You will need a knife dealers licence if you want to deal in knives, swords or weapons with blades or sharp points (generally non-domestic) in Scotland.

When a licence is required

  • Knives (other than those designed for domestic use)
  • Non-domestic knife blades
  • Swords
  • Any other article:
    • which has a blade, or
    • which is sharply pointed, and which is adapted for use for causing injury to the person

A 'dealer' is a person carrying out business which consists wholly or partly of:

  • Selling
  • Hiring
  • Offering for sale or hire
  • Exposing for sale or hire
  • Lending or
  • Giving

When a licence is not required

  • Knives designed for domestic use
  • Knife blades designed for domestic use
  • Folding pocket knives; kirpans or skean dhus whose blades do not exceed 3.5 inches (8.91 cm in length).

How to apply

The knife dealer licence application form is available to download:

Forms

Knife Dealers Notice
Word Document, 24.08 KB

Guidance

Knife Dealer Conditions
ODT Document, 15.99 KB

You can also get application forms by contacting us:

Licensing Board