Brass knuckles are not illegal to own in North Carolina, but carrying them concealed anywhere off your own property is a crime. State law treats metallic knuckles as a weapon that cannot be hidden on your person in public, and using them against another person can turn a misdemeanor situation into a felony very quickly.
What “Concealed” Means Under North Carolina Law
North Carolina General Statute § 14-269 makes it illegal to carry metallic knuckles concealed on your person anywhere outside your own property.1North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code Chapter 14 Article 35 – Offenses Against the Public Peace Concealed means hidden from ordinary observation: in a pocket, inside a jacket, tucked into a bag or backpack. If someone standing next to you wouldn’t know the knuckles were there, they’re concealed for purposes of the statute.
Open carry is a different story. North Carolina does not prohibit carrying brass knuckles in plain view, and a 1973 opinion from the Attorney General’s office confirmed that openly carrying metallic knuckles is lawful.2NCDOJ. Weapons – Brass Knucks with Blade Practically, though, walking down the street with visible brass knuckles is going to prompt questions from law enforcement, and an officer who suspects you’re carrying them for an unlawful purpose can still investigate.
A concealed handgun permit does not change the analysis. That permit covers handguns under a specific statutory subsection; brass knuckles fall under a different provision with no permit exception. Carrying concealed brass knuckles is illegal even if you’re licensed to carry a concealed pistol.
The Own Premises Exception
The concealed carry ban carves out an exception for your “own premises.”1North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code Chapter 14 Article 35 – Offenses Against the Public Peace The statute doesn’t define the term, but North Carolina courts have generally read it to cover your home, the land you own, and your fixed place of business. Inside those boundaries, possessing or concealing brass knuckles is legal.
The protection stops at your property line. Step onto a public sidewalk, walk into someone else’s business, or get into your car with concealed knuckles, and you’re violating the statute. Your vehicle is not treated as your own premises under this law.
Places Where Brass Knuckles Are Banned Outright
Some locations carry harsher rules than the general concealed carry ban, and the penalties are steeper too.
Schools and College Campuses
North Carolina General Statute § 14-269.2 prohibits possessing weapons on educational property, including school buildings, buses, campuses, athletic fields, and any property used by a school, community college, or university.3North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 14-269.2 – Weapons on Campus or Other Educational Property The prohibition applies whether the weapon is open or concealed, and it applies whenever the property is being used for classes, extracurricular activities, or school-sponsored events. Violating the statute with a non-firearm weapon like brass knuckles is a felony, a much steeper penalty than the misdemeanor for concealed carry on a public street.
Parades, Demonstrations, and Picket Lines
North Carolina General Statute § 14-277.2 prohibits anyone participating in, affiliated with, or attending as a spectator any parade, funeral procession, picket line, or demonstration on public property from possessing a dangerous weapon. The statute defines dangerous weapon by reference to § 14-269, which includes metallic knuckles. Violation is a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Federal Buildings and Courthouses
Under 18 U.S.C. § 930, bringing a dangerous weapon into a federal building where federal employees regularly work is a federal crime punishable by up to a year in prison.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 930 – Possession of Firearms and Dangerous Weapons in Federal Facilities The federal definition is broad enough to cover brass knuckles. Take them into a federal courthouse and the maximum climbs to two years. If a prosecutor proves you intended to use them during a crime, the ceiling rises to five.
Penalties for Concealed Carry
A violation of § 14-269 is a Class 2 misdemeanor.1North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code Chapter 14 Article 35 – Offenses Against the Public Peace The maximum fine is $1,000. Jail exposure depends on your prior record under North Carolina’s structured sentencing system.5North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 15A-1340.23 – Sentencing
- No prior convictions (Level I): up to 30 days, with community punishment as the only sentencing option, meaning probation or community service rather than jail.
- One to four priors (Level II): up to 45 days, with community or intermediate punishment available, including supervised probation.
- Five or more priors (Level III): up to 60 days, with active jail time on the table alongside community and intermediate options.
A first-time offender realistically faces probation and a fine rather than jail. But the conviction still lands on your criminal record, which can matter for background checks, employment, and future firearm rights.
Using Brass Knuckles Against Someone
North Carolina treats brass knuckles as a deadly weapon, and using them in an assault carries far more serious charges than the concealed carry violation.
If you strike someone with brass knuckles but the injury isn’t serious, the charge is assault with a deadly weapon under N.C. General Statute § 14-33(c). That’s a Class A1 misdemeanor, the most serious misdemeanor tier in the state.6North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 14-33 – Misdemeanor Assaults, Batteries, and Affrays A first-time offender can receive up to 60 days in jail; someone with five or more priors can get up to 150 days of active time.5North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 15A-1340.23 – Sentencing
When the attack causes serious injury, the charge becomes a felony. Under § 14-32(b), assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury is a Class E felony.7North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code Chapter 14 Article 8 – Assaults The structured sentencing maximum for a Class E felony is 88 months.8North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 15A-1340.17 – Punishment Limits for Each Class of Offense Even a defendant with no criminal history faces a presumptive range of 20 to 25 months in prison.
Self-Defense
North Carolina recognizes the right to use deadly force without retreating if you reasonably believe it’s necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm.9North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 14-51.3 – Use of Force in Defense of Person Because courts classify brass knuckles as a deadly weapon, using them in self-defense means meeting the deadly force standard, not the ordinary force standard.
Proportionality is the test. You can’t respond to a shove with brass knuckles. The threat has to be severe enough that a reasonable person in your position would believe they faced death or serious bodily harm. Pulling out brass knuckles during a bar argument that hasn’t turned genuinely dangerous can flip you from defender to aggressor in the eyes of the law.
A successful self-defense claim also doesn’t erase the concealed carry charge. If you were carrying concealed brass knuckles illegally when the confrontation began, that misdemeanor stands on its own regardless of what happens with the assault charge.
Effect on Gun Rights
A standalone Class 2 misdemeanor for concealed carry of brass knuckles does not trigger the federal firearms ban under 18 U.S.C. § 922, which applies to felons and to people convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts A simple concealed weapon conviction isn’t a domestic violence offense.
Using brass knuckles in an assault changes that. A conviction for assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury is a Class E felony, and federal law bars anyone convicted of a felony from possessing firearms. The ban is permanent unless the conviction is expunged or pardoned. If the assault involved a domestic partner, a parent, or someone you share a child with, even a misdemeanor assault conviction triggers the federal firearms prohibition.
Traveling With Brass Knuckles
Flying in or out of North Carolina, the TSA prohibits brass knuckles in carry-on bags but allows them in checked luggage.11Transportation Security Administration. Brass Knuckles There’s a catch. If TSA inspects your checked bag, finds the knuckles, and the destination state prohibits them, TSA reports the item to local law enforcement. Several states ban brass knuckles outright, so packing them for a trip without checking the destination state’s laws can end badly.
Inside North Carolina, transporting brass knuckles in your vehicle is legally risky. Your car is not your own premises, so anywhere the knuckles are hidden from plain view, a glove compartment, a center console, a bag, counts as concealed carry. Keeping them visible avoids the concealment problem but invites the traffic-stop conversation you’d probably rather not have.