Arkansas Knife Laws
Arkansas does not set a carry limit. The three inches you will see quoted is part of how the state defines a knife, not a length you may not exceed, and the offense is carrying one with intent to use it unlawfully. Automatic knives have never been restricted. There is no statewide preemption, so a city may add its own rule.
This is not legal advice, and we are not lawyers. It is a plain reading of published summaries and the statutes they cite, kept current on a fixed schedule. Local ordinances are frequently stricter than state law and are not all captured here. Check the statute, and check your city, before you carry.
Recent change. 2025 – HB 1418 enacted knife law preemption.
Arkansas knife law at a glance
| Concealed carry blade limit | Concealment is not the test. Arkansas defines a knife as any bladed hand instrument three inches or longer, and the offense is carrying one with intent to use it unlawfully. The three inches is part of the definition, not a carry limit. |
|---|---|
| Automatic and switchblade knives | Legal. No restriction has ever been enacted. |
| Knife types banned outright | None outright. |
| Statewide preemption | No. |
| The statutes | Arkansas Code 5-1-102(4), 5-73-109, 5-73-120, 5-73-122 and 5-73-131 — read them |
Source last revised 12 February 2026
Last known change 2025
Next review 15 November 2026
How fresh this is, and how you can tell
Two dates sit above, and they are not the same thing. Checked by us is the last time a person went back to the sources and confirmed this page still matches them. Source last revised is when the American Knife and Tool Institute last updated its own Arkansas page. A 2021 revision date is not automatically wrong — it usually means nothing has changed since — but it does mean nobody had looked recently, and that is exactly the gap this page exists to close.
Crossing the Arkansas state line
Knife law stops at the border and the next state does not have to agree with this one. If you drive, these are the states you are most likely to carry into, and what changes when you do.
| State | Automatic knives | Concealed blade limit |
|---|---|---|
| Missouri | Legal | Four inches. An ordinary pocketknife at or under four inches goes almost anywhere concealed. Any other blade is barred from seventeen listed places, and a concealed carry permit lifts those place limits. |
| Tennessee | Legal | No blade length governs and concealment is not an issue. |
| Mississippi | Legal | No blade length governs, but a bowie knife, dirk, butcher knife or switchblade may not be carried concealed. A knife in a sheath or holster that is even partly visible does not count as concealed, which is the practical way to carry one. |
| Louisiana | Legal | No blade length governs, and open or concealed makes no difference. |
| Texas | Legal | Concealment is not the issue in Texas. What matters is blade length: a location-restricted knife is any knife with a blade over five and a half inches, and those are barred from certain places. |
| Oklahoma | Legal | No blade length governs and concealment is not an issue. |
A knife that is lawful in your pocket at home can be unlawful the moment you cross, and nobody stops you at the line to tell you. The map for all fifty states covers the rest.
Common questions about Arkansas knife laws
What size knife is legal to carry in Arkansas?
Concealment is not the test. Arkansas defines a knife as any bladed hand instrument three inches or longer, and the offense is carrying one with intent to use it unlawfully. The three inches is part of the definition, not a carry limit.
Are switchblades legal in Arkansas?
Legal. No restriction has ever been enacted.
Which knives are banned outright in Arkansas?
None outright.
Does Arkansas have knife preemption?
No. Arkansas has no statewide preemption, so a city or county can be stricter than the state code, and several are. Check your local ordinance as well as the statute.
Can I keep a knife in my car in Arkansas?
Where a state has a concealed carry limit, a knife in a glovebox or a door pocket is generally treated as concealed. Read the concealed line above and apply it to the vehicle. If that line says concealment is not the issue in this state, the vehicle is not the issue either — but where you drive to still is, because schools and courthouses are barred everywhere.
Where this comes from
Two independent sources, cross-checked against each other, and the statute text where they disagree. The automatic knife column is the American Knife and Tool Institute’s state automatics table, checked against Knife Rights’ own switchblade legality table and their legislative update log. Everything on a state page is quoted or closely tracked from that state’s AKTI page, and we print the date AKTI last revised it so you can see for yourself how fresh the underlying work is.
Where a source is older than a change we know about, we say so on the page rather than quietly leaving the old answer up. That is the whole reason this is checked every two months.
Elsewhere on Popular EDC
The knife law map for all fifty states, the knife steel comparison chart for choosing the blade itself, and every Popular EDC tool in one place.
Data updated September 2026. Arkansas knife law checked against the published sources on 15 September 2026, and due for review again on 15 November 2026.