Is it illegal to have a knife in your car?

Section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 makes it an offence to have with you in a public place any article which has a blade or is sharply pointed, without good reason or lawful authority. A vehicle on a public road is considered a public place for the purposes of this section.

The offence carries a maximum of 4 years' imprisonment on indictment (increased from 2 years by the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015). On summary conviction, the maximum is 6 months' imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.

There is an exception for folding pocket knives with a blade of 3 inches (7.62 cm) or less, which are not caught by s.139. However, a lock knife (one that locks into position when opened) is not a folding pocket knife for these purposes, as confirmed in Harris v DPP [1993].

The defence of "good reason" places the burden on the defendant: you must prove on the balance of probabilities that you had a good reason for having the knife. Examples of good reason include: carrying kitchen knives to a new home, transporting fishing equipment, carrying work tools for a specific job (e.g., carpet fitting, scaffolding). Simply saying "for self-defence" is not a good reason: R v Emmanuel [1998] confirmed that carrying a knife for self-defence is not a lawful purpose.

Separately, s.1 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953 makes it an offence to carry an "offensive weapon" in a public place without lawful authority or reasonable excuse. A knife carried with the intention to cause injury would fall under this section, carrying a maximum of 4 years' imprisonment.

Police can search your vehicle under PACE s.1 if they have reasonable grounds to suspect it contains a bladed article or offensive weapon. The Offensive Weapons Act 2019 further tightened knife laws, creating offences relating to online sales and delivery of bladed articles.

For a second offence of possession of a bladed article (s.139 CJA 1988), there is a mandatory minimum sentence of 6 months' imprisonment for adults, unless there are particular circumstances that would make it unjust (s.315 Sentencing Act 2020).