Weapons — Portugal
What travelers need to know about weapons in Portugal. What is legal at home can be a serious crime here — each rule links to its official source.
Weapons in Portugal: restricted — there are real limits travelers must follow.
In Portugal it is a crime, punishable by up to 4 years in prison, to carry or hold without authorisation a switchblade, butterfly knife, throwing knife, disguised blade, knuckle-duster, baton (including extendable and electric batons), gas launcher, or any pepper spray or stun gun that is not an approved model. Ordinary knives and blades longer than 10 cm meant for work, hunting, sport or the kitchen fall under the same offence when carried away from where they are normally used and you cannot justify having them. Even approved pepper sprays and stun guns of up to 200,000 volts (class E) may be bought, held and carried only by holders of a Portuguese class E licence or certain other Portuguese weapons licences.
Lei n.º 5/2006 (Regime Jurídico das Armas e suas Munições) art. 86(1)(d): up to 4 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 480 days for holding, transporting, using or carrying the items listed, including non-approved defence sprays, electric weapons outside class E, batons, extendable and electric batons, switchblades, butterfly and throwing knives, knuckle-dusters, and work, hunting, sport or domestic blades found away from their normal place of use without justification. Art. 86(1)(c): class B, B1, C or D firearms without authorisation, 1 to 5 years or a fine of up to 600 days. Penalties for crimes committed while carrying a weapon rise by one third (art. 86(3)). Class E (approved sprays, electric weapons up to 200,000 V) requires a licence (art. 9(2)).
§ Procuradoria-Geral Regional de Lisboa (Ministério Público) — Lei n.º 5/2006, de 23 de fevereiro, Regime Jurídico das Armas e suas Munições, consolidated text (7th version, Lei n.º 50/2019), arts. 2(m), 3(7), 4, 9 and 86Verified Sep 21, 2026