Alaska Knife Laws: No Banned Knives, No Blade Limit, and the Rules That Turn on Age and Concealment

The Short Version

Alaska has no blade-length limit, no banned knife, no permit and no license. Switchblades, OTFs, gravity knives, butterfly knives, daggers, bowies and push daggers are all legal to own and carry for an adult, and open carry of any knife at any age is not an offense. What the law regulates is concealment, and it does so by age. AS 11.61.220, misconduct involving weapons in the fifth degree, says that a person 21 or older who carries "a deadly weapon, other than an ordinary pocket knife or a defensive weapon," concealed on the person commits a class B misdemeanor in two situations: if, "when contacted by a peace officer," the person fails to "immediately inform the peace officer of that possession" or to let the officer secure it, and if the person carries it concealed "within the residence of another person" without first getting "the express permission of an adult residing there." A person under 21 may not carry a concealed deadly weapon at all, other than an ordinary pocket knife, with an affirmative defense at home and during lawful hunting, fishing, trapping or other outdoor activity. "Deadly weapon" is defined in AS 11.81.900(b)(18) to include "a knife," and the Court of Appeals has read that to mean every knife. Beyond concealment, AS 11.61.210 makes it a class A misdemeanor to possess any deadly weapon on school grounds without permission, to sell or give a switchblade or gravity knife to a person under 18 without written parental consent, or to possess metal knuckles. Since 2013 the state has reserved knife regulation to itself, so Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau cannot add rules of their own.

What Changed in 2013

Until 2013 Alaska made it a class B misdemeanor to possess or transport a switchblade or gravity knife, and a class A misdemeanor to manufacture one. House Bill 33 of the 28th Legislature, signed by Governor Parnell on June 20, 2013 as Chapter 54 of the 2013 Session Laws and effective September 16, 2013, repealed the possession and transport offense in 11.61.220(a)(5), struck "manufactures" from the sales paragraph in 11.61.210(a)(5), and wrote two new definitions into AS 11.81.900. A "switchblade" is "any knife that has a blade that folds, closes, or retracts into the handle or sheath that opens automatically by pressure applied to a button or other device located on the handle or sheath," and a "gravity knife" is one whose blade "opens or releases a blade from its handle or sheath by the force of gravity or by the application of centrifugal force." Both definitions carve out a knife "that has a spring, detent, or other mechanism designed to create a bias toward closure" that the user must overcome by hand, which is every assisted-opening knife and every ordinary folder with a detent. The bill also amended AS 29.35.145 so that "the authority to regulate firearms and knives is reserved to the state," ending any local switchblade or blade-length ordinance. What survived the bill is narrow: a minor under 16 still needs a parent's consent to possess a switchblade or gravity knife, and no one may sell or give one to a person under 18 without the parent's prior written consent.

Deadly Weapon, Ordinary Pocket Knife and Concealed

Three phrases decide every carry question in Alaska. AS 11.81.900(b)(18) defines "deadly weapon" as "any firearm, or anything designed for and capable of causing death or serious physical injury, including a knife, an axe, a club, metal knuckles, or an explosive." The Court of Appeals held in Liddicoat v. State, 268 P.3d 355 (2011), that the words mean what they say: a knife is a deadly weapon whatever it was designed for, so a paring knife, a fillet knife and a 2-inch folder are all deadly weapons for the concealed-carry and school statutes. The exception is "an ordinary pocket knife," which the concealed-carry statute names and nowhere defines. There is no blade length, no case and no regulation, and the American Knife and Tool Institute notes that there is "neither a statutory, nor a decisional or court-adopted definition." A small folding knife of the kind people have carried in a pocket for a century is plainly inside the phrase. A 4-inch locking folder probably is. A fixed blade, a dagger and an automatic are not. "Defensive weapon," the other exception, means a stun gun or pepper spray. The third phrase is concealed, which 11.61.220(e) defines: a deadly weapon on a person is concealed "if it is covered or enclosed in any manner so that an observer cannot determine that it is a weapon without removing it from that which covers or encloses it or without opening, lifting, or removing that which covers or encloses it." A knife under a jacket is concealed. A knife clipped in a pocket with the handle showing is a question of whether an observer can tell it is a knife. A knife on a belt in plain view is not concealed.

