Louisiana Knife Laws
Louisiana asks nothing about blade length and nothing about whether the knife is concealed. Automatic knives have been legal to own since 2018 and legal to carry concealed since 1 August 2022. Since 1 August 2024 the state has had knife preemption under SB 194, so no Louisiana city can write a stricter rule. It is one of the simplest states in the country to carry in.
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. 2024 – SB 194 enacted knife law preemption.
Louisiana knife law at a glance
| Concealed carry blade limit | No blade length governs, and open or concealed makes no difference. |
|---|---|
| Automatic and switchblade knives | Legal to own since 2018, and legal to carry concealed since 1 August 2022. |
| Knife types banned outright | None outright. |
| Statewide preemption | Yes, since 1 August 2024 under SB 194. |
| The statutes | Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:94, 14:95, 14:95.1, 14:95.2 and 14:95.10 — read them |
Source last revised 15 August 2024
Last known change 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 Louisiana 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 Louisiana 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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. |
| Arkansas | Legal | 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. |
| 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. |
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 Louisiana knife laws
What size knife is legal to carry in Louisiana?
No blade length governs, and open or concealed makes no difference.
Are switchblades legal in Louisiana?
Legal to own since 2018, and legal to carry concealed since 1 August 2022.
Which knives are banned outright in Louisiana?
None outright.
Does Louisiana have knife preemption?
Yes. Louisiana has statewide preemption, which means a city cannot write its own stricter knife ordinance. One rule covers the whole state, and that is most of what preemption is worth.
Can I keep a knife in my car in Louisiana?
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. Louisiana knife law checked against the published sources on 15 September 2026, and due for review again on 15 November 2026.