Knives, other bladed items and corrosive substances

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.

The law

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 under 18. This would apply to sellers whether they have their own delivery arm or to those who 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 would not be handed to a person 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 should be 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.

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.

Knife 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:

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
• you must 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.

Defences

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:

• you operated a system 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 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 ensure the product would be delivered into the hands of a person aged 18 or over, for example:

• you operate an effective age verification system
• clearly label the packaging
• 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 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.

Keeping 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 must 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 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.

Other 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.

Trading 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'.

In this update

No major changes.

Last reviewed / updated: May 2024