Age Restricted Sales
It is very important that age restricted products are not sold to children, and there are
several pieces of legislation to prevent the sale of these products to those too young
to buy them.
Such restrictions are necessary to prevent young people from behaving anti-socially,
becoming a nuisance to those around them and, most importantly, from harming
themselves. You have a responsibility to ensure you stay within the legislation when
selling these products. Staffordshire County Council Trading Standards monitor
compliance for the following products:
Age related product
Age restriction
Fine
Unlimited fine and/or 6
month’s imprisonment
Alcohol
18
Tobacco (sale of)
Tobacco (display of)
18
18
£2,500 fine
Unlimited fine and/or 6
months imprisonment
18
£2,500 fine
Nicotine Inhaling Products
(Electronic cigarettes)
(as of 1st October 2015)
18 / 16 / 12
Unlimited fine and/or 3
months imprisonment
Knives & Offensive Weapons
18
Unlimited fine and/or 6
months imprisonment
Butane
18
Unlimited fine and/or 6
months imprisonment
Solvents
18
Unlimited fine and/or 6
months imprisonment
Fireworks
Aerosol Spray Paint
(if misuse is suspected)
16
£2,500 fine
DVDs
12 / 15 / 18
Unlimited fine and/or 6
months imprisonment
Computer Games
12 / 16 / 18
Unlimited fine and/or 6
months imprisonment
Lottery tickets and scratch
cards
16
Unlimited fine and/or 2 years
imprisonment
BB Guns
18
Unlimited fine and/or 6
months imprisonment
This guidance can be used as advice for the business owner/ management, or directly as training
material for their staff.
Trading Standards
Online Age Restricted Sales Guidance. Version 1
CONTENTS
SECTION ONE – Product Legislation
For staff training:
3–5
6–7
7–9
10
11
12 – 13
14
14
15
16
17
18
19
19
Alcohol
Tobacco (Sale of)
Tobacco (Display of)
Nicotine Inhaling Products (E-cigs)
Tobacco & Nicotine Inhaling Products - Persistent Sales
Fireworks
Knives & Offensive Weapons
Butane
Solvents
DVDs / Computer Games
Lottery
BB Guns
Aerosol Spray Paints
Miscellaneous Products
SECTION TWO – Policies & Procedures
For staff training:
Age Verification Policy – Challenge 25
No ID No Sale
How to Spot Underage / Proxy Purchasers
Handling Refusals
Refusals / Challenge Register
Checklist
Training Record
21
21
22
23
24
24
25
Guidance for Management:
Preventing Underage Sales
Staff Training
Prominent Notices
Till Prompts
Self-Checks & Assessments
Problem Prevention / Other Precautions
Distance Selling
Other Sources of Information
26
27
27
27
28
28 – 29
29
30
For each age restricted product there is a list of offences, consequences and additional
information. The consequences section will also identify who is potentially committing an
offence.
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SECTION
ONE
Product
Legislation
For staff training
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ALCOHOL
Licensing Act 2003
Glossary of Terms:
Licence – The Premises Licence: enabling the authorised sale of alcohol.
PLH – Premises Licence Holder.
DPS – Designated Premises Supervisor: named person of responsibility.
CR – Community Resolution: resolution of a less serious offence, through informal
agreement between the parties involved.
CC – Conditional Caution: a caution given in respect of an offence which has
conditions attached to it.
£90 PND – A £90 penalty notice for disorder: a fine usually issued at the time.
Review – The local Licensing Committee would review (upon request of a
Responsible Authority, e.g. Trading Standards) the Licence and could do
one or more of the following: endorse it with additional conditions;
remove the DPS; suspend it for up to 3 months or revoke the licence.
Underage sale – The sale of alcohol to a person under 18 years of age.
The sale of alcohol is a ‘licensable activity’ which means a business needs a Licence
to be able to sell it; as it lays out the conditions for the authorised sale of alcohol.
There will be a named person or company as the PLH and, generally, there is a
named person of responsibility, called a DPS, on the Licence. Some Licences will
carry conditions relating to the operation of a Challenge 25 Policy; regular staff
training and the use of a Refusals/ Challenges Book.
Your local District/ Borough Council will issue the required Licence, as they
are the Licensing Authority under the Licensing Act 2003.
The Licensing Act 2003 requires the premises to display the Licence Summary in a
public area of the shop and visible to customers. It also requires a full copy of the
Licence to be retained on site, out of public view. This should not be locked away
from staff as it may need to be produced during any licensing inspection. Staff
should be aware who holds the position of DPS, as identified on the Licence, at the
premises. All staff that hold a Personal Licence should ensure they carry theirs with
them, whilst at work; or have them available on site.
All staff (who do not hold a Personal Licence) should be authorised to sell alcohol of
behalf of the DPS – usually referred to as DPS Written Authorisation – and staff
should know where it is kept; in order to produce it if required during an inspection.
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Offence:
It is an offence to carry on licensable activities outside of the authorisation of a
Licence. Examples include: selling alcohol without a Licence; selling alcohol without
a named DPS or a breach of the conditions (such as not implementing the Challenge
25 Policy).
Consequences:
The following people can commit this offence: the staff member who causes the
breach; the DPS; the PLH; the owner of the business and any other person who had
the ability to prevent the breach. The offence attracts an unlimited fine and/ or a
licence review.
Additional information:
In order to avoid committing this offence you should ensure that all persons, who
work at the premises, are made aware of what conditions are on the Licence and
impress upon them the importance of following them.
*****
Offence:
It is an offence to sell and/ or allow the supply of alcohol to a person under the age of
18 years old.
Consequences:
The following people can commit this offence: the buyer; the seller (the staff member
who actually sells the alcohol); the DPS; the PLH and the owner of the business.
The offence attracts an unlimited fine and/ or a licence review. The seller may be
dealt with by means of a £90 PND, a CR or a CC.
*****
Offence:
It is an offence to persistently sell alcohol to underage persons. ‘Persistent’ is
defined as an underage sale of at least 2 occasions in a 3 month period.
Consequences:
The following people can commit this offence: the seller (the staff member who
actually sells the alcohol); the DPS; the PLH and the owner of the business. The
offence attracts an unlimited fine and/ or a licence review. The seller may be dealt
with by means of a £90 PND, a CR or a CC.
*****
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Offence:
It is an offence for a person, under the age of 18, to sell alcohol without authorisation
from a person aged over 18 (adult).
Consequences:
The following people can commit this offence: the DPS; the PLH; the owner of the
business and any adult staff member who had the ability to authorise the sale. The
penalty, for allowing an underage person to make an unauthorised sale of alcohol, is
a fine of up to £200.
Additional Information:
This means that each and every sale of alcohol by a person under 18 MUST be
authorised by a person over 18.
Note for Management: In relation to the above offence, you should be aware that
any child of school age, in your employment, must be registered with Staffordshire
County Council. They are restricted as to how many hours they can work and what
duties they can perform. Further information can be found here.
*****
Offence:
It is an offence for an adult to purchase alcohol on behalf of an underage person –
known as a ‘proxy sale’.
Consequences:
The adult purchaser commits the offence and can receive an unlimited fine, but they
may be dealt with by means of a £90 PND, a CR or a CC.
Additional Information:
Where a business is licenced to sell alcohol they have a duty, under the Licensing
Objectives, to protect children from harm. Therefore, all premises should be aware
of proxy sales and take steps to prevent them. Businesses that wilfully disregard
their duty are likely to be subject to a licence review.
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TOBACCO
Children and Young Persons Act 1933
Children and Young Persons (Protection from Tobacco) Act 1991
Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Act 2002
Health Act 2009
Tobacco Advertising and Promotion (Display)(England) Regulations 2010
Tobacco Advertising and Promotion (Display of Prices)(England) Regs 2010
Children & Families Act 2014
The sale of tobacco products is governed by a variety of legislation, as above. This
section is split into ‘sale of’ and ‘display of’ tobacco offences. There are further
offences relating to the sale of tobacco which are linked into the sale of Nicotine
Inhaling Products (E-cigarettes); see page 11 for further information.
SALE OF (Tobacco)
Every premise that sells tobacco products must display a notice, in a prominent
position that reads:
IT IS ILLEGAL TO SELL TOBACCO PRODUCTS
TO ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF 18
The notice must be a minimum of 297mm x 420mm (A3) and the lettering must be
no smaller than 36mm in height.
This notice is available from Trading Standards or from our website.
Offence:
It is an offence to sell cigarettes, tobacco products or cigarette papers to any person
under the age of 18.
Consequences:
The following people can commit this offence: the seller (the staff member who
actually sells the product) and the owner of the business. The offence attracts a fine
of up to £2500.
*****
Offence: (as of 1st October 2015)
It is an offence for an adult to purchase cigarettes, tobacco products or cigarette
papers on behalf of a person under 18 years – known as a ‘proxy sale’.
Consequences:
The adult purchaser commits the offence and can receive a fine of up to £2500.
However, responsible retailers should take steps to prevent these sales.
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Offence:
Where any person carries on a business involving the sale of tobacco by retail, at
any premises, and no notice is exhibited, an offence is committed.
Consequences:
The owner of the business is liable for a fine of up to £1000.
*****
Offence:
It is an offence to sell cigarettes other than in their original packaging of 10 or more.
Consequences:
The owner of the business is liable for a fine of up to £1000.
****************************************************************
DISPLAY OF (Tobacco)
Tobacco must be stored out of public sight. Unless it is for one of the following
reasons;




