California Knife Laws
California sets no single blade length for a folding knife. A folding knife carried closed is lawful. The trouble starts with dirks and daggers, which may not be carried concealed at any length, and with automatic knives, which are barred at two inches and up. There is no statewide preemption, so your city may be stricter than the code.
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.
California knife law at a glance
| Concealed carry blade limit | No single blade length governs. It is unlawful to carry a dirk or dagger concealed on the person; a folding knife that is closed, or one without a locking blade, is treated differently. |
|---|---|
| Automatic and switchblade knives | An automatic knife with a blade two inches or longer may not be carried, kept in a vehicle or a public place, or transferred. |
| Knife types banned outright | Air gauge knife, belt buckle knife, lipstick case knife, writing pen knife, undetectable knife, shobi-zue, cane sword, ballistic knife, and a switchblade with a blade two inches or more. |
| Statewide preemption | No. |
| The statutes | Penal Code sections 16340, 16420, 16430, 16470, 16590, 17235, 20200, 20810, 21110, 21310, 21510, 626.10, 171b, 171.5 and 171.7 — read them |
Source last revised 23 June 2021
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 California 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 California 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oregon | Legal | No blade length governs the concealed carry offense itself, but a pocketknife under four inches is excepted in restricted places. |
| Nevada | Legal | No blade length governs statewide, except that a machete may not be carried concealed. The county rule is the one that catches visitors. |
| Arizona | Legal | No blade length limit. Adults 21 and over may carry a concealed knife without restriction; under 21 it is pocketknives only. |
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 California knife laws
What size knife is legal to carry in California?
No single blade length governs. It is unlawful to carry a dirk or dagger concealed on the person; a folding knife that is closed, or one without a locking blade, is treated differently.
Are switchblades legal in California?
An automatic knife with a blade two inches or longer may not be carried, kept in a vehicle or a public place, or transferred.
Which knives are banned outright in California?
Air gauge knife, belt buckle knife, lipstick case knife, writing pen knife, undetectable knife, shobi-zue, cane sword, ballistic knife, and a switchblade with a blade two inches or more.
Does California have knife preemption?
No. California 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 California?
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. California knife law checked against the published sources on 15 September 2026, and due for review again on 15 November 2026.