Legal answer
Buy a stun gun in United Kingdom: legal status
Stun guns are prohibited weapons in the United Kingdom and ordinary public purchase is not lawful without special authority.
Quick facts
Record at a glance
| Jurisdiction | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Activity | buy a stun gun |
| Topic | Self-defence weapons |
| Answer | No |
| Official source | Official source checked |
| Next verification step | Check whether the device is actually a stun gun or similar electrical discharge weapon because the section 5 treatment depends on that classification. |
Conditions
What would need to be true
Only a person with Secretary of State authority can lawfully possess purchase or acquire a prohibited weapon.
Exceptions
Known carve-outs
Official or specially authorised possession is outside this ordinary public row.
Penalties
Possible enforcement risk
Home Office guidance says anyone wishing to possess purchase or acquire stun guns or similar electrical discharge weapons must obtain authority and CPS guidance treats prohibited weapon offences as serious criminal matters.
Enforcement
How this is usually enforced
Police and Border Force treat stun guns as prohibited weapons and can seize them.
Same country
Related rules in United Kingdom
Rules in the same topic appear first, followed by broader links within the same country.
| Action | Answer | Source status | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| buy a pepper spray | No | Official source checked | 2026-04-03 |
| buy a taser | No | Official source checked | 2026-04-03 |
| buy brass knuckles | No | Official source checked | 2026-04-03 |
| carry a pepper spray | No | Official source checked | 2026-04-03 |
| carry a stun gun | No | Official source checked | 2026-04-03 |
| carry a taser | No | Official source checked | 2026-04-03 |
Other countries
Compare the same action elsewhere
Where the same action is live in other countries, you can switch straight from here.
| Jurisdiction | Answer | Source status | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Depends | Official source checked | 2026-04-04 |
| Sweden | Depends | Official source checked | 2026-04-04 |
| Singapore | Depends | Official source checked | 2026-04-04 |
| Poland | Depends | Official source checked | 2026-04-04 |
| Netherlands | No | Official source checked | 2026-04-04 |
| Japan | Unclear | Official source checked | 2026-04-04 |
Official sources
Primary sources attached
How to read this page
Using the answer responsibly
The headline answer is meant to be quick to scan. The conditions, exceptions, and source links below matter just as much whenever the law turns on context.