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Knife Dealer's Licences

The Custodial Sentences and Weapons (Scotland) Act 2007 made provisions for the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 to be amended to include a new licensing scheme for the provision of “Knife Dealer’s Licences” for anyone carrying on business as a dealer the following articles –


(a) Knives (other than those designed for domestic use)
(b) Knife blades (other than those designed for domestic use)
(c) Swords;
(d) Any other article –
(i) Which has a blade; or
(ii) Which is sharply pointed,
And which is made or adapting for use for causing injury to the person.


A “dealer” is defined as a person carrying on a business which consists wholly or partly of –
(a) Selling;
(b) Hiring;
(c) Offering for sale or hire;
(d) Exposing for sale or hire;
(e) Lending; or
(f) Giving


To persons not acting in the course of a business or profession any article, whether or not those activities are carried out incidentally to a business which would not, apart from this section, require a knife dealer’s licence.


Selling is defined as including sale by auction and accepting goods or services in payment for such articles. The legislation also applies to remote sales of knives and may require both the premises that the article is sold from and the premises where the article is dispatched from to be licensed, depending on whether those premises are located.


The legislation does not define “domestic” or “non-domestic” knife. Aberdeenshire Council interprets “domestic” as being “any knife, tool or blade used or habitually used in accommodation used as family homes.” Anyone dealing in knives that do not fall into the definition of “domestic”, or anyone dealing in swords, will require to apply for a Knife Dealer’s Licence.


There are also certain exemptions from the requirement to obtain a Knife Dealer’s Licence. The Knife Dealers’ Licences (Exceptions) Order 2008 provides –
(a) That the following knives are exempt from the licensing requirements, but only where the blade does not exceed 8.91 centimetres (3.5 inches) in length –
(i) Folding pocket knives;
(ii) Kirpans; and
(iii) Skean dubhs.
(b) Where a person is teaching or training another person in the sport of fencing, the hiring, lending or giving of fencing weapons does not constitute a business requiring a licence, but only where the person teaching is a professional who is qualified to teach or train in the sport.


Applications for a Knife Dealer’s Licence can be lodged with Aberdeenshire Council from 1st September 2009. To ensure that a licence is issued by 1st June 2010, applications must be lodged with the Council by 1st December 2009 at the very latest.


Anyone who operates a business dealing in non-domestic knives after 1st June 2010, without the appropriate Knife Dealer’s Licence commits a criminal offence. All applications are currently to be processed from the North Licensing Division Office.

Application forms can be found below.

North Board

Central Board

Forms will appear here shortly.

South Board