Switzerland · checked 2026-10-26 · Medium confidence

Knife carry law in Switzerland

Swiss Army-type and comparable pocket knives are not treated as dangerous objects. Switchblades and spring-assisted knives (over 5 cm blade, over 12 cm open), butterfly knives, throwing knives and symmetric daggers are 'weapons': banned to buy or import, and carrying needs a permit. Other knives may not be carried if you cannot justify it and seem to intend misuse.

This summary rests on mostly official, partly secondary sources. Open questions are listed at the end. Treat anything marked unclear as a reason to leave the item at home.

How we apply the law

Rules are checked from the top. The first one that fits decides. Every verdict on this site comes from this list, not from hand typed cells.

1ProhibitedAny knife or tool, automatic, blade at least 50 mm
Switchblade/OTF with blade over 5 cm and open length over 12 cm is a weapon: acquiring/importing is banned (exemptions only by canton) and carrying needs a weapons carry permit, granted only for real danger or security work.
Source
2ProhibitedAny knife or tool, spring assisted, blade at least 50 mm
fedpol treats spring-assisted openers as automatic (citing BGer 6B_660/2018) when blade is over 5 cm and open length over 12 cm: same ban on acquiring/importing and permit-to-carry as switchblades. Check the open length yourself.
Source
3UnclearAny knife or tool, automatic or spring assisted
Blade of 5 cm or less (or open length 12 cm or less) is not a weapon by definition, but it is still a dangerous object if carried abusively; fedpol shows such mini knives as 'not a weapon'.
Source
4UnclearAny knife or tool, gravity or flick opening
Butterfly knives (blade over 5 cm, open over 12 cm) are weapons: banned to acquire/import, carry needs a permit. fedpol says Fallmesser (gravity/flick release) are NOT weapons, only dangerous objects. This category mixes both; check which you have.
Source
5ProhibitedA fixed blade, double edged, blade at least 50 mm, blade up to 299 mm
Fixed, pointed, symmetrical blade over 5 cm and under 30 cm is a 'Dolch': a weapon, banned to acquire or import, and a carry permit is needed. Double-edged blades are symmetrical; some single-edged shapes count too per fedpol.
Source
6UnclearA fixed blade
Not a 'weapon' if asymmetrical, 5 cm or less, or 30 cm or more. But the pocket-knife exemption does not cover it, so Art. 28a applies: carrying without a plausible use while seeming to intend misuse is banned; seizure possible.
Source
7No restriction foundA folding knife, a multitool or a keychain tool
Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Source
8No restriction foundScissors only
Scissors are not named in the knife-weapon definitions. At most a 'dangerous object' under the misuse rule (Art. 28a).
Source
9UnclearAnything else
Combination not covered by the verified rules; see WV Art. 7 and the fedpol Entscheidungshilfe.
Source

34 popular knives and tools, checked here

Specifications come from the makers. Where a maker does not publish the cutting edge length, a length rule can only be answered if even the full blade length falls on one side of the line. Otherwise the result is unclear, on purpose.

