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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 749 other Acts (top 5 shown)
- Human Medicines Regulations 2012 2012 110 duties
- Licensing Act 2003 2003 105 duties
- Merchant Shipping Act 1995 1995 97 duties
- Road Traffic Act 1988 1988 95 duties
- Air Navigation Order 2016 2016 86 duties
Directors and Officers also bound by 224 other Acts (top 5 shown)
- Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 2016 75 duties
- Companies Act 2006 2006 63 duties
- Insolvency Act 1986 1986 46 duties
- CCBSA 2014 2014 22 duties
- CAICEA 2004 2004 18 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 2 other Schedules — structural / supplementary
Consequential amendments
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
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 …
Explore more
Browse legislation
Find other UK business legislation with related guidance.
Regulators
Learn more about the bodies that enforce this legislation.