State rankings
Knife Laws By State
Knife Laws By State: compare 51 US states on 7 metrics.
Crime & SafetyLaw51 states · 7 metricsUpdated Jun 5, 2025Original page
8 sources
- State Knife Laws - American Knife & Tool Institute
- Delaware Knife Laws - Tektogear
- California Knife Laws - Robert M Helfend
- Maine Knife Laws - KnifeUp
- New York Laws - TsigerLaw
- RCW 9.41.250 Dangerous Weapons-Penalty - Washington State Legislature
- Pocket Knife Rules & Laws by State - Carved
- Knife Laws by State - Blade Addict
Statewide Preemption to Knife Laws Exists
3 values across 50 entries
Data
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51 states
 Alabama | Allowed | Montgomery - 3 inch blade limit |
 Alaska | Concealment matters during police contact or in someone else's home. Concealed carry is not a significant issue for people 21 and older | — |
 Arizona | 21+ Allowed with duty to disclose | — |
 Arkansas | Not restricted, unless there is unlawful intent | — |
 California | Unlawful unless a folding pocket knife | Multiple |
 Colorado | Unlawful with blade over 3 1/2 inches | Boulder, Denver |
 Connecticut | Allowed | — |
 Delaware | Only “ordinary” pocket-knives may be carried concealed. | — |
 District of Columbia | Restricted | Switchblades banned in the District |
 Florida | Common pocket knife allowed, but others prohibited unless licensed | Multiple |
 Georgia | Allowed | — |
 Hawaii | Allowed | — |
 Idaho | Allowed with restrictions on minors, non-citizens, felons, and the mentally-ill | — |
 Illinois | Allowed | Chicago |
 Indiana | Allowed | Indianapolis |
 Iowa | Items on "dangerous weapon list" cannot be concealed (dagger, razor, stiletto, switchblade knife, knife having a blade exceeding five inches in length) | — |
 Kansas | Allowed | — |
 Kentucky | Allowed. Restrictions apply for those under 21 | — |
 Louisiana | Allowed | Baton Rouge, New Orleans+1 |
 Maine | It is a Class D crime to wear under the person’s clothes or conceal about the person a knife described as restricted | — |
 Maryland | Allowed for folding knives that are not switchblades or spring-activated | Baltimore (Switchblades) |
 Massachusetts | Allowed with restrictions on the types of knives | — |
 Michigan | Double-edged fixed blade knives may not be carried concealed or carried in a vehicle, subject to a few very limited exceptions | Detroit| Lansing |
 Minnesota | Allowed unless a switchblade | Duluth, Minneapolis+1 |
 Mississippi | It is a violation to carry concealed any bowie knife, dirk knife, butcher knife and/or switchblade knife with some exceptions | — |
 Missouri | Allowed for folding knife with a blade ≤ 4 inches; restricted in some locations. | Concealed carry of knives is forbidden in certain locations, including police stations, courthouses, schools, and bars, and other restricted areas (17 in total) |
 Montana | Allowed | — |
 Nebraska | Concealed carry of any knife having a blade longer than 3 and ½ inches is unlawful. | Lincoln, Omaha |
 Nevada | Allowed except for machetes | Carson City, Clark County+2 |
 New Hampshire | Allowed | — |
 New Jersey | Allowed | Camden |
 New Mexico | Concealed carry of a deadly weapon is prohibited. | — |
 New York | New York State treats concealed and unconcealed knives the same, but some local laws—especially in NYC—restrict open carry | New York City and several others |
 North Carolina | Concealed carry allowed only for ordinary pocket knives; all other weapons are prohibited | — |
 North Dakota | Concealed carry allowed only with a license for knives classified as dangerous weapons (e.g., blade ≥ 5 inches, switchblades, daggers, machetes); otherwise prohibited | Bismark, Fargo+1 |
 Ohio | Allowed | — |
 Oklahoma | Allowed | — |
 Oregon | Concealed carry of any automatic knife, assisted opening knife, butterfly knife, dirk, dagger, or ice pick is prohibited | — |
 Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania law does not distinguish between open or concealed carry of a weapon, except where there is intent to “employ it criminally.” | Philadelphia |
 Rhode Island | Any knife having a blade longer than three (3) inches, or any “dagger, dirk, stiletto, sword in cane, bowie knife or other similar weapon” regardless of blade length may not be carried in a concealed manner. | — |
 South Carolina | Allowed | Charleston, Columbia+1 |
 South Dakota | Allowed, unless carried with the intent to commit a felony | Aberdeen, Deadwood+3 |
 Tennessee | Allowed | — |
 Texas | Allowed | — |
 Utah | Allowed | — |
 Vermont | Allowed | — |
 Virginia | It is unlawful to conceal carry a dirk, bowie knife, ballistic knife, machete, razor, throwing star, oriental dart, or “any weapon of like kind.” | — |
 Washington | It is illegal to furtively carry with intent to conceal any dagger, dirk, or other dangerous weapon—including certain fixed-blade knives | Seattle, Tacoma+1 |
 West Virginia | No restriction on concealed carry or possession for those over 21 | Multiple |
 Wisconsin | Allowed | — |
 Wyoming | No restriction on concealed carry or possession for those over 21 | — |
Quick answers
- Where does this knife laws by state data come from?
- Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: State Knife Laws - American Knife & Tool Institute; Delaware Knife Laws - Tektogear; California Knife Laws - Robert M Helfend; Maine Knife Laws - KnifeUp.