UK Act of Parliament 1997 United Kingdom

Knives Act 1997

Read the Act on legislation.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)
Enforced by
Trading Standards
Status
In Force
Penalty ceiling
Imprisonment 1 of 2 obligations carry an unlimited fine. 1 carries different penalties — flagged in the list below.

Does it bind you?

Business-side roles with duties under this instrument.

Any Person2

Other Acts binding the same actors

If a role above is yours, these are the other instruments that most often bind it.

Any Person — also bound by 2684 other Acts

What it requires

Sections creating concrete business duties or carrying penalties, grouped as the instrument is structured. Titles link to the source text — blue means you’re leaving for legislation.gov.uk.

s.001 Unlawful marketing of knives. (opens in a new tab) Prosecution
  • Market knives in a way that promotes combat or violenceAny Person

Unlimited fine

s.002 Publications. (opens in a new tab) Imprisonment
  • Publish knife marketing material that promotes violenceAny Person
9 other provisions — procedural and definitional
s.003 Exempt trades. (opens in a new tab)
s.004 Other defences. (opens in a new tab)
s.005 Supplementary powers of entry, seizure and retention. (opens in a new tab)
s.006 Forfeiture of knives and publications. (opens in a new tab)
s.007 Effect of a forfeiture order. (opens in a new tab)
s.008 Powers to stop and search for knives or offensive weapons. (opens in a new tab)
s.009 Offences by bodies corporate. (opens in a new tab)
s.010 Interpretation. (opens in a new tab)
s.011 Short title, commencement, extent (opens in a new tab)

Duty extraction and severity labels are Guvnor’s analysis of the instrument, not the instrument itself. Always verify against the linked source text.