Firearms, Weapons and Knives Policy
Most weapons can't be advertised on WantAd due to national and international laws, so our policies reflect this. Bear in mind that to
safeguard the community, we may also ban other related items that are legal to be advertised outside of WantAd.
Ammunition - Live ammunition and ammunition components can't be advertised.
Allowed:
• Plastic, rubber and wooden ammunition
• Snap caps
• Ammunition for airsoft guns
• Safety bullets
Restricted:
• Empty ammunition boxes. The advertisement needs to say the item doesn't contain ammunition.
• Converted brass (also known as trench art). The item being offered has to show that it's been converted and that it can't be converted
back into a usable casing.
Restricted • Accessories can be advertised as long as they do not show the picture of the firearm itself
Not allowed:
Items that are not allowed to be advertised include but are not limited to:
• Blank, dummy, live or inert ammunition
• Bullets, buck shot or lead shot
• Components of ammunition such as cartridges, casings, shells, or hulls
• Gunpowder or primers
• Reloading equipment, including items such as dies and moulds, BB guns, pellet guns and air rifles, air guns or air pistols
• Airsoft rifles or Airsoft guns
• Any frame or receiver for a BB gun or air rifle
• Explosives, grenades and military items, Ordnance, military weaponry (such as grenades and landmines), ammunition and related parts, and
most military vehicles including aircraft and ships, even if it has been made 'unserviceable' or has been 'de-militarised' or 'de-milled'.
• Articles or services specifically designed, developed, configured, adapted or modified for a military application.
Examples of items not allowed on WantAd.co.uk include night vision goggles, body armour, technical data manuals, gas masks, and protective
clothing which have significant military or intelligence applicability.
• Military items advertised by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR):
• US federal laws and regulations strictly control the import and the export of certain military items and information manufactured and
developed in the United States, whether or not the buyer or seller are located in the United States. In addition to prohibiting the
advertising of military ordnance and other weapons and equipment advertised, WantAd users are not allowed to advertise any items or
information covered by Part 121 of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), also known as the United States Munitions
advertise. We advise advertisers to review ITAR Part 121. If the item you want to advertise is included on the United States Munitions
list, it isn't allowed on WantAd.co.uk.
• The advertising for any information, technical data, instruction manuals, or any other military data covered by ITAR Part 121 in any
format is strictly prohibited.
• Metal replica hand grenades
• Atom or nuclear weapons
• Explosives
• Missiles and rockets or launchers
Firearms parts and accessories
We do not permit advertising for weapons issued and formerly used by the military as we cannot confirm that the items subsequently
offered have effectively and permanently been altered for lawful and safe transport and sale.
We also don't allow items specifically intended for a military application which neither have predominant civil applications nor
performance equivalent to those of an article or service used for civil applications.
Allowed:
• Bulletproof vests/ flak jackets
• Magazine holders, moon clips, speed loaders or stripper clips
Restricted:
• Accessories for guns such as butt plates, cleaning supplies, holsters, pistol grips, racks, scopes, slings, stocks, storage cases or
trigger guards. The advert must include a description of the type of firearm, the accessory or part is used for. If it doesn't, the
advertisement may be removed.
• Muzzle loader or black powder gun parts or accessories, as long as each item is advertised for one at a time. (However, having separate adverts for items that can be used to build a gun is prohibited.)
Not allowed:
• Parts or accessories for assault weapons. advertisements that mention capability with an assault weapon, even if the part or accessory
fits non-assault weapons, are also prohibited.