Product	Specs	Result
Buck 110 Folding Hunter	blade 95.3 mm (3.75 in); cutting edge not published	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Leatherman Arc	blade 70.1 mm (2.76 in); cutting edge not published	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Benchmade Bugout	blade 82.3 mm (3.24 in); cutting edge not published	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Victorinox Cadet (Alox)	blade 64 mm (2.52 in); cutting edge not published	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Victorinox Classic SD	blade 40 mm (1.57 in); cutting edge not published	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Victorinox Climber	blade 67 mm (2.64 in); cutting edge not published	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Spyderco Delica 4 (Lightweight)	65 mm cutting edge (2.56 in)	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Gerber Dime	blade 38.1 mm (1.50 in); cutting edge not published	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
CIVIVI Elementum	blade 75.2 mm (2.96 in); cutting edge not published	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Nagao Kanekoma Higonokami SK (Niwaki-sold Kanekoma)	blade 71 mm (2.80 in); cutting edge not published	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Victorinox Huntsman	blade 67 mm (2.64 in); cutting edge not published	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Spyderco Ladybug 3	43 mm cutting edge (1.69 in)	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Leatherman Micra	blade 40.6 mm (1.60 in); cutting edge not published	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Benchmade Mini Bugout	blade 71.6 mm (2.82 in); cutting edge not published	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
W.R. Case & Sons Mini Trapper	blade 69.9 mm (2.75 in); cutting edge not published	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Opinel No.07 Stainless Steel	blade 80 mm (3.15 in); cutting edge not published	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Opinel No.08 Stainless Steel	blade 85 mm (3.35 in); cutting edge not published	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Spyderco Para 3	67 mm cutting edge (2.64 in)	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Gerber Paraframe I (stainless, plain edge)	blade 76.5 mm (3.01 in); cutting edge not published	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Ontario Knife Company RAT Model 1 (RAT I)	blade 88.9 mm (3.50 in); cutting edge not published	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Spyderco Roadie	44 mm cutting edge (1.73 in)	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Leatherman Skeletool CX	blade 66 mm (2.60 in); cutting edge not published	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Victorinox Spartan	blade 67 mm (2.64 in); cutting edge not published	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Spyderco Squeak	44 mm cutting edge (1.73 in)	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
CRKT Squid (Thumbstud)	blade 54.76 mm (2.16 in); cutting edge not published	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Leatherman Squirt PS4	blade 40.6 mm (1.60 in); cutting edge not published	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Victorinox Swiss Card Classic	blade length not published	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Victorinox SwissTool Spirit X	blade length not published	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
W.R. Case & Sons Trapper	76.2 mm cutting edge (3.00 in)	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Leatherman Wave Plus	blade 74.2 mm (2.92 in); cutting edge not published	No restriction found Why Manual folders and multitools are 'Taschenmesser' (Swiss Army knife and comparable products), expressly not dangerous objects. Misuse (threatening) is still an offence. Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' is not defined in law.
Morakniv Companion (stainless, Hi-Vis Orange shown)	blade 104 mm (4.09 in); cutting edge not published	Unclear Why Not a 'weapon' if asymmetrical, 5 cm or less, or 30 cm or more. But the pocket-knife exemption does not cover it, so Art. 28a applies: carrying without a plausible use while seeming to intend misuse is banned; seizure possible.
ESEE Izula-II	blade 66.8 mm (2.63 in); cutting edge not published	Unclear Why Not a 'weapon' if asymmetrical, 5 cm or less, or 30 cm or more. But the pocket-knife exemption does not cover it, so Art. 28a applies: carrying without a plausible use while seeming to intend misuse is banned; seizure possible.
Kershaw Leek	blade 76.2 mm (3.00 in); cutting edge not published	Prohibited Why fedpol treats spring-assisted openers as automatic (citing BGer 6B_660/2018) when blade is over 5 cm and open length over 12 cm: same ban on acquiring/importing and permit-to-carry as switchblades. Check the open length yourself.
CRKT Squid Assisted	blade 60.2 mm (2.37 in); cutting edge not published	Prohibited Why fedpol treats spring-assisted openers as automatic (citing BGer 6B_660/2018) when blade is over 5 cm and open length over 12 cm: same ban on acquiring/importing and permit-to-carry as switchblades. Check the open length yourself.