A request made to buy/ see tobacco products by customers aged 18 and
above.
Incidental displays while staff are actively; assessing stock levels for the
purposes of stock control; restocking; undertaking staff training; cleaning the
storage unit, maintaining the storage unit, refurbishing the storage unit;
following a request by an enforcement officer.
The display must only last as long as necessary. The display must end if the
task is interrupted and is no longer actively being carried out. More than one
temporary display may take place at a time, provided that the tasks are carried
out independently of each other.
The size of each temporary display allowed must not exceed 1.5 square
metres.
Offence:
It is an offence to display/ expose tobacco products to a person under 18 years old.
Consequences:
The following people can commit this offence: the staff member who makes/ causes
the display and the owner of the business. The offence attracts an unlimited fine
and/ or up to 6 months imprisonment.
Additional information:
In order to avoid committing this offence you should ensure that all customers are
age assessed, using the Challenge 25 Policy, before exposing the tobacco. This
means that you cannot rely on the till prompt, to remind you to ask for ID, as by
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scanning it you have already committed the exposure offence. Ideally, this
requirement could be avoided if the till prompt had a specific ‘tobacco refusal’ button
or a paper based barcode that could be scanned instead.
It is not an offence if other people in the shop (including children) see a tobacco
product as a consequence of a requested or incidental display.
It is not an offence to display tobacco products if that display is requested by a
regulatory officer, a police officer or an officer of HM Revenue and Customs who is
acting in the course of their duty. For this purpose it does not matter how large or for
how long a display lasts.
If you are a bulk/ specialist tobacconist different rules apply regarding the display of
tobacco; please contact us for further advice.
*****
Price lists and price labels for tobacco products must only be displayed in specific
formats. This is to ensure price lists and labels cannot be exploited as forms of
tobacco promotion.
Only three types of tobacco price display are permitted; (detailed below)

Poster style lists (up to A3 in size): It must be titled ‘Tobacco products price
list’ but may include subheadings e.g. ‘Cigarettes’, ‘Hand rolling tobacco’,
‘Cigars’, ‘Pipe tobacco’ or ‘Other tobacco’. Wording should be no higher than
7mm (equates approximately to size 30 font). You are only able to display
one list unless there are two separate areas within the premises that contain
both a tobacco gantry and till.

