Wyoming does not maintain a knife-specific list that generally bans ordinary folders, fixed blades, automatic knives, OTF knives, or balisongs. Instead, its criminal code uses a contextual definition of “deadly weapon”: an instrument can fall within that definition when, in the manner used or intended to be used, it is reasonably capable of causing death or serious bodily injury. [1]
For most Wyoming knife owners, the central questions are not simply knife type or blade length. Intended use, concealment, restricted locations, and the statewide weapons-preemption statute matter more.
Which knives can adults own?
The Wyoming criminal statutes reviewed for this article do not create a general adult-possession ban based only on a knife being automatic, assisted-opening, OTF, a balisong, a dagger, or a fixed blade. They also do not establish a general statewide blade-length limit for ordinary ownership.
That does not make every use lawful. Wyoming § 6-8-103 makes it a felony to knowingly possess, manufacture, transport, repair, or sell a deadly weapon with intent to threaten another unlawfully, commit assault, or inflict bodily injury. [2]
What are the open- and concealed-carry rules?
Wyoming § 6-8-104 prohibits wearing or carrying a concealed deadly weapon unless an exception applies. The listed exceptions include peace officers, persons possessing a permit under the section, certain reciprocal permit holders, and certain permitless carriers who satisfy the statutory conditions. [3]
The permit system and the permitless language in that section are drafted around concealed firearms. In particular, the permitless exception refers to lawful possession of “the firearm.” Because a knife becomes a deadly weapon contextually under § 6-1-104, do not assume that Wyoming’s permitless firearm rule automatically resolves every concealed-knife situation. A small knife carried as an ordinary tool may not be a deadly weapon at all; a knife carried or intended for use as a weapon may be treated differently. [1] [3]
The cited statutes do not create a comparable general prohibition on openly carrying an ordinary knife. Threatening conduct, unlawful intent, another offense, or a restricted location can still change the result.
How do vehicle carry and transport work?
The statutes reviewed do not establish a separate statewide blade-length or knife-storage rule for an ordinary private vehicle. However, a knife that qualifies as a deadly weapon can still raise the concealed-carry issue under § 6-8-104, depending on how and why it is carried. Wyoming also separately criminalizes transporting a deadly weapon with specified unlawful intent under § 6-8-103. [2] [3]
For air travel, federal security rules and carrier policies apply independently of Wyoming law.
What age limits apply?
The reviewed Wyoming provisions do not establish a general knife-specific minimum age for possession of an ordinary knife. The original version of this article incorrectly cited § 6-8-102 as a minor-knife rule; that section regulates firearm possession by persons with specified convictions, not knife possession by minors. [4]
Retailer policies, parental rules, school policies, federal law, and unlawful-intent statutes can still apply. A minor should never assume that permission to possess a utility knife also means permission to carry it at school or use it as a weapon.
Which restricted locations matter?
Wyoming § 6-5-209 prohibits taking a deadly weapon, without the required authorization, into a jail, state penal institution, the Wyoming Boys’ School, Wyoming Girls’ School, specified private correctional facilities, or the state hospital. It also prohibits taking a deadly weapon into a courtroom without authorization from the presiding judge. [5]
This is not a blanket statutory ban on every pocketknife in every K–12 school. Individual schools, universities, employers, venues, government facilities, and private property owners may maintain broader policies, and federal property may be governed by separate federal rules.
Does Wyoming preempt local knife ordinances?
Yes, Wyoming has unusually broad express preemption. Section 6-8-401 says the state regulates the sale, transfer, purchase, delivery, manufacture, ownership, transportation, storage, use, carrying, and possession of “firearms, weapons and ammunition,” and generally bars state agencies and political subdivisions from regulating those subjects except as specifically authorized. Because the provision uses “weapons,” not only “firearms,” it can reach local knife rules when a knife is regulated as a weapon. [6]
Preemption is not permission to ignore state restricted-location laws, federal property rules, school or workplace policies, event screening, or a private owner’s conditions of entry.
Practical takeaway
Wyoming has no general knife-type or blade-length ban in the statutes reviewed, and its statewide weapons preemption limits many local regulations. The main caution is the contextual “deadly weapon” definition. Concealment, unlawful intent, conduct, and location can matter more than the knife’s opening mechanism or nominal category.
Last reviewed: August 24, 2026.
This article provides general information, not legal advice. Wyoming knife law can depend on the knife’s design, manner of carry, intended use, conduct, location, property policy, federal law, and court interpretation. Verify current official sources or consult a qualified Wyoming attorney about a specific situation.
Sources & References
- [1] Wyo. Stat. § 6-1-104(a)(iv). Contextual definition of “deadly weapon” in the current Wyoming criminal code.
- [2] Wyo. Stat. § 6-8-103. Possession, manufacture, transport, repair, or sale of a deadly weapon with specified unlawful intent.
- [3] Wyo. Stat. § 6-8-104. Concealed deadly weapons, exceptions, and concealed-firearm permits.
- [4] Wyo. Stat. § 6-8-102. Firearm possession by persons with specified convictions; it is not a minor-knife-possession statute.
- [5] Wyo. Stat. § 6-5-209. Deadly weapons in correctional institutions, the state hospital, and courtrooms.
- [6] Wyo. Stat. § 6-8-401. State preemption of firearm, weapon, and ammunition regulation.
