Are Nunchucks Legal in Florida: Concealed Carry, Vehicles, and Penalties

Nunchucks are legal to own in Florida, and no permit or registration is required to keep them at home. Carrying them out in public is where the law gets strict: Florida’s statutes never mention nunchucks by name, so they fall into an “other deadly weapon” catch-all that makes concealed carry legally risky and bars them from schools, courthouses, and federal buildings outright.

How Florida Classifies Nunchucks

No Florida statute uses the word “nunchucks” or “nunchaku.” The classification happens through the general definitions in Section 790.001(20), which defines a “weapon” to include dirks, knives, metallic knuckles, slungshots, billies, tear gas guns, chemical weapons, and “other deadly weapon” besides a firearm or common pocketknife.1Online Sunshine. Florida Code 790.001 – Definitions Nunchucks fit the “other deadly weapon” language because they’re built as striking instruments capable of causing serious injury.

The “concealed weapon” definition in Section 790.001(4)(a) uses the same catch-all phrasing, covering any such weapon carried in a way that hides it from ordinary sight.1Online Sunshine. Florida Code 790.001 – Definitions The moment you slip nunchucks into a bag or under a jacket, Florida treats them as a concealed weapon.

Keeping and Using Them at Home or at a Dojo

Possession at your home or place of business is clearly legal. Section 790.25(2)(n) protects possession of “firearms and other weapons” in those settings, and the statute instructs courts to read weapon-possession rights broadly in favor of lawful owners.2Online Sunshine. Florida Code 790.25 – Lawful Ownership, Possession, and Use of Firearms and Other Weapons You don’t need to register anything. You can train, keep a set for self-defense, or display a collection.

Martial arts schools operate under the same “place of business” protection. Instructors and students handling nunchucks during class at a dedicated facility are covered, and so is practicing on your own property.

Carrying Concealed in Public

This is where people most often get it wrong. Florida’s 2023 permitless carry law (HB 543) let eligible adults carry concealed without a state-issued permit, and many people assumed that applied to every weapon.3Florida Senate. House Bill 543 (2023) It doesn’t.

The authorization in Section 790.01(1) only covers a “concealed weapon or concealed firearm” as defined in Section 790.06(1), and that definition is a specific, narrow list: handguns, electronic weapons, tear gas guns, knives, and billies.4Online Sunshine. Florida Code 790.06 – License to Carry Concealed Weapon or Concealed Firearm Nunchucks aren’t on it. Neither a concealed carry license nor the permitless carry law explicitly authorizes carrying nunchucks hidden on your person.

At the same time, Section 790.01(2) makes it a first-degree misdemeanor to carry a concealed weapon as defined in the broader 790.001 definition if the person doesn’t meet the eligibility criteria for a license.5Online Sunshine. Florida Code 790.01 – Carrying of Concealed Weapons or Concealed Firearms That “other deadly weapon” phrase sweeps nunchucks in. If you’re under 21 or otherwise ineligible, concealed carry of nunchucks is clearly illegal. If you’re 21 and otherwise eligible, you’re in a legal gray area the statute never cleanly resolves. The safe assumption is that nunchucks concealed on your person in public carry real legal risk regardless of eligibility.

Open Carry

Florida’s open carry prohibition in Section 790.053 by its text only applies to firearms and electric weapons.6Florida Senate. Florida Code 790.053 – Open Carrying of Weapons Nunchucks aren’t on that list. That doesn’t make walking around with them in full view safe. An officer who sees someone openly carrying a striking weapon can look at other provisions, including the improper exhibition of a weapon statute at Section 790.10, and local ordinances may reach further than state law does. Visible display also invites police contact, which creates its own exposure.

In a Vehicle

Section 790.25(4)(a) lets a person 18 or older who lawfully possesses a weapon keep it inside a private vehicle, as long as the weapon is “securely encased or otherwise not readily accessible for immediate use.”2Online Sunshine. Florida Code 790.25 – Lawful Ownership, Possession, and Use of Firearms and Other Weapons In practice, store nunchucks in a closed case, a locked glove compartment, or the trunk. Loose on the passenger seat doesn’t qualify. Cased and out of reach, the drive to training isn’t a legal problem.

Places Where Nunchucks Are Prohibited

Some locations are weapon-free zones no matter how you carry. Section 790.06(12) lists places where nobody may bring a concealed weapon, including courthouses, polling places, police stations, jails, schools, career centers, college athletic events, bars, airport terminals, and meetings of any governing body such as a county commission or school board.4Online Sunshine. Florida Code 790.06 – License to Carry Concealed Weapon or Concealed Firearm

Schools go further. Section 790.115 bans “any weapon as defined in s. 790.001” on school property, school buses, and at school bus stops. That language covers nunchucks directly.7Online Sunshine. Florida Code 790.115 – Possessing or Discharging Weapons or Firearms at a School-Sponsored Event or on School Property Private property owners and businesses can exclude weapons from their premises by posting notice or asking you directly, and refusing to leave can turn into a trespassing charge.

Federal buildings add another layer. Under 18 U.S.C. § 930, it’s a federal crime to bring a “dangerous weapon” into a federal facility, defined as any instrument “used for, or readily capable of, causing death or serious bodily injury.”8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 930 – Possession of Firearms and Dangerous Weapons in Federal Facilities Nunchucks fit. Federal courthouses, Social Security offices, VA hospitals, and post offices are all covered. Inside national parks, buildings that serve a federal function, such as visitor centers and ranger stations, qualify as federal facilities even where the surrounding park follows state law for outdoor possession.

For air travel, the TSA prohibits martial arts weapons in carry-on luggage. Checked baggage may be allowed, but airline policies vary, so check with your carrier.

Who Cannot Possess Nunchucks

Some people can’t possess any weapon in Florida. Section 790.23 makes it a crime for anyone convicted of a felony to own or possess firearms, ammunition, or electric weapons, or to carry a concealed weapon of any kind.9Online Sunshine. Florida Code 790.23 – Felons and Delinquents; Possession of Firearms, Ammunition, or Electric Weapons or Devices Unlawful The “concealed weapon” language pulls nunchucks in through the “other deadly weapon” catch-all. Felony convictions from any state or federal court count, not just Florida ones. People subject to active domestic violence injunctions or those adjudicated mentally incompetent may face additional restrictions under state and federal law.

Penalties

Consequences depend on which rule is broken.

Check Local Ordinances Before Carrying

Florida’s preemption statute, Section 790.33, blocks cities and counties from passing their own gun regulations, but it only covers “firearms and ammunition.”12Online Sunshine. Florida Code 790.33 – Field of Regulation of Firearms and Ammunition Preempted Nunchucks and other non-firearm weapons sit outside that preemption. Local governments can and do pass ordinances restricting them. Before carrying nunchucks outside your home, pull up your city and county codes to see whether anything local goes further than state law.