A list including pictures of products (Catalogue Style): It must not be left
on permanent show, but can be shown, on request, to customers aged 18 or
over, who have asked for information about tobacco products for sale. Steps
must be taken to ensure that the customer is aged 18 or over before the list is
shown. This type of price list is not restricted by size. However it can only be
displayed as long as necessary and wording should be no higher than 4mm
(equates approximately to size 14 font). It may contain pictures of the actual
tobacco product as packaged for sale, as long as each picture does not
exceed 50 square centimetres in size. It must not include pictures of
individual cigarettes or of any other unpackaged tobacco products. Again,
you are limited to one copy per till where the gantry is situated.

Price labels: These can be placed on shelving, storage or tobacco jars. One
price label is permitted for each product either on the covered shelf, where the
product is stored, or on the front of the storage unit. The area where the,
permitted (see below), information is displayed should not be larger than 9
square centimetres and wording should be no higher than 4mm (equates
approximately to size 14 font).
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The price displays must be in black Helvetica plain font and use the same size font
throughout the text. All letters must be in lower case, except the first letters of the
words where appropriate.
No under lining, italics, bold type or any other
distinguishing emphasis is allowed. The background must be white; no other colours
for the wording and background are allowed.
The only, permitted, information that can be given about tobacco products are;





The brand name.
The price of the product.
If pre packed, the number of units in the packet, or if sold by weight, the net
weight of the product.
For cigars only, the country of origin and dimensions (e.g. length and ring
gauge).
For pipe tobaccos only, the cut and type of tobacco used.
Consideration also needs to be given to The Price Marking Order (PMO). The PMO
sets out the general legal requirements in respect of the display of the price of goods
offered for sale and the new tobacco pricing law does not alter, change or interfere
with the PMO.
The new law simply means that when tobacco prices are displayed, they must be in
one of the new legal formats. Retailers will need to consider which type or types of
tobacco price list or label they wish to use to meet the requirements of the PMO.
For example if the price label option which is placed on shelving is chosen as the
primary form of price indication, then the business must also display the poster style
list or have a list which includes pictures of the product available on request.
Offence:
It is an offence to display the prices of tobacco in a way that does not meet the
requirements of the legislation.
Consequences:
The following people can commit this offence: any person acting in the course of a
business. This attracts an unlimited fine and/ or up to 6 months imprisonment.
*****
Offence:
It is an offence to obstruct a duly authorised officer, from an enforcement authority,
who is acting in the proper exercise of their functions, (e.g. a Trading Standards
Officer carrying out an inspection in relation to the display of tobacco).
Consequences:
The staff member who is responsible for the obstruction is liable to a fine of up to
£1000.
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NICOTINE INHALING PRODUCTS
The Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regs 2015
Children & Families Act 2014
NOTE: These offences apply as of 1st October 2015.
A ‘nicotine inhaling product’ is defined as any of the following:



a nicotine inhaling device (used to inhale nicotine through a mouthpiece);
a nicotine cartridge (contains nicotine and forms part of a nicotine inhaling
device);
a nicotine refill substance (usually referred to as an e-liquid).
Nicotine inhaling devices are generally referred to as electronic cigarettes or e-cigs.
The law covers both disposable and rechargeable devices. Customers will refer to
their use of these products as ‘vaping’.
There are further offences relating to the sale of nicotine inhaling products which are
linked into the sale of tobacco; see page 11 for further information.
Offence:
It is an offence to sell a nicotine inhaling product to a person under 18 years old.
Consequences:
The following people can commit this offence: the staff member who makes the sale
and the owner of the business. The offence attracts a fine up to £2500.
Additional information:
There is an exception for nicotine inhaling products that are licenced as medicines or
medical devices. This exemption only applies to the extent to which the product is
authorised.
*****
Offence:
It is an offence for an adult to purchase nicotine inhaling products on behalf of a
person under 18 years – known as a ‘proxy sale’.
Consequences:
The adult purchaser commits the offence and can receive a fine of up to £2500.
However, responsible retailers should take steps to prevent these sales. Be aware
of young people loitering outside your premises, they may ask adult customers to
buy nicotine inhaling products for them; best practice is refuse such sales.
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TOBACCO & NICOTINE INHALING PRODUCTS (Persistent Sales)
The Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regs 2015
Children and Young Persons Act 1933
NOTE: The offence applies to nicotine inhaling products as of 1st October 2015.
The ‘persistent’ sales offence relates to the sale of cigarettes, tobacco, cigarettes
papers and nicotine inhaling products. ‘Persistent’ is defined as, at least two
previous sales of a relevant product in a two year period.
Glossary of Terms:
Relevant product – Cigarettes, tobacco, cigarette papers or nicotine inhaling
products.
Relevant offence – The sale of a relevant product to a person under 18 (underage).
Relevant premises – The premises where the offence takes place.
Offence:
It is an offence to persistently sell relevant products to persons under 18 years.
E.g: a business caught selling cigarettes to an underage person received an informal
warning (1st relevant offence); a few months later the same business, was
prosecuted for selling an electronic cigarette to an underage person (2nd relevant
offence); then, within two years of the 1st relevant offence, the relevant premises was
caught selling cigarettes to an underage person leading to a persistent sales offence.
Consequences:
The consequences can be contained to the seller if they have committed the multiple
offences but are more likely to apply to the whole business. A Restricted Premises
Order and/or a Restricted Sales Order can be put in place.

