UK Act of Parliament 2019 United Kingdom

Offensive Weapons Act 2019

View on legislation.gov.uk (opens in a new tab) Ask Guv about this Act

At a glance

Enforced by

Trading Standards, Police

What's here

18 compliance obligations, 2 practical guides · 2 journeys

Penalty landscape

5 of 18 obligations carry imprisonment (4 years). 9 carry different penalties and 4 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 16

Plus 2 non-business duties 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 guides

Mentioned in related content

1 guides

Other 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)

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.

Part 1 — Corrosive products and substances

Browse 8 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 2 — Knife crime prevention orders

Browse 15 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 3 — Sale and delivery of knives etc

Browse 6 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 4 — Possession etc of certain offensive weapons

Browse 3 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 5 — Threatening with offensive weapons

Browse 3 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 6 — Firearms

Browse 10 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 7 — Enforcement

Browse 2 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 8 — Supplementary

Browse 6 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Schedules

Browse 2 other Schedules — structural / supplementary
Read the full Act on legislation.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)

Enforcement and responsible bodies

The regulators that administer or enforce this legislation.

Trading Standards

Primary

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 …

Police

Police Forces

Enforce criminal law including licensing conditions (e.g. alcohol, entertainment), knife sales restrictions, and age-restricted product sales. Work with trading standards on enforcement …

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Browse legislation

Find other UK business legislation with related guidance.

Regulators

Learn more about the bodies that enforce this legislation.