What the verdict does not cover

Public transport and restricted zones: No federal rule found on knives in public transport, stations or zones. Cantonal police laws and SBB/transit house rules were not researched.
Schools, workplaces and events: No federal rule found beyond Art. 27/28a. Cantonal and school rules, and event rules, not researched.
In a vehicle: Art. 28a also covers carrying dangerous objects in vehicles. For weapons, Kanton Zürich says carrying one in a vehicle or rucksack counts as 'Waffentragen'. Art. 28 Abs. 1 lists transport cases where no permit is needed (e.g. to/from a weapons dealer, a club event, or when moving house).
Age limits: Weapon acquisition permit (Waffenerwerbsschein) is refused under 18 (Art. 8 Abs. 2 lit. a). For ordinary knives that are not weapons, we found no federal age limit; retailers may set their own.
Buying and importing: Weapon-class knives (see rules) may not be acquired or brought into Switzerland without a cantonal exemption; Kanton Zürich warns that ordering such knives abroad online is illegal and punishable. Import of other knives is not restricted by the weapons law provisions we read (Art. 23 declaration applies to weapons). Possession is not listed in Art. 5 Abs. 2, but carrying or possessing a weapon 'without authorisation' is an offence under Art. 33 Abs. 1 lit. a; how this applies to already-owned knives was not verified.
Penalties: Carrying, acquiring or importing a weapon (including weapon-class knives) without authorisation: up to 3 years' imprisonment or a fine (Art. 33 Abs. 1 lit. a; negligence: fine). Misuse carrying of a dangerous object (Art. 28a): the Act provides seizure and confiscation (Art. 31); We found no fine listed for Art. 28a in the Act itself.
Recent changes: WV Art. 13a (bans on acquiring/importing spring, gas or elastic-released knives, butterfly, throwing knives, daggers) in force since 15 Aug 2019. BGer 6B_660/2018 (18 Jan 2019) cited by fedpol on spring-assisted knives. WV Art. 7 last amended 1 Jul 2016. fedpol's banned-weapons page published 6 Nov 2025 lists the same knife categories.
Pending changes: A June 2026 consultation on changes to the Waffenverordnung covers firearm parts and imitation weapons; We saw no knife changes in the explanatory report summary. Kanton Zürich's revised Polizeigesetz takes effect 1 Dec 2026 (content on knives not checked).

Reasons the authorities have accepted

Art. 28a: carrying justified by 'bestimmungsgemässe Verwendung oder Wartung' (intended use or maintenance), e.g. tools on the way to work or a hunting/fishing knife on the way to use
No intimidating impression: carrying is banned only if BOTH no justification AND an impression of misuse (Art. 28a lit. a and b)

Sources

Waffengesetz (WG, SR 514.54) Art. 4 Abs. 1 lit. c, Abs. 6: knives that are weapons; pocket knives are not 'dangerous objects'
“Taschenmesser, wie etwa das Schweizer Armeetaschenmesser und vergleichbare Produkte, gelten nicht als gefährliche Gegenstände.”
Waffenverordnung (WV, SR 514.541) Art. 7 (definition of knife weapons), Art. 9 (Swiss Army knife), Art. 13a (bans)
“geöffnet insgesamt mehr als 12 cm lang sind; und ... eine Klinge haben, die mehr als 5 cm lang ist.”
fedpol Entscheidungshilfe Messer (1 Oct 2021): worked examples (spring-assisted counts; Fallmesser not a weapon)
“Fallmesser gelten nicht als Waffen im Sinne von Art. 4 Abs.1 Bst. c Waffengesetz”
fedpol: Carrying a weapon
Kanton Zürich: Umgang mit Waffen

What we could not confirm

Fedlex WG page showed 'Stand am 1. September 2023' as the latest consolidated text we could read; WV Stand 1 Oct 2026. We did not compare against the Amtliche Sammlung for later amendments to the WG.
The fedpol Entscheidungshilfe is dated 1 Oct 2021; fedpol's current version may differ, and we did not verify that it is still current in all details (e.g. Fallmesser status).
Whether tactical locking folders count as 'comparable' to a Swiss Army knife (Art. 4 Abs. 6) is not defined; no case law found.
Cantonal differences (police laws, permit practice, local knife bans) not researched; only Zürich's weapons page was read.
Public transport/SBB, school and event rules not checked.
Total open length vs blade length: the 12 cm threshold is on total open length; the dataset has only blade_mm, so the rule uses blade length over 5 cm as the proxy and the reader must also check open length.

Keep going

General information, not legal advice. Know something we got wrong? Tell us and include a source.