A Restricted Premises Order prohibits the sale of relevant products, to any
person, from a relevant premises. This order can be imposed for a period of up
to one year and it prevents all staff from selling the relevant products from
the relevant premises. You are entitled to make representations to the court as
to why they should not grant the order.

A Restricted Sales Order prohibits a specified person, who has been
convicted of a relevant offence, from selling a relevant product to any person. It
also prevents them from having any management function related to the sale of
relevant products for a period of up to one year.
A breach of a Restricted Premises Order or a Restricted Sales Order attracts an
unlimited fine.
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FIREWORKS
The Pyrotechnic Articles (Safety) Regulations 2015
Firework Regulations 2004
Consumer Protection Act 1987
All premises that wish to sell fireworks must obtain a licence, to store and sell the
fireworks, from their local Licensing Authority. For the purposes of fireworks
licensing in Staffordshire, Trading Standards (Staffordshire County Council) is the
Licensing Authority. This licence will dictate what quantity of fireworks you may store
and when you may sell those fireworks. Unless you purchase a year round licence
you will be restricted to only being able to sell fireworks during the following periods:




Fireworks Season – 15th October until 10th November.
New Year – 3 days up to and including New Year (26th to 31st December).
Diwali – 3 days up to and including Diwali.
Chinese New Year – 3 days up to and including Chinese New Year.
Firework Categories:



F1 – Low hazard and negligible noise level which are intended for use in
confined areas, including use inside domestic building. E.g. Birthday cake
fireworks; party poppers; throw downs & serpents.
F2 – Also referred to as ‘adult fireworks’. Low hazard and low noise level
which are intended for outdoor use in a confined space. E.g. Sparklers;
Catherine Wheels and other fireworks marked with a short safety distance.
F3 – Also referred to as ‘adult fireworks’. Medium hazard and a noise level
not harmful to human health, which are intended for outdoor use in large open
areas. E.g. fireworks marked with a large safety distance.
When selling adult fireworks, a statutory notice stating the following, needs to be
clearly visible:
IT IS ILLEGAL TO SELL CATEGORY F2 FIREWORKS OR CATEGORY F3
FIREWORKS TO ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF 18
and
IT IS ILLEGAL FOR ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF 18 TO POSSESS
CATEGORY F2 FIREWORKS OR CATEGORY F3 FIRWORKS IN A PUBLC
PLACE
It must be at least 420mm x 297mm (A3) with lettering no smaller than 16mm high.
The statutory notice is available from Trading Standards or from our website.
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Packets of Sparklers should be labelled with the following wording:
WARNING: Not to be given to children under 5 years of age
Fireworks should carry a CE Mark, though some may still bear the BS7114 mark
until 4th July 2017. Boxes of fireworks should not be broken up and sold separately.
There are number of banned fireworks which include those bearing the following
descriptions: aerial wheel; banger (flash/ double); mini rocket; spinner and jumping
cracker. This is not an exhaustive list.
*****
Offence:
It is an offence to sell/ supply any Category F1 fireworks to any person under 16
years old. With the exception of Christmas Crackers which cannot be sold to any
person under 12 years old.
Consequences:
The seller and business owner are liable for an unlimited fine and/ or up to 3 months
imprisonment. The seller may be subject to an internal disciplinary which could
result in the loss of their job, depending on the business’s policies.
*****
Offence:
It is an offence to sell/ supply any Category F2 and F3 fireworks, including sparklers,
to any person under 18 years old.
Consequences:
The seller and business owner are liable for an unlimited fine and/ or up to 3 months
imprisonment. The seller may be subject to an internal disciplinary which could
result in the loss of their job, depending on the business’s policies.
*****
Offence:
It is an offence to sell/ supply any adult fireworks, without displaying the statutory
notice.
Consequences:
The business owner is liable for an unlimited fine and/ or up to 6 months
imprisonment.
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KNIVES & OFFENSIVE WEAPONS
Criminal Justice Act 1988
Offensive Weapons Act 1996
Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006
Offence:
It is an offence to sell/ supply any: knife; knife blade; razor blade; axe; article which
has a blade or is sharply pointed (which is made or adapted for causing injury to the
person) or crossbow, to any person under 18 years old.
Consequences:
The following people can commit this offence: the seller and the business owner.
The penalty is an unlimited fine and/ or up to 6 months imprisonment.
This restriction does not apply to:



