Nebraska Knife Laws: Concealed Carry Since 2023, the 3.5-Inch Knife, and the Under-21 Rule

The Short Version

Until September 2, 2023, Neb. Rev. Stat. 28-1202 made it a crime for anyone to carry "concealed on or about his or her person any revolver, pistol, bowie knife, dirk or knife with a dirk blade attachment, brass or iron knuckles, or any other deadly weapon," with an affirmative defense for a person "engaged in any lawful business, calling, or employment" whose circumstances justified carrying one. Legislative Bill 77, Nebraska's permitless carry act, rewrote the section. It now reads: "A minor or a prohibited person shall not carry a weapon or weapons concealed on or about his or her person, such as a handgun, a knife, brass or iron knuckles, or any other deadly weapon." "Minor" is defined in 28-1201 as "a person who is under twenty-one years of age," and "prohibited person" as anyone barred from possessing a firearm by state or federal law. For everyone else, the concealed weapons offense no longer exists.

The definition of "knife" still matters for the people the statute reaches: "any dagger, dirk, knife, or stiletto with a blade over three and one-half inches in length." A person under 21 may carry a 3.5-inch folder concealed and may not carry a 4-inch one. For a TEKTO customer of 21 or older who may lawfully own a firearm, every knife we make is lawful to carry in Nebraska, openly or concealed, including the OTF automatics and the double-edged A7 Zastava.

The 2023 Change: LB 77 and 28-1202

LB 77 was written to let adults carry concealed handguns without a permit, and its drafters accomplished that by narrowing the concealed weapons offense itself rather than adding another exception. The result reaches knives as well as handguns, because the statute lists "a knife" as an example of the weapons a minor or prohibited person may not conceal and says nothing about anyone else. Subsection (2) keeps the old penalties: "a Class I misdemeanor for a first offense" and "a Class IV felony for any second or subsequent offense." The old affirmative defense for a person engaged in lawful business is gone, because the people who needed it are no longer within the statute. AKTI's summary, revised in September 2024, describes the pre-2023 rule that a blade over 3.5 inches may not be carried concealed. That remains the rule for anyone under 21 and for prohibited persons, and it is no longer the rule for anyone else.

What Is a Knife: 3.5 Inches and State v. Nguyen

Section 28-1201(8) defines "knife" for the weapons chapter as "(a) any dagger, dirk, knife, or stiletto with a blade over three and one-half inches in length which, in the manner it is used or intended to be used, is capable of producing death or serious bodily injury; or (b) any other dangerous instrument which is capable of inflicting cutting, stabbing, or tearing wounds which, in the manner it is used or intended to be used, is capable of producing death or serious bodily injury." In State v. Nguyen (2016), involving a 3.75-inch stiletto, the Nebraska Supreme Court held that a knife with a blade over 3.5 inches is a deadly weapon per se, so that the manner of use is not an element the state must prove. AKTI draws the converse: a blade of 3.5 inches or less is not a "knife" under paragraph (a), and paragraph (b)'s "other dangerous instrument" is aimed at a broken bottle, not a pocketknife. No statute or decision says how the 3.5 inches is measured. Measure from the tip to the handle and assume the longer figure.

Under 21: The Minor Rule

For a person under 21 the pre-2023 law survives intact: no concealed "knife," meaning a dagger, dirk, stiletto or any blade over 3.5 inches, and no concealed handgun or other deadly weapon. A folder with a 3.5-inch blade or shorter may be carried concealed at any age. The definition of "minor" excludes a person 18 or older who is in the armed forces, the National Guard or ROTC, or who is a peace officer, so a nineteen-year-old Guard member may carry as an adult. Open carry is not restricted at any age. The statute says "concealed." Nebraska sets no minimum age to buy or own a knife. The practical rule for a young Nebraskan is the one the definition draws: under 3.5 inches in the pocket, anything longer on the belt in view.

