Maine Knife Laws
Maine does not set a blade length. What it restricts is the type: a bowie knife, dirk, stiletto or similar weapon may not be carried concealed, though a knife used to hunt, fish or trap is exempt and carrying one openly is fine as long as you do not display it in a threatening way. Automatic knives have been legal since 15 October 2015. There is no preemption, so a town 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.
Maine knife law at a glance
| Concealed carry blade limit | No blade length governs. The type is what matters: a bowie knife, dirk, stiletto or similar weapon may not be carried concealed, with an exemption for a knife used to hunt, fish or trap. Carrying one openly is fine as long as you do not display it in a threatening way. |
|---|---|
| Automatic and switchblade knives | Legal since 15 October 2015, openly or concealed. |
| Knife types banned outright | None outright. |
| Statewide preemption | No. A town may write its own rule. |
| The statutes | 25 M.R.S.A. 2001-A and 17-A M.R.S.A. 209 — read them |
Source last revised 28 November 2023
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 Maine 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 Maine 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 |
|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire | Legal | No restrictions on open or concealed carry. |
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 Maine knife laws
What size knife is legal to carry in Maine?
No blade length governs. The type is what matters: a bowie knife, dirk, stiletto or similar weapon may not be carried concealed, with an exemption for a knife used to hunt, fish or trap. Carrying one openly is fine as long as you do not display it in a threatening way.
Are switchblades legal in Maine?
Legal since 15 October 2015, openly or concealed.
Which knives are banned outright in Maine?
None outright.
Does Maine have knife preemption?
No. Maine 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 Maine?
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. Maine knife law checked against the published sources on 15 September 2026, and due for review again on 15 November 2026.