A folding pocket knife, with a blade of less than 3 inches,
A razor blade permanently held in a cartridge with less than 2mm exposed,
Articles such as scissors or a compass.
************************************************************
BUTANE
The Cigarette Lighter Refill (Safety) Regulations 1999
The Consumer Protection Act 1987
Offence:
It is an offence to sell/ supply any cigarette lighter refill canister containing butane, or
a substance with butane as a constituent part, to any person under 18 years old.
Consequences:
The following people can commit this offence: the seller and the business owner.
The penalty is an unlimited fine and/ or up to 6 months imprisonment.
PLEASE NOTE:
Butane gas is VERY DANGEROUS if misused. It can KILL a person the first time
they abuse it. It is very important that you ensure you only sell this product to
persons over 18 and who you believe will only use it for the correct purpose.
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SOLVENTS
Intoxicating Substances (Supply) Act 1985
This age restricted product is not as straight forward as most others because many,
everyday use, products contain solvents; but they are harmless when used for the
correct purpose. For example, deodorant is a product that is used daily by persons
under 18 and those that use it in that manner are legally able to purchase it.
However, if you (the seller) believe that the person trying to buy the deodorant is
misusing (sniffing) it, you must refuse the sale.
Tell-tale signs of solvent abuse are:





The smell of solvents or glue.
Slurred speech or apparent drunkenness.
Spots or sores around the mouth and nose.
Frequently buying or bulk buying of solvents.
Purchasing plastic bags at the same time as solvents.
Offence:
It is an offence to supply a substance, which you have reasonable cause to suspect,
is going to be inhaled for purposes of intoxication, to any person under 18 years old.
Consequences:
The following people can commit this offence: the seller and the business owner.
The penalty is an unlimited fine and/ or up to 6 months imprisonment.
*****
Offence:
It is an offence to supply a substance to a person over the age of 18 whom you
suspect is going to pass it onto any person under 18 years old, who you have
reasonable cause to suspect is going to inhale it for purposes of intoxication referred to as a proxy sale.
Consequences:
The following people can commit this offence: the adult; buyer the seller and the
business owner. The penalty is an unlimited fine and/ or up to 6 months
imprisonment.
PLEASE NOTE:
Solvent abuse can KILL! Therefore, it is responsible to refuse the sale of any solvent
product you believe is going to be abused, no matter the age of the customer.
Solvents include: hair spray; glue; nail varnish remover; deodorants and air
fresheners to name a few.
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DVDS & COMPUTER GAMES
Video Recordings Acts 1984 and 2010
The legislation applies to both video recordings and video games.
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) certifies the age ratings for video
recordings (e.g. DVDs).
The Games Rating Authority (GRA), part of Video Standards Council (VSC), certifies
the age ratings applied to video games using the Pan European Game Information
(PEGI) rating system.
BBFC for video recordings
Age Classifications
12
15
18
R18 – sold in licenced sex shops only
PEGI for video games
Age Classifications
12
16
18
The following classifications are for guidance purposes: BBFC ratings ‘U’ and ‘PG’
and PEGI ratings ‘3’ and ‘7’.
NOTE: When magazines offer a free DVD or Video Game, the magazine and the
free item become age restricted to the age of the free DVD or Video Game.
Offence:
It is an offence to sell/ supply video recording and games to any person under the
age limit of the allocated certification.
Consequences:
The following people can commit this offence: the seller and the business owner.
The penalty is an unlimited fine and up to 6 months imprisonment.
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LOTTERY TICKETS
National Lottery etc. Act 1993
National Lottery Regulations 1994
Gambling Act 2005
The legislation differentiates between the National Lottery (Lotto) and other lotteries
(e.g. Health Lottery). Any reference to the National Lottery also encompasses the
relevant scratch cards.
Offence:
It is an offence to sell/ supply a National Lottery product to any person under 16
years old.
Consequences:
The following people can commit this offence: the seller and the business owner.
The penalty is an unlimited fine and/ or up to 2 years imprisonment.
*****
Offence:
It is an offence to sell/ supply a Lottery (not including National Lottery) ticket to any
person under 16 years old.
Consequences:
The following people can commit this offence: the seller and the business owner.
The penalty, for defendants aged 18 and over, is an unlimited fine and/ or up to 12
months imprisonment. The penalty, for defendants aged 16 or 17, is a fine up to
£1000.
*****
Offence:
It is an offence to employ a person aged 15 and under for purposes of selling Lottery
tickets.
Consequences:
The business owner commits this offence and the penalty is an unlimited fine and/ or
up to 12 months imprisonment. It is best practice for this particular law to be applied
to sale of National Lottery products also.
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BB GUNS
Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006
Violent Crime Reduction Act (Realistic Imitation Firearms) Regulations 2007
The following definitions explain the 3 categories of BB Gun:

Realistic Imitation: These are grey, black or another realistic gun colour with
the size and shape similar to a gun, whether it is capable of firing or not.
Basically, they resemble a real gun and are only distinguishable via a close
inspection or an expert assessment.

Un-Realistic Imitation: These are under a certain size or one of the specified
bright colours. Basically, they are easily distinguishable from a real gun. The
size limitation is 70mm in length and 38mm in width. The specified colours
are: red; orange; yellow; green; pink; purple or blue.

