Missouri Sword Laws
Missouri is broadly permissive on swords after the 2017 permitless concealed carry reform. Ownership is unrestricted with no blade-length cap. Open...
Sword Laws
State by state guides to owning, carrying, and transporting swords.
Montana Sword Laws
Montana is one of the most knife-friendly states in the country after the 2017 and 2019 reforms. HB 251 (effective October 1, 2017) removed all kni...
Nebraska Sword Laws
Nebraska is permissive on swords after the 2023 LB77 constitutional carry reform. Ownership is unrestricted with no blade-length cap. Open carry of...
Nevada Sword Laws
Nevada is moderately permissive on swords with significant Clark County complications. Ownership is unrestricted at the state level. NRS 202.350 pr...
New Hampshire Sword Laws
New Hampshire is among the most knife-friendly states in the country. HB 1665 (signed May 18, 2010) repealed the prior restrictions on concealed di...
New Jersey Sword Laws
New Jersey is one of the most restrictive states in the country for swords and similar weapons. N.J.S.A. 2C:39-3(e) makes possession of gravity kni...
New Mexico Sword Laws
New Mexico is moderately permissive on swords with one significant restriction. NMSA § 30-1-12(B) defines "deadly weapon" broadly to include dagger...
New York Sword Laws
New York is one of the most restrictive states for swords. NY Penal Law § 265.01(1) makes mere possession of cane swords, switchblades, pilum balli...
North Carolina Sword Laws
North Carolina is moderately restrictive on swords with a Reconstruction-era statute that has barely changed since 1879. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-269(a...
North Dakota Sword Laws
North Dakota is one of the few state codes that explicitly names "sword" in its dangerous-weapon definition. N.D.C.C. § 62.1-01-01 defines "dangero...
Ohio Sword Laws
Ohio is one of the most permissive states for swords after the 2021 SB 140 reform. ORC § 2923.12(H), added effective April 12, 2021, provides that ...
Oklahoma Sword Laws
Oklahoma is one of the most permissive states for swords after the 2015 and 2016 reforms. HB 1911 (effective November 1, 2015) removed switchblade ...
Oregon Sword Laws
Oregon is moderately permissive on swords. State v. Delgado (1984) struck down the prior switchblade ownership ban as unconstitutional. ORS 166.240...
Pennsylvania Sword Laws
Pennsylvania has one of the strictest sword frameworks in the country. 18 Pa.C.S. § 908 makes possession of any "offensive weapon" a first-degree m...
Rhode Island Sword Laws
Rhode Island is moderately restrictive on swords. R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-47-42(a)(2) prohibits carrying or possessing a crossbow, dagger, dirk, stilet...
South Carolina Sword Laws
South Carolina is one of the most permissive states for swords after two major reforms. The 2008 amendment to § 16-23-405 removed "knife with a bla...
South Dakota Sword Laws
South Dakota is one of the most permissive states for swords at the state level. The state repealed its ballistic-knife ban in 2006 (SL 2005, ch. 1...
Tennessee Sword Laws
Tennessee is one of the most permissive states for swords. The 2014 reforms (Tenn. Acts ch. 870 and ch. 647) repealed the switchblade ban and remov...
Texas Sword Laws
Texas is among the most permissive states for swords after the 2017 HB 1935 reform. The bill removed daggers, dirks, stilettos, poniards, swords, s...
Utah Sword Laws
Utah is one of the most permissive states for swords. Utah Code § 76-10-500 (Uniform Law) provides statewide preemption: only the state legislature...
Vermont Sword Laws
Vermont is one of the most permissive states for swords. 13 V.S.A. § 4003 (amended 2018 by Act 135) makes it a 2-year crime to carry "a dangerous o...
Virginia Sword Laws
Virginia allows ownership of all swords, but concealed carry of certain knife categories is restricted. Va. Code § 18.2-308(A) makes it a Class 1 m...
Washington Sword Laws
Washington state does not ban owning a sword. You can buy, collect, and display katanas, sabers, longswords, and replicas without a special permit....
West Virginia Sword Laws
West Virginia is age-tiered. After the 2016 constitutional carry reform, adults age 21 or older may carry any knife openly or concealed without a p...