| State | Open Carry | Concealed Carry | With CHP | Other Permit | Comment |
| Alabama | Legal | Legal | N/A | N/A | |
| Alaska | Legal | Legal (21+ years old) | N/A | N/A | |
| Arizona | Legal | Legal (21+ years old) | N/A | N/A | |
| Arkansas | Vague | Vague | Yes | Yes | Technically only illegal “with a purpose to employ as a weapon against a person.” |
| California | Illegal | Illegal | No | Yes | |
| Colorado | Legal | Legal | N/A | N/A | |
| Connecticut | Illegal | Illegal | No | No | On duty security guards may carry a baton. |
| Delaware | Legal | Illegal | Yes | No | |
| District of Columbia | Legal | Vague | No | No | Illegal to conceal “any deadly or dangerous weapon.” Similar cases suggest general hostility to carry. |
| Florida | Legal | Illegal | Yes | No | |
| Georgia | Legal | Legal | N/A | N/A | |
| Hawaii | Illegal | Illegal | No | No | Fish Bats don’t count, unless carried as a weapon. |
| Idaho | Legal | Vague | Yes | No | Illegal to conceal “any deadly weapon,” but doesn’t apply outside a city if 18 + years old or on private property with owner’s permission. |
| Illinois | Vague | Vague | No | ? | Illegal to carry a billy “with intent to use the same unlawfully against another” or in a government building. |
| Indiana | Legal | Legal | N/A | N/A | |
| Iowa | Legal | Vague | Yes | No | Illegal to conceal any “dangerous weapon” which is very broadly applicable. |
| Kansas | Legal | Illegal | No | No | Illegal to conceal a “billy.” |
| Kentucky | Legal | Illegal | Yes | No | |
| Louisiana | Legal | Vague | No | No | Illegal to conceal any “instrumentality customarily used or intended for probable use as a dangerous weapon.” |
| Maine | Legal | Vague | No | No | |
| Maryland | Legal | Vague | Yes | No | Could be a “dangerous or deadly weapon,” but isn’t named explicitly. Law has self-defense provision. Similar cases suggest state must prove criminal intent. |
| Massachusetts | Legal | Legal | N/A | N/A | Only prohibited when arrested on a warrant or during a breach of peace. |
| Michigan | Vague | Vague | No | No | Illegal to carry with intent to use unlawfully against another “any other dangerous or deadly weapon or instrument.” |
| Minnesota | Vague | Vague | No | No | Illegal to possess any “instrumentality customarily used or intended for probable use as a dangerous weapon. |
| Mississippi | Legal | Legal | N/A | N/A | |
| Missouri | Legal | Vague | Yes | No | Illegal to conceal “any other weapon readily capable of lethal use.” |
| Montana | Legal | Illegal | Yes | No | |
| Nebraska | Legal | Vague | Yes | No | Illegal to conceal “any other deadly weapon,” but burden lies with the state. Law has self-defense provision. |
| Nevada | Illegal | Illegal | No | Yes | Can obtain written permission from the county sheriff. |
| New Hampshire | Legal | Legal | N/A | N/A | |
| New Jersey | Illegal | Illegal | No | Yes | Guards with CHP and training certification are permitted to carry |
| New Mexico | Vague | Vague | Yes | No | Illegal to carry “any other typed of deadly weapon.” |
| New York | Illegal | Illegal | No | No | |
| State | Open Carry | Concealed Carry | With CHP | Other Permit | Comment |
| North Carolina | Legal | Vague | No | No | |
| North Dakota | Legal | Illegal | Yes | No | |
| Ohio | Legal | Vague | No | No | |
| Oklahoma | Illegal | Illegal | No | No | |
| Oregon | Legal | Legal | N/A | N/A | |
| Pennsylvania | Vague | Vague | No | No | Illegal to possess “other implement for the infliction of serious bodily injury which serves no common lawful purpose.” Case law indicates self-defense is not a “common lawful purpose.” |
| Rhode Island | Illegal | Illegal | No | No | No exception noted for private security. |
| South Carolina | Legal | Vague | No | No | Illegal to conceal “a deadly weapon usually used for the infliction of personal injury.” |
| South Dakota | Legal | Legal | N/A | N/A | |
| Tennessee | Illegal | Illegal | No | Yes | |
| Texas | Legal | Legal | N/A | N/A | |
| Utah | Legal | Legal | N/A | N/A | |
| Vermont | Legal | Legal | N/A | N/A | |
| Virginia | Legal | Vague | Spring-loaded baton is illegal, but could possibly be extended to any “weapon of like kind.” | ||
| Washington | Legal | Vague | No | No | Illegal to conceal “other dangerous weapon” |
| West Virginia | Legal | Legal | N/A | N/A | |
| Wisconsin | Legal | Legal | Yes | No | |
| Wyoming | Legal | Vague | Yes | No | Illegal to conceal a “deadly weapon.” |
Baton Laws By State
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