Knife Laws in the 50 States

When it comes to knife legality it is pretty challenging to navigate the flurry of laws and regulations in various states within the U.S. Each state has its own set of rules as to what knives you can own, what knives you can carry, and how you can carry them.

KPL has put together this quick reference guide to help you understand knife laws so you can ensure you are not potentially putting yourself in a legal predicament in your own state or while traveling.

Note - This is not intended to be legal advice, and can only be used as a reference tool.

What Kind of Knives are we talking about?

In this article, we will be covering pocket knives, including manual folders, automatics, assisted opening knives, as well as general tool use and outdoor fixed blades. For some great information regarding the laws and regulations around balisongs, check out this article by our balisong expert Barkhandle.

Understanding Preemption

Preemption is an important concept in knife law, which basically means that all knife laws are made at a state level. That means states with knife law preemption restrict the ability of local governments to make their own knife laws. This greatly simplifies things for us because we can simply look at the state law and know what we can own and carry.

Unfortunately, preemption is not in effect in all of the states, and many of those states can be confusing because certain cities will have their own rules and regulations. While I won’t cover individual cities, you can check out the Knife Rights Legal Blade app to help you out.

States that Currently Have Knife Law Preemption

Alaska
Arizona
Georgia
Iowa
Kansas
Montana
New Hampshire
Ohio
Oklahoma
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
West Virginia
Wisconsin

There are several states that do not have preemption, however their state constitutions act in the same manner:

Colorado
Idaho
Illinois
Mississippi
New Mexico
Vermont
Wyoming

Outside of these listed states, it is important to understand that some local jurisdictions may have different knife laws than the rest of the state. This is most common in large cities and highly populated areas.

Automatic Knife Laws

Automatic knives have long been a topic of controversy in the United States, becoming very unpopular in the 1950s when Hollywood portrayed them as dangerous weapons used by gangs and criminals. This led to the passing of the Federal Switchblade Act of 1958, which bans the commercial sale of automatic knives across state lines.

Though automatic knives got a bad rap for years, many states have begun to realize that these are valuable tools rather than dangerous weapons, and they have become legalized in many states (with restrictions in some cases).

Keep in mind that if there are no restrictions listed here, automatic knives will fall under the general laws of the state and may have specific restrictions on carrying them outside of your home. It is important to note that although ownership may be legal, many companies may not ship to your state due to other restrictions.

State	Ownership Restrictions
Alabama	None
Alaska	None
Arizona	None
Arkansas	None
California	Less than 2 inch blade
Colorado	Max blade length of 3.5 inches
Connecticut	Max blade length of 1.5 inches
Florida	None
Georgia	None
Idaho	None
Illinois	With valid firearms license
Indiana	None
Iowa	None
Kansas	None
Kentucky	21 years of age
Louisiana	None
Maine	None
Maryland	Can carry if not concealed
Massachusetts	Max blade length of 1.5 inches
Michigan	None
Mississippi	None
Missouri	None
Montana	None (previously max length of 1.5 inches)
Nebraska	None
Nevada	None (previously max length of 2 inches)
New Hampshire	None
North Dakota	None
New York	Only when hunting and fishing
North Carolina	Vague laws, would not recommend carrying concealed
North Dakota	Max blade length of 5 inches
Ohio	None
Oklahoma	None
Oregon	None
Rhode Island	None
South Carolina	None
South Dakota	None
Tennessee	None
Texas	None
Utah	None
Vermont	Blade length less than 3 inches
Washington	Limited to law enforcement and emergency responders
West Virginia	None
Wisconsin	None
Wyoming	None

Folding and Fixed Blade Knife Laws in the 50 States

Folding knives and fixed blades are largely treated equally under the law in most states. Fixed blades that were specifically designed as weapons such as daggers, dirks, and bowies, see the most restrictions across the country.

For the most part, outside of automatics, most pocket knives are generally safe to carry in many states. Automatics do still see a lot of restrictions on carry, even where ownership is legal. Caution should also be taken with assisted opening knives because some laws can be very vague, and may consider your assisted knife to be classified as an automatic.

When it comes to making the decision to open or conceal carry your knife, your first choice should be to take the law into account. Even if the law says you can open carry, you should always get a feel for your area.

I live in a rural area of Connecticut so it's fairly common to see people with a knife displayed. However, if I head to a more populated area, I may decide to conceal carry so as to not to draw attention to myself.

Almost all states place heavy restrictions on carry in schools and government buildings. Most outwardly ban carrying any knives in these places, but a few will actually allow limited carry. I would advise just assuming that you cannot carry a knife in those places.

Below is a generalized listing of laws by state, but always keep in mind that there may be cities within these states that have additional restrictions.

