Vermont Knife Laws
Vermont removed the last real limit on knives in 2025, when S.109 took the three inch cap off automatic knives. There is no blade length now, no restricted type, and concealment is not the issue. You can watch the change in the code itself: the section that used to carry the switchblade rule is now titled Zip guns. Preemption comes from the constitution, so a town cannot add anything.
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Recent change. 2025 – S.109 repealed the switchblade ban and expunged prior convictions.
Vermont knife law at a glance
| Concealed carry blade limit | No blade length governs and concealment is not an issue. |
|---|---|
| Automatic and switchblade knives | Legal since 2025, when S.109 removed the three inch cap. Some summaries still print the old three inch line; it no longer applies. |
| Knife types banned outright | None outright. |
| Statewide preemption | Yes, through the constitution. Towns were never given the power to regulate weapons. |
| The statutes | 13 V.S.A. chapter 85, the weapons chapter, and 24 V.S.A. 2291. Section 4013 used to carry the switchblade rule and is now titled Zip guns, which is the 2025 repeal showing up in the code itself. — read them |
Source last revised 22 July 2025
Last known change 2025
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 Vermont 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 Vermont 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 York | Legal with conditions | State law applies the same whether the knife is concealed or not. |
| Massachusetts | Legal | Concealment is not the issue. |
| 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 Vermont knife laws
What size knife is legal to carry in Vermont?
No blade length governs and concealment is not an issue.
Are switchblades legal in Vermont?
Legal since 2025, when S.109 removed the three inch cap. Some summaries still print the old three inch line; it no longer applies.
Which knives are banned outright in Vermont?
None outright.
Does Vermont have knife preemption?
Yes. Vermont 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 Vermont?
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. Vermont knife law checked against the published sources on 15 September 2026, and due for review again on 15 November 2026.