Is it legal to carry a multi-tool in the UK? What tradespeople need to know

This site uses Amazon affiliate links. If you buy through them we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Yes, you can carry a multi-tool in the UK as long as you have a good reason, and using it for your work is one of the reasons the law spells out. The catch is the lock. The only knife you can have in public with no reason at all is a folding pocketknife, cutting edge three inches or less, that does not lock. Nearly every full-size multi-tool locks its blade. Every Leatherman on our list does. So the three-inch rule is no help, however short the blade. Take it to the job, bring it home in the van, and you are fine. This is our summary of the law, not legal advice.

The law in England and Wales

The offence is in section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. Having a bladed or sharply pointed article in a public place, without good reason or lawful authority, can get you up to four years. There is one carve-out written into the section, the folding pocketknife with a cutting edge of three inches or under. Nothing else gets a free pass.

For everything else you need a reason, and the Act names three: you had it for use at work, for religious reasons, or as part of a national costume. GOV.UK's knife guidance says much the same, with one blunt addition. If you are charged, a court decides whether your reason was good enough. Not you, and not the officer.

Why the lock matters more than the length

The courts have decided that a knife with a blade that locks open is not a folding pocketknife for the purposes of the exemption, because it cannot be folded back without pressing a release. So a locking blade of two inches is treated the same as a fixed blade. Length is irrelevant once it locks.

That covers most of what tradespeople carry. The Leatherman Wave+ at around £100 has locking blades. So do the Leatherman Surge at around £130 and the Super Tool 300 at around £115, where every tool locks. The Victorinox Swiss Tool X Plus at around £150 has a locking blade too. Locking is a good thing on a tool you are pushing hard. It just means you need the work reason.

What you carry	Needs a good reason in public?
Non-locking folding knife, blade 3 inches or under	No
Non-locking folding knife, blade over 3 inches	Yes
Multi-tool with a locking blade, any length	Yes
Fixed blade, Stanley knife, chisel	Yes
Bladeless multi-tool such as the Gerber MP600 Bladeless	No knife blade to worry about

What counts as carrying it for work

The work defence is real, but it has a shape. The tool needs a connection to the work you are doing. On you while you are on the job, in the van, or on your way to and from a site: that is the obvious case. On your belt at a football match on Saturday is not.

The weak spot is forgetting. An electrician who walks into the pub on Friday night with the Wave+ still in a pocket from work is in an awkward position, because forgetting it was there has not, on its own, been treated by the courts as a good reason. The habit that fixes this is boring: when the work day ends, the tool goes in the van or the bag, not in your pocket.

Carrying it in a belt pouch, with the rest of your kit, looks like a working tool. Carrying it in a jacket pocket on a night out looks like something else. Police and courts look at the whole picture.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland has its own law, section 49 of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995. The structure is the same: an offence to have a bladed or pointed article in a public place, the same exception for a folding pocketknife with a cutting edge of three inches or less, and a defence for carrying it for use at work. Northern Ireland has an equivalent offence too. If you work across the border, the habits above work in all three places.

Schools, hospitals and some other premises have tighter rules of their own, and in England and Wales having a blade on school premises is a separate offence. If your work takes you onto a school site, ask the contractor or the school what they allow before you arrive with a pouch full of blades.

Sites that ban blades

Separate from the law, plenty of sites and clients have their own rules. Some principal contractors ban folding knives in favour of safety knives with a retracting blade. Hospitals, prisons, schools and some data centres ban knives outright. For those jobs the Gerber MP600 Bladeless at around £70 has pliers, drivers and a file but no knife blade, which is why it exists. Our Leatherman for electricians piece covers which tool suits which kind of work, and the full range is on our multi-tools for electricians page.

Buying one

Retailers in the UK will not sell a knife, including a multi-tool with a blade, to anyone under 18, and online sellers check age on delivery. That matters for apprentices who are 16 or 17. The firm or a parent may have to buy it.

Frequently asked questions

Is a Leatherman legal to carry in the UK?

Yes, with a good reason such as using it for work. Most Leatherman tools have a locking blade, so they are not covered by the three-inch folding pocketknife exemption. Carry it on the job and in the van, and take it out of your pocket once the working day is done.

Can I carry a multi-tool with a blade under 3 inches?

Only without a reason if the blade does not lock. The exemption is for folding pocketknives with a cutting edge of three inches or less, and courts treat a locking blade as outside it whatever the length. A locking multi-tool needs a good reason, which work counts as.

Is carrying a multi-tool for work a good reason?

Yes. The law names use at work as a defence, and GOV.UK lists it as a good reason. The tool needs a connection to the work, though. On the job or on your way to it is fine. In your pocket on a night out after work is a different story.

Are the knife rules different in Scotland?

The structure is very similar. Scottish law has the same offence, the same three-inch folding pocketknife exception and the same defence for carrying a blade for use at work. The legislation is different, section 49 of the 1995 Scottish Act, but the habits that keep you right are the same.