Coltelli e Legge Italiana: What You Can Legally Carry Outside Your Home

Italy does not have a single "knife law." Whether carrying a particular blade outside the home is lawful depends on the type of instrument, its dimensions, and whether the person carrying it has a giustificato motivo, a justified reason, for doing so. Several distinct provisions of the same statute, L. 18 aprile 1975, n. 110, apply different tests and different penalties depending on which of those questions is true.

This page covers the criminal-law rules on carrying knives and other cutting or pointed instruments in Italy. It does not cover the separate question of owning or purchasing a knife, which is not restricted in the same way, or the licensing regime for actual firearms.

Information verified on 21 July 2026. This page provides general legal information and does not constitute legal advice for an individual situation.

The general rule: objects capable of offending, without giustificato motivo

Art. 4, second comma, L. 110/1975 prohibits carrying, outside one's own home or its appurtenances and without giustificato motivo, a list of items: sticks fitted with a sharpened tip, pointed or cutting instruments capable of offending, clubs, pipes, chains, slingshots, bolts, metal balls, and any other instrument not expressly classed as a bladed weapon that is clearly usable, given the circumstances of time and place, for offending a person.

The penalty, at art. 4, third comma, is currently arresto da uno a tre anni and ammenda da 1.000 a 10.000 euro. That range reflects two amendments: D.Lgs. 26 ottobre 2010, n. 204 first raised it from the original 1975 figures, and D.L. 15 settembre 2023, n. 123 (conv. L. 13 novembre 2023, n. 159) raised the arresto range again, from "da sei mesi a due anni" to the current "da uno a tre anni." For minor cases limited to carrying only oggetti atti ad offendere, the third comma allows the fine alone rather than both penalties together.

This general provision is broad by design. It reaches everyday objects such as a box cutter, a multi-tool or an unexplained kitchen knife just as much as a purpose-built weapon, provided the carrying happens without giustificato motivo.

The knife-specific rule added by the 2026 Decreto Sicurezza

A separate, more specific rule now sits inside the same article for knives meeting particular dimensions. Art. 4, eighth comma, in the text in force from 25 April 2026, punishes whoever, without giustificato motivo, carries outside the home or its appurtenances instruments with a sharp or pointed fixed blade exceeding 8 centimetres in length, as well as folding-blade instruments with a blade of 5 centimetres or more that have a locking mechanism or that can be opened with one hand.

The penalty is reclusione da sei mesi a tre anni. This matters beyond the numbers: reclusione marks this as a delitto, a more serious category of offence than the arresto-based contravvenzione that covers the general rule above.

This provision did not always exist in its current form. It was inserted by the Decreto Sicurezza 2026 (D.L. 24 febbraio 2026, n. 23), which entered into force on 25 February 2026 covering only fixed blades over 8 centimetres. The conversion law, L. 24 aprile 2026, n. 54, in force from 25 April 2026, added the folding-blade language: a blade of 5 centimetres or more with a locking mechanism or a one-hand-opening feature. A folding knife that stays under that length, or that lacks both features, remains outside the eighth-comma rule and falls back to the general provision above instead.

Accessory administrative sanctions

Once the facts of an eighth-comma knife offence are established, police officers forward the case to the prefetto of the place where the violation occurred. The prefetto can then apply, for a period of up to one year, one or more accessory administrative sanctions: suspension of the driving licence (including a professional licence for motor vehicles or a certificate for mopeds), and suspension of or a refusal to grant a weapons-carry licence.

These sanctions sit alongside, not instead of, the criminal penalty. They are administrative, decided by the prefetto rather than a court, though notice goes to the competent judicial authority.

Absolute prohibitions: no giustificato motivo defence

A further, separate rule removes the giustificato motivo defence entirely for a narrower category of instruments. Art. 4-bis punishes carrying, outside the home, a weapon for which no licence can be granted at all, including instruments with a double-edged blade and a sharp point, folding-blade instruments with a blade of 5 centimetres or more fitted with an automatic spring-opening (a scatto) mechanism, regardless of whether a locking mechanism is also present, blades of the «a farfalla» (butterfly) type, and any blade disguised as or concealed inside another object.

The base penalty is reclusione da uno a tre anni, salvo che il fatto costituisca più grave reato (unless the conduct amounts to a more serious offence). It increases by a third to a half where the conduct happens by disguised persons or several people acting together, near a school (the locations described at art. 61, n. 11-ter, c.p.), near a bank, post office or cash machine, a public park or garden, a railway or metro station, or a public-transport stop or vehicle, or at a place where people are gathered or a public meeting is taking place. A conviction under this article also carries mandatory confiscation of the instrument.