Concealed Carry at 21: the Duty to Inform and Other People's Homes

For an adult 21 or older, Alaska attaches no offense to carrying a concealed knife as such. 11.61.220(a)(1) is written as two conditions on an otherwise lawful act. The first is the duty to inform. When "contacted by a peace officer," which subsection (i) defines as "stopped, detained, questioned, or addressed in person by the peace officer for an official purpose," a person carrying a concealed deadly weapon must "immediately inform the peace officer of that possession" and must "allow the peace officer to secure the deadly weapon, or fails to secure the weapon at the direction of the peace officer, during the duration of the contact." The rule does not apply to an ordinary pocket knife, and it is not triggered by passing an officer on the street. It is triggered by a traffic stop, a field interview or an officer asking you a question for an official reason. The second condition is other people's homes: a concealed deadly weapon "within the residence of another person" is an offense "unless the person has first obtained the express permission of an adult residing there to bring a concealed deadly weapon within the residence." Express means stated, and first means before you walk in. Both offenses are class B misdemeanors, up to 90 days and a $2,000 fine. Neither applies to open carry, so a knife on the belt in plain view carries no duty to inform and needs no permission, and neither applies at your own home.

Under 21, Under 18 and Under 16

Alaska's age rules for knives come in three steps. 11.61.220(a)(6) makes it a class B misdemeanor for a person "less than 21 years of age" to knowingly possess "a deadly weapon, other than an ordinary pocket knife or a defensive weapon, that is concealed on the person." Open carry is untouched, an ordinary pocket knife is untouched, and subsection (b) gives an affirmative defense when the person was "in the defendant's dwelling or on land owned or leased by the defendant appurtenant to the dwelling," or "actually engaged in lawful hunting, fishing, trapping, or other lawful outdoor activity that necessarily involves the carrying of a weapon for personal protection." A 19-year-old with a fixed blade under a parka on a Fairbanks sidewalk is inside the offense. The same knife on the belt is lawful, and the same knife under the parka on a moose hunt is defended. At 18 the sales rule turns off: 11.61.210(a)(5) makes it a class A misdemeanor to sell or transfer "a switchblade or a gravity knife to a person under 18 years of age without the prior written consent of the person's parent or guardian," and (a)(6) does the same for selling a firearm or a defensive weapon to a person under 18. Neither reaches an ordinary knife, so a 17-year-old may buy a fixed blade or a manual folder. Under 16, 11.61.220(a)(3) makes it a class B misdemeanor for "an unemancipated minor under 16 years of age" to possess "a firearm, switchblade, or gravity knife without the consent of a parent or guardian of the minor." Put together: at any age a minor may own and openly carry a manual knife of any length. A minor may own an automatic with a parent's consent, and buy one only with written consent. No one under 21 may conceal anything beyond an ordinary pocket knife off their own property and outside the woods.

Switchblades, OTFs, Gravity Knives and Assisted Openers

Since September 16, 2013 there is no Alaska statute against an adult owning, carrying, buying, selling or making a switchblade or gravity knife, and the definitions in AS 11.81.900(b)(31) and (66) matter only for the two minor rules. An OTF opens "by pressure applied to a button or other device located on the handle," so it is a switchblade. A side-opening automatic is a switchblade. A balisong opens by centrifugal force and is a gravity knife on the words. An assisted-opening knife is neither, because both definitions exclude a knife "that has a spring, detent, or other mechanism designed to create a bias toward closure that requires exertion applied to the blade by hand, wrist, or arm to overcome the bias toward closure and open the blade." For carry, an automatic is a deadly weapon like any other knife and is not an ordinary pocket knife: at 21 it may be carried concealed with the duty to inform and the permission rule for other people's homes, under 21 it may be carried openly but not concealed, and at any age it stays out of schools. The one place the switchblade label still bites is the counter: a shop that sells an OTF to a 17-year-old without the parent's written consent commits a class A misdemeanor, and a parent who hands one to a 15-year-old should say so out loud, since the under-16 offense turns on the parent's consent.

