Licence and permit applications - Knives, blades, swords dealer

1. A Knife/Sword Dealer’s Licence is required by Dealers in:­

(a) knives (other than folding pocket knives whose blades do not exceed 3.5 inches (8.91cm) in length or knives designed for domestic use);

(b) daggers (other than kirpans or skean dhus whose blades do not exceed 3.5 inches (8.91cm) in length;

(c) knife blades (other than those designed for domestic use);

(d) swords;

(e) any other article (i) which has a blade, or (ii) which is sharply pointed, and which is made or adapted for use for causing injury to the person.

2. A ‘dealer’ is 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 mentioned above (whether or not the activities mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (f) are carried out incidentally to a business which would not, apart from this section, require a knife dealer’s licence).

“Selling” (a) includes:­

(i) selling such an article by auction;

(ii) accepting goods or services in payment (whether in part or in full) for such an article; but

does not include selling (by auction or otherwise) such an article by one person on behalf of another; and “sale” is to be construed accordingly.

The following are exceptions to the activities which are excluded:­

The hiring, offering or exposing for hire, lending or giving of:­

(a) arrows used in the sport of archery by a teacher to a pupil from the definition of a business;

(b) a knife used in a water sport by a teacher to a pupil from the definition of a business but only where the purpose is the safety of the pupil whilst undertaking a water sport; and

(c) (and also the sale of) an arrow, used in archery, or a fencing sword where these activities are carried on in connection with a competition recognised by Scottish Fencing, Scottish Archery Association or Scottish Field Archery Association and which take place in the vicinity of that competition.

3. A Knife/Sword Dealer's Licence shall not be required where a person is teaching another person the sport of fencing, the hiring, offering or exposing for hire, lending or giving of a fencing sword i.e a foil, epee or sabre, by A to B but only where A is qualified to teach B in the sport. 

1. Individual applicants will be asked for full details, including name, address, date and place or birth, contact information, and National Insurance Number.  Where applying as a business (non-natural person), the details of those who will carry out the day-to-day management, as well as those of the Directors, Partners or other persons responsible for the management of the business will be required.
2. Applications must be accompanied by a Plan of the Premises, which should be submitted during the application process.
3. Subject to the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, all unspent convictions, fixed penalties and alternatives to prosecution must be declared including all breaches of road traffic law, and you can find further information on that by using this link Scottish Government Guidance on Disclosure of Convictions.  Any person with previous convictions who has doubts as to which offences are spent may wish to seek legal advice before completing an application. Failure to make a full declaration may lead to refusal of the application, prosecution and, if any omission is discovered after the Licence has been granted, suspension of that Licence.
4. The applicant shall, for a period of 21 days beginning with the date on which the application was submitted, display an Intimation of Application confirming that application has been made and after the expiry of the 21 day period, duly certify that this Notice has been posted.
5. The Council will consult the Chief Constable, Chief Fire Officer, local Councillors, the Council's Environmental Health and Trading Standards Manager and Planning Manager; and will cause public notice to be given of the receipt of the application.
6. It should be understood that any Licence does not carry with it the necessary consent or approval to any proposed development which may be required under Planning or Building Control legislation or under any other Statutes and Enactments.
7. If the property to which the application relates is owned by the Council, landlords' consent for the proposed use should be obtained.
8. It is the responsibility of the person who has responsibility for the premises to ensure that a fire risk assessment is carried out by a competent person and to record outcomes.

1. Knife and Sword dealers are required:­

(a) to make detailed written records on the day of the transaction with a customer and retain such records for a period of 3 years from that date stating the following information –

(i) the identity of the customer and the means by which the customer’s identity was verified;

(ii) the steps taken to establish that the customer was at least eighteen years of age at the time of the transaction (including any proof of age or identity sought or the means by which the customer’s age was verified or reasons why such verification was not sought because it was unnecessary); and a full description of the article sold, hired, offered or exposed for sale or hire, lent or given to the customer.

(b) to ensure that any article listed in 'who needs a licence' above or display of such articles is not visible from the street or any public entrance to the premises;

(c) to display a notice which must­

(i) be displayed at all times at the point of entry to the premises, the point of sale or counter and in a position which is readily visible to customers;

(ii) be at least A4 size and which the lettering must be legible and no smaller than 5mm in height; and

(iii) contain the following wording:

It is an offence to sell to a person under the age of 18 any knife or knife blade (except if the person is aged 16 or over and the knife or blade is designed for domestic use).  It is also an offence to sell to a person under the age of 18 any razor blade, axe, sword or other article which has a blade or which is sharply pointed and which is made or adapted for use for causing injury.  A customer may be asked to provide details of his/her age identity (which may be recorded or copied and kept for inspection for up to 3 years).

(d) where swords are sold:­

(i) to take all reasonable steps to establish from the customer and confirm the intended use of the sword; and

(ii) to make detailed written records on the day of the transaction with a customer and retain such records for a period of 3 years from that date stating the enquiries made of the customer or other persons or bodies as to the intended use of any sword.