Toy Guns: These do not have the appearance of a gun and are immediately
distinguishable from a real gun. E.G., Supersoakers or futuristic light/ noise
guns.
Offence:
It is an offence to sell an un-realistic imitation firearm to any person under 18 years
of age.
Consequences:
The following people can commit this offence: the buyer, the seller and the business
owner. The penalty is an unlimited fine and/ or up to 6 months imprisonment.
*****
Offence:
It is an offence for a person to sell a realistic imitation firearm. There are exceptions
to this, such as those used in Airsoft Skirmishing or theatrical/ TV/ museum use.
Consequences:
This offence is committed by the person who carries out the activity. The penalty for
these activities is an unlimited fine and/ or up to 2 years imprisonment.
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AEROSOL SPRAY PAINT
Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003
Spray paints do not generally pose a direct health risk to young people, but they are
used in the creation of graffiti in the local community. This causes a nuisance and
can create a high crime perception image for that community; potentially
encouraging more crime.
Offence:
It is an offence to sell/ supply aerosol spray paints to any person under 16 years old.
Consequences:
The following people can commit this offence: the seller and the business owner.
The penalty is a fine up to £2500.
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MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTS
There are some products which do not carry a legal age restriction but the product
can cause harm to underage persons. We advise responsible retailers to implement
their own age restriction on such products, as below:
Product
Recommended Age Restriction
Matches
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Lighters
18
Energy Drinks
16
Caffeine Supplements
16
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SECTION
TWO
Policies and
Procedures
For Staff Training: pages 21 – 25
Guidance for Management: Pages: pages 26 – 30
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AGE VERIFICATION POLICY – CHALLENGE 25
All premises, that sell alcohol, have a mandatory licence condition requiring the
operation of an age verification policy such as Challenge 21 or Challenge 25.
Staffordshire Trading Standards have advocated the use of the Challenge 25 for
many years, as it provides retailers with greater protection against serving underage
persons. Although the Challenge 25 policy is often associated with the sale of
alcohol we encourage all retailers to implement the policy for all age restricted
products.
What does Challenge 25 mean and when is it used?
As soon as a customer attempts to purchase any age restricted product you should
be looking at them and assessing their age. You must decide whether the person
looks 25 years old or above. If they do, you may go ahead and make the sale with
no further questions. However, if they look under 25 you need to see a valid form of
ID, proving they are 18 or above, before you can make the sale.
Why operate Challenge 25?
It is very difficult to guess a person’s age and young people are easily able to dress
up to look older than they really are. By assessing everyone’s age against the 25
year marker it gives you a better chance of catching out those underage persons
who look older than they are.
*************************************************
NO ID NO SALE
There is no exception to the rule. As soon as you believe a customer looks under 25
you should ask to see their ID and the sale should not go ahead until you have seen
valid ID. Don’t ask their age or whether they are old enough; just ask to see their ID.
The valid, acceptable and recommended forms of ID are as follows:



Passport
Photo Driving Licence (UK is preferred)
PASS approved cards (e.g. Citizencard)
You may recognise customers you’ve already asked for ID and be tempted not to
ask them again. We have failed test purchases as a result of staff mistaking our
volunteers for previous ID checked customers. There is also the perception of other
customers who may complain that you are making underage sales, as they didn’t
see you ID a person they believe looked too young. Always ask for ID from those
who look under 25 and ask them to always carry their ID. If ID is not provided you
should REFUSE the sale. Learn how to detect Fake ID (see leaflet & page 20).
‘Acceptable ID’ and ‘Fake ID’ Leaflets are available from our website.
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HOW TO SPOT UNDERAGE/ PROXY PURCHASERS
It is important to learn how to judge peoples’ age, in order to prevent making
underage sales. It is a difficult skill to master and practice does help you to improve.
Try judging peoples’ ages when you are outside of the work environment, such as
when you are watching TV. You can try to guess the actors’ ages and look them up
on the internet to see if you are right. Appearance is the go to indicator of age.
Guess the age of the people below. Would you have asked them for ID?
The answer should be yes, as they look under 25.
(Two are under 18 with the others under 25)
Appearance shouldn’t be used alone, the other indicators to help you judge are:



Are they purchasing an item that you associate with young people?
Are they acting too confident or, alternatively, nervous and avoiding eye
contact?
Who are they with? A group of young people may come in together but only
one or two of them approach the till. If everyone in the group looks young, ID
them all.
Remember; do not rely on the following factors to judge age: height; body shape;
tattoos or facial hair.
Another important skill is to be able to spot proxy sales. A proxy sale is the purchase
of an age restricted product by a person over the legal age, with the intention of
passing it onto an underage person. It may be as easy to spot as the young person
selecting the alcohol and handing it to the adult to purchase. You should always
refuse to serve them and explain that they are committing an offence if they buy it.
Other proxy scenarios, out of many possibilities, could be:


A group of young people are in the alcohol aisle and all approach the till, only
one is carrying the alcohol and this is the person who produces ID. You
should ask for ID from everyone in the group, as they are likely to be leaving
the premises to consume the alcohol together; or the purchaser is an older
friend/ relative who intends to pass the alcohol over on exiting your premises.
You refuse to serve a product to a young person and then an adult attempts
to purchase the same product soon afterwards – perhaps you’ve seen them
talking outside. Ask if the product is for them and it will help decide if you
need to refuse the sale.
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HANDLING REFUSALS
When refusing to serve someone it is important that it is done in a polite and
professional manner. Stay calm and apologise to the customer. Tell them that the
law prevents you from making the sale and that if you served them you could be
prosecuted; point to the Challenge 25 or Proxy Sale Posters to back up the reason
for your refusal. Explain that you will be happy to serve them if they come back with
one of your accepted forms of ID; offer them a PASS card application form, or the
website where they can apply, if they don’t have a Passport or Driving Licence.
Don’t back down, once you’ve asked for ID you must see it in order to go ahead with
the sale. You, your colleagues and your management are all part of a team and if
you have asked for ID they should support you in that choice. If they become
aggressive: keep the counter or barrier between you; try not to antagonise or
humiliate the person as it may create further problems; use relaxed body language
with open handed gestures; avoid prolonged eye contact; seek support from
colleagues or management and ultimately, if the person becomes violent or
threatening you should call the Police.
Remember, when refusing the sale:







