Carrying a knife in Washington state is legal for most everyday blades, with no permit required and no statewide blade-length limit, but three rules decide whether you stay on the right side of the law: what kind of knife it is, how you carry it, and where you take it. Switchblades and similar automatic knives are banned entirely. Concealing a “dangerous weapon” with intent to hide it is a crime. And courthouses, jails, bars, and schools are off-limits regardless of how the knife is carried.
Which Knives Are Banned
Washington prohibits manufacturing, selling, or possessing spring blade knives, commonly called switchblades or automatic knives. The ban covers any knife with a blade that deploys automatically through a spring or mechanical device, plus any knife that opens by gravity or centrifugal force, which pulls butterfly knives (balisongs) and gravity knives into the same prohibition.1Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 9.41.250 – Dangerous Weapons Penalty
One important carve-out keeps common assisted-opening knives legal. A knife with a spring or detent that biases the blade toward the closed position, so you have to physically push it open with your hand, wrist, or arm, is not a spring blade knife under the statute.1Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 9.41.250 – Dangerous Weapons Penalty If the blade won’t deploy without you manually overcoming the closing mechanism, it’s not banned.
Open Carry of Legal Knives
Traditional folding pocket knives, fixed-blade hunting knives, multi-tools, and similar everyday blades are legal to own and carry openly. The state sets no general blade-length limit for openly carried knives, and no permit is required.
How you carry matters. Washington makes it illegal to carry any weapon capable of causing bodily harm in a manner that shows intent to intimidate someone or that would reasonably alarm people nearby.2Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 9.41.270 – Weapons Apparently Capable of Producing Bodily Harm A sheathed fixed-blade on your belt during a hike is routine. The same knife unsheathed in your hand inside a grocery store is a different situation. Context, location, and behavior all factor in.
Concealed Carry
This is where most people get into trouble. It is a crime in Washington to furtively carry a dagger, dirk, or other “dangerous weapon” with intent to conceal it.1Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 9.41.250 – Dangerous Weapons Penalty The statute does not define “dangerous weapon,” so whether a concealed knife qualifies depends on circumstances, including blade size, design, and what you appear to be doing with it.
A small folding pocket knife clipped inside a jeans pocket is unlikely to draw a charge. A large fixed-blade hidden under a jacket is a different story. The word “furtively” does real work here. It implies deliberate concealment beyond ordinary carry. Simply having a knife in your pocket is not automatically furtive, but tucking a combat knife into your waistband under a long shirt probably is. For anything larger than a standard pocket knife, keeping it visible in a sheath is the safer approach.
Self-Defense Exception
The intimidation statute carves out self-defense. It does not apply when you display or draw a knife to protect yourself against an immediate threat of unlawful force, to protect another person from the same kind of threat, or to help make a lawful arrest for a felony. The exception also covers actions inside your own home or fixed place of business.2Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 9.41.270 – Weapons Apparently Capable of Producing Bodily Harm
The key words are “presently threatened.” The danger has to be happening right now, not something you’re worried might happen later. Drawing a knife because someone insulted you five minutes earlier will not qualify. Drawing it because someone is actively attacking you likely will. If you ever rely on this exception, expect to explain your actions in detail afterward.
Where Knives Are Prohibited
Some locations ban weapons regardless of how you carry them, and these restrictions reach knives that are otherwise fully legal on the street.
- Courthouses and court facilities. Any area used for court proceedings, including courtrooms, jury rooms, and judges’ chambers, prohibits knives capable of causing death or bodily injury. The court-areas provision uses a broader weapon definition and specifically calls out knives and daggers.3Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 9.41.300 – Weapons Prohibited in Certain Places
- Jails and law enforcement facilities. Restricted-access areas of jails, law enforcement buildings, and any place used to confine someone arrested, charged, or held for proceedings are off-limits. Common public entry areas are excluded.3Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 9.41.300 – Weapons Prohibited in Certain Places
- Bars and taverns. The portion of any establishment classified by the state liquor and cannabis board as off-limits to people under 21 is a weapons-restricted zone.4Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 9.41.300 – Weapons Prohibited in Certain Places
- Schools. A separate statute, RCW 9.41.280, addresses possessing dangerous weapons on school facilities, school-provided transportation, and areas being used exclusively by schools. Child care centers are covered by a related provision.
Violating any of these location-based restrictions is a gross misdemeanor.3Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 9.41.300 – Weapons Prohibited in Certain Places
Airports are a separate matter governed by federal rules. TSA prohibits all automatic and gravity knives, all double-edged knives and daggers, and various large bladed items at security checkpoints, and getting caught can mean civil penalties on top of possible criminal enforcement.5Transportation Security Administration. Civil Enforcement At Sea-Tac or any other Washington airport, pack knives in checked luggage only.
Local Rules Cannot Add Restrictions
Washington has statewide preemption for weapons law. Cities and counties cannot pass knife ordinances stricter than or inconsistent with state law, and any local rule that exceeds state requirements is unenforceable. The rules above apply the same way in Seattle, Spokane, or a rural county, so you don’t need to track down local knife ordinances the way you might in other states.
Penalties
Nearly every knife offense in Washington is a gross misdemeanor. That includes possessing a banned spring blade knife, furtively concealing a dangerous weapon, carrying a knife in a threatening manner, and bringing a weapon into a restricted location.1Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 9.41.250 – Dangerous Weapons Penalty A gross misdemeanor conviction carries up to 364 days in county jail, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.6Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 9A.20.021 – Maximum Sentences for Crimes Committed July 1, 1984, and After A conviction under the intimidation statute also triggers automatic revocation of any concealed pistol license you hold.2Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 9.41.270 – Weapons Apparently Capable of Producing Bodily Harm A gross misdemeanor on your record can affect employment, housing applications, and professional licensing long after the sentence ends.