What Knives Are Illegal to Carry in Maryland?

In Maryland, the knives illegal to carry concealed are those the state classifies as dangerous weapons: dirk knives, bowie knives, switchblade knives, and star knives.¹ A folding penknife without a switchblade mechanism is excluded from that definition and can be carried concealed at any blade length. Any knife, including a penknife, can also become illegal based on where you carry it or whether you carry it with intent to injure.

Knives Maryland Treats as Dangerous Weapons

Section 4-101 of the Maryland Criminal Law Code names the specific knives that qualify as weapons for carry purposes: dirk knives, bowie knives, switchblade knives, and star knives.¹ If a knife falls into one of these categories, carrying it concealed on or about your person is a crime.

“Concealed” isn’t precisely defined in the statute, but it generally means hidden from ordinary observation: inside a pocket, under clothing, or tucked in a bag. A dangerous weapon stored in a vehicle’s glove box or under a seat can be treated the same way, so transport matters as much as what you wear.

The Penknife Exception

The statute explicitly excludes a “penknife without a switchblade” from the definition of a weapon.¹ Maryland courts have read “penknife” broadly to cover any knife whose blade folds into the handle, regardless of blade length and regardless of whether the blade locks open. The one disqualifier is a switchblade mechanism.

That means a large folding knife with a four-inch locking blade is still a penknife under Maryland law, and you can legally carry it concealed. This surprises people coming from states that cap concealed folding-knife blades at a specific length. Maryland imposes no such limit at the state level.

Open Carry Is Usually Legal

Open carry gives you a lawful way to carry the knives you can’t conceal. Wearing a bowie knife visibly in a belt sheath, for example, avoids the concealed carry prohibition. The limit is intent: carrying any dangerous weapon openly becomes a crime if you do so with the intent to unlawfully injure someone.¹ That intent element is what distinguishes someone hiking with a sheathed knife from someone approaching a fight with one.

Switchblades: Legal to Own, Illegal to Sell

Owning a switchblade in Maryland is legal. The restrictions apply to how you carry one and how it changes hands. Concealed carry is prohibited because the statute lists switchblades as weapons. Open carry follows the same rule as other dangerous weapons: legal unless done with intent to injure.¹

Transfers are the catch. Maryland separately bans selling, bartering, displaying, or offering to sell a switchblade knife or a shooting knife (a device that ejects a blade from a sheath using a spring).² Maryland retailers can’t legally sell switchblades, even though possessing one is lawful.

Places Where Any Knife Becomes Illegal

Some locations ban knives regardless of type, which means the penknife you can legally carry on the street can become illegal when you step through a particular door.

Public Schools

Maryland law prohibits carrying or possessing any firearm, knife, or deadly weapon on public school property. The ban covers all knives, not only those classified as dangerous weapons.³ A small folding penknife is lawful on the sidewalk and unlawful on the school grounds behind it.

Courthouses

Maryland courthouses generally prohibit knives, but the restriction comes from each court’s administrative orders rather than a single statewide statute. Circuit courts around the state ban weapons, including knives, from courthouse buildings and grounds. Some policies allow a pocket knife confiscated at security to be returned on the way out. Rules vary by county.

Federal Buildings and Post Offices

Federal law bans dangerous weapons in federal facilities but exempts pocket knives with blades under 2.5 inches. Individual federal courts can impose stricter rules, so a small pocket knife is not guaranteed entry.⁴ Post offices follow a stricter rule with no pocket-knife exception: no weapons, open or concealed, anywhere on postal property.⁵

Local Ordinances and Minors

Maryland has no state preemption law for knives, so cities and counties can enact restrictions tighter than state law. Baltimore has an ordinance restricting automatic knives, and some localities impose blade-length limits on knives carried in public. If you move between jurisdictions in Maryland, state law alone won’t tell you what’s legal.

Minors face additional local rules. More than a dozen counties, including Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Montgomery, and Prince George’s, prohibit minors from carrying dangerous weapons, openly or concealed, between one hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise. Terms and penalties differ by county.

Penalties

Carrying a dangerous weapon concealed, or carrying one openly with intent to injure, is a misdemeanor punishable by up to three years in prison, a fine up to $1,000, or both.¹ Possessing any knife on public school property carries the same maximum: up to three years and a $1,000 fine.³

Selling, bartering, or displaying a switchblade or shooting knife for sale is a separate misdemeanor carrying up to 12 months in prison and a fine between $50 and $500.²

Transporting Knives

TSA rules prohibit all knives in carry-on luggage at Maryland airports. Knives can go in checked baggage if sheathed or securely wrapped to protect baggage handlers, and the officer at the checkpoint has final authority on any specific item.⁶

In a vehicle, Maryland’s concealed carry rule reaches knives hidden in the passenger compartment. A dangerous weapon in a glove box or under a seat can be treated as concealed on or about your person. If you need to move a restricted knife, a locked container in the trunk is the safer approach.

1
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Criminal Law Code Section 4-101 – Dangerous Weapons
2
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Criminal Law Code Section 4-105 – Transfer of Switchblade or Shooting Knife
3
Maryland General Assembly. Maryland Criminal Law Code Section 4-102 – Deadly Weapons on School Property
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 930 – Possession of Firearms and Dangerous Weapons in Federal Facilities
5
eCFR. 39 CFR 232.1 – Conduct on Postal Property
6
Transportation Security Administration. Knives