Online Safety Act 2023UK · 2023 c. 50
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Online Safety Act 2023 (c. 50) – Schedule 7 – Priority offences

Schedules

Schedule 7Priority offencesSection 59

Assisting suicide

1 An offence under section 2 of the Suicide Act 1961 (assisting suicide etc).
2 An offence under section 13 of the Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 1966 (c. 20 (N.I.)) (assisting suicide etc).

Encouraging or assisting serious self-harm

2A [F1 An offence under section 184 of this Act (encouraging or assisting serious self-harm).]

Threats to kill

3 An offence under section 16 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 (threats to kill).

Public order offences, harassment, stalking and fear or provocation of violence

4 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Public Order Act 1986—
  • (a)
    section 4 (fear or provocation of violence);
  • (b)
    section 4A (intentional harassment, alarm or distress);
  • (c)
    section 5 (harassment, alarm or distress);
5 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Public Order Act 1986—
  • (a)
    section 18 (use of words or behaviour or display of written material);
  • (b)
    section 19 (publishing or distributing written material);
  • (c)
    section 21 (distributing, showing or playing a recording);
  • (d)
    section 29B (use of words or behaviour or display of written material);
  • (e)
    section 29C (publishing or distributing written material);
  • (f)
    section 29E (distributing, showing or playing a recording).
6 An offence under section 50A of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 (racially-aggravated harassment).
7 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997—
8 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Protection from Harassment (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 (S.I. 1997/1180 (N.I. 9))—
  • (a)
    Article 4 (harassment);
  • (b)
    Article 6 (putting people in fear of violence).
9 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998—
  • (a)
    section 31 (racially or religiously aggravated public order offences);
  • (b)
    section 32 (racially or religiously aggravated harassment etc).
10 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 13)—
11 An offence under section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 (controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship).

Drugs and psychoactive substances

12 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971—
  • (a)
    section 4(3) (unlawful supply, or offer to supply, of controlled drugs);
  • (b)
    section 9A (prohibition of supply etc of articles for administering or preparing controlled drugs);
  • (c)
    section 19 (inciting any other offence under that Act).
13 An offence under section 5 of the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 (supplying, or offering to supply, a psychoactive substance).

Firearms and other weapons

14 An offence under section 1(1) or (2) of the Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959 (sale etc of flick knife etc).
15 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Firearms Act 1968—
  • (a)
    section 1(1) (purchase etc of firearms or ammunition without certificate);
  • (b)
    section 2(1) (purchase etc of shot gun without certificate);
  • (c)
    section 3(1) (dealing etc in firearms or ammunition by way of trade or business without being registered);
  • (d)
    section 3(2) (sale etc of firearms or ammunition to person other than registered dealer);
  • (e)
    section 5(1), (1A) or (2A) (purchase, sale etc of prohibited weapons);
  • (f)
    section 21(5) (sale etc of firearms or ammunition to persons previously convicted of crime);
  • (g)
    section 22(1) (purchase etc of firearms or ammunition by person under 18);
  • (h)
    section 24 (supplying firearms to minors);
  • (i)
    section 24A (supplying imitation firearms to minors).
16 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Crossbows Act 1987—
  • (a)
    section 1 (sale and letting on hire of crossbow);
  • (b)
    section 2 (purchase and hiring of crossbow).
17 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 1988—
18 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (S.I. 1996/3160 (N.I. 24))—
  • (a)
    Article 53 (sale etc of knives);
  • (b)
    Article 54 (sale of knives etc to minors).
19 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Knives Act 1997—
  • (a)
    section 1 (unlawful marketing of knives);
  • (b)
    section 2 (publication of material in connection with marketing of knives).
20 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/702 (N.I. 3))—
  • (a)
    Article 24 (sale etc of firearms or ammunition without certificate);
  • (b)
    Article 37(1) (sale etc of firearms or ammunition to person without certificate etc);
  • (c)
    Article 45(1) or (2) (purchase, sale etc of prohibited weapons);
  • (d)
    Article 63(8) (sale etc of firearms or ammunition to people who have been in prison etc);
  • (e)
    Article 66A (supplying imitation firearms to minors).
21 An offence under section 36(1)(c) or (d) of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (sale etc of realistic imitation firearms).
22 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015 (asp 10)—
  • (a)
    section 2 (requirement for air weapon certificate);
  • (b)
    section 24 (restrictions on sale etc of air weapons).

Assisting illegal immigration

23 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Immigration Act 1971—
  • (a)
    section 24(A1), (B1), (C1) or (D1) (illegal entry and similar offences);
  • (b)
    section 25 (assisting unlawful immigration).

Human trafficking

24 An offence under section 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (human trafficking).
25 An offence under section 1 of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 (asp 12) (human trafficking).
26 An offence under section 2 of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 (c. 2 (N.I.)) (human trafficking).

Sexual exploitation

27 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Sexual Offences Act 2003—
  • (a)
    section 52 (causing or inciting prostitution for gain);
  • (b)
    section 53 (controlling prostitution for gain).
28 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/1769 (N.I. 2))—
  • (a)
    Article 62 (causing or inciting prostitution for gain);
  • (b)
    Article 63 (controlling prostitution for gain).

Sexual images

28A [F2 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Sexual Offences Act 2003—
  • (a)
    section 66A (sending etc photograph or film of genitals);
  • (b)
    section 66B (sharing or threatening to share intimate photograph or film).
  • (c)
    [F3 section 66E (creating purported intimate image of adult);
  • (d)
    section 66F (requesting the creation of purported intimate image of adult).]]
29 An offence under section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (possession of extreme pornographic images).
30 F4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
31 An offence under section 2 of the Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm (Scotland) Act 2016 (asp 22) (disclosing, or threatening to disclose, an intimate photograph or film).

