Idaho Knife Laws: The 6-Inch Exclusion, Carry at 18, and the School Pocketknife Rule

The Short Version

Idaho's knife law lives inside its concealed weapons statute, Idaho Code 18-3302, and the first thing that statute does is exclude most knives. Subsection (2) defines "deadly weapon" to include "any dirk, dirk knife, bowie knife, dagger, pistol, revolver, or any other weapon" that can inflict death or serious injury, and then provides that the term "does not include" knives and cleavers "intended for processing, preparing, or eating food" or "any knife with a blade six (6) inches or less." A knife at or under 6 inches is therefore not a concealed weapon when it is concealed, by anyone, anywhere the statute reaches. A longer knife is a deadly weapon, and the rules for concealing it are the handgun rules: lawful in plain view, lawful in a vehicle, lawful at home and on your own land, and lawful anywhere for a person over 18 who may own a weapon, under the permitless carry provision in subsection (4)(f).

Subsection (1) tells courts how to read all of it: the people "reserved the right to bear arms," and any restriction "shall be strictly construed to maximize" that right. Since July 1, 2024, House Bill 620 has barred cities and counties from writing their own knife rules. For a TEKTO customer every knife we make has a blade well under 6 inches, which means every one of them, OTF automatics and the double-edged A7 Zastava included, is outside the concealed weapons statute entirely and lawful to carry any way, at any age.

The Statute: 18-3302 and the 6-Inch Exclusion

Subsection (2)(a) defines a "concealed weapon" as "any deadly weapon carried on or about the person in a manner not discernible by ordinary observation." Subsection (2)(b) lists what a deadly weapon is, and (2)(c) what it is not: "(i) any knife, cleaver, or other instrument that is intended by the person carrying it to be used in the processing, preparing, or eating of food; (ii) any knife with a blade six (6) inches or less; or (iii) any taser, stun gun, pepper spray or mace." The 6-inch exclusion is not an exception to be proved at trial. It is part of the definition, so a 5-inch dagger is simply not a deadly weapon under this section, and AKTI reads it that way. Subsection (3) then forbids carrying a concealed weapon without a license except at home or a fixed place of business, on property the person owns or leases, on private property with the owner's permission, or "outside the limits or confines of any city" by a person 18 or older who is not disqualified. Subsection (21) makes a violation a misdemeanor.

Concealed Carry Over 6 Inches: Plain View, Vehicles and Age 18

For a knife that is a deadly weapon, subsection (4) lists what subsection (3) does not restrict: "(a) the carrying of a deadly weapon in plain view," "(c) any deadly weapon concealed in a motor vehicle," and "(f) any deadly weapon concealed on or about the person of an individual who is over eighteen (18) years of age, is a citizen of the United States or a current member of the armed forces of the United States, and is not disqualified from being issued a license under paragraphs (b) through (n) of subsection (11) of this section." Paragraph (f) is Idaho's permitless carry provision, extended to 18-year-olds, and it covers every deadly weapon, not only handguns. The disqualifications it incorporates are the felony, drug, mental health and discharge grounds, but not the age-21 ground in (11)(a). An out-of-state or Idaho concealed weapons license does the same work and adds reciprocity. The upshot is that a bowie knife with a 9-inch blade may be carried concealed by any adult Idahoan who could own a handgun, openly by anyone, and in a car by anyone, and may not be carried concealed on foot inside a city by a person under 18.

Minors: 18-3302E and 18-3302A

Section 18-3302E provides that "it shall be unlawful for any person under the age of eighteen (18) years to possess or have in possession any weapon" unless the minor "has the written permission of his parent or guardian" or "is accompanied by his parent or guardian while he has such weapon in his possession," and that "any minor under the age of twelve (12) years in possession of a weapon shall be accompanied by an adult." "Weapon" takes its meaning from 18-3302A, the sale statute, which lists "any dirk, dirk knife, bowie knife, dagger, pistol, revolver or gun" and makes it a misdemeanor to sell one to a minor without parental consent. An ordinary pocketknife is not on that list, so a thirteen-year-old with a folder is within the law and a thirteen-year-old with a dagger needs a note from home. For a minor the 6-inch exclusion does not help, because 18-3302E uses a different definition.

