District of Columbia Knife Laws
The District of Columbia bans switchblades outright, and it is the rare place where restrictions are the norm rather than the exception. Any knife can count as a dangerous weapon, and carrying a dagger, dirk, razor, stiletto or a blade over three inches with intent to use it unlawfully is the offense. Treat assisted-opening knives as risky here too. There is no state law above the District and no city rule below it, so this is the whole of it.
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.
District of Columbia knife law at a glance
| Concealed carry blade limit | Concealment is not the test. Any knife can count as a dangerous weapon, and carrying a dagger, dirk, razor, stiletto or a blade longer than three inches with intent to use it unlawfully is the offense. |
|---|---|
| Automatic and switchblade knives | Unlawful to possess. Treat assisted-opening knives as risky here too. |
| Knife types banned outright | Switchblades. |
| Statewide preemption | Not applicable. The District is a single city, so there is no state law above it and no city rule below it. |
| The statutes | DC Code 22-4504, 22-4505 and 22-4514 — read them |
Source last revised 15 April 2024
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 District of Columbia 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 District of Columbia 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Maryland | Legal with conditions | Only a manual folding knife may be carried concealed. Anything that is a switchblade or spring-activated may not be, at any length. |
| Virginia | Legal | A folding metal blade under three inches is treated as a pocket knife and may be carried. Dirks, bowie knives, ballistic knives, machetes and razors are restricted. |
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 District of Columbia knife laws
What size knife is legal to carry in District of Columbia?
Concealment is not the test. Any knife can count as a dangerous weapon, and carrying a dagger, dirk, razor, stiletto or a blade longer than three inches with intent to use it unlawfully is the offense.
Are switchblades legal in District of Columbia?
Unlawful to possess. Treat assisted-opening knives as risky here too.
Which knives are banned outright in District of Columbia?
Switchblades.
Does District of Columbia have knife preemption?
No. District of Columbia 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 District of Columbia?
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. District of Columbia knife law checked against the published sources on 15 September 2026, and due for review again on 15 November 2026.