Poison licence

We need to issue a licence before you can sell certain substances. Please contact us if you want to know the current registration fee and annual re-registration fee.

The Poisons Act 1972 and the Poisons Rules 1982 ban poisons from sale unless the seller is a retail pharmacist or a person who is named on the local authority's list which entitles him to sell poisons from the stated premises.

Products which are classed as poisons include poisons, drain cleaners and de-scalers which contain the following chemicals:

Aldicarb
Alpha-choralose
Ammonia
Carbofuran
Cycloheximide
Dinoterb
Drazoxolon and its salts
Endothal and its salts
Endosulfan
Endrin
Formaldehyde
Formic acid
Hydrofluoric acid
Alkali metal bifluorides
Ammonium bifluoride
Alkali metal fluorides
Ammonium fluoride
Sodium silico-fluoride
Mercuric chloride
Mercuric iodide
Metallic oxalates
Methomyl
Nitric acid
Nitrobenzene
Oxamyl
Phosphoric acid
Sodium nitrite
Sulphuric acid
Thiofanox
Zinc phosphide

The following arsenic compounds:

Calcium arsenites
Copper acetoarsenite
Copper arsenates
Copper arsenites
Lead arsenates

The following salts of barium:

Barium carbonate
Barium silicofluoride
Dinitrocresols (DNOC) and their compounds with a metal or a base
Compounds of fentin
Hydrochloric acid
Organic compounds of mercury except compounds which contain methyl (CH3) group directly linked to the mercury atom.
Nicotine and its salts and quaternary compounds
Salts of paraquat
Phenols (any member of the series of Phenols of which the first member is Phenol and of which the molecular composition varies from member to member by one atom of carbon and two atoms of hydrogen) in substances containing less than 60% weight in weight of phenols and compounds of phenol with a metal in substances containing less than the equivalent of 60%, weight in weight, of phenols.

The following phosphorus compounds: