What Can You Not Bring Into a Courthouse?

You cannot bring weapons, tools, chemical sprays, explosives, recording equipment, most liquids, and a long list of everyday items like lighters, loose batteries, and e-cigarettes into a courthouse. Cell phones and laptops are usually allowed in the building but restricted or banned inside courtrooms. Federal law makes it a crime to knowingly carry a firearm or dangerous weapon into a federal court facility, punishable by up to two years in prison, and state courthouses enforce similarly strict rules.¹

Weapons of Any Kind

Every firearm is prohibited, and a concealed carry permit does not create an exception. The only people exempt under federal law are law enforcement officers on duty and federal officials or members of the Armed Forces whose possession is authorized by law.¹ If you carry for self-defense, lock the gun in your vehicle before you approach the building.

The ban reaches well beyond traditional firearms. BB guns, pellet guns, compressed air guns, flare guns, starter pistols, stun guns, spear guns, slingshots, and realistic replicas or toy firearms are all prohibited. So is ammunition of any kind, including shotgun shells and loose gunpowder.²

Bladed items are where first-time visitors get tripped up. Federal law technically excludes pocket knives with blades under 2½ inches from the definition of “dangerous weapon,” but individual courthouses can and often do ban all blades regardless of size.¹ The federal baseline prohibits:

Knives of any kind, including sabers, swords, daggers, and anything with a blade over 2½ inches
Razor-type blades, box cutters, utility knives, and loose razor blades
Axes, hatchets, ice axes, and ice picks
Throwing stars and similar martial arts bladed weapons
Scissors, screwdrivers, drills, saws, wrenches, pliers, and multi-purpose folding tools

That last line surprises people. A screwdriver left in your bag from a weekend project or a multi-tool on your keychain will get flagged at the X-ray machine, and security will not let you through with it.²

Striking devices are out across the board: brass knuckles, billy clubs, blackjacks, nightsticks, chains longer than 12 inches, nunchucks, and kubatons. Sporting equipment that can double as a weapon is also prohibited, so leave baseball bats, golf clubs, hockey sticks, and pool cues behind.²

Pepper Spray, Chemicals, and Explosives

Pepper spray is the item people most often forget about. Mace, pepper spray, and tear gas are banned inside courthouses even if you legally carry them everywhere else. Also prohibited: gas torches, aerosol sprays, compressed gas cylinders including portable fire extinguishers, spray paint, chlorine, bleach, and poisonous gases.²

Explosive materials of any kind are strictly prohibited, including fireworks, gunpowder, blasting caps, flares, and realistic replicas of explosives. Flammable liquids like gasoline, turpentine, and paint thinner fall in the same category.²

Cameras, Cell Phones, and Recording Equipment

Professional cameras, video cameras, and audio recorders are prohibited from courtrooms. The U.S. Marshals Service instructs visitors not to bring cameras or tape recorders to court because photography and audio or video recording of proceedings is not permitted without judicial authorization.³

Cell phones are the gray area. Most courthouses let you bring a phone into the building, but many courtrooms ban them while court is in session. At a minimum, your phone must be silenced. Using it to photograph, record, or livestream can lead to confiscation of the device, removal from the building, or a contempt-of-court finding. Federal courts have broad power to punish contempt by fine or imprisonment for misbehavior in their presence.⁴

Laptops and tablets follow similar rules. Attorneys and court staff generally have permission to use them; members of the public often need prior approval from the presiding judge. If you need a laptop for a court-related purpose, call the clerk’s office before your date.

Jurors get their own rules. Petit jurors may be allowed to bring phones, e-readers, and laptops at the trial judge’s discretion, but all electronic devices must be surrendered to security officers before deliberations begin. Grand jurors are typically told to leave electronics at home.

Food, Drinks, and Liquids

Liquid restrictions have tightened in recent years. Many federal courthouses ban all liquids past the security checkpoint, with narrow exceptions for medically necessary liquids (usually 3.4 ounces or less) and small amounts of baby formula or breast milk. Empty water bottles are sometimes allowed so you can fill them inside.

Food is prohibited inside courtrooms almost everywhere. In the building itself, eating is often limited to a cafeteria or lobby. Chewing gum, packaged snacks, and sealed drinks are commonly restricted from courtroom floors. Eat before you arrive or wait for a recess.

Everyday Items That Get Flagged

Several ordinary items that wouldn’t cause a problem anywhere else will stop you at courthouse security:

E-cigarettes and vaping devices, treated the same as prohibited smoking materials
Lighters, including arc, plasma, and electronic lighters
Loose batteries, classified as dangerous items
Handcuff keys and lock-picking tools, prohibited regardless of your reason for carrying them
Controlled substances and drug paraphernalia, which can bring criminal charges on top of whatever brought you to court
Oversized bags, large backpacks, and rolling luggage

Courthouses generally do not offer lockers or a checkroom. If security flags something, you will usually have to take it back to your vehicle or find off-site storage, which can mean missing your hearing if you’re cutting it close.³

Clothing That Will Get You Turned Away

Courthouses don’t have a universal dress code, but judges have wide authority to set expectations for their courtrooms, and security staff can enforce them at the door. Clothing that commonly gets people turned away includes shorts, tank tops, halter tops, midriff-baring shirts, flip-flops, and shirts with offensive graphics or language. Hats and sunglasses are often prohibited inside courtrooms. Anyone shirtless or barefoot will be denied entry.

You don’t need a suit. Clean, modest clothing of the kind you’d wear to a job interview is the safe standard.

What Happens If You Bring Something Prohibited

The consequences depend on the item and whether you knew it was there. For weapons in a federal court facility, the penalty under federal law is up to two years in prison, a fine, or both. Bringing a weapon with intent to use it during a crime raises the maximum to five years.¹

For electronic device violations, judges can hold you in contempt, with fines and jail time available at the court’s discretion.⁴ In practice, a phone that rings during proceedings for the first time usually draws confiscation and a warning. Getting caught recording or photographing is treated far more seriously.

For genuinely accidental situations, like forgetting a small pocket knife in your bag, security will typically turn you away to store the item elsewhere. “I forgot it was there” is not a legal defense if the item itself is illegal, and officers have discretion to escalate.

A Simple Pre-Visit Check

The night before your court date, empty your pockets and your bag. Pull out any multi-tools, pocket knives, lighters, pepper spray, vaping devices, and loose batteries. Leave the oversized backpack at home. Charge your phone and plan to silence it before you walk in. Arrive at least 30 minutes early, because security lines at urban courthouses can be long on busy mornings, and judges rarely accept the screening line as an excuse for missing a case.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 930 – Possession of Firearms and Dangerous Weapons in Federal Facilities
2
National Archives. Items Prohibited in Federal Facilities – An Interagency Security Committee Standard
3
U.S. Marshals Service. What To Expect When Visiting a Courthouse
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 401 – Power of Court