UK Act of Parliament
1973
United Kingdom
Hallmarking Act 1973
At a glance
Enforced by
What's here
19 compliance obligations, 1 practical guide
Penalty landscape
2 of 19 obligations carry a criminal penalty. 1 carries different penalties and 16 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.
Who this Act binds
Business-side actors with duties under this Act, ranked by how often they appear.
- Any Person 7
- Trader 1
- Director or Officer 1
- Manufacturer 1
Plus 9 non-business duties on Crown ministers, regulators, local authorities or tribunals — shown collapsed under each section below.
Relevant guidance
Practical guides for businesses affected by this Act, ordered by how closely they engage with it.
Supporting — topic alignment
1 guidesOther Acts binding the same actors
For each actor bound by this Act, the other UK Acts that bind them most often. Useful for understanding the full compliance landscape facing each role.
Any Person also bound by 2338 other Acts (top 5 shown)
- Human Medicines Regulations 2012 2012 169 duties
- Merchant Shipping Act 1995 1995 144 duties
- Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 2016 101 duties
- Road Traffic Act 1988 1988 95 duties
- Air Navigation Order 2016 2016 95 duties
Traders also bound by 826 other Acts (top 5 shown)
- Value Added Tax Regulations 1995 1995 413 duties
- Companies Act 2006 2006 243 duties
- The Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 2008 114 duties
- Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 2016 62 duties
- Building Societies Act 1986 1986 56 duties
Directors and Officers also bound by 425 other Acts (top 5 shown)
- Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 2016 161 duties
- Companies Act 2006 2006 108 duties
- Insolvency Act 1986 1986 72 duties
- The Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 2008 55 duties
- The Housing Administration (England and Wales) Rules 2018 2018 26 duties
Manufacturers also bound by 472 other Acts (top 5 shown)
- Pressure Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 2016 91 duties
- Lifts Regulations 2016 2016 70 duties
- The Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information Regulations 2021 2021 70 duties
- Non-Automatic Weighing Instruments Regulations 2016 2016 67 duties
- Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2015 2015 64 duties
What this Act requires
Sections that create concrete duties on businesses or carry penalties. Procedural and definitional sections are folded into the “Browse other sections” expander at the bottom of each group. Click any section title to read the source text on legislation.gov.uk.
Schedules
(1) This paragraph applies to the striking of hallmarks other...
- Strike hallmarks correctly on precious metal parts Any Person
(1) If the person who submits the article to the...
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Assay office must strike requested additional hallmark marks Statutory regulator
(1) The person who submits the article to an assay...
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Assay office must comply with request to strike marks on a specific metal part Statutory regulator
(1) This paragraph applies if— (a) an assay office have...
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Assay offices must comply with Council direction on hallmark refusal Statutory regulator
A person guilty of an offence under this Act for...
2 years imprisonment- Breach hallmarking regulations with no specific penalty Any Person
(1) Where an offence under this Act which has been...
- Director or officer liable for corporate hallmarking offence Director or Officer
Where the commission by any person of an offence under...
- Cause a hallmarking offence through your act or default Any Person
(1) The expenses of the Council (which may include reasonable...
- Assay offices must pay annual contributions to Council expenses Any Person
(1) The Council shall keep proper accounts of all sums...
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Council must keep proper accounts and send them for audit Crown / Minister / Government department
(1) Upon receipt of any article submitted to an assay...
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Assay office must examine submitted articles and either hallmark or return them Statutory regulator
(1) Each assay office shall be responsible both for the...
- Safely keep and dispose of hallmarking dies Any Person
Browse 74 other Schedules — structural / supplementary
Any article which— (a) is wholly or mainly of gold...
Subject to paragraph 14AA below, any musical instrument, where the...
(1) Subject to paragraph 14AA and subject to the provisions...
(1) Subject to paragraph 14AA, any article—
(1) Subject to paragraph 14AA, any article—
(1) Subject to paragraph 14AA, any article—
(1) Subject to paragraph 14AA, any article—
Subject to paragraph 14AA below, any article , except an...
Subject to paragraph 14AA below, any article which is of...
(1) Subject to paragraph 14AA and subject to the provisions...
Paragraphs 11 to 14A above do not apply to any...
Exempted Articles
The following articles of gold, if manufactured before 1st January...
(1) Subject to the exceptions below, the following articles of...
Articles of gold or silver manufactured before 1st January 1975,...
Where under this Part of this Schedule an exemption depends...
Any article which has been used, or is intended to...
Any battered article fit only to be remanufactured.
Any article of gold silver, or palladium thread.
Any raw material (including any bar, plate, sheet, foil, rod,...
