from being delivered to a person aged under 18. This applies to sellers, whether they have their own delivery arm or arrange delivery to a residential address by a separate delivery company.
Sellers that make their own deliveries have defences available to them. Where a seller is delivering the bladed product themselves, they will need to ensure that they have internal procedures in place to ensure that when delivered, the bladed product is not handed to a person aged under 18. They also need to prove they have taken all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to ensure that this occurred. Steps that sellers would need to take are likely to include those for the sale of bladed articles, such as having an adequate age verification system in place, labelled packaging and taking measures to ensure that the package is only handed over to someone aged 18 or over.
The effect of this is that where a seller has such procedures and has taken all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence, they can deliver bladed products to residential premises.
See below for more information on defences.
There are some products that are unlikely to fall under the definition of a bladed product and can be delivered to residential premises (though the age of the person they are handed to still needs to be checked):
- cutlery knives (not sharply pointed steak knives)
- utility knives with small cutting blades
- small cheese knives
- snap off cutters
- pizza cutters
A delivery company that has an arrangement with a non-UK seller of 'bladed articles'* to deliver them to buyers in the UK, where the sale is made remotely (such as online or by phone), commits an offence if they do not deliver the bladed article into the hands of a person aged 18 or over. If the delivery company has no arrangement, or is unaware that they are delivering bladed articles, they are not committing an offence if the products are delivered to someone under 18.
[*The definition of bladed articles is in the 'Criminal Justice Act 1988' section above.]
A delivery company that has an arrangement with a UK seller of 'bladed products', where the sale is made remotely, commits an offence if they do not deliver the bladed product into the hands of a person aged 18 or over at that premises.
To assist delivery drivers, packages must be clearly marked as containing an age-restricted product, which must only be delivered to somebody aged 18 or over.
Corrosive products
A person commits an offence if they sell a corrosive product to a person under the age of 18.
Name of substance | May be present in |
---|---|
Ammonium hydroxide | Household cleaners, disinfectants, stain treaters |
Formic acid | Wart removers, household descalers, food preservatives |
Hydrochloric acid | Household cleaners (toilet bowl, bathroom tile and other porcelain cleaners), brick and patio cleaners, limescale removers |
Hydrofluoric acid | Aluminium wheel cleaners, wire cleaners, rust removers |
Nitric acid | Drain cleaners, toilet bowl cleaners, descalers |
Phosphoric acid | Bath cleaners, tile cleaners, sink cleaners, toilet bowl cleaners, rust removers |
Sodium hydroxide | Drain cleaners, oven cleaners, paint strippers |
Sodium hypochlorite | Drain cleaners, toilet bowl cleaners, bleach (low concentration), descalers |
Sulfuric acid | Drain cleaners, brick cleaners, car wheel cleaners, acid for car batteries (sold as such) |
When a corrosive product is sold remotely, it is an offence to deliver it to a residential address, unless that address is also used as a business. It is also an offence for a seller to deliver, or arrange to deliver, corrosive products to a locker for collection. This is because it would not be possible to verify the age of the person collecting the item from a locker.
A delivery company that has an arrangement with a non-UK seller of corrosive products, where the sale is made remotely, commits an offence if they do not deliver the corrosive product into the hands of a person aged 18 or over. If the delivery company has no arrangement, or is unaware that they are delivering corrosive products, they are not committing an offence if the products are delivered to someone under 18.
To assist delivery drivers, clearly mark packages as containing a corrosive product, which must only be delivered to somebody aged 18 or over.
Back to topKnife dealer's licence
If you are a dealer in knives that are not designed for domestic use, supplying private customers, you must have a licence to sell, hire, lend, give or expose specified articles for sale or hire. No licence is required for business-to-business transactions. The licence conditions specify that any article covered by the licence must not be able to be seen from the street or any public entrance. A notice must be displayed at the entrance and at the point of sale that contains the following statement in letters at least 5 mm in height.
