Are Switchblades Illegal in New York? Penalties and Exemptions

Switchblades are illegal in New York. Possessing one anywhere in the state is a Class A misdemeanor under New York Penal Law § 265.01, punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. The 2019 law that repealed New York’s gravity knife ban left the switchblade prohibition untouched.¹

Switchblades sit on New York’s “per se” weapons list. That means possession alone is the crime. Prosecutors don’t have to show you intended to hurt anyone or planned to use the knife at all. They only need to prove you knowingly had it.¹

When Governor Cuomo signed the gravity knife repeal, his memo described the change as legalizing “commonly sold and lawfully used folding knives” by striking the term “gravity knife” from the Penal Law. The repeal was deliberately narrow. Switchblades were not part of it.²

What Counts as a Switchblade in New York

Under New York law, a switchblade is any knife with a blade that opens automatically when you press a button, spring, or other device in the handle. The controlling word is “automatically.” If pressing something on the handle deploys the blade on its own, the knife is a switchblade in the eyes of the statute.³

Assisted-Opening Knives Are a Legal Risk

This is where owners get caught off guard. Assisted-opening knives use an internal spring to finish opening the blade after you push it partway with your thumb. Federal law explicitly allows them. A 2009 amendment to the Federal Switchblade Act exempts any knife with a “bias toward closure,” meaning a spring or detent that holds the blade shut until you physically start opening it yourself.⁴

New York never adopted that federal carve-out. The state’s definition still captures any knife that opens “automatically” by pressure on a “button, spring or other device in the handle,” and an assisted-opening knife arguably fits because a spring in the handle helps deploy the blade. A 2018 New York Court of Appeals decision, People v. Berrezueta, treated an assisted-opening knife as a potential switchblade. Carrying one in New York is a legal risk that does not exist in most other states or under federal law.¹

Penalties for Possession

Possessing a switchblade is Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree, a Class A misdemeanor.¹ The maximum penalties are:

A court may impose a conditional discharge instead of probation or jail. Beyond the sentence, a misdemeanor weapon conviction leaves a permanent criminal record that can affect employment, professional licensing, and immigration status. Non-citizens should be particularly cautious. Weapon-related convictions can trigger removal proceedings even at the misdemeanor level.

Selling, Shipping, and Mailing

The ban reaches beyond personal possession. New York Penal Law § 265.10 makes it a separate Class A misdemeanor to manufacture a switchblade, and transporting or shipping a switchblade as merchandise is a Class A misdemeanor under the same statute. An online seller who ships a switchblade into or within New York faces the same penalty tier as the buyer.⁸

Federal law piles on. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1716, automatic knives are nonmailable. The U.S. Postal Service cannot carry them except to a narrow list of government and military procurement officers, or to manufacturers and dealers fulfilling government orders. Trying to mail a switchblade through USPS risks a federal charge on top of any state exposure.⁹

Who Is Exempt

New York Penal Law § 265.20 exempts only a few groups from the switchblade ban:

Police officers and peace officers as defined in the Criminal Procedure Law.
Active-duty military personnel in New York’s military service when authorized by the adjutant general, and members of the U.S. military acting in official duty.
Defense contractors who need weapons for manufacture, transport, installation, or testing under a federal contract.
Anyone who voluntarily surrenders a prohibited weapon to the state police, county sheriff, or local police department. Surrender clears the possession charge for that weapon but does not immunize you from any other crime.

¹⁰

There is no general exemption for collectors, hobbyists, or people who simply keep a switchblade at home. Federal law includes one narrow personal exemption, allowing a person with the use of only one arm to possess and carry a switchblade with a blade of three inches or less, but that exception applies only to the Federal Switchblade Act. It does not override New York’s state ban and would not protect someone from prosecution under the Penal Law.¹¹

New York City Adds Its Own Rules

If you are in New York City, the state Penal Law is not the only layer. The NYPD enforces city-level knife rules on top of the state ban. The city prohibits openly carrying any knife with a blade of four inches or more in public, subject to limited exceptions for merchants and certain trade workers. Even carrying a knife for self-defense can lead to a summons or arrest if the circumstances suggest the knife is being possessed as a weapon.³

1
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 265.01 – Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree
2
Governor of New York. Memorandum on Assembly Bill 5944 – Legalizing Gravity Knives
3
NYC.gov. Knives: What You Need to Know
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1244 – Exceptions
5
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 70.15 – Sentences of Imprisonment for Misdemeanors and Violation
6
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 80.05 – Fines for Misdemeanors and Violation
7
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 65.00 – Sentence of Probation
8
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 265.10 – Manufacture, Transport, Disposition and Defacement of Weapons and Dangerous Instruments and Appliances
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1716 – Injurious Articles as Nonmailable
10
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 265.20 – Exemptions
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. Chapter 29 – Manufacture, Transportation, or Distribution of Switchblade Knives