Proceeds of crime

32 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002—
  • (a)
    section 327 (concealing etc criminal property);
  • (b)
    section 328 (arrangements facilitating acquisition etc of criminal property);
  • (c)
    section 329 (acquisition, use and possession of criminal property).

Fraud

33 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Fraud Act 2006—
  • (a)
    section 2 (fraud by false representation);
  • (b)
    section 4 (fraud by abuse of position);
  • (c)
    section 7 (making or supplying articles for use in frauds);
  • (d)
    section 9 (participating in fraudulent business carried on by sole trader etc).
34 An offence under section 49(3) of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 (articles for use in fraud).

Financial services

35 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000—
  • (a)
    section 23 (contravention of prohibition on carrying on regulated activity unless authorised or exempt);
  • (b)
    section 24 (false claims to be authorised or exempt);
  • (c)
    section 25 (contravention of restrictions on financial promotion).
36 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Financial Services Act 2012—

Foreign interference

37 An offence under section 13 of the National Security Act 2023 (foreign interference).

Animal welfare

38 An offence under section 4(1) of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (unnecessary suffering of an animal).

Inchoate offences

39
(1) An offence of attempting or conspiring to commit an offence specified in this Schedule.
(2) An offence under Part 2 of the Serious Crime Act 2007 (encouraging or assisting) in relation to an offence specified in this Schedule, or (in Scotland) inciting a person to commit such an offence.
(3) An offence of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of an offence specified in this Schedule, or (in Scotland) being involved art and part in the commission of such an offence.

Amended text

This Schedule is shown as amended by Crime and Policing Act 2026; S.I. 2024/1188; S.I. 2025/1352 (see the annotations below), as incorporated in the text in force on 19 September 2026 as published on legislation.gov.uk.

Pending amendment (not yet in force)

legislation.gov.uk records the following amendment(s) to this Schedule that had not been brought into force on 19 September 2026 and are therefore not reflected in the text above:

  • Sch. 7 para. 29: words substituted by 2026 c. 20, s. 104(5)(a); commencement: s. 255(1)
  • Sch. 7 para. 29(a)(b): substituted for words by 2026 c. 20, s. 104(5)(b); commencement: s. 255(1)
  • Sch. 7 para. 29(c): inserted by 2026 c. 20, s. 106(7); commencement: s. 255(1)
  • Sch. 7 para. 29(d): inserted by 2026 c. 20, s. 107(5); commencement: s. 255(1)

Annotations

Textual Amendments

  1. F1 Sch. 7 para. 2A inserted (8.1.2026) by The Online Safety Act 2023 (Priority Offences) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/1352), regs. 1(2), 2(2)
  2. F2 Sch. 7 para. 28A substituted (8.1.2026) by The Online Safety Act 2023 (Priority Offences) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 (S.I. 2025/1352), regs. 1(2), 2(3)
  3. F3 Sch. 7 para. 28A(c)(d) inserted (29.6.2026) by Crime and Policing Act 2026 (c. 20), s. 255(1), Sch. 13 para. 24; S.I. 2026/689, reg. 2(1)(z9)
  4. F4 Sch. 7 para. 30 omitted (10.12.2024) by virtue of The Online Safety Act 2023 (Priority Offences) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/1188), regs. 1(2), 2(3)

Commencement Information

  1. I1 Sch. 7 para. 1 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  2. I2 Sch. 7 para. 2 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  3. I3 Sch. 7 para. 3 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  4. I4 Sch. 7 para. 4 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  5. I5 Sch. 7 para. 5 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  6. I6 Sch. 7 para. 6 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  7. I7 Sch. 7 para. 7 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  8. I8 Sch. 7 para. 8 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  9. I9 Sch. 7 para. 9 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  10. I10 Sch. 7 para. 10 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  11. I11 Sch. 7 para. 11 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  12. I12 Sch. 7 para. 12 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  13. I13 Sch. 7 para. 13 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  14. I14 Sch. 7 para. 14 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  15. I15 Sch. 7 para. 15 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  16. I16 Sch. 7 para. 16 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  17. I17 Sch. 7 para. 17 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  18. I18 Sch. 7 para. 18 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  19. I19 Sch. 7 para. 19 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  20. I20 Sch. 7 para. 20 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  21. I21 Sch. 7 para. 21 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  22. I22 Sch. 7 para. 22 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  23. I23 Sch. 7 para. 23 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  24. I24 Sch. 7 para. 24 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  25. I25 Sch. 7 para. 25 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  26. I26 Sch. 7 para. 26 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  27. I27 Sch. 7 para. 27 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  28. I28 Sch. 7 para. 28 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  29. I29 Sch. 7 para. 29 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  30. I30 Sch. 7 para. 31 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  31. I31 Sch. 7 para. 32 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  32. I32 Sch. 7 para. 33 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  33. I33 Sch. 7 para. 34 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  34. I34 Sch. 7 para. 35 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  35. I35 Sch. 7 para. 36 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  36. I36 Sch. 7 para. 37 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  37. I37 Sch. 7 para. 38 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)
  38. I38 Sch. 7 para. 39 in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(4)(h)

Referred to in

s. 59s. 222s. 240

https://osa.digiphile.law/schedule/schedule-7.html

Text as at 19 September 2026.

This is an unofficial convenience version of the Online Safety Act 2023. It is presented “as is” without guarantee of accuracy, completeness or reliability. See the source text for the official version. This site was last updated in September 2026.

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