It is an offence to sell to a person under the age of 18 any knife or knife blade (except if the person is aged 16 or over and the knife or blade is designed for domestic use);
it is also an offence to sell to a person under the age of 18 any razor blade, axe, sword or other article which has a blade or which is sharply pointed and which is made or adapted for use for causing injury;
and a customer may be asked to provide details of his / her age and identity (which may be recorded or copied and kept for inspection for up to three years).
You can only supply the specified articles to persons over the age of 18 and you must follow the licence conditions to ensure all sales comply with the age restriction. You must keep a written record on the day of supply of the details of the supply and keep it for three years.
The details include:
- the identity of the customer and the means by which the identity of the customer was verified
- the means by which the customer's age was established (PASS card, photo driving licence, passport, etc), or a note of the reason why it was not necessary to verify the customer's age - for example, the customer was obviously over 25
- a full description of the article
If the article to be supplied is a sword, additional details must be recorded. You must:
- take all reasonable steps to establish the intended use of the sword
- make detailed written records on the day of supply of the enquiries made and retain the records for three years
Certain articles are exempted from the requirement to be supplied only by a licensed knife dealer. These are domestic knives and similar bladed or pointed articles, folding pocket knives, skean dhus and kirpans, where in each case the blade does not exceed 8.91 cm (3.5 inches).
Other exemptions include the supply of swords by a fencing teacher, arrows by an archery teacher, knives by a water sports teacher and the supply of those items in connection with an historical re-enactment event.
Back to topDefences
Criminal Justice Act 1988
If you are charged with an offence of selling, or letting on hire, a bladed article to a person under the age of 18 (or 16 for domestic bladed articles), you have the defence that you believed the person to whom the article was sold or let on hire to be of or above the relevant age, and either you had taken reasonable steps to establish the purchaser or hirer's age, or no reasonable person could have suspected from the purchaser or hirer's appearance that they were younger than the relevant age. Reasonable steps means that you inspected a passport or driving licence or other recognised identification.
Where a sale or hire of a bladed article is made remotely you must be able to prove that you took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence. The exception for persons over the age of 16 does not apply to a remote sale. The system you use should be similar to the one outlined in the previous paragraph, and in general:
- when the product was dispatched, it was clearly marked to show that it contained an article with a blade or was sharply pointed and that it must only be delivered into the hands of a person aged 18 or over
- you took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to ensure that the package would be delivered into the hands of a person aged 18 or over
- you did not deliver, or arrange to deliver, the package to a locker
Knives Act 1997
If you are charged with an offence under the Knives Act 1997, you have the defence that you did not know or suspect, and had no reasonable grounds for suspecting, that the way in which the knife was marketed (or the marketing material) amounted to an indication or suggestion that the knife was suitable for combat or was likely to stimulate or encourage violent behaviour involving the use of the knife as a weapon.
You can also use the due diligence defence. This means that you are responsible for making sure that you and your staff do not sell knives to people under 18, or 16 for domestic knives.
Offensive Weapons Act 2019
If you are charged with an offence of selling a corrosive product to a person under the age of 18, you can use the due diligence defence.
This means that you believed the person to whom the corrosive product was sold ('the purchaser') to be aged 18 or over, and either you had taken reasonable steps to establish the purchaser's age or no reasonable person could have suspected from the purchaser's appearance that they were under the age of 18. Reasonable steps to establish the purchaser's means that you were shown a passport or driving licence, and the document would have convinced a reasonable person.
Where a sale is a remote sale, the due diligence defence can only be proved if you meet the following conditions:
- you operated a system (detailed above) for checking that the buyer was not under the age of 18 and that the system was likely to prevent such a sale
- when the product was dispatched, it was clearly marked to show that it contained a corrosive product and that it must only be delivered into the hands of a person aged 18 or over
- you took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to ensure that the package would be delivered into the hands of a person aged 18 or over
- you did not deliver, or arrange to deliver, the package to a locker
If you, as seller, are charged with an offence of delivering, or arranging to deliver, a bladed product to a residential address or a locker, you can use the due diligence defence to show that you ensured the product would be delivered into the hands of a person aged 18 or over - for example:
- you operate an effective age verification system
- you clearly label the packaging
- you check that the delivery address is a business address
- if you use a delivery company, you ensure they have effective age verification procedures in place
It is also a defence to the sale of a bladed product if you can prove that:
- the bladed product was adapted for the buyer to their own specifications, to facilitate its use or for a particular purpose
- you reasonably believed that the buyer bought the bladed product for a sporting purpose or for historical re-enactment
A delivery company charged with failing to deliver a corrosive product or a bladed article (which includes bladed products) into the hands of a person aged 18 or over, can use the due diligence defence.
Back to topKeeping within the law
In order to keep within the law and satisfy the legal defences, you are advised to introduce an age verification policy and have effective systems to prevent an underage sale. To ensure these systems stay effective, they need to be regularly monitored and updated (where necessary) to identify and put right any problems or weaknesses, and to keep pace with any advances in technology.
Key best practice features of an effective system include the following.
Age verification checks
Always ask young people to produce proof of their age. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute, the Scottish Government and Police Scotland support the UK's national Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS), which includes a number of card issuers. You can be confident that a card issued under the scheme and bearing the PASS hologram is an acceptable proof of age. The Scottish Government also endorses the Young Scot card.
A passport, UK or EU photocard driving licence are acceptable, but make sure that the card matches the person using it and the date of birth shows they are at least the minimum age.
You do not have to accept all of the above forms of identification, and it may be best to exclude any type of document that your staff are not familiar with.
Some young people may present false identification cards so it is advisable to also check the look and feel of a card. For example, the PASS hologram should be an integral part of a PASS card and not an add-on.
If the person cannot prove that they are at least the minimum legal age - or if you are in any doubt - refuse the sale.
Operate a Challenge 25 policy
This means that if the person appears to be under the age of 25, they will be asked to verify how old they are by showing valid proof of age.
Staff training
Make sure that your staff are properly trained. They need to know which products are age restricted, what the age restriction is and the action they must take if they believe a person under the minimum legal age is attempting to buy. It is important that you can prove that your staff have understood what is required of them under the legislation.
This can be done by keeping a record of the training and asking members of staff to sign to say that they have understood it. These records can then be checked and signed on a regular basis by management or the owner.
Maintain a refusals log
It is best practice to record all refusals (date, time, incident, description of potential buyer). Maintaining a refusals log will help to demonstrate that you actively refuse sales and have an effective system in place. It is advisable that the manager / owner checks the log to ensure that all members of staff are using it.
A specimen refusals log is attached.
Some tills have a refusals system built in. If you use a till-based system, ensure that refusals can be retrieved at a later date. Be aware that some refusals are made before a product is scanned.
Till prompts
If you possess an EPoS system, it may be possible to use it to remind staff of age restrictions via a prompt. Alternatively, stickers can be used over certain product barcodes.
Store and product layout
Identify the age-restricted products in your store and consider moving them nearer to the counter, or even behind it. Consider displaying dummy packs so that people have to ask for the products if they want to buy them.
Signage
Consider displaying posters that show age limits and a statement regarding the refusal of such sales. This may deter potential purchasers and act as a reminder to staff.
Closed circuit television (CCTV)
A CCTV system may act as a deterrent and reduce the number of incidents of underage sales. It will also help you to monitor 'blind spots' within your store if it is not possible to change the layout or relocate the products behind, or closer to, the counter.
Online sales
If you sell by distance means, such as online or via a catalogue, you should set up an effective system capable of verifying the age of potential purchasers. Please see 'Online sales of age-restricted products' for more information.
Back to topBanned (prohibited) offensive weapons
The Criminal Justice Act 1988 makes it an offence for any person to manufacture, import, sell, hire (including to offer, expose or possess for sale or hire), lend or give to any other person (of any age) offensive weapons that have been prohibited by law. The ban applies to the following weapons.
