Delivery of Bladed Products to Residential Premises (Section 38 Offensive Weapons Act 2019)

Offensive Weapons Act 2019, s.38

Summary only
51 weeks' custody

Definition

This section applies if (a) a person ("the seller") sells a bladed product to another person ("the buyer"), and (b) the seller and the buyer are not in each other's presence at the time of the sale. (Offensive Weapons Act 2019, s.38(1)) The seller commits an offence if, for the purposes of supplying the bladed product to the buyer, the seller delivers the bladed product, or arranges for its delivery, to residential premises. (Offensive Weapons Act 2019, s.38(2)) The seller commits an offence if, for the purposes of supplying the bladed product to the buyer, the seller delivers the bladed product, or arranges for its delivery, to a locker. (Offensive Weapons Act 2019, s.38(3))

Points to prove

A person (the seller)
sells a bladed product to another person (the buyer)
the seller and the buyer not being in each other's presence at the time of the sale
for the purposes of supplying the bladed product to the buyer
delivers the bladed product, or arranges for its delivery
to residential premises (s.38(2)) or to a locker (s.38(3))

Delivery of Bladed Products to Residential Premises is an offence under s.38 Offensive Weapons Act 2019. The section applies where a person (the seller) sells a bladed product to another person (the buyer) and the two are not in each other's presence at the time of the sale (s.38(1)). The seller commits an offence if, for the purposes of supplying the bladed product to the buyer, the seller delivers it, or arranges for its delivery, to residential premises (s.38(2)) or to a locker (s.38(3)). "Residential premises" means premises used solely for residential purposes, and premises from which a person carries on a business are not residential premises (s.38(5) and (6)); a "locker" is a lockable container to which the product is delivered for collection by the buyer under arrangements made between seller and buyer (s.38(7)). The section is subject to the defences in s.40 (s.38(10)). Maximum sentence: on summary conviction in England and Wales, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks, a fine or both (s.38(8)(a)); for an offence committed before s.281(5) Criminal Justice Act 2003 comes into force, the reference to 51 weeks is read as 6 months (s.38(9)). Sections 39 and 42 of the same Act create separate summary offences for a delivery company that, under an arrangement with the seller, delivers a bladed product (s.39, seller within the United Kingdom, delivery to residential premises) or a bladed article (s.42, seller outside the United Kingdom) and does not deliver it into the hands of a person aged 18 or over; each is punishable in England and Wales by a fine (ss.39(6) and (7)(a), 42(4) and (10)(a)).

In practice

This is a summary-only offence: it must be tried at the magistrates' court. Investigation typically involves reviewing the seller's delivery arrangements. Evidence includes online order records and delivery records. Trading Standards may also investigate under consumer protection powers. The suspect must be cautioned in accordance with Code C PACE 1984 before any questions about the offence are put to them.

Related offences

Last updated 20 October 2026. Reviewed 20 October 2026

Mode of trial: Summary only
Maximum sentence: 51 weeks' custody
Act and section: Offensive Weapons Act 2019, s.38
Power of arrest: A constable may arrest without a warrant anyone who is about to commit the offence, anyone who is in the act of committing it, anyone whom he has reasonable grounds for suspecting to be about to commit it or to be committing it, and, where the offence has been or is reasonably suspected to have been committed, anyone who is guilty of it or whom he has reasonable grounds for suspecting to be guilty of it; the power is exercisable only if the constable has reasonable grounds for believing that for any of the reasons in s.24(5) it is necessary to arrest the person in question (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.24).
Search on arrest: On arrest at a place other than a police station a constable may search the arrested person for anything which he might use to assist him to escape from lawful custody or which might be evidence relating to an offence, if he has reasonable grounds for believing the person may have concealed such a thing on him (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.32(2)(a) and (5)). The powers to enter and search premises in s.32(2)(b) and s.18 apply only where the offence is an indictable offence, which this summary offence is not (Interpretation Act 1978, Schedule 1).
Detention clock: A person shall not be kept in police detention for more than 24 hours without being charged (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.41(1)), the period running from the relevant time, which in the ordinary case is the time of arrival at the first police station to which the person is taken after arrest (s.41(2)(d)). The extensions in ss.42 to 44 do not apply: authorisation of continued detention under s.42(1)(b) and a warrant of further detention under s.43(4)(b) each require that an offence for which the person is under arrest is an indictable offence, and this is a summary offence, one triable only summarily (Interpretation Act 1978, Schedule 1).
Source: www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/17/section/38