State	Length Restrictions	Concealed/Open Carry Restrictions	Restricted Knives
Alabama	None	Can not conceal carry Bowies (defined as long knives)	None
Alaska	None	Must be over 21 years or age to conceal carry	None, must be 21 to carry automatics
Arizona	None	Must be over 21 years or age to conceal carry	None
Arkansas	None	No restrictions	None
California	Location based, generally under 4 inches	Can not conceal fixed or folding daggers	Automatics over 2 inches, undetectable knives, cane knives/swords, pen knives, and ballistic knives
Colorado	Max blade length 3.5 inches	Can carry concealed if 3.5 inches or less.	Ballistic Knives
Connecticut	Max length 4 Inches of sharpened blade, exceptions for actively hunting and fishing	Can conceal or open carry	Automatics over 1.5 inches, no ownership and carry restrictions beyond ballistic knives
Delaware	Max blade length of 3 inches	Weapons permit to carry open or concealed any knife longer than 3 inches	Automatics and undetectable knives
Florida	None	Common folding knives may be concealed, fixed blades must be open carry.	Ballistic knives
Georgia	12 inches or less	Open or concealed carry.	No restrictions, blades over 12 inches considered weapons.
Hawaii	None	Open or concealed carry.	Automatics are banned, dirks and daggers can be owned but not be carried.
Idaho	6 inches or less	Open or concealed carry.	Knives over 6 inches are considered weapons and can not be concealed
Illinois	Generally none, less than 3 inches in some areas.	Concealed or open carry, certain jurisdiction restrictions	Automatics and ballistic knives
Indiana	None	Open or concealed carry.	Ballistic knives and throwing stars
Iowa	5 inches	Open or conceal under 5 inches, can not carry daggers or automatics.	Ballistic knives
Kansas	None	Open or concealed carry.	None
Kentucky	None	Open or concealed carry ordinary pocket and hunting knives	Anything beyond the vague description of ordinary pocket knife and hunting knife can not be carried by anyone under 21.
Louisiana	None	Open or conceal carry with the exception of certain jurisdictions	None
Maine	None	Restriction on carrying bowies, dirks, and daggers in a threatening way.	None
Maryland	None noted	Concealed carry limited to folding knives permitted if not automatic.	Automatic and ballistic knives
Massachusetts	Vague law, 1.5 inches is safe.	Many jurisdiction restrictions, folding pocket knives may be carried concealed as long as it does not lock into place. single edged fixed blades can be openly carried.	Due to vague laws it is known that automatics more than 1.5 inches are banned as are daggers and ballistic knives. Essentially anything that can be viewed as a weapon is banned.
Michigan	None noted	Can not conceal carry dirks or daggers (double edged)	None
Minnesota	None	Local restrictions, generally open or concealed carry is acceptable.	Automatic knives
Mississippi	None	Can not conceal carry bowies, dirks, or automatics.	None
Missouri	4 inches or less for pocket knives	Open or concealed is generally acceptable.	None
Montana	None	Open or concealed is generally acceptable.	None
Nebraska	None	3.5 or less inches to carry concealed, open carry larger than 3.5 inches.	None
Nevada	None	Can not conceal carry machetes. Can not conceal carry dagger and automatics over 2 inches.	None
New Hampshire	None	No restrictions	None
New Jersey	None	No restrictions outside of banned knives	Automatics, gravity knives, dirks, daggers, and ballistic knives
New Mexico	None	No restrictions outside of banned knives	Automatics and assisted opening
New York	Many local rules and regulations, typically below 4 inches is safe	Limitations on open carry in some areas, many local restrictions.	Automatics, gravity knives, dirks, daggers, and ballistic knives (hunting and fishing exceptions for automatics)
North Carolina	None	Open carry for all knives, concealed carry forbidden for bowies, dirks, and daggers. Numerous local restrictions.	Ballistic knives
North Dakota	5 Inches or more is considered a dangerous weapon.	Open carry is acceptable, weapon permit required for concealed carry.	None
Ohio	None	May not conceal a deadly weapon(carried as a weapon or designed as a weapon)	Ballistic knives
Oklahoma	None	No restrictions	None
Oregon	None	May not conceal carry automatic, assisted, dirks, daggers, or ice picks.	None
Pennsylvania	None	Open or concealed carry.	Automatics
Rhode Island	None	Open carry is unrestricted, and can not conceal carry anything over 3 inches.	None
South Carolina	None	No restrictions on concealed carry assuming no crime is being committed. Numerous local restrictions.	None
South Dakota	None	Open or concealed carry.	None
Tennessee	None	No restrictions.	None
Texas	Over 5.5 inches have location restrictions	Open or concealed carry.	None
Utah	None noted	Open or concealed carry.	None
Vermont	3 inches (auto only)	No restrictions	Automatics over 3 inches
Virginia	None	Can not conceal carry bowies, dirks, daggers, machetes, throwing stars, automatics, and ballistic knives	Ballistic knives
Washington	None	Can not conceal daggers, dirks, automatics, or other dangerous weapons.	Automatics, dirks, and daggers.
West Virginia	Over 3.5 inches considered dangerous weapons for daggers, dirks, and pocket knives.	Knives in the deadly weapon class may not be carried by people under the age of 21	None
Wisconsin	None	No restrictions	None
Wyoming	None	No restrictions over 21 years of age.	None

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