Are Knives Banned in the UK? Legal Blades, Carrying, and Penalties

Knives are not banned outright in the UK, but the law controls tightly which types you can own, where you can carry them, and who can buy them. A short list of knives is illegal to possess anywhere, even at home. Everything else can generally be owned, but carrying a blade in a public place is a criminal offence unless you have a good reason. The one exception is a non-locking folding pocket knife with a cutting edge of three inches or less, which you can carry without needing to justify it.

Knives That Are Illegal to Own at All

Some knives and weapons cannot legally be owned, carried, bought, sold, or imported under any circumstances. The Offensive Weapons Act 2019 extended these bans to private possession, so keeping one in your home is now an offence in itself.¹

The prohibited list, set out under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) Order, includes:²

Flick knives and gravity knives, where the blade opens automatically from a closed position by a button, spring, or gravity.
Butterfly knives (balisongs), with a blade enclosed by a split handle that opens without a spring mechanism.
Disguised knives, with blades hidden inside everyday objects like pens, combs, lipsticks, or belt buckles.
Push daggers, designed so the handle fits inside a clenched fist with the blade between the fingers.
Throwing stars (shuriken), rigid plates with three or more sharp radiating points.
Knuckledusters, including any weapon that incorporates one.
Swordsticks, walking sticks or canes concealing a blade.
Zombie-style knives and machetes, typically over eight inches long and often carrying serrated edges, spikes, or multiple sharp points. These were added to the prohibited list in September 2024.³

The list also covers more obscure weapons like blowpipes, kusari gama, and telescopic truncheons. Throwing knives are not specifically named, but carrying one in public without good reason is still an offence, and marketing one as suitable for combat is illegal.

Curved swords with a blade of 50 centimetres or longer, measured in a straight line from the top of the handle to the tip, are also prohibited, with narrow exceptions for pre-1954 swords, hand-forged swords, and swords used for religious ceremonies.⁴ Straight-bladed swords fall outside this specific ban but are still subject to the general rules on carrying bladed articles.

The Knife You Can Carry Without Justification

A non-locking folding pocket knife with a cutting edge of three inches (7.62 cm) or less is the only knife you can legally carry in public without a reason. The blade must fold freely: no button, no spring, no catch holding it open. A lock knife does not qualify, no matter how small the blade, and must be treated like any other knife you would need to justify carrying.⁵

Even a small folding knife loses that protection if you carry it intending to use it as a weapon. The Prevention of Crime Act 1953 makes it an offence to have an offensive weapon in a public place, and any knife becomes an offensive weapon the moment you carry it with intent to threaten or harm.⁶

Carrying Any Other Knife in Public

For every other blade, you need a good reason to have it in a public place. “Public place” is broad: streets, shops, pubs, parks, footpaths, and any privately owned land the public can freely enter. If challenged, the burden is on you to show your reason.

Examples the law accepts include:⁴

Work, such as a chef carrying knives to the restaurant, a tradesperson with a utility knife on the job, or a farmer needing a blade for daily tasks.
Religious observance, such as the kirpan carried by some Sikhs.
National costume, such as a sgian-dubh with Highland dress.
Theatre, film, and historical re-enactment, where bladed props are needed for a performance or event.
Transport for museum or gallery display.

Self-defence is not a good reason. Carrying a knife “just in case” is not a lawful excuse, and telling an officer you had it for protection is treated as an admission that you were prepared to use it as a weapon.

Even a legitimate reason expects you to carry the knife securely and take it directly to and from the activity. A chef going straight home from work with knives in a locked case is on solid ground. That same chef stopping at a pub on the way, with knives loose in a backpack, is not. A hard-shell lockable case helps show you are moving tools rather than carrying a weapon.

Buying a Knife

You must be 18 to buy a knife in the UK.⁴ Scotland allows one exception: retailers can sell cutlery and kitchen knives to buyers aged 16 and 17. Age verification is required at the point of sale.

Online sales carry extra requirements under the Offensive Weapons Act 2019. Sellers must verify the buyer is 18 or over before completing the sale, mark the package clearly as containing a bladed article, and take reasonable steps to make sure it is handed to an adult on delivery. Delivery to lockers is not permitted.⁷

Selling, advertising, or displaying a knife in a way that suggests it is suitable for combat, or that encourages violent behaviour, is also a criminal offence under the Knives Act 1997. This covers the knife’s name, packaging, and any marketing.⁸

Penalties

Sentences for knife offences are serious, and courts have limited flexibility for repeat offenders.

Carrying a blade in public without good reason (Criminal Justice Act 1988, section 139): up to four years’ imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both.⁵
Carrying an offensive weapon in public (Prevention of Crime Act 1953, section 1): up to four years’ imprisonment on indictment.⁶
Private possession of a prohibited weapon (Criminal Justice Act 1988, section 141, as amended by the Offensive Weapons Act 2019): up to 51 weeks’ imprisonment in England and Wales on summary conviction, or up to four years in Northern Ireland on indictment.¹

Adults convicted a second time of carrying a blade or offensive weapon in public face a mandatory minimum of six months in prison. For 16 and 17 year olds, the minimum is a four-month detention and training order.⁹ A court can only go below the minimum where it finds exceptional circumstances relating to the offence or the offender.¹⁰

A conviction also leaves a criminal record that appears on standard and enhanced DBS checks, which affects work in education, healthcare, security, and other regulated sectors, and can complicate visa applications.

What to Do If You Already Own an Illegal Knife

If a knife you own has become illegal, the government runs periodic surrender schemes so you can dispose of it without prosecution. The most recent extended scheme ran through July 2025 and covered items including zombie-style knives, ninja swords, and other prohibited weapons.¹¹ During a surrender period, you can drop items anonymously into designated bins, hand them in at a mobile surrender van, or take them to a police station. No personal details are taken.

Wrap the item securely and place it in a sealed bag or box before travelling. Do not carry it openly. Following the published surrender instructions is likely to be accepted as good reason if police stop you on the way. Outside formal surrender windows, many police stations still accept bladed items through permanent surrender bins, though this varies by area.

1
Legislation.gov.uk. Offensive Weapons Act 2019 – Section 46
2
Legislation.gov.uk. Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) Order 1988 – Schedule
3
GOV.UK. Zombie-style Knives Banned
4
GOV.UK. Selling, Buying and Carrying Knives and Weapons
5
GOV.UK. Knives and Offensive Weapons Information
6
Legislation.gov.uk. Prevention of Crime Act 1953 – Section 1
7
GOV.UK. Statutory Guidance – Offensive Weapons Act 2019
8
Legislation.gov.uk. Knives Act 1997 – Section 1
9
Legislation.gov.uk. Prevention of Crime Act 1953
10
Sentencing Council. Bladed Articles and Offensive Weapons – Having in a Public Place
11
GOV.UK. Extended Knife Surrender Arrangements 2025