Yes, in most situations you can carry a knife in PA. Since a 2023 change to state law, Pennsylvania no longer bans any specific type of knife, sets no blade-length limit for everyday carry, and does not treat open and concealed carry differently. What still matters is why you’re carrying the knife and where you take it.
What Pennsylvania Law Allows
Before January 2, 2023, the state’s prohibited offensive weapons statute named switchblades, daggers, and stilettos as banned by type. Senate Bill 1182 stripped all knife-specific language out of that law, and the current version of 18 Pa.C.S. § 908 no longer lists any knife as a prohibited offensive weapon.1Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 18 – 908 Prohibited Offensive Weapons
You can legally own, buy, sell, and carry folding knives, fixed-blade knives, switchblades, daggers, stilettos, and Bowie knives. Some older guides still list switchblades and daggers as banned. They are not. Pennsylvania also has no statute requiring that a knife be visible, and no statute making concealed carry of a knife illegal on its own.
Intent Is What Turns a Legal Knife Illegal
The biggest trap in Pennsylvania knife law is 18 Pa.C.S. § 907, possessing instruments of crime. It covers two situations: possessing anything with the intent to use it criminally, and possessing a weapon concealed on your person with the intent to use it criminally. Either is a first-degree misdemeanor, with up to five years in prison.2Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 18 – 907 Possessing Instruments of Crime
The statute defines an instrument of crime as anything specially made or adapted for criminal use, or anything used for a criminal purpose that you possess under circumstances not consistent with lawful use.2Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 18 – 907 Possessing Instruments of Crime Intent has to be proven by the prosecution, and context does most of the work. A utility knife in your work bag on the way to a job site looks very different from the same knife carried into a bar at 2 a.m. during a confrontation. Time, place, and surrounding behavior are what prosecutors build on.
Concealment follows the same logic. Hiding a knife under your jacket is not itself a crime, but if other facts point toward criminal purpose, the concealment can become evidence of it.
Where You Cannot Carry a Knife
Schools
Under 18 Pa.C.S. § 912, it is illegal to possess a weapon in any K-12 school building, on school grounds, or on a school bus or other transportation to or from a school. The definition of weapon here is broad and covers any knife, cutting instrument, or cutting tool, regardless of blade length or type. A violation is a first-degree misdemeanor, up to five years in prison. The “common lawful purpose” argument that might help elsewhere does not help here.
Court Facilities
Under 18 Pa.C.S. § 913, it is a separate offense to possess a dangerous weapon in a court facility, meaning the whole building, not just the courtroom. Even though automatic knives are no longer prohibited offensive weapons under § 908, they are still covered by the courthouse ban.3Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 18 – 913 Possession of Firearm or Other Dangerous Weapon in Court Facility A violation is a third-degree misdemeanor, up to one year in jail.
Philadelphia
Pennsylvania has no statewide preemption law for knives, so municipalities can set their own rules. Philadelphia has one of the strictest knife ordinances in the country. Under Philadelphia Code § 10-820, no one may use or possess a “cutting weapon” on any public street or public property at any time. A cutting weapon is any knife or cutting instrument that could be used as a weapon, with an exception only for Philadelphia Fire Department emergency personnel. Using a knife for your trade or profession is a defense, but only while you’re actively working. The penalty is a minimum $300 fine and a minimum 90 days in jail.4American Legal Publishing. Philadelphia Code 10-820 Cutting Weapons in Public Places
Because there’s no statewide preemption, any Pennsylvania municipality can do what Philadelphia did. Check local ordinances before you carry.
Federal Buildings
Under 18 U.S.C. § 930, you cannot bring a dangerous weapon into a federal facility. The law exempts a pocket knife with a blade shorter than 2½ inches.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 930 – Possession of Firearms and Dangerous Weapons in Federal Facilities If your blade is 2½ inches or longer, leave it in the vehicle before entering a federal courthouse, Social Security office, IRS building, or similar facility.
Post Offices
U.S. Postal Service property is stricter. Federal regulations prohibit carrying any dangerous or deadly weapon, openly or concealed, on postal property. There is no pocket knife exception. A violation can bring a fine, up to 30 days in jail, or both.6eCFR. 39 CFR 232.1 – Conduct on Postal Property
Planes and Trains
TSA prohibits all knives in carry-on luggage with no exception for blade length or type. Knives can go in checked baggage if sheathed or securely wrapped, and the final call rests with the TSA officer at the checkpoint.7Transportation Security Administration. Knives Amtrak is even more restrictive: knives are banned from both carry-on and checked baggage. The only sharp items allowed in carry-on bags are scissors, nail clippers, corkscrews, and razors.8Amtrak. Items Prohibited in Baggage Onboard the Train
What’s Still Banned Outright
Section 908 still bans bombs, grenades, machine guns, sawed-off shotguns, blackjacks, metal knuckles, stun guns, and a catch-all: any “implement for the infliction of serious bodily injury which serves no common lawful purpose.”1Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 18 – 908 Prohibited Offensive Weapons A knife built purely as a weapon with no practical use could fall into that catch-all even though no knife type is named. Possessing a prohibited offensive weapon is a first-degree misdemeanor, up to five years in prison.
Federal law also bans ballistic knives, which have a detachable blade propelled by a spring. Possession, manufacture, sale, or import is a federal offense carrying up to ten years in prison.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1245 – Ballistic Knives
Minors
Pennsylvania sets no statewide minimum age for buying, owning, or carrying a knife. The school weapons ban under § 912 still applies to minors, and a minor can still be charged under § 907 if the circumstances point to criminal intent. A teenager with a folding knife on a camping trip has no legal problem; the same teenager with that knife at school faces a first-degree misdemeanor.