Any manufactured article which is not substantially complete, and which...
Any article which is wholly or mainly of platinum, and...
Any article which is wholly or partly of palladium, and...
Assay office mark Assay office Assay office mark (1) (2)...
Any small working parts contained within an article which for...
Where any article of gold, silver , platinum or palladium...
Where any article of silver , platinum or palladium is...
For the purposes of this Part and Part 3—
(1) A mixed material article shall not be hallmarked unless,...
A mixed material article with only a single precious metal...
A mixed material article comprised of two or more precious...
For the purposes of this Part— (a) “ base metal...
Standard mark Precious metal Standard of fineness Standard mark (1)...
Each of the marks comprising the approved hallmarks shall be...
Optional pictorial mark Precious metal Standard of fineness Pictorial mark...
Optional date letter Such distinct variable letter of the alphabet...
Optional additional mark Such mark (if any) as may be...
An article comprised of two or more precious metals shall...
The article shall be struck with— (a) the assay office...
(1) No prosecution for an offence under this Act shall...
In proceedings for an offence under this Act committed by...
In any proceedings for an offence under section 1 of...
The Council shall consist of not less than sixteen nor...
A person retiring from or resigning office as the chairman...
The powers of the Council or any committee thereof may...
Questions arising at any meeting of the Council or of...
The chief executive of an assay office and any other...
(1) The Council may in any standing orders made by...
The Council may appoint a technical committee and one or...
The Council may make standing orders for regulating the proceedings...
(1) The Council shall be a body corporate with perpetual...
(1) Ten of the members of the Council shall be...
The Council may pay to the chairman of the Council...
The Council shall appoint a secretary and such other officers...
(1) Six of the members of the Council shall be...
Members shall be appointed under the preceding provisions of this...
(1) Not more than two members of the Council may...
A person wholly or mainly employed by an assay office,...
The first meeting of the Council shall be held on...
(1) A member of the Council may at any time,...
(1) The Council shall elect a person to serve as...
An assay office may refuse to assay or mark any...
(1) Her Majesty’s Mint may at any time and from...
Before making application for an order under subsection (1)(b) of...
In this Part of this Schedule “the Gazette” means in...
In relation to any order under section 16(2) of this...
On application for any order to which this Part of...
Not later than the date on which the said notice...
The applicants shall also publish in the Gazette a notice...
The applicants shall, at the request of any person interested,...
The Secretary of State may make an order in the...
If, before the expiration of the twenty-eight days referred to...
On the making of an order to which this Part...
The costs incurred by the Secretary of State in connection...
Sponsors’ marks.
- Register and strike a sponsor's mark on articles before hallmarking Manufacturer
Approved hallmarks.
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Assay offices must strike approved hallmarks on qualifying precious metal articles Statutory regulator
Alterations to hallmarked articles.
- Do not alter hallmarked articles without assay office consent Any Person
Treatment by assay offices of unauthorised marks.
- Submit articles with unauthorised hallmark-like marks to assay office before supply Any Person
Enforcement of Act.
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Trading Standards must enforce hallmarking rules in your area Local authority
Treatment of articles following convictions.
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Assay office must return articles delivered under court order to the entitled person Statutory regulator
Dealers to exhibit notices as to hallmarks.
- Display approved hallmarks notice in your premises Trader
The British Hallmarking Council.
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- British Hallmarking Council must supervise hallmarking and enforce the law Statutory regulator
Browse 17 other sections — procedural / definitional / commencement
Prohibited descriptions of unhallmarked articles.
Meaning of approved hallmarks, etc.
Assay office carrying on business outside the United Kingdom
Counterfeiting,
Offences.
Charges for assaying and hallmarking, etc.
Power to alter, etc., constitution of Council.
Functions of assay offices, etc.
Orders constituting, dissolving, etc., or conferring powers on assay offices.
Application of Act to other metals by order.
Local Acts and instruments.
Reports and accounts.
Local inquiries.
Regulations and orders.
Interpretation.
Repeals.
Short title, commencement and extent.
Official guidance
Authoritative sources published by regulators or government explaining this legislation.
- GOV.UK: hallmarking (opens in a new tab) Detailed Guidance
- MHRA: register medical devices to place on the market (opens in a new tab) from MHRA Detailed Guidance
Enforcement and responsible bodies
The regulators that administer or enforce this legislation.
Trading Standards (Local Authority)
Enforces consumer protection legislation including food labelling, weights and measures, product safety, and fair trading. Part of local authority structure. Investigates food …
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Browse legislation
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Regulators
Learn more about the bodies that enforce this legislation.