Us Switchblade Laws

The following is a comprehensive compilation of the laws on switchblades (also called automatics) in the United States. This chart covers both overall federal law and each state law. These laws are for non-law enforcement citizens, as nearly all laws contain some sort of exemption for police.

Legend:

• Possession = Refers to the legality of merely owning or having direct control over a switchblade, even if kept at home.
• Sale = The legality of merchants and private citizens offering switchblades for sale or selling them. Usually includes any transfer of ownership, even gifts. Note that such laws almost always only affect the seller; no state law affects the buyer of such a transaction.
• Open Carry = legality of carrying a switchblade unconcealed and in plain view of others.
• Concealed Carry = legality of carrying a switchblade in a concealed manner on one's person (or most of the time, in a car).
• Balisong considered same thing? = Refers to if the wording of the law considers switchblades and balisongs to be the same thing. If "Yes," balisongs are subject to all the same restrictions as switchblades listed for that state. If "no" they are covered by a separate law and may or may not be legal. Blanks indicate the state has no laws about either.

Practical Matters

• If possession itself is illegal, then all others become illegal by default.
• If possession is legal, but sale is not, it effectively becomes impossible to legally obtain a switchblade from within that state (since federal law prohibits inter-state sale). One must physically travel to another state to legally purchase.

State	Possession	Sale	Open Carry	Concealed Carry	Balisong considered same thing?
US Federal Law	Legal	Illegal when sold over state lines or imported from outside the US	Legal	Legal	Yes
Alabama
Alaska	Illegal	Illegal	Illegal	Illegal	Yes
Arizona	Legal	Legal	Legal	Legal if over 21 years old
Arkansas
California	Legal	Legal if blade is <2"	Legal if blade is <2"	Legal if blade is <2"	Yes
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida	Legal	Legal	Legal	Illegal (Legal with gun permit)	N/A
Georgia	Legal	Legal (if over 18)	Legal if blade is <5"	Legal if blade is <5"
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana	Illegal	Illegal	Illegal	Illegal	No
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland	Legal	Illegal	Legal	Illegal	No
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire	Legal	Legal	Legal	Legal	No
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio	Legal	Illegal	Legal	Illegal	No
Oklahoma
Oregon	Legal	Legal	Legal	Illegal	Yes
Pennsylvania	Illegal (ex. Curio)	Illegal (ex. Curio)	Illegal	Illegal	No
Rhode Island
South Carolina	Legal	Legal	Legal	Legal
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas	Illegal (ex. Curio)	Illegal (ex. Curio)	Illegal	Illegal	Yes
Utah	Legal	Legal	Legal	Situational	Yes
Vermont	Legal	Legal if blade is <3"	Legal	Legal	No
Virginia	Illegal	Illegal	Illegal	Illegal	No
Washington
West Virginia	Legal (if over 18)	Legal	Legal (if over 18)	Illegal	No
Wisconsin
Wyoming