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You cannot deal in items containing or made of elephant ivory, unless they are registered as exempt or certified as exempt, under the Ivory Act 2018.

References to ivory in this guidance mean ivory from an elephant.

The Act does not apply to ivory items that you own if you have no intention to deal in them.

The Act applies throughout the whole of the United Kingdom, including in Northern Ireland.

The meaning of dealing

You are dealing in ivory if you:

• buy, sell or hire it
• offer or arrange to buy, sell or hire it
• keep it for sale or hire
• export it from the UK for sale or hire
• import it into the UK for sale or hire

Youre also dealing in ivory if you cause or make it possible for someone else to deal in ivory, even if youre not directly involved in buying, selling, hiring, importing or exporting an ivory item yourself.

Throughout the service and guidance, we use sell or hire out when referring to all the ways you might be dealing in ivory.

Under the ban:

• buying includes acquiring ivory for valuable consideration, such as a trade or swap with something that has value, or for a discount in a store
• selling includes disposing of ivory for valuable consideration, such as a trade or swap with something that has value, or for a discount in a store
• offering includes advertising and inviting an offer, or displaying in a shop or gallery for sale

Exemptions for dealing in ivory

You can only deal in ivory items that are exempt from the ban.

There are standard exemptions:

• musical instruments made before 1975 with less than 20% ivory by volume
• items made before 3 March 1947 with less than 10% ivory by volume
• portrait miniatures made before 1918 with a total surface area smaller than 320 square centimetres
• items a qualifying museum intends to buy or hire

There is also an exemption for items made before 1918 that are of outstandingly high artistic, cultural or historical value.

If you have an ivory item that you think falls into one of these exemption categories, you can use the declare ivory you intend to sell or hire out service to:

• check if your item qualifies for an exemption if youre not sure
• register a single item under a standard exemption
• apply for an exemption certificate for an item made before 1918 that is of outstandingly high artistic, cultural or historical value
• notify us that you intend to sell or hire out an item that has an exemption certificate that was awarded to someone else

You can only deal in these items if your registration or application is successful.

What you can do with ivory that is not exempt

If you own ivory that is not exempt, you can:

• keep it for personal use
• give it away as a gift
• leave it to someone in your will
• lend it - provided that no payment, exchange or barter is involved

You cannot sell or hire out any ivory you own that has not been registered or certified under any circumstances. If youre involved in arranging or facilitating an illegal sale, purchase or hire, you will be committing an offence under the Ivory Act 2018.

Check if your item qualifies for exemption

If your item qualifies for exemption, you must register it or apply for and be awarded an exemption certificate before you can deal in the item using the declare ivory you intend to sell or hire out service.

If you need help deciding if your item may qualify for exemption, use the ivory item eligibility checker.

If your item does not meet one of these exemption criteria, you must not deal in it.

Check if ivory has been added

Under all the exemptions, if any ivory has been added after the relevant date (1918, 1947 or 1975) it must have been taken from the elephant before 1975 and added only for the purposes of restoration.

Check if your ivory items can be considered a set

You can register or certify a set of objects as a single item if both the following apply:

• all the objects were produced at the same time with the intention of being kept and used together
• all the objects you are selling or hiring out were part of the same original set

Examples include:

• a teapot with an ivory knob that is part of a tea set
• a dagger with an ivory handle that comes with a sheath

Assess age

To assess the age of an ivory item, you need to demonstrate that it was made or existed before a certain date.

You can do this by:

• getting evidence of the items provenance
• having its age verified by an expert
• getting it radiocarbon dated

You do not need to use all 3 of these methods to assess age.

Evidence of provenance could include:

• an original dated receipt or bill to show when it was manufactured, sold or repaired
• a dated catalogue, newspaper article or published article containing photographs or detailed descriptions of the item
• a date mark on the item
• information known by the owner or another person, for example, that the owner inherited the item before the relevant date

An expert who can provide written verification of the items date could include:

• a person with expertise or relevant qualifications such as an antiques specialist, museum curator or arts specialist recognised by a relevant trade association, representative body or similar organisation
• a person involved in the associated commercial use of the item if they have the relevant expertise

Assess percentage volume

To register for the less than 10% by volume exemption or the musical instrument less than 20% by volume exemption, you need to assess the percentage volume of your item.

To assess the percentage volume of an ivory item, you need to consider how much of the items total content is made from ivory. For example, a piece of furniture may be made of ivory, wood and other materials.

The percentage volume is the percentage that the ivory content makes up of the total volume of all these materials. A set of objects can be considered a single item.

You should not include any empty spaces or voids when you assess the total volume.

If you cannot find out if there are voids without damaging the item, you can use any knowledge you have about similar items. You do not need to damage items to assess the percentage volume.

To assess the percentage volume, you can:

• judge by eye, if it is clear that the ivory content of the item is less than the percentage allowed - for example, a large piece of wooden furniture with a single small ivory plate around a keyhole (an escutcheon)
• take measurements and use a formula to work out the volume

For items with ivory inlay (thin pieces of ivory on the surface of an object), it may be difficult to work out how deep the ivory goes. You can measure the surface area of the ivory inlays as a proportion of the total surface area of the object. However, even if the ivory inlay surface area is more than 10% of the total surface area, if the inlay is shallow its percentage volume may still be less than 10% of the total item.

Some examples of common items and their ivory percentage volume:

• a standard piano with ivory keys would likely meet the less than 20% volume condition for the musical instrument exemption - however, if the piano has any other ivory parts, other than the keys, it may not qualify so you need to measure and include all the ivory content in the assessment
• a piece of furniture with a small amount of ivory inlay would likely meet the 10% volume condition of the less than 10% ivory by volume exemption
• a piece of ivory-handled cutlery is unlikely to meet the 10% volume condition of the less than 10% ivory by volume exemption
• a chess set containing ivory chess pieces is unlikely to meet the 10% volume condition of the less than 10% ivory by volume exemption

You may not be able to find out the exact percentage volume of ivory, for example, if the item is an irregular shape or if the depth of ivory inlay is difficult to determine. However, it is your responsibility to assess the item and take reasonable care to reach a conclusion ab

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