Mississippi Knife Laws & Carry Restrictions

Mississippi’s weapons laws date back more than a century.

The state’s concealed weapons statute traces its origins to the 1880 Code. When delegates gathered for the 1890 constitutional convention, they wrote into the state constitution an explicit power allowing the legislature to regulate or forbid concealed carry.

That power, found in Article 3, Section 12, remains the foundation for how Mississippi handles knives. The state is permissive in many respects, but the rules around concealed carry, prohibited persons, and restricted locations still catch people off guard.

If you own a knife in Mississippi or plan to carry one, you need to know where the lines are drawn, because the penalties for crossing them get steep fast.

Open and Concealed Carry in Mississippi

• All knives can be carried openly in Mississippi with no restrictions on blade length.

• Bowie knives, dirk knives, butcher knives, and switchblade knives are subject to concealed carry restrictions under § 97-37-1.

• A 2013 amendment changed the definition of “concealed,” so a knife carried in a sheath, belt holster, or scabbard that is at least partially visible is not considered concealed.

• You can carry a concealed deadly weapon inside your home, place of business, vehicle, or while engaged in hunting, fishing, or target shooting.

• Convicted felons cannot possess Bowie knives, dirks, butcher knives, or switchblades, and violations carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

• Knives are banned on educational property.

• Mississippi has no statewide knife preemption law, though multiple bills have been introduced to enact one.

• Court rulings have exposed gaps in how prosecutors define knife types such as “dirk” and “butcher knife.”

Open Carry vs. Concealed Carry

Mississippi allows the open carry of any knife. There is no blade length restriction written into state law, and the type of knife does not matter so long as it is visible. The restrictions apply specifically to concealed carry, and only to 4 categories of knives:

• Bowie knives

• Dirk knives

• Butcher knives

• Switchblade knives

Under § 97-37-1, carrying any of these 4 knife types concealed on or about your person is a criminal offense. The penalties increase with each conviction.

The second conviction carries mandatory jail time, which removes any possibility of a fine-only outcome. By the third offense, confinement is the only option.

What Counts as “Concealed” After the 2013 Amendment

Before 2013, the concealment standard included language covering weapons hidden “in whole or in part.” A 2013 amendment to the statute significantly changed this. Under the revised definition, “concealed” means hidden or obscured from common observation. 

A knife carried in a sheath, belt holster, or scabbard that is wholly or partially visible does not meet the definition of concealed.

This matters in practice. A Bowie knife on your hip in a leather sheath with part of the handle showing is not concealed under Mississippi law. A switchblade clipped inside a visible belt holster falls outside the concealment definition as well. 

The amendment gave people who carry restricted knives a way to stay within the law without giving up their knives entirely.

Exceptions to the Concealed Carry Restriction

Even for the 4 restricted knife types, Mississippi carves out several exceptions allowing concealed carry.

• Home and property: Anyone over 18 may carry a deadly weapon concealed within their home, place of business, or on associated real property.

• Motor vehicles: Concealed carry of a deadly weapon inside any motor vehicle is lawful for persons over 18.

• Sporting activities: If you are engaged in a legitimate weapon-related sports activity like hunting, fishing, or target shooting, or you are traveling to or from that activity, concealed carry of a restricted knife is not a violation.

These exceptions are broad enough to cover most everyday scenarios where a person would have a knife on them. The concealed carry restriction mainly applies to people on foot in public spaces who are carrying a fully concealed knife.

Convicted Felons and Knife Possession

Mississippi imposes a separate and harsher set of rules on convicted felons. Under § 97-37-5, any person convicted of a felony cannot possess a Bowie, dirk, butcher, or switchblade knife. The only exceptions are for people who have received a pardon or a certificate of rehabilitation.

The penalties here are far more severe than a standard concealed carry violation.

This is a felony charge, not a misdemeanor. The law applies regardless of how the knife is carried, openly or concealed.

Minors and Intoxicated Persons

Under § 97-37-13, it is unlawful to sell, give, or lend any deadly weapon to someone under 18 or to an intoxicated person. Violation of this section carries a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment of up to 1 year, or both. The restriction places the legal burden on the person providing the weapon, not the minor or intoxicated person receiving it.

Knives on Educational Property

Section 97-37-17 makes it a misdemeanor to possess or carry a Bowie knife, dirk, dagger, switchblade knife, or any sharp-pointed instrument on educational property. This applies to both open and concealed carry. The penalty is a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment for up to 6 months, or both.

The inclusion of “sharp-pointed instrument” extends the restriction beyond the 4 knife categories listed in the general concealed carry statute. On school grounds, the law is written more broadly and covers a wider range of objects.

Brandishing and Use in a Fight

Under § 97-37-19, anyone who brandishes or wields a deadly weapon in a threatening manner, outside of self-defense, or who uses one unlawfully in a fight, faces a fine of up to $500 or imprisonment of up to 3 months, or both. This applies to all deadly weapons, not just restricted knives.

The Problem of Undefined Knife Categories

One persistent issue with Mississippi’s knife law is that the state does not provide statutory definitions for a bowie knife, a butcher knife, or a dirk. The legislature has never written into the code what makes a knife fall into one category rather than another.

This gap has created real problems in court. In Summerall v. State (2010), a defendant was charged as a felon in possession of a dirk. The arresting officers offered no evidence defining what a dirk was, and during deliberations, the jury actually requested internet pages to look up the term. 

The Court of Appeals held that a dirk knife must have a blade with at least 1 sharpened edge tapering to a point and must be designed primarily as a stabbing weapon.

In Thomas v. State (2012), the Court of Appeals faced a situation in which the knife blade itself was unavailable for examination. The court could not determine if the knife was a butcher knife or a steak knife. 

On top of that, the indictment failed to specify which prohibited knife type the defendant possessed. The court found that this failure to charge an essential element made the count void.

These two cases show how much the lack of formal definitions complicates enforcement and prosecution. A person charged under § 97-37-1 or § 97-37-5 may have a viable defense if the state cannot prove the knife fits within one of the restricted categories.

No Statewide Knife Preemption

Mississippi’s constitution gives the legislature the power to regulate concealed weapons. Still, the state has not passed a preemption law that would prevent local governments from adding their own knife restrictions.

Several legislative efforts have tried to change this. House Bill 1294 proposed statewide knife preemption to stop local bodies from enacting restrictive knife regulations, and House Bill 552 was another preemption attempt.

Both failed to advance out of committee. House Bill 692, introduced during the 2023 session, sought to amend § 97-37-1 and § 97-37-5 to exclude certain weapons from felon-in-possession restrictions. That bill also did not move forward.

Without preemption, local ordinances can add restrictions beyond state law, which means the rules can vary depending on where you are in the state. Anyone carrying a knife in a Mississippi municipality should check for local regulations that may apply.

What This Means for Knife Owners in Mississippi

Mississippi is permissive regarding open carry. You can carry any knife, of any length, in plain view without issue. The concealed carry restrictions apply to 4 specific knife types.

The 2013 amendment provides a practical workaround by allowing visible sheaths and holsters. The exceptions for homes, vehicles, and sporting activities further limit the situations in which concealed carry is prohibited.

The real areas of risk involve carrying a restricted knife fully concealed in a public space, possessing a restricted knife as a convicted felon, and bringing any prohibited blade onto educational property. The penalties in each of these areas are concrete and increase with repeat offenses.

Given that Mississippi does not formally define its restricted knife categories, your legal exposure can depend heavily on what evidence the state brings to trial and how a court interprets the weapon in question.