California Knife Laws (2026)

The 2-Inch Rule for Automatic Knives

California does not ban automatic knives. It bans carrying the ones with longer blades. PC 17235 defines a switchblade as a knife that looks like a pocketknife, has a blade of 2 inches or more, and opens by a button, pressure on the handle, a flick of the wrist, gravity or any other mechanism. PC 21510 then makes it a misdemeanor to carry such a knife on your person, keep it in the passenger area of a car in a public place, or sell, lend, transfer or give one to anyone.

Two things follow. An OTF or side-opening automatic with a blade under 2 inches is not a switchblade under California law, and you can carry it the way you would carry any pocket knife. And a longer automatic is not illegal to own inside your home, but there is no legal way to buy one in the state and no legal way to carry it anywhere. Measure the whole blade from the tip to the handle, not just the sharpened edge. That is the conservative reading and the one to carry by.

Folding Knives and Pocket Knives

An ordinary folding knife is legal to carry open or concealed, whatever its blade length, as long as it is folded. PC 17235 says so directly: a knife that opens with one hand by thumb pressure on the blade or a thumb stud is not a switchblade, provided it has a detent or spring that resists opening. That covers nearly every manual folder and flipper sold today, including TEKTO's folding knives.

The one trap is carrying a locking folder open. PC 16470 says a folding knife becomes a dirk or dagger only when the blade is exposed and locked into position, and at that point the concealed-carry ban in the next section applies. Closed in your pocket, a locking folder is a pocket knife. Open and tucked in your waistband, it is a concealed dagger.

Fixed Blades: Dirks and Daggers

PC 16470 defines a dirk or dagger as any knife or instrument that can be used at once as a stabbing weapon, with or without a handguard. In practice that means every fixed-blade knife, from a neck knife to a hunting knife, plus ice picks and any folder that is locked open. PC 21310 makes carrying one concealed on your person a crime, and it is a wobbler, which means a prosecutor can file it as a misdemeanor or a felony.

The way to carry a fixed blade legally is openly, in a sheath worn at the waist where it can be seen. A knife in a backpack is a gray area that courts have read both ways, so keep fixed blades in a sheath on your belt or packed away in a vehicle, not in a pocket or under a jacket.

Knives California Bans Outright

PC 16590 lists the weapons that are illegal to manufacture, import, sell, give, lend or possess in California. The knives on that list are the ballistic knife (21110), the cane sword (20510), the belt buckle knife (20410), the lipstick case knife (20610), the writing pen knife (20910), the air gauge knife (20310), the shobi-zue, a staff with a hidden blade (20710), and the shuriken (22410). The common thread is disguise: every one of them is a blade hidden inside something that does not look like a knife. The undetectable knife, a stabbing blade made to pass a metal detector, is handled differently: PC 20810 bans making, importing or keeping one for commercial sale, not owning one.

Butterfly knives and gravity knives are not on that list, but California courts have treated them as switchblades under 17235, so the 2-inch rule in section 01 applies to them.

Where You Cannot Carry

Some places override everything above.

• K-12 schoolsNo dirk, dagger, ice pick, knife with a blade longer than 2.5 inches, locking folder of any length, or unguarded razor on the grounds.
  PC 626.10
• Colleges and universitiesNo dirk, dagger, ice pick or fixed blade longer than 2.5 inches on campus.
  PC 626.10
• State and local public buildingsNo switchblade as defined in 17235, and no fixed or lockable knife with a blade over 4 inches. That includes every courthouse, city hall and DMV, and public meetings.
  PC 171b
• AirportsFederal rules apply past security: no knives of any kind in the cabin.
  TSA
• Airport and ferry terminals, under state lawPast the checkpoint of an airport or a passenger vessel terminal, no knife with a blade over 4 inches that is fixed or locks open, and no box cutter or straight razor. Public transit facilities add a ban on undetectable knives under PC 171.7.
  PC 171.5
• Private propertyOwners set their own rules, and many stadiums and venues ban knives at the door.
  Posted rules

City Rules: Los Angeles and Others

California does not stop cities from passing stricter knife ordinances, and the largest one has. LAMC 55.10 prohibits wearing or carrying in plain view any knife with a blade of 3 inches or more, any ice pick, or any straight razor on a public street or in any place open to the public. The exceptions are a lawful occupation, lawful recreation, a recognized religious practice, and travel to and from those activities.

Read together with the state ban on concealed fixed blades, that leaves almost no legal way to carry a fixed blade of 3 inches or more on a Los Angeles street outside those exceptions. A folding knife closed in your pocket is still fine. Other cities, including San Francisco and Oakland, have ordinances of their own, so check the municipal code of any city you carry in.

Penalties

A conviction can also cost you the knife, and the felony versions take away your right to own firearms.

Buying and Shipping to California

Because PC 21510 bans selling or transferring a switchblade in the state, reputable retailers will not ship an automatic knife with a blade of 2 inches or more to a California address. Automatics under 2 inches ship normally, and so do manual folders and fixed blades. If a seller offers to ship you a full-size automatic in California, that is a sign to shop elsewhere.

California-Legal TEKTO Knives

TEKTO builds three automatics for the 2-inch rule: the A2 Badger, an OTF with a 1.85-inch tanto blade. The A3 Delta Mini, a side-opening automatic with a 1.90-inch drop point and a safety switch, and the A5 Spry Mini, an OTF with a 1.85-inch S35VN blade in double edge, drop point or tanto. Each carries like a normal pocket knife anywhere in the state outside the places in section 05. Every TEKTO manual folder is legal to carry as well.