Knives – Responsible retailer scheme

It is illegal to sell and deliver knives, other bladed products and corrosive substances to anyone under 18. The legislation is enforced by the police and trading standards. Sellers should always verify the age of the purchaser before a sale, and delivery companies should do so on delivery

Sale of Knives – Trading Standards law explained (PDF 100 KB)

Online training

We are implementing a Responsible Retailer Scheme. We recommend you sign up to this scheme by completing a short online course to support you & your staff in complying with the law around selling age-restricted products.

• Login to eLearning  
• eLearning course guidance notes

Key learning

• Prevent underage sales of knives
• How to store knives and bladed articles safely
• How to monitor activity outside your business, especially if young people are hanging around.

On completion of this course, you and staff members will receive a certificate (sent to your email address). You should keep this as evidence for your business due diligence training records. Trading Standards will also receive a record that your premises have completed the course and are supporting the Responsible Retailing of Knives Scheme.

Posters

• Knife sales poster A4 (PDF 208 KB)
• Knife storage and display (PDF 180 KB)
• Shelf display (PDF 139 KB)
• A5 A board knife (PDF 311 KB)

Good practice

• Responsible retailer agreement (PDF 201 KB) 
• Good practice (PDF 290 KB)
• Date of birth verification sheet (PDF 267 KB) 
• CitizenCard physical security features (PDF 3.27 MB)
• CitizenCard Security Flyer 2024 (PDF 3.35 MB)