Be Polite & Professional
Stay Calm
Apologise
De-personalise
Transfer the Blame
Offer a Solution
Be Firm/ Stand Your Ground
If they get aggressive:





Use relaxed Body Language
Avoid Prolonged Eye Contact
Keep a Barrier Between you
Ask for Management Support
Call the Police
If you feel uncomfortable asking for ID you must speak to your Manager/ Business
Owner. Ask them to provide you with further training, such as shadowing a more
experienced member of staff to see how they do it; or doing role play scenarios
around refusals.
Some refusals may be made due to the use of fake ID. You should always refuse if
the ID looks like it has been tampered with or you see it on the Fake ID leaflet. A
quick check on a UK Driving Licence is to run your finger over the surname, if it is
raised it is probably genuine but smooth means it’s fake.
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REFUSALS / CHALLENGE REGISTER
Whenever you challenge a customer for ID, whether that results in a sale being
made or a refusal, we would encourage you to record. We would also encourage
you to record any refusals based on the customer being drunk; attempting to use
fake ID or buying on behalf of an underage person.
Some premises will have an electronic method of recording these challenges which
will be linked to a till prompt and make it easier for staff to ensure they accurately
record them. Other premises will implement a written system usually referred to as a
Refusals Log or Book. It may be that some of these logs/ books are only designed
to record refusals. Trading Standards issue Refusals/ Challenge Registers which
allow the manual recording of all challenges. A record should allow for you to
record: your name; the date & time; the product; the reason for refusal or which form
of acceptable ID was shown and a brief description of the customer or comment (for
refusals).
Staff should check the Register at the beginning of each shift, to make themselves
aware of potential challenges they may need to make – as underage persons may
try a different member of staff if they’ve been refused previously. If you have a
number of tills it would be beneficial to share refusals immediately (verbally) with
colleagues.
NOTE: Electronic refusals systems should not encourage staff to remove tobacco
from a gantry to record a refusal; as the display of the tobacco to an underage
person, or for a non-prescribed reason, constitutes an offence.
****************************************************
CHECKLIST
You should know where notices and documents are displayed/ stored. Below is a
list of the key notices/ documents you should familiarise yourself with.
Notices / Documents
Where displayed / stored?
Full Premises Licence
Premises Licence Summary
DPS Written Authorisation
Challenge 25 Posters
Proxy Posters
Statutory Tobacco Notice
Statutory Fireworks Notice(if applicable)
Other (please specify):
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TRAINING RECORD
Date
Example:
09/09/2015
Pages
Read
Test No.
2- 21
SCCTS/1
Score
Staff Name
30/30
(Print)
AMY JONES
Staff
Trainer
Signature Signature
A Jones
A Trainer
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GUIDANCE FOR MANAGEMENT
PREVENTING UNDERAGE SALES
If you, or a member of your staff, make a sale to an underage person you may be
prosecuted or your Premises Licence may be reviewed (if applicable).
In deciding whether or not to prosecute a number of issues will be taken into
consideration. These are fully explained in the Enforcement Policy available from
the Staffordshire County Council website. In particular the precautions you have
taken to avoid committing the offence will be taken into account; it is a defence for
the accused to show that they exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the
offence.
Doing nothing is not an option, if you, or your staff, do sell an age restricted product
and you have failed to take any precautions you are more likely to be prosecuted.
It is for each business to decide what steps it needs to take to avoid sales, some of
the steps businesses commonly use include;

Ensuring training is provided and records kept for all staff.

Operating the ‘Challenge 25’ & ‘No ID No Sale’ Policy.

Operating a refusals register.

Displaying prominent notices.

Using a till prompt system.

Advising staff on how to spot under age purchasers.

Handling refusals appropriately.

Carrying out self-checks and assessments.

Problem prevention/Proxy sales.

