Oregon Knife Laws
Oregon sets no blade length for the concealed carry offense itself, but a pocketknife under four inches is the exception that gets you into restricted public buildings. The catch is what may not be concealed at all: automatics, assisted openers, butterfly knives, dirks, daggers and ice picks.
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.
Oregon knife law at a glance
| Concealed carry blade limit | No blade length governs the concealed carry offense itself, but a pocketknife under four inches is excepted in restricted places. |
|---|---|
| Automatic and switchblade knives | Concealed carry of a knife that opens by spring or centrifugal force is prohibited. |
| Knife types banned outright | None from ownership. The concealed carry ban reaches automatics, assisted openers, butterfly knives, dirks, daggers and ice picks. |
| Statewide preemption | No, though a local ordinance that conflicts with state policy can be struck down. |
| The statutes | O.R.S. 166.240 and 166.370 — read them |
Source last revised 28 July 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 Oregon 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 Oregon 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | Restricted or banned | No blade length. The offense turns on the circumstances of possession. |
| Idaho | Legal | No blade length governs for ordinary carry. Six inches is the number that matters in a courthouse, jail or juvenile detention facility, where a longer concealed blade is barred. Permitless carry applies from 18. |
| 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. |
| California | Legal with conditions | 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. |
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 Oregon knife laws
What size knife is legal to carry in Oregon?
No blade length governs the concealed carry offense itself, but a pocketknife under four inches is excepted in restricted places.
Are switchblades legal in Oregon?
Concealed carry of a knife that opens by spring or centrifugal force is prohibited.
Which knives are banned outright in Oregon?
None from ownership. The concealed carry ban reaches automatics, assisted openers, butterfly knives, dirks, daggers and ice picks.
Does Oregon have knife preemption?
No. Oregon 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 Oregon?
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. Oregon knife law checked against the published sources on 15 September 2026, and due for review again on 15 November 2026.