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UK Act of Parliament
2010
United Kingdom
Bribery Act 2010
At a glance
Enforced by
What's here
6 compliance obligations, 3 practical guides · 1 journey
Penalty landscape
4 of 6 obligations carry imprisonment (10 years). 1 carries different penalties and 1 has 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 4
- Director or Officer 1
Plus 1 non-business duty on Crown ministers, regulators, local authorities or tribunals — shown collapsed under each section below.
Step-by-step journeys using this legislation
Walkthroughs that take you from a real business situation to compliance.
Relevant guidance
Practical guides for businesses affected by this Act, ordered by how closely they engage with it.
Direct — cites this Act
1 guidesSupporting — topic alignment
1 guidesMentioned in related content
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
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
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
Browse 16 other Schedules — structural / supplementary
Consequential amendments
In section 2(3)(ba) of the Ministry of Defence Police Act...
In section 77(3) (financial reporting orders: making in Scotland) after...
In Schedule 2 to the Armed Forces Act 2006 (which...
The Serious Crime Act 2007 is amended as follows.
(1) Section 53 of that Act (certain extra-territorial offences to...
(1) Schedule 1 to that Act (list of serious offences)...
In section 2A of the Criminal Justice Act 1987 (Director...
The International Criminal Court Act 2001 is amended as follows....
In section 54(3) (offences in relation to the ICC: England...
In section 61(3)(b) (offences in relation to the ICC: Northern...
In section 4(2) of the International Criminal Court (Scotland) Act...
The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 is amended...
In section 61(1) (offences in respect of which investigatory powers...
In section 76(3) (financial reporting orders: making) for paragraphs (d)...
Repeals and revocations
Offences of bribing another person
10 years imprisonment- Offer or give a bribe to induce improper performance Any Person
Offences relating to being bribed
10 years imprisonment- Accept or solicit a bribe (passive bribery) Any Person
Bribery of foreign public officials
10 years imprisonment- Bribe a foreign public official Any Person
Failure of commercial organisations to prevent bribery
Unlimited fine- Fail to prevent bribery by associated persons Any Person
Defence for certain bribery offences etc.
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Intelligence and Armed Forces heads must maintain anti-bribery arrangements Crown / Minister / Government department
Offences under sections 1, 2 and 6 by bodies corporate etc.
10 years imprisonment- Corporate liability for bribery with senior officer consent Director or Officer
Browse 14 other sections — procedural / definitional / commencement
Function or activity to which bribe relates
Improper performance to which bribe relates
Expectation test
Meaning of associated person
Guidance about commercial organisations preventing bribery
Consent to prosecution
Penalties
Offences under this Act: territorial application
Offences under section 7 by partnerships
Application to Crown
Consequential provision
Extent
Commencement and transitional provision etc.
Short title
Official guidance
Authoritative sources published by regulators or government explaining this legislation.
- Bribery and corruption | FCA (opens in a new tab) from FCA Detailed Guidance
- SRA | Standard conditions of contract (opens in a new tab) from SRA Detailed Guidance
- SRA | Reporting concerns about wrongdoing when working in-house - Case study (opens in a new tab) from SRA Detailed Guidance
- SRA | Offering inducements to potential clients or clients (opens in a new tab) from SRA Detailed Guidance
- SRA | The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (opens in a new tab) from SRA Detailed Guidance
Enforcement and responsible bodies
The regulators that administer or enforce this legislation.
Serious Fraud Office
Investigates and prosecutes serious or complex fraud, bribery and corruption, including offences under the Bribery Act 2010, Fraud Act 2006 and Criminal …
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Browse legislation
Find other UK business legislation with related guidance.
Regulators
Learn more about the bodies that enforce this legislation.