Schools: 18-3302D and the 2.5-Inch Pocketknife

Section 18-3302D makes it a misdemeanor "to possess a firearm or other deadly or dangerous weapon" on the property of a public or private elementary or secondary school, in school-sponsored spaces, or on school transportation, and for a student at any school-sponsored activity. "Deadly or dangerous weapon" is defined as "any weapon as defined in 18 U.S.C. 930," the federal statute for weapons in federal facilities, which covers any instrument "readily capable of, causing death or serious bodily injury, except that such term does not include a pocket knife with a blade of less than 2 1/2 inches in length." That is where Idaho's school rule comes from: a pocketknife under 2.5 inches is outside the statute, and any other knife is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year and $1,000. The exceptions cover peace officers, board-approved possession, an adult who is not a student keeping a weapon "secured and locked in his vehicle in an unobtrusive, nonthreatening manner," and a person in a private vehicle dropping off or picking up students. District policies may bar the small pocketknife as well.

Courthouses, Jails, Intoxication and Threats

Section 18-3302C makes it a misdemeanor for a license holder or a person carrying under 18-3302(4)(f) to carry a concealed weapon "in a courthouse, juvenile detention facility or jail," or in a public or private school, unless authorized by the person or board controlling the building. Because the section is about concealed deadly weapons, it reaches knives over 6 inches and not a pocketknife, though court security screens for every blade. Section 18-3302B makes it a misdemeanor to carry a concealed weapon while intoxicated or under the influence of a drug. And 18-3303 makes it a misdemeanor to draw or exhibit "any deadly weapon in a rude, angry or threatening manner not in necessary self-defense," the statute under which a pocketknife, deadly weapon or not under 18-3302, becomes a crime in an argument.

Preemption: HB 620

Idaho had partial preemption for years: subsection (18) of 18-3302 provides that no city, county or political subdivision may "modify the requirements" of the section or "impose additional requirements," and the firearms preemption statute covers guns. House Bill 620, signed March 28, 2024, as Session Law Chapter 221 and effective July 1, 2024, closed the gap for knives: a political subdivision "shall not enact certain rules, ordinances, or taxes regarding knives," with narrow exceptions, and conflicting local ordinances "shall be null and void." AKTI lists no Idaho city with a knife ordinance in force. Boise, Meridian, Nampa and Coeur d'Alene are under the state statute on this page and nothing else.

Where You Cannot Carry

• K-12 school property, school transportation and school activitiesAny knife with a blade of 2.5 inches or more. Misdemeanor, up to a year and $1,000. A non-student adult may keep a knife locked in a vehicle, and a parent in a private vehicle at pickup is exempt.
  18-3302D
• Courthouses, jails and juvenile detention facilitiesNo concealed deadly weapon under 18-3302C, and screening at the courthouse door refuses every knife. Leave it in the car, where 18-3302(4)(c) allows it.
  18-3302C
• Anywhere, while intoxicatedA concealed weapon while under the influence is a misdemeanor.
  18-3302B
• Airports and federal propertyNo knives past the checkpoint at Boise Airport under federal rules, and none in a federal building or courthouse under 18 U.S.C. 930, the same definition the school statute uses.
  TSA
• Tribal landThe Nez Perce, Coeur d'Alene, Shoshone-Bannock and Kootenai reservations set their own rules. Check before you carry.
  Tribal codes
• Private property and workplacesAn owner may bar knives and an employer may set a policy. The remedy is being asked to leave or being disciplined, and after that, trespass.
  Trespass

Penalties

Idaho's general misdemeanor penalty, 18-113, is up to six months and $1,000 where a section sets no other amount. AKTI gives the 18-3302 figure as $300.

What the Internet Gets Wrong

Three things. First, that Idaho restricts daggers and bowie knives. It names them, then excludes every knife with a blade of 6 inches or less from the definition, which is nearly all of them. Second, that you need a concealed weapons license to conceal a long knife. Not since permitless carry, and not at any age in a vehicle or in plain view. Third, that the school rule is an Idaho rule. It is the federal 18 U.S.C. 930 definition, borrowed whole, which is why the number is 2.5 inches and why the exception is for a "pocket knife" rather than any short blade. The rule that catches people is the school one, usually a 3-inch folder in a parent's pocket at a game, and the fix is written into the statute: lock it in the car.

TEKTO Knives for Idaho

Every TEKTO knife has a blade under 6 inches, which makes every one of them an Idaho knife outside the concealed weapons statute. The A5 Spry in any blade style and the A7 Zastava with its double-edged spear point are lawful in a pocket at any age. A minor under 18 with the Zastava, a dagger by any reading of 18-3302A, should carry a parent's written permission. The F3 Charlie at 3.80 inches is a button-lock folder with nothing in the Code to say about it. The X1 Atlas fixed blade in MagnaCut is the knife for the Sawtooths and the Snake, on a belt or in a pack. None of them, at 1.85 inches and up, is under the school line.