Liaising with Local Authorities and the Police.
These precautions and other steps you can take are explained in more detail in the
following pages.
As the person responsible for the business you should read all of the ‘Guidance for
Management’ section, as well as the training sections preceding it – relating to
policies and product legislation.
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STAFF TRAINING
It is important to train your staff, so that they understand their legal responsibilities
and obligations. You should also train your staff in the policies and procedures your
business operates to prevent underage sales and the consequences of not following
them. This training should be given to all staff, including family members or friends
who may help out occasionally and staff who do not operate on the tills.
Written records of training, detailing the date and content, should be kept for each
staff member (see page 25 for a sample you can use). Training material should be
signed off by the trainer and the staff member receiving the information. To ensure
staff have understood the training, a test of knowledge should be completed –
samples available from our website. A copy of this test should be kept with your
training records. Any incorrect answers should be discussed with the staff member
to clarify their knowledge and a re-sit should be considered.
Once staff have received an initial training session they should be given refresher
training at least every 6 months. This refresher training can be in the form of a
knowledge test or a refresh of information combined with a test of knowledge.
Again, a record of any refresher training should be signed, dated and kept with your
training records.
**********************************************
PROMINENT NOTICES
Signage, which advises members of the public about the policies that the shop has
in place, such as ‘No ID No Sale’ and ‘Challenge 25’ will help deter potential
underage purchasers. It sends out a constant and consistent message that under no
circumstances will the store serve an age restricted product to somebody who is not
the required age. It also serves as a useful tool for your staff when they’re making
refusals – as they can point to the poster to back up the policy they are using.
Ensure all statutory notices & Premises Licence Summary (if applicable) are displayed.
***********************************************
TILL PROMPTS
A useful way of reminding members of staff, that they need to check the purchaser’s
age before completing the sale, is by using reminders on point of sale terminals.
Programming terminals so that a message such as ‘Challenge 25!’ is displayed,
when an age restricted product is scanned through, ensures that staff verify the
purchasers age before continuing with the sale. Ideally staff should have to key in
the purchaser’s age / ID shown or a button that needs to be pressed to confirm that
they have performed the ID check. If your till can’t be programmed to give a ‘prompt’
then a written reminder on the till may assist your staff.
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SELF-CHECKS & ASSESSMENTS
You should be checking that your staff are following procedures. You can use the
Refusals/ Challenge Register (or whatever system you use) to check the entries staff
are making. Where entries are not being made you should discuss this with relevant
staff, as it may identify a training need. Where there are a high number of recorded
challenges it can highlight at what time of day you need to take extra care. Sign and
date the Refusals/ Challenge Register each time you check it, which should be at
least every two weeks. Trading Standards provide Refusals/ Challenge Registers
free of charge (see our website for contact details to obtain yours).
A test of knowledge after training helps identify what your staff have understood and
identify any gaps in the training.
You can supervise staff or use CCTV to monitor staff and check that they are making
sound judgements of age and asking for relevant ID.
You can test your staff by sending in a person to test your Challenge Policy is being
used correctly. Do not send in underage persons to test your staff. They should
be over 18 (or the age of the product being tested) but look under 25 (or the age of
your Challenge Policy). There are companies who can be commissioned to carry
out these checks for you.
*********************************************************
PROBLEM PREVENTION & OTHER PRECAUTIONS
Being proactive in preventing young people attempting to purchase age restricted
products is good practice that should be adopted by every retailer. By monitoring the
shop premise inside and out, you can ensure groups of young persons don’t gather.
These groups are often intimidating for other shop users, and young people in
groups will often pester other shop users to purchase age restricted products on their
behalf.
By liaising with the Police, and building up a relationship with the local officers, you
can discuss your concerns and problems and they may be able to help by visiting the
shop during problem periods. Advising the Police of your concerns should not be
seen as not being able to cope with the problem, it is far better to tackle the
problems in a joint approach.
Other precautions you may wish to consider:


Regular examination of any store CCTV - (NOTE: CCTV is only allowed to
cover the curtilage of your premises).
Senior/experienced members of staff on duty at the time of most risk, e.g.
after school, school holidays etc.
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


Consider moving displays of age restricted products to nearer the counter or
even behind it, to minimise the risk of theft and to deter underage purchasers.
Encourage staff who operate on the shop floor to approach customers in the
aisle, whilst they’re browsing the alcohol, to ask those customers for ID or to
tell them they will need their ID. If they prepare customers at this point they
will either leave because they don’t have it/ are too young or they get it out
ready at the till. This helps prevent confrontation at the till when there is a
queue of customers. If staff inform someone they’ll need ID and the customer
doesn’t leave the aisle/ shop, the staff member should warn the till staff to be
vigilant for that customer and ensure they ask for ID.
Encourage your staff to work as a team – they should back each other up
when it comes to challenges and help each other out.
In relation to Licensing Issues
Ensure you have a written Authorisation, by the Designated Premise Supervisor
(DPS), for staff to be selling alcohol in their absence. You can use the one found on
our website if you don’t already have one of these.
Also, ensure you have a full copy of your Premise Licence on site (in a private area
but not locked away where staff can’t access it), as well as the Premise Licence
Summary displayed in the public area of your premises.
******************************************
DISTANCE SELLING
If you are selling on the internet or via a catalogue (i.e. not face to face), it is more
difficult to determine the purchasers age. Where such sales take place, you will
need to introduce a system which aims to prevent sales to underage persons. This
system should include:





Only accepting credit cards as a method of payment. Only persons over the
age of 18 can obtain credit.
To ensure the name and address on the credit card matches that of the name
and the delivery address on the order.
Display warnings of the age restriction wherever the product appears.
Use systems created by: GB Group www.gb.co.uk; Experian
www.experian.co.uk/ and 192.com www.192.com/ to verify age of the person
placing the order.
ID must be shown on delivery or collection.
Remember it is the responsibility of the seller to ensure that goods are only
sold to customers who are old enough. If in any doubt then the transaction
should not proceed.
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OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION
The British Retail Consortium
Second Floor, 21 Dartmouth Street, London, SW1H 9BP Tel: 020 7854 8900
www.brc.org.uk
National Federation of Retail Newsagents
Yeoman House, Sekforde Street, London, EC1R 0HF Tel: 0207 253 4225
www.nfrnonline.com
The British Institute of Innkeeping
Wessex House, 80 Park Street, Camberley, GU15 3PT Tel: 01276 684449
www.bii.org
Association of Convenience Stores
Federation House, 17 Farnborough Street, Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 8AG
Tel: 01252 515001 www.acs.org.uk
Citizencard/ No ID No Sale
36 Bromells Road, London, SW4 0BG www.citizencard.com or www.noidnosale.com
PASS
The National Proof of Age Standards Scheme www.pass-scheme.org.uk
Further business advice and information can be obtained from:
Staffordshire Trading Standards
Staffordshire County Council, 2 Staffordshire Place, Stafford. ST16 2DH
Tel: 0300 111 8000
Minicom: 01785 276207
Email: businessadvice@staffordshire.gov.uk
www.staffordshire.gov.uk/business/tradingstandards
For all your business enquiries contact:
Free, impartial legal guidance for businesses that sell goods and/or supply services to
consumers: www.businesscompanion.info
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