Giustificato motivo: how the test actually works

The statute frames giustificato motivo around whether the instrument is clearly usable, given the circumstances of time and place, for offending a person, not around what the object could theoretically be used for. A folding knife carried in a backpack alongside camping gear, on the way to or from a hike, sits differently from the identical knife carried with no explanation late at night in an unrelated setting.

Work tools, sporting equipment in transit to or from the activity it is used for, and everyday transport of an item between two legitimate points are the kinds of use that typically supply a giustificato motivo. A generic claim that a blade is carried "for self-defence" does not, by itself, meet the same standard, since the statute is looking for a purpose connected to the object's ordinary use, not a purpose connected to a possible future confrontation.

Scenario: two people carrying knives, two different outcomes

A hiker packs a folding knife with a 4-centimetre blade and no locking mechanism into a rucksack, alongside a tent and cooking equipment, for a day trip. Even setting giustificato motivo aside, this knife falls below the eighth comma's dimensions and mechanism thresholds entirely, so the harsher reclusione rule does not reach it; the general art. 4, second comma test still applies, and the hiking context supplies a real giustificato motivo.

A second person is stopped late at night carrying a fixed-blade kitchen knife with a 12-centimetre blade in a jacket pocket, with no stated reason connected to work, sport or transport between two points. This blade exceeds the eighth comma's 8-centimetre fixed-blade threshold, and without a giustificato motivo the reclusione da sei mesi a tre anni penalty applies rather than the lighter general rule.

How this differs from art. 699 c.p.

Art. 699 c.p. (Porto abusivo di armi) is a separate and older offence: carrying an actual weapon (arma propria, one built specifically to offend, such as a firearm) outside the home without holding the licence the law requires for it. The penalty is arresto fino a sei mesi, lighter than either L. 110/1975 rule above.

The distinction matters because L. 110/1975 deals with armi improprie: objects not built as weapons but capable of offending, plus the specific knife-blade category the 2026 reform added. A firearm carried without a licence is judged under art. 699 c.p.; a kitchen knife, box cutter or folding blade carried without giustificato motivo is judged under art. 4 or art. 4-bis, L. 110/1975 instead.

For the wider criminal-law coverage on this site, see the Italy criminal law hub. For the procedural distinction between a denuncia and a querela if you are reporting an incident involving a weapon, see denuncia versus querela.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it illegal to carry a knife in Italy?

It depends on the blade and the reason. A knife carried outside the home without giustificato motivo can fall under more than one rule: a fixed blade over 8 centimetres, or certain folding knives, trigger the reclusione da sei mesi a tre anni rule at art. 4, eighth comma, L. 110/1975, while other cutting instruments capable of offending fall under the lighter arresto and ammenda rule at art. 4, second and third comma. A knife carried for a genuine work, sport or transport purpose is a different case.

What is the current penalty for carrying a knife with a blade over 8 centimetres?

Since the change in force from 25 April 2026, art. 4, eighth comma, L. 110/1975 punishes carrying a fixed blade over 8 centimetres, or a locking or one-hand-opening folding blade of 5 centimetres or more, outside the home without giustificato motivo, with reclusione da sei mesi a tre anni.

What counts as giustificato motivo for carrying a knife?

The statute asks whether the instrument is clearly usable, given the circumstances of time and place, for offending a person. In practice this points to whether the carrying fits the object's ordinary purpose, such as work, sport, camping or transporting it to or from such an activity, rather than a generic claim of self-defence.

Can my driving licence be suspended for carrying a knife?

Yes, as an accessory sanction. Once the facts of the eighth-comma knife offence are established, the prefetto can apply, for up to a year, suspension of the driving licence or suspension or denial of a weapons-carry licence, on top of the criminal penalty.

Are folding pocketknives treated the same as fixed-blade knives?

Not automatically. Since 25 April 2026, a folding knife falls under the same reclusione da sei mesi a tre anni rule as a fixed blade only where its blade is 5 centimetres or more and it has a locking mechanism or can be opened with one hand. A shorter folding knife, or one without either feature, is judged under the general oggetti atti ad offendere rule instead.

Is a double-edged knife or a butterfly knife ever legal to carry?

Carrying one outside the home is prohibited outright under art. 4-bis, L. 110/1975, with no giustificato motivo defence available. The penalty is reclusione da uno a tre anni, increased further in specific aggravating circumstances such as near a school or on public transport.

What is the difference between this and art. 699 c.p.?

Art. 699 c.p. punishes carrying an actual firearm or other weapon requiring a licence, outside the home, without holding that licence, a separate and lesser offence (arresto fino a sei mesi). The L. 110/1975 provisions above instead concern knives and other objects capable of offending that are not, in the legal sense, armi proprie.