Type of weapon | Description |
---|---|
Baton | Straight side-handled or friction-lock truncheon |
Belt buckle knife | Buckle that incorporates or conceals a knife |
Blowpipe or blow gun |
Hollow tube used to blow out hard pellets or darts |
Butterfly knife / balisong | Handle that splits down the middle to reveal a blade |
Cyclone / spiral knife | Blade with a handle that has a sharp pointed end and one or more cutting edges that each form a helix |
Disguised knife | Blade or sharp point hidden inside something resembling everyday object such as a comb, brush, lipstick or phone |
Footclaw | Spiked bar that is worn around the foot |
Handclaw | Band with sharp protruding spikes worn around the hand |
Hollow kubotan | Sharp spiked cylindrical container |
Knuckleduster and any weapon incorporating a knuckleduster | Band worn on one or more fingers designed to cause injury |
Kusari / manrikigusari | Length of rope, cord, wire or chain fastened at each end to a hard weight or hand grip |
Kusari gama | Length of rope, cord, wire or chain fastened at one end to a sickle |
Kyoketsu shoge | Length of rope, cord, wire or chain fastened at one end to a hook-knife |
Push dagger | Handle of the knife is held within a fist and the blade protrudes between two fingers |
Shuriken (also known as 'shaken', 'death star' or 'throwing star') | Hard plate with three or more sharp radiating points designed to be thrown |
Stealth knife | Knife or spike made of a material that cannot be detected by metal detectors and which is not made for domestic use, as food or as a toy |
Swordstick | Hollow walking stick or cane that contains a blade capable of being used as a sword |
Telescopic truncheon | Extends automatically with hand pressure applied to a device on the handle |
Zombie knife, zombie killer knife or zombie slayer knife | Blade with a cutting edge, a serrated edge and images and/or words suggesting it is to be used for violence |
For information on defences available to anyone charged with an offence, see section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Amendment, Surrender and Compensation) (Scotland) Order 2022. See links in 'Key legislation' below.
It is essential that you are aware of and comply with the laws covering prohibited offensive weapons.
Back to topOther legislation
Sales to the general public of products that contain high concentrations of certain chemicals are restricted in order to reduce the risk that they can be used in the manufacture of explosives or to cause harm. Members of the public must have a valid explosives precursors and poisons (EPP) licence issued by the Home Office if they want to acquire, possess, use or import these regulated substances.
Under the Poisons Act 1972, a person commits an offence if they supply a regulated substance to a member of the general public without first verifying - by inspecting the licence and the associated form of identification - that they have a valid EPP licence.
Guidance for retailers on licensed transactions of poisons and explosives precursors can be found on the GOV.UK website.
Back to topTrading Standards
For more information on the work of Trading Standards services - and the possible consequences of not abiding by the law - please see 'Trading Standards: powers, enforcement and penalties'.
Back to topIn this update
List of banned weapons added.
Last reviewed / updated: November 2024
Back to topKey legislation
- Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982
- Criminal Justice Act 1988
- Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) Order 1988
- Knives Act 1997
- Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Scotland) Order 2005
- Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2006
- Custodial Sentences and Weapons (Scotland) Act 2007
- Knife Dealers (Licence Conditions) (Scotland) Order 2013
- Offensive Weapons Act 2019
- Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Amendment, Surrender and Compensation) (Scotland) Order 2022
- Offensive Weapons Act 2019 (Prescribed Documents) (Scotland) Order 2022
- Offensive Weapons Act 2019 (Prescribed Documents) (Scotland) (No. 2) Order 2022
Please note
This information is intended for guidance; only the courts can give an authoritative interpretation of the law.
The guide's 'Key legislation' links may only show the original version of the legislation, although some amending legislation is linked to separately where it is directly related to the content of a guide. Information on changes to legislation can be found by following the above links and clicking on the 'More Resources' tab.