Can you open carry a knife in Las Vegas?

Posted on February 1, 2023

You may open carry any type of knife in Las Vegas. You are open carrying when a person could see your knife through ordinary observation, such as if you carry it on your belt.

However, there are some locations that restrict the carry of knives. Since Nevada has no statewide preemption for knife laws, cities and governments can enforce more restrictive ordinances.

School Property and Childcare Facilities

Nevada knife law prohibits the possession of dirks, daggers, or switchblades at:

• public universities (including UNLV and UNR)
• private schools and their vehicles
• public schools and their vehicles
• licensed childcare facilities and their vehicles

Carrying a knife at these locations (openly or concealed) is a gross misdemeanor carrying:

• Up to 364 days in jail and/or
• Up to $2,000 in fines¹²

Note that if you have a licensed childcare facility at your home, you do not have to get rid of your knives. Though you should store them where children cannot possibly reach them.¹

(Certainly, law enforcement officers and peace officers may lawfully carry weapons on school property.)

Learn more in our article on possessing weapons at schools or childcare facilities in the state of Nevada (NRS 202.265).

Protests

You may not carry any kind of knife within 25 feet of a protest or demonstration in Las Vegas that occurs on public property or public streets. The only exception is a folding knife with a blade length of three inches or shorter.

This is a misdemeanor that carries

• Up to 6 months in jail and/or
• Up to $1,000 in fines²

City Parks

In the incorporated city of Las Vegas, it is a misdemeanor to bring weapons (which presumably includes knives) to any

• city park,
• recreational facility,
• public plaza, or
• any parking area that serves the above.

It does not matter if your reason for carrying the knife is self-defense. However, local law allows you to carry a knife concealed if you have a sheriff’s permit to carry it concealed.

Misdemeanors carry

• Up to 6 months in jail and/or
• Up to $1,000 in fines³

Which knives are illegal in Las Vegas?

All knife types are legal to possess in Las Vegas, including:

• switchblade knives (a.k.a. automatic knives, spring-blade knives, and snap-blade knives)
• balisongs
• bowie knives
• fixed blade knives
• stilettos
• pocket knives
• machetes
• dirks and dirk-knives
• daggers
• butterfly knives
• hunting knives
• throwing knives
• trefoils (a.k.a. ninja stars, throwing stars)
• machetes
• swords and sword canes
• gravity knives
• sabers
• hatchets
• spears
• razor blades
• hatchets
• ice pics

Note that switchblades became a legal knife only in 2015.⁴

Can I go to jail for waving a knife?

Nevada state law makes it a misdemeanor to draw or brandish deadly knives

• in a rude, angry, or threatening manner
• with at least two other people present.

Therefore, you can wave a deadly knife as long as it is not done in a menacing way.

Note that “deadly knife” includes

• dirks,
• dirk-knives,
• swords, and
• sword canes.

Misdemeanor penalties carry

• Up to 6 months in jail and/or
• Up to $1,000 in fines⁵

Learn more in our article on drawing a knife in a threatening way (NRS 202.320).

Note that if you wave any knife in a way that puts someone else in immediate fear or bodily harm, then a police officer can arrest you for assault with a deadly weapon (NRS 200.471(2)(b). It does not matter if fewer than two people were present at the time.

Assault with a deadly weapon is a category B felony carrying:

• 1 to 6 years in Nevada State Prison and/or
• Up to $5,000 in fines⁶

What about concealed carry?

In unincorporated Las Vegas, it is a misdemeanor to conceal carry a knife with a blade of three or more inches without a sheriff’s CCW permit. Penalties include

• Up to 6 months in jail and/or
• Up to $1,000 in fines⁷

Since belt buckle knives are concealed by design and are usually at least three inches long, you should get a CCW permit for them as well.

Learn more about state knife laws re. carrying concealed weapons and carrying concealed machetes.

Also learn about California carry laws.

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Legal References