Prohibited Persons: 28-1206

A "prohibited person" under 28-1201(12) is anyone "prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition by state law, including, but not limited to, section 28-1206," or by 18 U.S.C. 922(d) or (g): felons, fugitives, people subject to certain protection orders, people convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors, and the other federal categories. Section 28-1206 separately makes it an offense for such a person to possess "a firearm, a knife, or brass or iron knuckles," with the knife offense a misdemeanor and the firearm offense a felony. "Knife" carries the 28-1201 meaning, so the prohibited-person rule, like the minor rule, is about blades over 3.5 inches, daggers, dirks and stilettos. A felon with a 3-inch folder is outside both statutes. The same felon with a Spry is inside both.

What Concealed Means: State v. Hill

The statute does not define "concealed." In State v. Hill (1998) the Nebraska Supreme Court held that a weapon is concealed "when it is hidden from ordinary observation," and that it need not be completely invisible. A weapon partly covered by clothing can be concealed. Whether a particular knife was concealed is a question of fact for the jury. AKTI notes that carrying a knife with a pocket clip showing has not been decided and "cannot be ruled out as concealment." For an adult after 2023 the question is academic. For a person under 21 with a 4-inch folder, it is the whole case, and the answer is to carry the knife where the whole handle shows or to carry a shorter one.

Preemption, and Lincoln and Omaha

LB 77 also moved and rewrote the preemption statute, now 13-330: "a county, city, or village shall not regulate the ownership, possession, storage, transportation, sale, or transfer of firearms or other weapons, except as expressly provided by state law," shall not require their registration, and any ordinance to the contrary "is null and void." Lincoln and Omaha objected during the legislative process and, after the act took effect, issued executive orders barring knives and other weapons from municipal property, parks and buildings. AKTI reports that a lawsuit against Lincoln's order was dismissed for lack of standing in 2024 and that the conflict between the orders and the statute is unresolved. Until a court or the Legislature settles it, a knife in a Lincoln or Omaha park or city building is a question, and the state rules on this page are the rule everywhere else.

Schools and Where You Cannot Carry

• Schools and school activitiesNo knife-specific criminal statute. 28-1204.04 covers firearms. District conduct codes bar knives, and 79-267 makes weapon possession grounds for expulsion. Leave it in the car.
  79-267
• Lincoln and Omaha municipal propertyExecutive orders bar knives from parks, pools, libraries and city buildings. Their validity under 13-330 is unresolved. Carry a pocketknife, and expect to be asked to leave.
  AKTI
• CourthousesNebraska courts bar weapons from court facilities under security rules, with screening at the door. Leave it in the car.
  Court security
• Airports and federal propertyNo knives past the checkpoint at Eppley Airfield or Lincoln Airport under federal rules, and none in a federal building or courthouse under 18 U.S.C. 930.
  TSA
• Tribal landThe Omaha, Winnebago, Santee Sioux and Ponca 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

Penalty ranges are set by 28-106 for misdemeanors and 28-105 for felonies.

What the Internet Gets Wrong

Three things. First, that Nebraska bans concealed carry of knives over 3.5 inches. It did, for everyone, until September 2, 2023. It now does for people under 21 and prohibited persons only. Second, that you need the old "lawful business" affirmative defense to carry a long knife. The defense was repealed with the offense it answered. Third, that Omaha and Lincoln have knife ordinances. They have executive orders on municipal property, of doubtful validity under 13-330, and nothing else. The rule that still catches people is the age line: a nineteen-year-old with a 4-inch folder under a jacket is committing a Class I misdemeanor, and the same knife on his belt is not.

TEKTO Knives for Nebraska

From 21 on, every TEKTO knife is a Nebraska knife. The A5 Spry in any blade style and the A7 Zastava with its double-edged spear point are lawful in a pocket since 2023. Under 21, the question is the 3.5-inch line, and the F2 Bravo at 3.30 inches and the F1 Alpha at 3.10 are the folders that stay under it. The Spry at 3.50 is on the line, and we would carry it openly until 21. The X1 Atlas fixed blade in MagnaCut, at 3.30 inches, is under the line too and belongs on a belt for the Sandhills and the Platte. Nothing goes to school, and in Lincoln and Omaha, nothing goes to the park until the city and the state sort it out.