Tennessee is generally a permissive state for ordinary knives. The current statutes reviewed do not identify a general statewide blade-length cap for ordinary adult knife ownership or carry, and Tennessee broadly preempts local regulation of knife transfer, ownership, possession, and transportation. The main statewide risks are school or college property, properly posted property, and criminal use of a knife during another offense. This is legal information, not legal advice. (Justia Law)
Quick Answer
Tennessee law is knife-friendly at the statewide level, but it is not a free-for-all. The biggest issue is not ordinary possession in daily life; it is where the knife is carried and why. Current Tennessee law no longer makes ordinary knife carry a standalone statewide offense the way older law once did, but the code still contains specific restrictions for school property, posted property, and possession of a deadly weapon with intent to use it during another offense. (Justia Law)
Ordinary knives are generally legal to own in Tennessee. The current prohibited-weapons statute focuses on explosives, machine guns, knuckles, and implements with no common lawful purpose; it does not create a broad statewide adult ownership ban on ordinary knife categories. Tennessee also defines “knife” and “switchblade knife,” but a definition alone is not a possession ban. (Justia Law)
That means the current statutes reviewed do not indicate a general statewide ownership ban for common folding knives, fixed blades, bowie knives, daggers, butterfly knives, or automatic knives as ordinary adult property. Tennessee’s 2014 knife act also removed the old statewide treatment that had made switchblades and over-4-inch knives more problematic under prior law. (Tennessee General Assembly)
Yes, open carry of an ordinary knife is generally lawful in Tennessee. The current unlawful-carry statute, Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1307(a), criminalizes carrying with intent to go armed a firearm or a club, not an ordinary knife. (Justia Law)
That said, open carry can still become illegal in context. A knife listed in the school-property statute can trigger felony exposure on educational property if carried with intent to go armed, and a deadly weapon can trigger separate felony liability if possessed with intent to employ it during another offense. (Justia Law)
Yes, concealed carry of an ordinary knife is generally lawful under current statewide law. No current statewide statute reviewed creates a general concealed-carry offense for ordinary knives. (Justia Law)
The practical warning is that concealed carry does not override place-based restrictions. A concealed knife can still be illegal on school property, and posted-property rules can also create risk. If the facts suggest intent to use the knife during another crime, Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1307(d) can apply as well. (Justia Law)
Generally yes, for ordinary adult ownership and carry. Tennessee defines a switchblade knife to include knives that open automatically by button, gravity, or inertia, but current law does not impose a general statewide adult possession ban on switchblades. (Justia Law)
Butterfly knives are not separately banned by name in the current statutes reviewed. Double-edged knives such as daggers are also not broadly banned as an ownership category, although daggers, bowie knives, hawk bill knives, and switchblades are expressly listed in the school-property statute. Switchblades also still matter in felony-enhancement language if used in connection with another offense. (Justia Law)
No general statewide blade-length limit was identified. Tennessee law expressly allows a person to purchase and have shipped to that person’s residence a knife even if the blade exceeds four inches. (Justia Law)
The important exception is not a general carry cap but a narrow school-voting exception. A nonstudent adult may possess a concealed pocket knife on school property only for the sole purpose of voting, and the statute defines that pocket knife as a folding or collapsing knife that fits in a pocket when folded. That 2023 exception took effect July 1, 2023. (Justia Law)
School and educational property are the clearest statewide knife-restricted places. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1309(b) makes it a Class E felony to possess or carry, with intent to go armed, listed knives and weapons of like kind in school buildings, buses, campuses, grounds, recreation areas, athletic fields, and other property used for administration of public or private educational institutions, including colleges and universities. (Justia Law)
Properly posted property is another important risk area. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1359 authorizes private parties and government entities to prohibit weapons on controlled property and makes possession of a weapon on properly posted property a Class B misdemeanor punishable by fine only. The statute’s required sign text is firearm-focused, so knife application can be fact-sensitive in edge cases, but the safer reading is to take posted-property restrictions seriously rather than assume a knife is exempt. (Justia Law)
The current court-building statute is narrower than many readers expect. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1306 targets weapons prohibited by § 39-17-1302(a) and firearms; the current text reviewed does not identify a broad statewide courtroom ban covering all ordinary knives as a category. Still, courthouse security and posted-property rules can create separate real-world barriers. (Justia Law)
No general statewide knife-sale-to-minor statute was identified in the current Tennessee statutes reviewed. The sales statute in this part is firearm-focused, not a general knife-sales law. (Justia Law)
