Ivory Act 2018

The Ivory act covers ivory items of all ages, not just those produced after a certain date. By covering ivory items of all ages and adopting narrow exemptions, the UK’s ban will be one of the toughest in the world. The maximum penalty for breaching the ban will be an unlimited fine or up to five years in jail.

The exemptions include:

  • Items made before 3 March 1947 which comprise of less than ten per cent ivory by volume. The ivory must be integral to the item as a whole, i.e. removing it would be difficult or damage the item.
  • Musical instruments with less than 20 per cent ivory content which were made prior to 1975. This is when Asian elephants were added to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
  • Portrait miniatures painted on thin slivers of ivory made before 1918 with a surface area of no more than 320cm2.
  • Rarest and most important items of artistic, cultural or historic significance made prior to 1918. 'Such items will be subject to the advice of specialists at institutions such as the UK’s most prestigious museums'.
  • Commercial activities to, and between, museums which are accredited by the Arts Council England, Welsh Government, Museums and Galleries Scotland or the Northern Ireland Museums Council. Museums outside the UK must be accredited by the International Council of Museums.

Extension to the Act

In addition to ivory from elephants, from 28 January 2025, the Ivory Act 2018 (Meaning of "Ivory" and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2025 passes into law. This extended the Act to include ivory from the common hippopotamus, killer whale, narwhal, and sperm whale.

Today is an important moment for all wildlife lovers. The poaching of these wonderful animals for their ivory is sickening and this government will do all we can to end this horrible trade.

The Ivory Act is one of the toughest bans in the world. This new government is showing global leadership by enshrining these protections into law to tackle the poaching of these iconic animals.”

Mary Creagh.jpg
Mary Creagh CBE MP International Nature Minister | Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
Ivory tusks in a wooden crate
13 Jan 2025
Extended Ivory Act regulations will take effect on 28 January 2025

Trading in ivory from the common hippopotamus, killer whale, narwhal and sperm whale will now be banned under The Ivory Act 2018 (Meaning of “Ivory” and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2025. The new legislation was originally laid in parliament in May 2023, under the previous UK Government, but implementation has been delayed due to a lack of parliamentary time.

Fact Sheet for members

Our easy to read fact sheets break down legislation highlighting the changes, who it applies to and most importantly, what you need to do. 

The Ivory Act 2018 fact sheet is exclusively for our NAVA Propertymark members.

FS Ivory.jpg
06 Jun 2022
Fact sheet: Ivory Act 2018

The purpose of the Ivory Act is to prohibit commercial activities concerning ivory in the UK and the import and re-export of ivory for commercial purposes to and from the UK. This includes intra-EU trade to and from the UK.

Representing members

In October 2017, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) opened a consultation seeking views on banning UK sales of Ivory and evidence of the effect a change could have. There were more than 70,000 responses to the consultation, with over 88 per cent of responses in favour of the ban.

Three figures made from ivory
Consultation on banning UK sales of ivory

In our response, to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs consultation on Banning UK Sales of Ivory, we outlined that the Government should focus on enforcing and closing any loopholes in the current legislation instead of a total ban on ivory.

Related news
Ivory tusks in a wooden crate
13 Jan 2025
Extended Ivory Act regulations will take effect on 28 January 2025

Trading in ivory from the common hippopotamus, killer whale, narwhal and sperm whale will now be banned under The Ivory Act 2018 (Meaning of “Ivory” and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2025. The new legislation was originally laid in parliament in May 2023, under the previous UK Government, but implementation has been delayed due to a lack of parliamentary time.

Items made from ivory
19 Jun 2023
Five new species to be protected under Ivory Act extension

Hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, killer whale (orca) and sperm whale will receive greater legal protections under the UK’s world-leading ban on importing, exporting and dealing in items containing ivory.

Adult and baby elephant walking
06 Jun 2022
Ivory Act comes into force

The near-total ban on the import, export and dealing of items containing elephant ivory comes into force today, 6 June 2022, which puts the UK at the forefront of global conservation efforts.

Image attribution: " Mary Creagh ©House of Commons" used under CC BY 3.0 / Cropped from original