Knife Dealer's Licence
Knife Dealer Licences are issued by North Ayrshire Council in terms of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 for anyone carrying on the business as a dealer in the following articles within North Ayrshire.
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Knives (other than those designed for domestic use)
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Knife blades (other than those designed for domestic use)
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Swords
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Any other article :
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Which has a blade, or
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Which is sharply pointed,And which is made or adapted 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:
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Selling
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Hiring
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Offering for sale of hire
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Exposing for sale or hire
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Lending or
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Giving
There are also certain exemptions from the requirement to obtain a Knife Dealer's Licence. The Knife Dealers' Licences (Exceptions) Order 2008 provides:
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:
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Folding pocket knives
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Kirpans and
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Skean Dubhs
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.
You can download an Application pack (word 70.5kb) and Guidance notes (word 43kb)
Alternatively, an application pack and notes can be obtained using the contact details on the right of this page.
Completed application forms should also be sent to the contact details at the right of this page. The application form should be accompanied by the non refundable fee.
On receipt of the completed documents, the application will be circulated to a number of consultees and some of the consultees will inspect the premises. It will also be advertised on the Council's website to allow for members of the public to lodge any objections or representations to the issue of the licence.
If there are no objections, the licence will be issued for a period of 3 years from the date of issue.
It is in the public interest that North Ayrshire Council must process your application before it can be granted. If you have not heard from the Licensing Office within a reasonable period, please contact us. You can do this using the contact details to the right of this page.
Please note that the application process may take up to 6 weeks.
For 2010/2011 the fee for the grant of a Knife Dealers licence is £300. This fee is subject to annual review.
The fee is not returnable if you decide to withdraw the application or if the licence is refused.