Where You Cannot Carry

• Schools, school buses and school events11.61.210(a)(7) makes it a class A misdemeanor for anyone other than a student to knowingly possess "a deadly weapon or a defensive weapon," without the permission of the chief administrative officer of the school or district, "within the buildings of, on the grounds of, or on the school parking lot of a public or private preschool, elementary, junior high, or secondary school, on a school bus while being transported to or from school or a school-sponsored event, or while participating in a school-sponsored event." There is no ordinary pocket knife exception here, so a 3-inch folder in a parent's pocket at a basketball game is inside the words. A person 21 or older may possess "a deadly weapon, other than a loaded firearm, in the trunk of a motor vehicle or encased in a closed container in a motor vehicle," which is the way to drop a child off with a knife in the truck. (a)(8) applies the same rule to students, who may possess a knife only with the administrator's prior permission, and school district policy adds suspension and expulsion.
  11.61.210(a)(7)
• Courtrooms, child care facilities and shelters11.61.220(a)(4) bans a firearm within a courtroom or office of the Alaska Court System, within a courthouse occupied only by the court system and justice agencies, on the grounds of a licensed child care facility, and within a state-funded domestic violence or sexual assault shelter. It says firearm, not deadly weapon, so it does not reach a knife. The court system screens everyone at the door under its own security rules and will hold any knife until you leave. A shelter or day care sets its own policy.
  11.61.220(a)(4)
• Municipal buildingsAS 29.35.145(b)(4) lets a municipality prohibit "the possession of firearms or knives in the restricted access area of municipal government buildings." That is the only local knife rule Alaska allows. Look for the sign at the secure entrance of a city hall or assembly chamber.
  29.35.145(b)(4)
• Airports and federal propertyNo knives past the checkpoint at Ted Stevens Anchorage International or Fairbanks International under federal rules, and none in a federal building or courthouse under 18 U.S.C. 930. National parks and refuges follow federal rules for their buildings. A knife on the trail in Denali is lawful.
  TSA
• Other people's homesA concealed deadly weapon inside another person's residence without an adult resident's express, prior permission is a class B misdemeanor for anyone 21 or older, and under 21 the concealed knife is already an offense. Ask, or carry it where it can be seen.
  11.61.220(a)(1)(B)
• Bars and posted propertyThe bar rule in 11.61.220(a)(2) covers loaded firearms only. A posted "no weapons" sign has no criminal force for a knife in Alaska. It is enforced by asking you to leave, then trespass.
  Trespass

Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau and Preemption

AS 29.35.145(a) reads: "The authority to regulate firearms and knives is reserved to the state, and, except as specifically provided by statute, a municipality may not enact or enforce an ordinance regulating the possession, ownership, sale, transfer, use, carrying, transportation, licensing, taxation, or registration of firearms or knives." The word knives was added by House Bill 33 in 2013, and the exceptions in subsection (b) are short: a municipality may adopt an ordinance identical to state law with the same penalty, restrict where firearms or knives may be sold without treating a knife shop worse than other businesses, and bar firearms and knives from "the restricted access area of municipal government buildings." Anchorage's older weapons ordinances cannot be enforced against a knife beyond those limits, and the same is true in Fairbanks, Juneau, Wasilla and the boroughs. The state rules on this page are the whole of Alaska knife law outside federal property and school policy, which is why this page has no "check your city code" line.

Penalties

What the Internet Gets Wrong

Five things. First, that Alaska bans switchblades or gravity knives: it did until September 16, 2013, and House Bill 33 repealed the ban. The only switchblade rules left are the two for minors. Second, that you need a permit to carry a knife concealed: Alaska has no knife permit, and at 21 any knife may be carried concealed with no paperwork. The conditions are telling a peace officer when contacted and getting permission in someone else's home. Third, that the duty to inform means you must announce your knife to every officer you see: it applies only when you are stopped, detained, questioned or addressed for an official purpose, and only to a concealed deadly weapon, not an ordinary pocket knife or an openly carried knife. Fourth, that people under 21 cannot carry a knife: they may carry any knife openly, may carry an ordinary pocket knife concealed, and may carry anything concealed at home or while hunting, fishing, trapping or otherwise lawfully outdoors. The offense is a concealed fixed blade or automatic in town. Fifth, that a pocketknife is fine at school: the school statute uses "deadly weapon" with no pocket knife exception, and the Court of Appeals has said every knife is a deadly weapon. Leave it in the truck.

TEKTO Knives for Alaska

Every TEKTO knife is legal to own and carry in Alaska, openly at any age and concealed at 21. The X1 Atlas, a 3.30-inch MagnaCut fixed blade in a Kydex sheath, is the knife for the state: on the belt it is open carry, no duty to inform and no permission needed in anyone's cabin. Under a parka at 21 it is lawful with the two conditions, and under 21 it goes on the belt or stays in the pack until the hunt starts. The A5 Spry, A5 Spry Mini, A2 Badger, A7 Zastava and A4 OTFs and the A3 Delta side-opener are switchblades under AS 11.81.900, which since 2013 means only that a buyer under 18 needs a parent's written consent and a child under 16 needs a parent's permission to have one. For an adult they carry exactly like a fixed blade. The F1 Alpha, F2 Bravo, F3 Charlie and F4 Echo are manual folders between 3.10 and 3.80 inches, and whether a locking folder of that size is an "ordinary pocket knife" is a question no Alaska court has answered. Carry them clipped with the handle showing if you are under 21, and tell the trooper about the one in your pocket if you are over it. None of them goes onto school grounds, in a pocket or otherwise.