Even so, minors are not insulated from knife-related consequences. School-property rules apply broadly, and a knife brought onto school grounds can still create criminal and school-discipline exposure depending on the facts. (Justia Law)
Yes, but it is best described precisely. Tennessee expressly preempts local regulation of the transfer, ownership, possession, and transportation of knives. That language now appears in Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1314(f). (Justia Law)
This protection originally came from the 2013 knife-preemption act, effective July 1, 2013. In 2025, Public Chapter 329 made related changes expanding certain civil-protection and standing provisions to include knives and other weapons, but it did not create a new general statewide knife carry restriction. (Tennessee General Assembly)
Less than in many states, because Tennessee preempts the core knife fields listed above. No current statute reviewed suggests that a city or county may freely override state law on knife transfer, ownership, possession, or transportation. (Justia Law)
Still, local conditions can matter through state-authorized property rules rather than through independent knife codes. Posted public property, school property, and building-access controls can still affect what happens in practice. Because the knife-preemption text lists specific fields rather than every imaginable verb, it is safer to avoid claiming that every local knife-related rule is automatically void in every context. (Justia Law)
Federal law is separate from Tennessee law. The Federal Switchblade Act still regulates certain switchblade activity in interstate commerce, and federal mailing law also restricts mailing switchblade knives except in listed circumstances. Ballistic knives remain separately regulated under federal law. (U.S. Code)
So even when a knife is lawful under Tennessee law, interstate shipment, mailing, or conduct on federal property can raise separate federal issues. (U.S. Code)
The table below summarizes the current statewide picture. (Justia Law)
| Issue | Tennessee law |
|---|---|
| Knife ownership | Generally lawful for ordinary knives; no broad statewide adult ownership ban on common knife types was identified. Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-17-1301, 39-17-1302. |
| Open carry | Generally lawful for ordinary knives under current statewide law. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1307. |
| Concealed carry | No general statewide concealed-knife ban identified for ordinary knives; restricted places still matter. Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-17-1307, 39-17-1309, 39-17-1359. |
| Automatic / switchblade / gravity knives | Generally lawful to own and carry under state law, subject to restricted places and offense-related misuse statutes. Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-17-1301(16), 39-17-1307(d), 39-17-1364. |
| Blade length | No general statewide blade-length cap identified. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1364. |
| Restricted places | School and educational property are the clearest knife-restricted places; properly posted property can also create criminal exposure. Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-17-1309, 39-17-1359. |
| Preemption | State law preempts local regulation of knife transfer, ownership, possession, and transportation. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1314(f). |
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The most useful recent knife-specific change is the 2023 school-property voting exception. Public Chapter 142 allows a nonstudent adult to possess a concealed pocket knife on school property for the sole purpose of voting, effective July 1, 2023. (Tennessee General Assembly)
In 2025, Public Chapter 329 expanded certain weapons-related civil protections and standing rules to include knives and other weapons. It matters mainly for preemption-related litigation and product-liability framing, not as a new statewide carry restriction. It took effect July 1, 2025. (Tennessee General Assembly)
As of March 16, 2026, HB 2514 / SB 2478 is still pending and is not current law. The bill would rewrite several weapons statutes, including school-property rules, but it remained in committee activity as of that date. (Tennessee General Assembly)
Generally yes under state law for ordinary adult ownership and carry, subject to restricted places and offense-related misuse statutes. (Justia Law)
No general statewide 4-inch carry limit was identified. Tennessee law expressly allows direct shipment of a knife even if the blade exceeds four inches. (Justia Law)
Generally yes for ordinary knives, because the current statewide unlawful-carry statute does not create a general concealed-knife offense. Restricted places still matter. (Justia Law)
A nonstudent adult may use the narrow election exception only if the knife is a concealed pocket knife, the adult is there solely to vote, and the knife is not handled. (Justia Law)
State law preempts local regulation of knife transfer, ownership, possession, and transportation, so local ordinances have much less room than in non-preemption states. (Justia Law)
Potentially yes. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1359 uses “weapon” in the offense text, although the mandatory signage language is firearm-focused, which makes some knife scenarios more fact-specific. (Justia Law)
Laws can change, local rules may still apply in some contexts, and restricted places, intent, and status can affect legality even when a knife is otherwise lawful. (Justia Law)
Official Tennessee sources
Federal sources
Secondary code-access sources used to check current codified text