Can I bring Knives and Sharp Objects to Germany?
Knives and Sharp Objects→Germany
⚠️ Allowed with Conditions
📋 Carrying Limits
✅ Declaration Requirements
⚠️No active declaration is needed for knives you carry in your own luggage for personal or household use or as gifts, within the travellers' allowance, when entering from a non-EU country, a special territory (e.g. the Canary Islands) or Heligoland: other goods up to €300 in total value, €430 for air/sea travellers (not passengers on private non-commercial aircraft/vessels or inland waterway vessels), €175 for travellers under 15; special limits apply to groups such as border-area residents and border commuters. Using the green exit at an airport or port counts as the customs declaration for such duty-free personal luggage. The type and quantity must not suggest a commercial purpose. Allowances of several persons cannot be combined, and a non-divisible item worth more than the allowance is taxed on its full value. If your goods exceed the allowance, you must declare them verbally at customs without being asked (on road, rail or coastal-shipping crossings you can declare to the Federal Police). A customs declaration does not make knives prohibited under the Weapons Act legal.
Form needed: Verbal customs declaration if goods exceed the travellers' allowance
📌 Quick Summary
🔗 Official Information Source:
📝 Important Notes
- •⚠️ CONDITIONAL — German Weapons Act
- •Germany has strict knife laws (Waffengesetz):
- •Prohibited Knives (Weapons Act Annex 2):
- •Butterfly knives, gravity knives, push daggers and switchblades are prohibited weapons — possessing, carrying or bringing them into Germany is banned
- •Switchblade exception: the blade springs out sideways, the part protruding from the handle is max. 8.5cm and not double-edged, AND there is a legitimate interest requiring one-handed use or the handling is connected with your profession
- •Push daggers: allowed for hunting-permit holders and leather/fur-processing professionals who need them for their work
- •The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) can grant exceptions on application in special circumstances
- •Prohibited to Carry in Public (§42a):
- •One-hand knives with a blade that locks with one hand (regardless of blade length) and fixed-blade knives with blade >12cm
- •Exceptions: transport in a locked container; photo, film, TV or theatre use; or a legitimate interest (e.g. profession, tradition, sport or another generally recognised purpose)
❓ More Questions
Can I buy knives in Solingen?
Yes! Solingen is the knife capital. Visit factory outlets of Wüsthof, Zwilling, Böker for excellent prices. Great souvenirs.
What knives are banned in Germany?
Butterfly knives, gravity knives, push daggers and switchblades are prohibited weapons under the Weapons Act. Narrow exceptions: side-opening switchblades with a protruding blade of max. 8.5cm that is not double-edged, if there is a legitimate interest requiring one-handed use or a professional context; push daggers for hunting-permit holders and leather/fur professionals who need them for work; and exceptions granted by the BKA on application. In addition, one-hand knives with a blade that locks with one hand (regardless of blade length) and fixed-blade knives with blade >12cm cannot be carried in public unless transported in a locked container or there is a legitimate interest such as profession, sport, tradition or another generally recognised purpose. Carrying any knife is also restricted at public events, on long-distance public transport and in local ban zones.
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Complete Germany Entry Guide
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