• Any advert for a firearm accessory which contains a picture of the firearm itself
• Converters (items that can be used to give a firearm automatic firing capability)
Any part that is required for a gun to fire, including, but not limited to:
• Barrels
• Choke tubes
• Cylinders
• Firing pins
• Frames, including grip frames
• Magazines, regardless of capacity
• Receivers, including parts, upper or lower, cut, or 80 per cent receivers
• Slides
• Trigger assemblies
• Firearm kits that are used to create a firearm
• Flash suppressors
• Reloading presses and equipment
• Sears
• Silencers
Firearms
Actual firearms can't be advertised for on WantAd. However, some accessories for firearms are okay to advertise for, but only under certain conditions as detailed in our Firearm parts and accessories section. See the list below for more details:
Restricted:
• Signal and toy cannons unless they can shoot an object
Not allowed:
• Firearms regardless of their ability to fire, how old they are, or their status as collectables
• Firearms include all component parts of a firearm, sporting, collectable, curio & relic, signalling pistols, and antique firearms
• Any item that is designed to discharge any shot, bullet or other missile
• Starter or blank guns
• Cannons
• Zip guns
• Pin fire guns
Hand weapons:
Some hand-to-hand combat weapons and martial arts weapons can't be advertised for on WantAd. See the list below, as well as the Knives section, for more details.
Allowed:
• Instruction or training manual on how to use hand weapons
• Wii Nunchuk controllers for the Nintendo Wii
Restricted:
• Training or practice batons, night sticks, nunchakus, or tonfas that are made of rubber foam, dense foam, or foam
with plastic interior tubes - you have to specify this detail in your advert. However, weapons that are foam padded with a metal
interior aren't allowed.
Not allowed:
Items that are not allowed include, but are not limited to:
• Any offensive weapon as defined by Section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (UK) or the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act 1990 (Ireland) as these statutes may be amended from time to time.
• Swords
• Handclaws, footclaws, throwing stars, shurikens, sandclubs, sandbags, slungshots, saps and blackjacks
• "Kusari gama", "kyoketsu shoge", "manrikigusari" or "kusari" (lengths of rope, cord, wire or chain fastened at one end to either a
sickle, hooked knife, hard weight or hand grip)
• Leaded canes, staffs, crutches or sticks
• Nightsticks, billy clubs, truncheons, tonfas, batons, police riot batons and similar items, regardless of age
• Nunchaku (also called nunchucks or numchuks), coshes, shurikens, naruto and hollow kubutans
• Plastic, brass or other metal knuckledusters
Knives.
Knives are not permitted to be advertised for on WantAd, with limited exceptions outlined below:
When advertising for knives on WantAd, site users should be aware that it is an offence to sell knives to a person who is under the age of 18.
Allowed:
• Dining cutlery sets that include knives used for eating
• Letter openers
• Razor blades and surgical blades
• Tools such as chisels, axes, saws and hoof trimming tools
Not allowed:
Items that are not allowed include but are not limited to:
• Disguised knives such as belt buckle knives, lipstick case knives, air gauge knives and writing pen knives
• Martial arts blunt training knives
• Multi-tool knives and craft knives
• Pocket knives, folding knives and clasp knives
• Push daggers
• Sharp kitchen knives (as in pair blocks), cake knives, carving knives, pairing knives, oyster knives and electric knives.
• Stealth, throwing, baladvertiseic, grivory and rubber knives, Swiss Army knives, Stanley knives and Leathermans
• Zombie knives, switchblades, spring-blade knives, snap-blade knives, gravity knives, stiletto knives and butterfly knives
Other weapons
Allowed:
• Bows and arrows
• Non-pneumatic spear guns
Not allowed:
• Blow guns and blowpipes
• Crossbows
• Dart guns
• Disguised stun guns
• Flares, flare guns, flare launchers or receivers for flare guns
• High voltage electric stunning devices
• Potato guns such as bazookas, cannons, or launchers
• Pneumatic spear guns
• Replica Tasers
• Shockers and shock guns
• Stun guns
• Weapons which discharge noxious liquids or gases such as tear gas or pepper spray dispenser
Airsoft, replica or other imitation firearms. Replica firearms look very similar to real guns. Replica or imitation firearms cannot be advertised for.
Allowed:
• Miniature firearms for action figures
• Toy guns that clearly look like a toy
Restricted:
• Miniature Gun lighters, unless they appear to be full size
• Parts and accessories for airsoft weapons can be advertised as long as they are not classified as an assault weapon, that
including similar name.
Not allowed:
• Airsoft rifles or Airsoft guns
• Paintball guns
• Paintball cannons
• Any advertiseing for a firearm accessory which contains a picture of the firearm itself
• Reaadvertiseic cap guns
• Replica firearms
• Replica Blaster Kits
