Are Switchblades Still Illegal in Pennsylvania?

Switchblades are legal to own and carry in Pennsylvania. The state removed automatic knives from its list of prohibited offensive weapons on January 2, 2023, so possessing one is no longer a crime by itself. That said, courthouses and schools still ban them, some cities have their own restrictions, federal rules limit how you can ship or mail one, and carrying any weapon with criminal intent is still its own offense.

What Changed in 2023

For decades, Pennsylvania’s crimes code lumped automatic knives in with bombs, grenades, machine guns, and sawed-off shotguns as “prohibited offensive weapons” under 18 Pa.C.S. § 908. Owning a switchblade was a criminal offense, regardless of purpose.

Governor Tom Wolf signed House Bill 1929 in November 2022, and the change took effect January 2, 2023. The bill removed automatic knives from the § 908 definition. The current statute still lists bombs, grenades, machine guns, sawed-off shotguns, blackjacks, metal knuckles, stun guns, and similar items, but no longer mentions any type of knife.1Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 18-908 – Prohibited Offensive Weapons Nothing else in the knife law changed. It was a one-line fix.

Where Switchblades Are Still Banned

Courthouses

This is the restriction most people miss. HB 1929 amended § 908 but left § 913 untouched. That statute governs weapons in court facilities and carries its own definition of “dangerous weapon” that still explicitly covers any knife with a blade exposed automatically by a switch, push-button, spring mechanism, or similar device.2Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 18-913 – Possession of Weapon in Court Facility The courthouse ban survived 2023 intact.

“Court facility” is broadly defined. It covers courtrooms, chambers, jury and witness rooms, holding cells, clerk and DA offices, probation and parole offices, and the corridors that connect them.2Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 18-913 – Possession of Weapon in Court Facility Anywhere in the working part of a courthouse, a switchblade is illegal.

Schools

Pennsylvania bans possession of any weapon on school property, and the school-property definition of “weapon” is sweeping. It covers any knife, cutting instrument, cutting tool, firearm, rifle, shotgun, or any other implement capable of inflicting serious bodily injury. A switchblade clearly qualifies. The ban applies inside school buildings, on school grounds, and on buses or other vehicles providing transportation to or from any elementary or secondary school, whether public, private, or parochial.3Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 18-912 – Possession of Weapon on School Property

Federal Buildings

Post offices, VA hospitals, Social Security offices, and federal courthouses run on federal weapons rules, which broadly prohibit weapons inside federal buildings. Pennsylvania’s 2023 change doesn’t affect any of that.

Carrying With Criminal Intent

Even where a switchblade is legal to carry, why you’re carrying it can turn the knife into a criminal charge. Pennsylvania’s “instruments of crime” statute makes it a crime to possess anything you intend to use for criminal purposes, including items specially made or adapted for criminal use and items possessed under circumstances that don’t suggest any lawful purpose.4Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 18-907 – Possessing Instruments of Crime

A separate provision in the same section makes it a first-degree misdemeanor to carry any weapon concealed on your person with intent to use it criminally, even if the weapon is otherwise legal to own.4Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 18-907 – Possessing Instruments of Crime Owning and carrying is fine; carrying while planning to hurt someone stacks a separate charge onto whatever else you’re facing.

Local Ordinances Can Still Restrict Them

Pennsylvania has no knife preemption law. Unlike Texas, Arizona, or Ohio, where the state legislature bars cities and counties from writing their own knife rules, Pennsylvania municipalities can enact ordinances stricter than state law. Some cities and towns still restrict or prohibit automatic knives under local rules that were never repealed after the 2023 state change. Before you carry in an unfamiliar municipality, check the local ordinance. A knife that’s fine under state law can still get you charged under a city code.

Selling to Minors

It’s illegal in Pennsylvania to sell or transfer any “deadly weapon” to someone under 18. A knife designed as a weapon and capable of causing death or serious bodily injury falls within that definition. Whether a specific switchblade qualifies depends on whether the prosecution can show it was designed as a weapon rather than a tool. A small utility-style automatic and a dagger-style switchblade would be evaluated very differently. Retailers generally treat all switchblade sales as 18-and-over to avoid the risk.

Shipping and Mailing Across State Lines

Pennsylvania’s legalization only controls conduct inside the state. Federal law governs moving switchblades between states or through the mail.

Interstate Commerce

The Federal Switchblade Act makes it a crime to knowingly introduce a switchblade into interstate commerce, manufacture one for that purpose, or transport or distribute one across state lines. Penalties reach $2,000 in fines and five years in prison.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1242 – Introduction, Manufacture for Introduction, Transportation or Distribution in Interstate Commerce Several exceptions apply. Common carriers such as FedEx and UPS can ship switchblades in the ordinary course of business, shipments under contract with the Armed Forces are exempt, and knives with a bias toward closure that require manual force to open are excluded from the federal definition of “switchblade” entirely.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1244 – Exceptions

U.S. Mail

USPS rules are tighter than private carriers’. Switchblades can be mailed only to government procurement officials ordering them for official use, such as federal supply officers or Armed Forces procurement personnel. Authorized manufacturers and dealers can mail them to those same government recipients. Mailing a switchblade to a friend, a private buyer, or even yourself at another address isn’t permitted through USPS.7Postal Explorer. Mailability For shipments to private individuals, use a private carrier covered by the common-carrier exception.

Traveling With a Switchblade

The mode of transportation matters as much as the destination.

TSA prohibits all knives in carry-on bags at airport security. A switchblade can go in checked luggage, but it must be sheathed or securely wrapped, and the final call rests with the officer at the checkpoint.8Transportation Security Administration. Knives If you land in another state, that state’s knife law applies. Not every state has legalized switchblades the way Pennsylvania has.

Amtrak lists knives as prohibited in carry-on baggage.9Amtrak. Items Prohibited in Baggage Onboard the Train Driving with a legal switchblade in your vehicle is unrestricted in Pennsylvania, but crossing a state line means the neighboring state’s rules take over.

Penalties

The charge depends on what you did and where.

Those are the state numbers. Local ordinance violations carry their own penalties, and federal charges for illegal interstate shipment can add up to five years and $2,000 in fines on top of any state consequences.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1242 – Introduction, Manufacture for Introduction, Transportation or Distribution in Interstate Commerce